Building a budget rig with my son.

[blackadder3rd]

Morning all.

I'm building a multi pupose low budget pc with my son. I'm starting him off and he'll upgrade down the line. I wanted a good base for him to work from. Take a look at what I have and tell me what you think.


CPU Intel Pentium E5200 2.5 GHz $70
CPU Thermaltake A4017-01 $12
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L $94
RAM G.Skill HK 4 GB DDR2-800 (PC2 6400) $41
Graphics SAPPHIRE 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512MB 256-bit $140
Hard Drives Samsung Spinpoint T Series HD501LJ 500 GB $60
Case Rosewill R222-P-BK With Power supply $80
Optical LG 22X DVD Model GH22LP20 $23

Total $520

I know the budget is low but that's today's economy for you.

If you have any suggestions to improve what I've pt down feel free.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

The build looks pretty good. I would look into the new UD3 series of motherboards.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372&Tpk=ga-ep45-ud3l $93.99

or

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380&Tpk=ga-ep43-ud3l $84.99

It's best to avoid Rosewill PSU's at all costs. I would pick up a case without a PSU and use this one instead:

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 $49.99 - $10 MIR

You don't want an IDE DVD burner. Spend a couple extra dollars and get the SATA version:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=lg+22x+sata&x=0&y=0


Edit: This case is a great deal at $40 with free shipping:

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119115&cm_sp=DailyDeal-_-11-119-115-_-Product $39.99

 

[swifty_morgan]

The Thermaltake "cpu"....I assume it's an aftermarket heat sink and fan..?? You don't need it if the processor comes with one.

Something to keep in mind. As far as upgrading goes. The core2/core2 quad is ending life. 2 years from now you might find it hard to get a quad core....... maybe. The 939's dried up quick. But a new build might be in your future.

The motherboard only has 1 pci-e slot I think. No crossfire but the video card can be upgraded. I don't know what res you plan on playing at but the $12 savings from the aftermarket heat sink could be used for a 1gig card... just a thought......

It is a pretty decent budget build by the way. ....... // i don't like Rosewill psu's neither but it might do you for a while.

 

[Proximon]

Yep listen to shortstuff. If you need to, drop the cooler. It's not really doing anything for you anyway.


Antec Sonata case with E5400 $190 (includes high quality EA500 PSU)
Gigabyte MB
G.Skill DDR2 800

Dropping your GPU down to a 4830 or 9600GT wouldn't hurt too much.

 

[Oakley707]

Upgrade to this harddrive it is much better and only $9 more. 32MB of cache and 640 gig.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319

You will love that 4850, it is very powerful at resolutions @ or below 1680 X 1050.

 

[swifty_morgan]

I was going to ask before, where are you buying this stuff from ? The cost of the card seems high to me if it's the 512 version. I checked and it is.