Under $1000 Budget Box

[ckaz]

So I'm building a computer for a buddy of mine. He doesn't do gaming, no editing software, nothing to graphics intensive. Really what he wants is a monitor that will look nice, a good set of speakers, and something that will run some non-intense programs, but fast.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: N/A

BUDGET RANGE: Under $1000 Canadian, before rebates.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: surfing the internet, listening to music, school related work (Microsoft office)

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: A full build, not leaving a single part out.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: (newegg.ca, memoryexpress.ca)

COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: If this means for the website, than Canadian, but if this referrs to the components I don't really care.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Def going intel on the processor, for sure going ati on the vid card, mid-sized atx case,

OVERCLOCKING: No

SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: No less than 1680x1050, if you can find anything higher that would be great, but no more than $200

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I intend to pick everything up from memory express, which is in my city. I would prefer to stay away from online buying but if so, newegg.ca. Canadian sites only please.. I would like to go with DDR3 1066 RAM, 4GB with the mobo upgrade potential to six. As I said, since there isn't much intense things going on with the usage on this computer, I was almost thinking of going with a C2D. Def nothing more than a C2Q. Nothing fancy on the case, a few lights is fine but no side panel. Def not looking to spend over $100 on case, less is preferable. Quiet component are better.

 

[solistus]

I'll take a crack at it... I'll go ahead and spec everything on memoryexpress. I'm not wild about Intel in this price range. I specced out a system with a C2D CPU and Intel 775 motherboard, but I've also listed what I consider to be a much better buy on the AMD side of things for your budget range. Nothing Intel offers in that price range comes close to the value of AMD's new sub-$100 (USD) quad core chip. It's $119 CAD and easily matches the performance of Intel C2Qs that are around $200. The system I specced with a low-end C2D costs about the same as the quad core AMD system, with a lower end motherboard and slower RAM.

The motherboard options at memoryexpress are limited. I couldn't find a reasonably priced Intel board with DDR3. Yet another reason to go AMD - the AMD mobo I found is a pretty high-end Asus board with support for up to 16GB of DDR3, plenty of overclocking features, etc.

I'm not going to include keyboard, mouse, mousepad, speakers, etc. - I'll leave room in your budget to pick those out but you and/or your friend should probably buy those in person to find ones you like. Unless you plan to get really high end speakers or one of those unnecessary and silly "gaming mice," I'll assume $100 CAD should be plenty enough to cover this stuff. I'll spec out a display and the system itself for you.


DISPLAY: BenQ G2220HD 21.5" 1920x1080 max rez - $169.99 http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX24112%28ME%29.aspx

CASE: Antec Three Hundred - $69.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX20934%28ME%29.aspx

PSU: OCZ StealthXStream 600W $89.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX17273%28ME%29.aspx

Disc Drive: Samsung Black 22v DVD Writer $28.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25096%28ME%29.aspx

Hard Drive: Western Digital 500GB Caviar Black SATA-300 $66.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX22446%28ME%29.aspx

GPU: HIS Radeon HD 4830 512MB $129.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX22688%28ME%29.aspx

*INTEL*
CPU: Core 2 Due E7400 $129.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23209%28ME%29.aspx
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-EP45-UD3L $109.99 ($10 mail in rebate if you buy by the 30th)
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23788%28ME%29.aspx
RAM: Corsair 2x2GB DDR2-1066 $99.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX23171%28ME%29.aspx

*AMD*
CPU: Athlon II X4 620 $119.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25473%28ME%29.aspx
Motherboard: Asus M4A785TD-V EVO $114.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX25351%28ME%29.aspx
RAM: Kingston 2x2GB DDR3-1333 $109.99
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/PID-MX22682%28ME%29.aspx

Total before tax, shipping, etc. $895.91 Intel, $905.91 AMD.


If you want to spend a little more, a few things to consider:
-That case comes with 2 fans but has room for 5. You could get 3 more 120mm case fans for more cooling - make sure to pick good, quiet ones if you do, though - saving $10 on fans and doubling the noise of your machine is no discount!
-You could also get an aftermarket heatsink for the CPU to keep it cooler.
-You could add a second hard drive for RAID, or a second disc drive for convenience.
-TV tuner, wireless card, etc. if you want any of those.

If you need to cut some out to make room for tax in the budget, you could downgrade the PSU to a 500W, downgrade the GPU to a 4600 series or get a cheaper case. Those are the places I would start looking at cuts. You could also try to find a cheaper display but that's a pretty good deal on the one I found for you.

You might want to shop around elsewhere for a Samsung F3 hard drive - they are better, but MemoryExpress doesn't seem to stock 'em.

 

[ckaz]

Alright, thanks for the help!

I will consider a bit more looking into the AMD processor, and I would def feel more comfortable with the quad core as apposed to the dual core..hmm this will be tough

I will def be going with the DDR3 RAM, but 109.99 is a bit much. I'm pretty sure that you can get DDR3 with 1066 speed, so if so I'll get that for sure.

600W is a bit much, I was thinking something more in between 350-500W

There will be no aftermarket mods on this. As I said, I'm building this for a very average user. Keeping in mind that I will need to buy Microsft Office and Vista, plus speakers, mouse/keyboard, and possibly a network adapter card, not to mention tax; this is a good start but i'll need to modify some of this a bit.

One good thing is that MemoryExpress does price matching, so after I've drawn up my product list, Im going to find its cheapest price on the internet, and thats what i'll end up paying

 

[manningbowl135]

If he doesn't game, get a nice mobo with integrated graphics. That should save you a bunch.

 

[ckaz]

could you recommend to me through http://www.memoryexpress.com/ LGA 775 mobo's with good integrated graphics?

 

[manningbowl135]

could you recommend to me through http://www.memoryexpress.com/ LGA 775 mobo's with good integrated graphics?

Sorry. I don't know enough about integrated graphics to give you advice. You'd better get recommendations from more knowledgeable folks here.

 

[mindless728]

your better off getting an AMD board with an IGP (785G is a good chipset with HD4200 onboard)