Budget rebuild of an HP desktop

dhrcr

June 7, 2011 2:54:09 AM

I am looking to rebuild my HP m7250n desktop. This will a first time build for me but I have upgraded memory, drives and some add on cards in the past. This will mostly be used for cataloging and editing photos below is the build form and the parts I picked so far.

Approximate Purchase Date: 2 weeks
Budget Range: Approx $500
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Photo editing / cataloging surfing the internet, recording TV
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, tv tuner, case (HP m7250n)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Tiger Direct, newegg, ncix or any other I would prefer one stop shopping.
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: None
Overclocking: Maybe but not a priority
SLI or Crossfire: I don't think I need this

Additional Comments:

I plan to reuse the following parts from this:

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/hp-pavilion-media-cent...

HP m7250n case
DVD-RW
DVD-ROM
TV Tuner
External 1T Raid 1
http://www.fantomdrives.com/products/mde.htm

My parts list;

Asus M4N75TD Motherboard w/ AMD Phenom X4 955 Black Edition Processor Bundle
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Crucial CT2KIT51264BA1339 8GB PC10600 DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Desktop Memory Upgrade - 1333MHz, 2x4096MB, Non-ECC, Unbuffered
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Thermaltake TR-500P TR2 Series ATX Power Supply - 500W, 80 Plus Bronze, 120mm Fan, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Seagate ST3500413AS Barracuda Hard Drive - 500GB, SATA 6Gbps, 7200 RPM, 16MB
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64BIT Operating System Software - OEM DVD, English
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

More about : budget rebuild desktop

| E-mail me updates
| Report abuse

striker410

June 7, 2011 3:03:55 AM

Hi there! Welcome to the forums.

Just so you know, your links are broken. Edit away the URL tags and they will work.

Looks like you have a pretty good list! A few things however.

-Get an i3-2100 with an H67 board. Around the same price, but it smokes the 955 in single threaded apps.

-Change the PSU to one like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168... Higher quality.

-Check out the Spinpoint F3's. They are screaming fast, especially the 1TB version http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...

That's about it!

| Report abuse

dhrcr

June 9, 2011 12:58:19 AM

Thanks for the suggestions. I fixed the links and revised the parts list to:

Gigabyte GA-H67M-D2-B3 Intel H67 Motherboard and Intel Core i3-2100 3.10 GHz Dual Core Processor Bundle
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Samsung HD103SJ Spinpoint F3 Hard Drive - 1TB, 7200RPM, 32MB, SATA-3G
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Corsair CMPSU-500CXV2 Builder Series™ CX500 Power Supply - 500W, 80 Plus, 120mm Fan, Single +12V Rail, Active PFC
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Crucial CT2KIT51264BA1339 8GB PC10600 DDR3 1333MHz Dual Channel Desktop Memory Upgrade - 1333MHz, 2x4096MB, Non-ECC, Unbuffered
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Tigerdirect does not carry the psu you recommended so I swapped in the Corsair another possibility is the OCZ below both are 80 Plus.

OCZ OCZ600SXS2 StealthXStream 2 600W Power Supply - 600W, ATX, 80 Plus, 120mm Fan
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/ite...

Nice pick on the HD, bit more expensive but 2x the size and faster.

Any comments on new MB and PSU?

| Report abuse

striker410

June 9, 2011 1:14:03 AM

That combo is not a bad deal. However, you do not get USB3.0. I don't know how important that is to you. You can always add an expansion card later I suppose.

I would also suggest switching to newegg. No tax (at least for me), better selection, lower prices (sometimes) and free shipping on most items. Tigerdirect charges shipping on almost everything I believe.

I would go with the Corsair if forced to pick. However, the antec is both cheaper and higher quality than both.

I would go 4GB ram, as 8GB is just crazy for your usage. You will probably never use more than 2GB anyway.

| Report abuse