What parts for a nongaming pc?

[TJN66]

Good Evening,
I am upgrading my old system for hubby. He does not play games other than the ones on facebook. I was thinking of using an i5 sandy bridge 2500k cpu and I prefer an asus mobo but just not sure what one to get for this build. I have the power supply (950W) and the video card (geforce gts 450) and the hard drive that is in it already. We are using the old cooler master case also.

So what mobo would you recommend for the i5?

I know that we will also need ddr3 memory, os and a dvd burner but those are something I can pick on my own.

I just ordered all the parts for my dream build on thursday so I have no use for the ones in my old rig. My new rig has the i7 ivy bridge 3770k as the cpu with a asus maximus iv extreme mobo. I should probably do a different post listing all my new stuff coming on the 6th from newegg.

Any help you could give would be wonderful! I dont want to spend too much as he is not a gamer but he is using a pc with a single core cpu so anything will be better than what he has I am thinking.

Thanks so much,
Tmmy

 

[azeem40]

No, he will not need an i5-2500k. For facebook games, an AMD APU is the best bet.

 

[TJN66]

He wants an intel cpu. What one would you recommend and what mobo to go with it?

 

[azeem40]

If he wants to stay with Intel even though nothing he does requires it, an i3-2120 and a 6670 Radeon GPU is enough.

 

[manofchalk]

An i3 should be enough if its only general/productivity usage on it.

Any H77 board should do. Just grab the cheapest.
This board wont have the ability to add more than 16GB of RAM or Crossfire/SLI, but meh, its an office PC essentially.
ASUS P8H77-I. $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131841

Heres the RAM I suggest. Blue to fit the mobo. You could easily halve it to 4GB, with no real loss to performance, but 8GB means an easier upgrade later.
G.Skill Ares 8GB (2x4GB) 1600mhz CL9 1.5v. $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231546

Win7 Home Premium 64bit should be sufficient. Most people don't need more than Home Premium.

Any $20 DVD-RW drive should do, nobody burns or read discs so its performance isn't important anymore.

 

[TJN66]

Thanks everyone!
Tammy

 

[TJN66]

One more quick question please.
I have windows 7, 32 bit in the old pc. Can I use that instead of buying a new os? I h the code and all that for it.
Thank you again,
Tammy

 

[carowden]

no that code is locked to the computer it was installed on originally, you will have to purchase a new os for this computer

 

[carowden]

but if youre looking for something temporary, they are offering a free trial of windows 8. you just download it and burn it to a dvd, then boot from that dvd. i'm using it on one of my pcs right now just while its free, and its not too terribly difficult to get the hang of

 

[TJN66]

Thanks for the help =]
Tammy

 

[raytseng]

would suggest to consider an SSD in the build.
It will make the most difference for home desktop use and make the computer seem "fast".

Agree, maybe just start with the built-in on-board graphics that come with CPUs these days.
If that isn't fast enough, can add on an inexpensive video card afterwards. (whatever is in the budget rec from the best GraphicsCard monthly article)

 

[TJN66]

I have a gforce gts 450 that I am using for his pc. So that is not a problem and I have it already in my old pc to use. So no expense there. I have the power supply with 950w and the cooler master tower. I really only need the mobo, cpu, os and ram so I want to use stuff that he will have a half way decent pc. He has been using one we bought 2 years ago for $250. Its ok but I want him to have something better. He uses it for facebook games, dl music and surfing the web. Some pictures but no vid editing.
Thank you for all your help. I am going to post on another thread what my build is.
Tammy

 

[azeem40]

Brand and series of the PSU?

 

[TJN66]

It is a Rosewill extreme series 950 watts.

 

[azeem40]

That is a good PSU. I was worried it was a low quality PSU that comes with the case lol. :lol:

Just curious, but why did you get a 950W PSU? Did you CF/SLI?

 

[TJN66]

No it was just overkill at the time. It had a good price so I bought it. In my new build I have the 1000 watt bronze rosewill and I plan on sli with it. Here is the link if you would like to see what I have bought and tell me what you think:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/357798-31-build

Thanks!
Tammy

 

[azeem40]

I did the exact same thing. It was on sale for a good price, so my temptations made me buy it. I regret getting it now.

 

[TJN66]

Why did you regret getting it?
Tammy

 

[TJN66]

Ok..here is what I was thinking of for hubby:

Dvd/cd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135240

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131837

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115077

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231313

Hard Drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236079

I have the vid card/tower/psu already.

I just need to add a ssd drive and os is all.

What do you think before I order anything for him?
Thank you for all your help!
Tammy

 

[azeem40]

I could have saved the $50 and gotten a 750W PSU, which is more than enough for CF/SLI.

 

[TJN66]

Ahhh...that I understand. What do you think of the parts I have listed above?
Tammy

 

[azeem40]

That RAM is single channel. You want dual channel like this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148541
or this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148542

Since this is a general use PC, you don't need a board that CF/SLIs or overclocks. Look for an H67 chipset motherboard from ASUS, Gigabyte, or Asrock.

That hard drive is a slow one. You want a 7200rpm drive like this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136767
$10 more for 2.5x the space.

 

[TJN66]

Thank you again!
Tammy

 

[TJN66]

Ok...hubby has asked that I build him a better pc to possibly used for gaming. Whoot! I have been trying for some time to get him to play with me =]

Here is what I came up with. What do you think before I order anything?

CPU: http://forums.majorgeeks.com/index.php?s=9a5783ada4bb94885babc747b07f5904&

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130573

vid card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814133431

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148542

Dvd: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136247

Hard drive: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769

Will add windows 7 64 bit to the os. We have the psu already and the case. I decided on a new vid card because today the one I was going to use was giving me trouble so I will replace it as long as we are ording.

What do you think? He doesnt need a high end gaming pc just one so if he wants to play games on he can.

Thanks so much!
Tammy

 

[TJN66]

Anyone have any opinions please?
Tammy