First Time Builder (Help)

duk_chan

Honorable
Apr 17, 2013
4
0
10,510
So I'm trying to build my family a computer that will actually run (they've been working on a 10 year old system). They've got a pretty tight budget, target range is between $500 and $600. I had an idea for parts and this was it....unfortunately the case has been discontinued and the video card is out of stock indefinitely. (I use newegg for my supplies)
First off, is this a good system or am I way off-base?
Second, what's a good case that would hold about 4 HDDs and 2 ROM drives/burners and what's a good substitute for the video card?
Case: APEVIA X-TELSTAR-GN Green/ Black Computer Case (discontinued)

Video Card: EVGA GeForce 9800 GT HDMI 01G-P3-N988-TR Video Card (won't ever exist again)

Power Supply: Rosewill CAPSTONE Series CAPSTONE-450 450W ATX12V/EPS12V 80 PLUS GOLD

Motherboard: ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

Processor: AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Socket AM3 Triple-Core Desktop Processor

Sound Card: ASUS XONAR_DG Xonar DG Sound Card

RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

This computer is mostly used for internet work and occasional gaming/heavy rendering software (eg. MMD, TF2, Amnesia, etc.) Any help would be appreciated.

 
Solution
As far as the case goes, if I was building something for my family, I'd want it to be pretty understated. NZXT's Source line of computers comes to mind. BitFenix Merc Alpha or Outlaw. Possibly Fractal Design Core 1000.

A 650Ti would be a good alternative to a 9800 GT, and would be substantially more powerful.

Otherwise it's a solid, basic system that can play games. If you're willing to sacrifice a little on game performance, going to an AMD APU based system like an A10-5800K might wind up saving you some money.
As far as the case goes, if I was building something for my family, I'd want it to be pretty understated. NZXT's Source line of computers comes to mind. BitFenix Merc Alpha or Outlaw. Possibly Fractal Design Core 1000.

A 650Ti would be a good alternative to a 9800 GT, and would be substantially more powerful.

Otherwise it's a solid, basic system that can play games. If you're willing to sacrifice a little on game performance, going to an AMD APU based system like an A10-5800K might wind up saving you some money.
 
Solution
+1 to Xentrurion

I built a AMD A10-5800k for Christmas and it's a nice machine for $500. It has a built in graphics that are good ( not great), but from your description that's what I'd consider.

If you move up to $600 I'd consider an i3 with the best GPU possible however, that will only enhance gaming. This does not seem to be a gaming rig, therefore I'd look at the A10 for best cost / performance in this budget.

Case wise: Get a mid tower that's on sale. Newegg is great, however with a little e shopping (amazon, tiger direct ... ) you can save money.

Finally, if you put all your items into PCpartpicker.com it will do some shopping for you and some compatibility checks as well. For the build I recommend youtube "newegg computer build parts 2&3"

Good Luck
 
That case is from a garbage brand - do not purchase. That video card and CPU are incredibly outdated as well. Get a Corsair 200R or Antec 302 instead - far better cases with excellent cable management and expansion opportunities. The sound card isn't needed either. For your budget I would suggest this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($36.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($85.97 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($70.17 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $551.08
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-17 12:49 EDT-0400)

On an APU build the system's main RAM and VRAM are shared memory which means that getting slower RAM will result in slower redraws. I also included a far superior case to Apevia junk and a Seasonic grade power supply.

Or you could do this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-3220 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H77 Pro4/MVP ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($82.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7790 1GB Video Card ($165.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V / EPS12V Power Supply ($70.17 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($17.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $666.05
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-04-17 12:53 EDT-0400)

This is a bit more but it has a stronger CPU and a dedicated, modern GPU.