Building a new computer for a friend

[fuzzypickle]

hey guys, my friend decided he wants a new computer because his has aged a good 10 years.

i picked parts myself that i thought would benefit him the best. ive tried to get him into playing video games on the comp but he is a die hard xbox player so the most stressful things he will probably use his computer for are strategy games and music.

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570K 3.4GHz Quad-Core $214.99
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 $134.99
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $34.99
Storage: Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $88.98
Crucial M4 64GB 2.5" SSD $72.16

Case: NZXT Phantom (White) ATX Full Tower $99.99
Power Supply: Antec 550W ATX12V $49.99
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer $15.99
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) $90.99
Mouse: Logitech G500 Wired Laser $45.99

total: $849.06

he probably doesnt need some of the more harcore stuff i put in there like the 3570K. the case itself is overboard but he really likes the look of it so i may just change it to the more compact 410 version.

hes not really to worried about it costing to much but id like to bring it down a bit since hes not going to be doing much on it, any input on the topic for whats better, cheaper, and anything else would be greatly appreciated

 

[fuzzypickle]

actually i just saw that the mid tower and full tower versions are the same price, so mine aswell keep it full tower to give me more room to work with

 

[obsama1]

Get the Z75 Pro 3 and a 500w PSU. Get the Haf 912 That will bring down the price. Even though he won't be gaming, I'd get a cheap GPU like the 7750 or 6770.

 

[jacobsta811]

The only real issues I see are that
- you need an aftermarket CPU cooler (recommend Cooler Master Hyper 212 Evo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103099), overclock that processor - even if you don't want to waste time screwing with it I all but guarantee you can set it to 4.2ghz, stock voltage 100% stable with an Evo
- don't waste $70+ on a 64gb SSD - you'll kick yourself later. Either wait for a sale on a decent 120GB for the same price +-$10, or buy the cheapest 32-64gb SSD you can find and use it for SSD caching - since your files are not actually *installed* on the drive you don't have to worry as much about it being quality and taking out your files. (http://www.overclock.net/t/1227655/how-to-set-up-intel-smart-response-technology-ssd-caching)

 

[obsama1]

Why would his friend need a 4GHz CPU? With what he's doing with it, he doesn't need any overclock. But yes, the SSD is expensive. Here's one for $45 at Staples. Just add something for a dollar to get free shipping.

http://www.staples.com/Kingston-SV200S3B7A-64G-SSDNow-V200-64GB-25-SATA-III-6-Gb-s/product_846183?PID=404255&storeId=10001&AID=10422268&SID=274305&cm_mmc=CJ-_-404255-_-404255-_-10422268&CID=AFF%253A404255%253A404255%253A10422268

 

[jacobsta811]

Dude, if you take that view, with what hes doing with it he could buy an i3-3220, no SSD and an h77 board and save hundreds and still be satisfied. But in terms of bang for buck the $30 for the cooler + very mild overclock will improve performance the most over what he already has listed.

 

[obsama1]

He wants the build cheaper, not more expensive. Overclocking won't make a huge difference on this rig. Coming from a 10 year old computer, I'm sure he'll appreciate the speed of this rig, regardless of overclock.

 

[azeem40]

I agree with obsama. Such a powerful upgrade will be noticeable even without overclocking. I went from a Pentium 3 to an i5-2500k and even without OCing, the difference was... so big that the analogy of night and day is a big understatement.

 

[fuzzypickle]

so what overall do you guys think i could change for best bang for buck kinda deal, or even downgrade some of the parts that wont be necessary, because i know if it was me i wouldn't want to pay 800 for something ill mainly be using for iTunes, age of empires and Facebook haha

 

[jacobsta811]

If you want back for the buck
For what you describe something like this would be way cheaper and do the same job:
CPU: I3-3220
stock cooler
Mobo: cheapest H77/B75/Z77 motherboard you can find
Case: Antec 300 (or go even cheaper, but Antec 300 is the cheapest good case I would recommend)
Graphics Card: Something like a 6670 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125403) - will still play lots of games at reduced resolutions/settings
Power Supply: ~300-400 watt will be plenty for a build like this - generally I would look a the cheapest decent 80plus I could find, something like (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026).
Ram: 2x2gb or 2x4gb

Generally the best bank for your buck build for just general use like what you describe is something like the Toms hardware $500 build, but with a slightly better case and *way* less graphics card. You still can do some gaming and plenty of office work because this type of system is still way faster than an Xbox or PS3.

 

[fuzzypickle]

heres a refinement to bring down the price a bit and give a bit better performance

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iY1z
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iY1z/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/iY1z/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 Plus 76.8 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Extreme4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($134.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.66 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 6670 1GB Video Card ($82.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: NZXT Phantom 410 (White) ATX Mid Tower Case ($99.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec Basiq Plus 550W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.00 @ Amazon)
Mouse: Gigabyte GM-M6800 Wired Optical Mouse ($14.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $729.57
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

tell me what you guys think!

 

[jacobsta811]

That'd be fine for a build with future upgrading in mind (although no real need right now for a non-stock cooler in a not-overclockable processor). For pure price right now the motherboard & case would be overkill. Make sure you don't pay more than $60 after rebate or so for a 6670 (the one I linked was $50 after rebate if I remember correctly).