Tom's Hardware > Forum > Homebuilt Systems > New System Build > New build for a friend
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Hi all,

I'm building a new computer for a friend who's given me a budget of 500-650. He's unlikely to do a ton of gaming, but wanted the ability to try some things to see if he likes it. I'm considering the following:


SAMSUNG 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model SH-S222A - OEM $30.99

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply $109.99

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $69.99

PNY XLR8 VCG98GTEE5XEB GeForce 9800 GT EE 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP $99.99 ($20 rebate)

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK $84.99

GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3R LGA 1156 Intel P55 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $139

Intel Core I5 $170

The CPU is from microcenter.com, everything else from Newegg. Total system cost is $658 with shipping. My other thought was to build basically the same system but with a phenom II X3, and save him $150 or so. Thoughts?

Thanks!


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samsung F3 500 gig is around $50 and faster than the WD black

a radeon 4850 is better value than the 9800gt ... same price but more grunt

Reply to Outlander_04

Can you read this and post back ? http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/ [...] ild-advice

People will need some more info to better help you.

He would like the abilty to try games, ok but what rez is the monitor ?

What else does he want to do ?

My 486 and AOL can run the internet :kaola:

------------------------------ P55-UD4P / i5 750 @ 3.6 180X20 / GSkill 1600 @ 1420 7-7-7-22 / WD Black 640 / HD 5850 / Corsair 750 / Win 7
Reply to niklas_13

His monitor is a 21" LCD, and I doubt he'll ever switch to anything gigantic.

The majority of his use will likely be web, internet, and data processing for work. I imagine he'll morph into using his computer as a media center as well, so there may be a bit of recoding, etc. I doubt he'll ever tax his computer heavily, but he does want it to be something that would be considered mainstream for a few years at least.

He won't be overclocking his system, although I may give him a very modest overclock if I end up going for the Phenom II system instead of the I5, especially since it will be IN a desk and not have a lot of airflow.

I'd like it to be a quiet, reliable system, since he won't want to tinker with it much.

Thanks again!

Reply to callousdigits

do you have a link for the i5, I can't seem to find it. that's a good price

thanks

Reply to lowpine

http://microcenter.com/single_prod [...] id=0317379

I know, it's a pretty killer price. Frankly, it's the whole reason I'm thinking about building him an I5 system, which is probably overkill for his needs. I happen to be in Boston, so can just pick it up -- don't know if it's the same price at all microcenters, or if it's the same if it's internet only.

Reply to callousdigits

How about this build




SAMSUNG DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223L LightScribe Support - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151188
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

$32.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6827151188



Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811129042
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy
-$15.00 Instant $69.95
$54.95 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6811129042



SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM
Item #: N82E16822152181
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$5.00 Instant $54.99
$49.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6822152181



SAPPHIRE 100258-1GHDMI Radeon HD 4850 1GB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814102837
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

$124.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6814102837



G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL8D-4GBHK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820231189
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$84.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Prod [...] 6820231189




AMD Phenom II X3 720 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Black Processor Model HDZ720WFGIBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103649
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813128392
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)

-$10.99 Instant
-$20.00 Combo
$10.00 Mail-in Rebate Card
$209.98
$178.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Comb [...] mbo.259850


PSU OCZ http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/Prod [...] st=froogle 71.99

Subtotal: $598.90

I think this would be a better suited PC for him

(Note) your systems @ 705 not 658


Message edited by niklas_13 on 09-26-2009 at 05:28:30 PM
------------------------------ P55-UD4P / i5 750 @ 3.6 180X20 / GSkill 1600 @ 1420 7-7-7-22 / WD Black 640 / HD 5850 / Corsair 750 / Win 7
Reply to niklas_13

callousdigits wrote :

http://microcenter.com/single_prod [...] id=0317379

I know, it's a pretty killer price. Frankly, it's the whole reason I'm thinking about building him an I5 system, which is probably overkill for his needs. I happen to be in Boston, so can just pick it up -- don't know if it's the same price at all microcenters, or if it's the same if it's internet only.




thanks! the price is actually $159 now!!!

Reply to lowpine

uhgg, i did'nt realize they don't ship, dang. I'm not driving 2 hours to save $30 bucks. oh well, that's a killer deal. thanks

Reply to lowpine
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