$700 living room PC streaming video/blu-ray/web browsing/light gaming

[will34]

I likely won't be doing much gaming, my wife might play Sims 3 or something, but no intense 3d gaming. Thanks for the help, I am having trouble figuring out which components work well with each other and will allow room for expansion!

Approximate Purchase Date: within the week, cyber monday?


Budget Range: $700, could spend a little more if major difference


System Usage from Most to Least Important: movies, web browsing, streaming video


Parts Not Required: monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: seems like newegg.com is the consensus


Country of Origin: US


Parts Preferences: I think I will go with AMD based on price for performance


Overclocking: maybe


SLI or Crossfire: No

 

[will34]

I likely won't be doing much gaming, my wife might play Sims 3 or something, but no intense 3d gaming. Thanks for the help, I am having trouble figuring out which components work well with each other and will allow room for expansion!

Approximate Purchase Date: within the week, cyber monday?


Budget Range: $700, could spend a little more if major difference


System Usage from Most to Least Important: movies, web browsing, streaming video


Parts Not Required: monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: seems like newegg.com is the consensus


Country of Origin: US


Parts Preferences: I think I will go with AMD based on price for performance


Overclocking: maybe


SLI or Crossfire: No

Ok, hopefully if start with what I am thinking so far I will get a few more responses. What do you think of this system?

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition ($144.99)
MOBO: ASRock 880G EXTREME3 AM3 ($109.99)
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) ($49.99)
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB ($69.99)
Blu-ray: Lite-On blu-ray ($65)
Case: Antec 300 ($59.99)
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ($59.99)

Total (before OS): $559

Any suggestions? I left off a GPU because the motherboard has integrated graphics and I wasn't sure if I needed one if I wasn't gaming. Do I need one for blu-ray/HD video? What else would you change? Thanks.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

that shoul do everything except non-flash gaming just fine. if 'light' mean java/flash based stuff it'll do everything you need.

the 520 seasonic is a great psu, and you an add a pretty top-class gpu to it. I can handle single cards up to a 470 or 6870, and can crossfire 6850s

 

[will34]

If I was going to add a gpu, what would you recommend? I know absolutely nothing about gpu's at this point.

 

[Atotalnoob]

I'd go for a 5770... pretty good performance/price....

 

[will34]

Do you have a recommendation for which 5770? Or are they all about the same and just go with the best price?

 

[Atotalnoob]

Uhh, I personally recommend checking the reviews for mfg responses, and choose by 'who care about their product' or go for the cheapest... Which i think comes with a free game atm... I will check once i get home... On phone now

 

[will34]

Can anyone make any recommendations for items that would go well in this system and are on sale for cyber monday? I wouldn't mind saving a little bit of money if there was another PSU, MOBO, HDD, etc. that was on sale today and would work equally well. Thanks!

 

[will34]

OK one last question: Here is what I am thinking about buying, are all these components compatible? Also, does my motherboard output surround sound + video through HDMI?

Thanks!

CPU: AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition ($144.99)
MOBO: ASRock 880G EXTREME3 AM3 ($109.99)
Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) ($49.99)
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB ($69.99)
Blu-ray: HP Blu-ray ($59.99)
Case: Antec 300 ($59.99)
PSU: SeaSonic S12II 520 Bronze 520W ($59.99)
Monitor: Acer G235hAbd ($139.99)


I am going to hold off on the GPU and see how it performs without it. Will this work together?

 

[ScrewySqrl]

yes.

 

[Atotalnoob]

yuppers