Upcoming Build for Parents

[MotherFerJones]

So right now my parents are rocking a store bought HP its got 150GB of storage and i upgraded it with 2GB or RAM 6 months ago. I think the processor is a athlon 3200+. Anyway its past its prime and my parents complain about how slow it is all the time, so for Christmas im building them a beast, a budget friendly beast.


So i have a case laying around, Rosewill challenger, that ill be using, and im salvaging their HDD for their storage drive, and adding a HIS HD 7770 GHz since its not doing anything for me since i got the 7950, but pretty much everything thing else is going to get bought. I was thinking something like http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jioj


I chose that specific mobo for the PATA so i could integrate their old HDD in as their storage drive, it also keeps me from having to back anything up, so if your going to suggest a different mobo just make sure theres a PATA port on it.

Also keep in mind all this computer will be used for is light Microsoft office tasks(PP, Excel, Word) and web browsing, that's about it, lmao, i think its a bit OverKill but ehh it should last them.

EDIT: Sorry forgot to ask the question, Do you think that this build will get significantly cheaper near Xmas, or would it be better to get it now since legacy parts (mobos with PATA support) tend to get more expensive as their tech is phased out?

 

[luciferano]

Don't get such a high wattage PSU. Get something like this:
http://pcpartpicker.com/part/corsair-power-supply-cmpsu430cxv2

Your PSU's wattage is way overkill and that can hurt longevity, efficiency, and reliability.

 

[MotherFerJones]

Yeah but my 7770's min recommended is 450W, I'll probably go with a modular/semi modular 500-550W something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093 . Thanks for the input and saving me a few bucks, I was thinking about the card i replaced the 7770 with a 7950 the rec for that card is 650W lol.

 

[rishiswaz]

I would suggest as was said earlier to tone down that PSU. I think you will be fine with 400~450 exact because the manufacturer pulls out a number assuming that you will be running it on full load often and I do not think that there will be a lot of it reaching full load.

 

[smorizio]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130647
have this mb it a nice mb for the price. i would switch your ram to one dimm a 4g or 8g single dimm.
http://www.microcenter.com/product/360526/HyperX_blu_8GB_DDR3-1333_%28PC3-10600%29_CL9_Dual_Channel_Desktop_Memory_Kit_%28Two_4GB_Memory_Modules%29

http://www.microcenter.com/product/398007/Core_i3_3220_330GHz_LGA_1155_Boxed_Processor
a lot better cpu for a few dollars more. i would toss in a better cpu cooler the intel ones are ok but some of the aftermarket ones are a lot quiter and work a lot better.

 

[rishiswaz]

Well I think that at stock setting Intel/AMD the stock heatsink should do fine

 

[xtwiinky]

Can PSU's run above their marketed capacity?
I know the HX850 can hit 1100w at 88%+ efficiency.

 

[rishiswaz]

WHOAH there that is way too much power for such a simple build. Excess wattage can damage a system's longevity and really cut energy efficiency

 

[xtwiinky]

WHOAH there that is way too much power for such a simple build. Excess wattage can damage a system's longevity and really cut energy efficiency

BUT a PSU is most efficient at below the 60% load, and also the quietest. So its not wise to budget PSU wattage as much as you can.
*Im not recoomending an HX850 BTW LMAOOO. I was just saying that Psu's might be able to run above their marketed wattage and with great efficiency and stablitity if its a quality PSU.

 

[InvalidError]

You could swap in a Pentium G2120 and a h77-based motherboard, though finding such a board with PATA might be difficult. With HDDs back down under $70, a fresh drive is not as objectable as it would have been a few months ago and it eliminates the possibility of accidentally wiping the drive during re-install.

I usually (re)build my PCs using a fresh/blank HDD to avoid accidents. Install OS with the old drive unplugged, sort out data on the old drive running off an external USB adapter later.

 

[smorizio]

he better off picking up a 19.00 usb case or pick up a usb to ide cable and move the parents files over to the new pc and then put the old hard drive in a draw.if he forgets some of there photos..you still have the old drive.

 

[luciferano]

Yeah but my 7770's min recommended is 450W, I'll probably go with a modular/semi modular 500-550W something like this http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151093 . Thanks for the input and saving me a few bucks, I was thinking about the card i replaced the 7770 with a 7950 the rec for that card is 650W lol.

Minimum recommendations are very inaccurate. I did the math for 12V amperage and that PSU 430W is already overkill for you, so you really shouldn't get a much higher rated one unless you make a system that uses more power. Also, wattage rating doesn't matter too much for a PSU. Pretty much all that matter is +12V amperage nowadays and anything such as minimum recommendations that are stated in wattage are just very inaccurate guesses to keep people from doing something too stupid with the cards. For example, a higher wattage-rated PSU might not even have as much 12V amperage as a lower wattage PSU and would thus be worse despite the higher wattage rating, assuming that there aren't problems with the lower wattage-rated unit.