~400$ "In-Law" general purpose / streaming media

[fiyawerx]

Hi Guys, I've been doing some research the past few days, and was looking for the "looks good" for what I've come up with. Originally I was trying to stay around 400$ total, but I added in the Blue-Ray reader and Remote, which are still pending wife approval. They don't currently have a great display, but are using a 1280x1024 I believe and -love- watching Hulu/Netflix on it, so that's more than likely going to be the next upgrade for them. Main use is office/email, and then a lot of streaming video.

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: This week
BUDGET RANGE: ~400 (After Rebates)
SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Internet / Streaming Video (Netflix/Hulu type) / Office
PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Kb/Mouse/OS (They already purchased win 7) Monitor (Unless can squeeze in something ok)
PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: Newegg
PARTS PREFERENCES: None particular, just need to be solid. Have been leaning towards AMD/ATI lately.
OVERCLOCKING: More than likely No unless very stable/longevity ok
MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1280x1024 for now, Monitor Upgrade in mid-future
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: They are somewhat picky about the looks of the thing, she would pack it in a closet if she could when they weren't using it, but that's not quite necessary.

I'd like a blue-ray player, but with their current monitor, no real reason for it I can really rationalize, I'm sure there will be better prices when they decide to upgrade their LCD anyway.

Mobo / CPU:
Combo Deal: 116.98
GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor Model ADX240OCGQBOX - Retail

Ram: 49.99
G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-2GBNQ - Retail


Case: 64.99 - 15$ MIR
Antec Mini P180 White Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail

PSU: 49.99 - 10$ MIR
CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail

HDD: 44.99
Western Digital AV-GP WD2500AVVS 250GB SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

DVD/Combo Drive: 25.99
Sony Optiarc 24X DVD/CD Rewritable Drive Black SATA Model AD-7240S-0B - OEM

Media Center / Boxee Remote: 23.49
AVS Gear GP-IR01BK Windows Vista Infrared MCE Black Remote Control


Total: $376.42, Shipping: $23.44, MIR: 25$

Grand Total: 374.86

Thinking.. drop remote, try to squeeze in 22" or so LCD for at least decent streaming video they can see from their couch and still come in under 450ish?

Edit: Updated price in title

 

[dndhatcher]

Do they not have an LCD TV they can hook it up to instead of trying to see a monitor across the room?

 

[fiyawerx]

Not yet, with the tv they have now, they prefer using their 17" lcd anyway. Pretty Old-School. They're about the same distance anyway, maybe 4-5' only. It's a pretty small room.

 

[batuchka]

DDR3 platforms is the way forward and if this config is a tad expensive cut to 2 GB RAMs of get an AthlonII X3 combo with that mobo hehe

 

[fiyawerx]

DDR3 platforms is the way forward and if this config is a tad expensive cut to 2 GB RAMs of get an AthlonII X3 combo with that mobo hehe
http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q205/batuchka/bbvb.jpg

Do you think the x4 / x3 is needed for streaming video? That will be the hardest thing they hit the machine with. Maybe blue-ray playback in the future.

 

[batuchka]

Nope a AthlonII X2 would suffice but at such a smallish top up the AthlonII X3 brings that much better performance for multi tasking so why not