$400 - $600 basic non gaming system

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pricciar

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Apr 23, 2011
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18,510
Approximate Purchase Date: This Month
Budget Range: 400-600 Before rebates
System Usage from Most to Least Important: Surfing the internet/music/watching movies/editing and looking at pictures
Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, possibly optical drives (current ones are IDE.)
Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Amazon.com microcenter, newegg.com
Country of Origin: USA
Parts Preferences: Prefer Asus Mobos
Overclocking:No
SLI or Crossfire: No (not sure)
Monitor Resolution: 1024x768
Additional Comments: Would like the machine to be quiet.

I'm looking to build a replacement machine for my Mom. Currently, she uses her machine to watch youtube/hulu/Netflix, listen to music on Pandora or iTunes, browse the web, write and read email, and edit her digital photo collection using Picasa. The machine has two DVD-RW drives in it. They are IDE, but I was hoping to use at least one of them in the new machine. I've peeked around online looking for quality pieces at a good price.

CPU:PHENOM II X4 840 Boxed Processor HDX840WFGMBOX $99
MoBo:Asus M4A78LT-M LE $70
Memory:G.Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3-1333 1.5v $40
HDD:Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ $60
Case/Power Supply:Antec NSK 4482 $90
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit OEM $95

Can anyone give me their thoughts on the system I came up with? It's in my price range, and from what I can garner the reviews on everything I picked out are very good. I am the most uncertain about the case. I saw it in a few different places, but I am worried about getting a case and power supply together. And, I am really uncertain about finding good cases.

This will be the first system I have built for years. I live close enough to Microcenter to drive there and pick up some of the things. Their prices seem very good.

What does everyone think? Do you think it will fill my needs pretty well? Any ideas on better cases? Anything wrong with the stuff I picked out?
Thanks a lot!



 
Solution
jerreddredd
You don't need 8GB ram, 4 is plenty (see link to article about memory)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778.html

It's all compatible. The Antec case and PSU are a solid buy. The PSU is well rated.

The only thing I would do different is look to see it you can find a motherboard with an 880G chipset. the integrated graphics chip is a HD 4250, this might be nice later on if she gets would like to start steaming HD movies. the cost different is small. The CPU is maybe way over kill for her uses, but if its in your budget go for it.

Here is what I would do using newegg.com. I used mainly the same components except the MB and Ram
you can't beat the prices when bundled with the shipping .

Antec NSK...
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jerreddredd

jerreddredd

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Mar 22, 2010
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You don't need 8GB ram, 4 is plenty (see link to article about memory)
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/ram-memory-upgrade,2778.html

It's all compatible. The Antec case and PSU are a solid buy. The PSU is well rated.

The only thing I would do different is look to see it you can find a motherboard with an 880G chipset. the integrated graphics chip is a HD 4250, this might be nice later on if she gets would like to start steaming HD movies. the cost different is small. The CPU is maybe way over kill for her uses, but if its in your budget go for it.

Here is what I would do using newegg.com. I used mainly the same components except the MB and Ram
you can't beat the prices when bundled with the shipping .

Antec NSK 4482B Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129072
Item #: N82E16811129072
-$10.00 Instant
$99.99
$89.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185
Item #: N82E16822152185
-$5.00 Instant
$69.99
$64.99

GIGABYTE GA-880GM-D2H AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128458
Item #: N82E16813128458
-$5.00 Instant
$84.99
$79.99

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 1333 Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748
Item #: N82E16820146748
$39.99

AMD Phenom II X4 840 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor HDX840WFGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103921
Item #: N82E16819103921
$109.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754
Item #: N82E16832116754
-$5.00 Instant
$99.99
$94.99
-----------
$479.94 shipping is $9.99 east or west coast and no stupid mail-in rebates to mess with!

Now you want extra points with mom, but her a new widescreen monitor $130 and free shipping. :D
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009299

 
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Solution
P

pricciar

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Apr 23, 2011
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18,510
Thanks for the idea about the 880G chipset. That sounds a lot better. I'm not comfortable with leaving the Asus motherboards. I just have gotten strong recommendations to stick with Asus, so I thought I would listen to that friend.

Anyway, I was able to find an Asus mobo that fits the bill. So, I might upgrade to it.

ASUS M4A88T-M LE AM3 AMD 880G
 
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jerreddredd

jerreddredd

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That MB is OK too, both are the same price and have free shipping. I usually stick with ASUS or Gigabyte and sometimes MSI. ASROCK has also been a solid manufacture as of late, though their warranty is only a year usually.
 
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jerreddredd

jerreddredd

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The Mushkin sticks are just better rated and I have never had an issue with them. I have put them in over 100 builds and never had a bad stick. G.Skill is a solid manufacturer also normally. I always use the RIPJAW X's in Sandy Bridge (2500K and 2600K) performance builds. One thing I do before I by ram (or any part) is check the feedback to see how many DOA's have been shipped in the last 30-60 days. sometimes retailers get a bad batch from the manufactures. I saw several DOA postings for the memory you picked out. I'm not saying you will necessarily get bad ram if you order it, and it is compatible. I just like to keep all the odds in my favor when ordering parts for a build. Nothing sucks more that sitting down to build and having a DOA part. I does happen, its the nature of the beast. I just try to mitigate frequency of DOA's. sometimes I think it works, sometimes not so much.
 
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yannienya

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jerreddredd


How are you? this looks a fine config for non-gaming

Would you make any new suggestions being that we are now in Sept, 2011?

Thank you

Michael


sunsets AT cliffhanger D0T com







 
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