New General Purpose PC for Dad

[beck99an]

I'm planning on building a new PC for my Dad's office for Christmas (gift is from a few of us - but I get to build the sucker, happy christmas me )

Here's the details:

Approximate Purchase Date: Late November / Early December

Budget Range: $500 to $600, shipping and taxes in.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Real basic. Word processing, Skype, web browsing, and suduko, I imagine. Some photo/video editing in the light category: fixing up family photos, editing home movies.

Are you buying a monitor: No - reusing a 21" 1920x1080 panel

OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit (budget needs to include this)

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.ca

Location: Regina, SK, Canada

Additional Comments: Reusing a 750 GB Samsung Spinpoint drive, so no mechanical drive needed.

Here is what I've selected so far:

Case:
Antec Three Hundred Two Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

- or -

Antec Gaming Series One Black Steel ATX Mid Tower

Motherboard:
ASRock FM2A75M-DGS FM2 AMD A75

- or -

BIOSTAR TA75MH2 FM2 AMD A75

CPU:
AMD A6-5400K Trinity 3.6GHz (3.8GHz Turbo) Socket FM2 65W Dual-Core Desktop APU

Memory:
PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333

PSU:
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W

SSD:
Kingston SSDNow V+200 KR-S3020-3H 2.5" 120GB SATA III

I think that's all. Any advice on the balance of this build is appreciated. If there are areas where I've overspent, please let me know. I'm also particularly curious as to opinions on the ASRock and Biostar mobo's. I'm hoping this computer will last a good little while.

 

[beck99an]

does the budget need to include the os?

Yes, edited the post to make that clear.

Any particular reason for going with the intel chip and discrete GPU vs. the AMD APU? Is the AMD APU going to be a limiting factor in terms of future proofing?

 

[beck99an]

Thanks for the alternatives, jrgong. Will definitely consider the i5.

 

[geofelt]

I love small cases.

How about a a ITX based build?

Use a lian li PC Q07 case $70
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112227&name=Computer-Cases
Ituses a standard ATX psu and dvd drive.
It will hold a SSD and a 3.5" hard drive.
Yes, assembling a small case is a challenge, but the result is satisfyinhg.
This is a very small tower. the dimensions are 8.19" x 7.60" x 11.02"
If you can find it in red, the color is stunning.

A socket 1155 motherboard
here is a ECS H61 for $50 after rebate
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135323&name=Intel-Motherboards

A Intel i3 cpu of your choice. For desktop operations, most any will be very good.
The $95 ivy bridge G2120 would be good.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116777&name=Processors-Desktops

The real key to performance will be the SSD.
I like Intel and Samsung better for reliability.
http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820167121&name=Internal-SSD

 

[ScrewySqrl]

another a10 model:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M-DGS Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($60.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Intel Extreme Master, Limited Ed 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Agility 4 128GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($74.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NS90 DVD/CD Writer ($15.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($91.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $498.90
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)