Office/Light Gaming Computer -- Helping out a Friend

[Lapuma]

Hi everyone,

I'm helping out a friend to build his first computer. It's likely it'll be used for light office use with his kid likely loading in a video came or two. We've picked out these parts for him but could use some feedback on the setup. Trying to keep the total costs under $750


Any thoughts?


CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($80.98 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A85XA-G43 ATX FM2 Motherboard ($79.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.43 @ NCIX US)
Storage: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($99.00 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6570 1GB Video Card ($54.99 @ Amazon)
Case: NZXT Gamma Classic (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($40.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: NZXT HALE82 550W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($85.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($89.00 @ Amazon)
Monitor: AOC E2360SD 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($127.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $712.92
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-18 20:37 EST-0500)

 

[allocco91]

Unless your going to upgrade in the future, I think the 550w PSU is overdoing it a bit. The HD6570 is a very low profile, low temp card and won't require much power, especially if gaming will happen only on occasion. The Corsair 430w PSU's go on sale quite a bit, and I'm sure there are less expensive options out there. Other than that, it looks pretty solid.

 

[Lapuma]

Unless your going to upgrade in the future, I think the 550w PSU is overdoing it a bit. The HD6570 is a very low profile, low temp card and won't require much power, especially if gaming will happen only on occasion. The Corsair 430w PSU's go on sale quite a bit, and I'm sure there are less expensive options out there. Other than that, it looks pretty solid.

Thanks for the suggestion!

So, It looks like there's a $44.99 Corsair 430W PSU on newegg.

There's also a modular 430W Corsair PSU for the same price, but Newegg is offering free shipping and a $20 mail-in rebate.

I thought a PSU being modular typically added to the cost because it would mean less wires hanging around in the case. Am I missing something or is it just a good price?

CORSAIR CX series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
vs.
CORSAIR CXM series CX430M 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Modular Active PFC Power Supply

Thanks!

 

[allocco91]

No problem. A lot of people frown upon the CX Series PSUs. But for what you are using it for and it's daily application, it does the job. Got one in my father's system, only 4 months but it's been fine. If you want to be on the safe side, even though it's not necessary, the Rosewill Capstones are better and gold certified. If it's a 24/7 system, I'd probably take that path.

Also, I just noticed you picked an FM2 socket motherboard. There are APU's (integrated graphics with the CPU) that have solid graphics. For instance, the A4-5300 is a decent CPU that has integrated graphics and can run Battlefield 3 on low settings. You'll have to buy the A10 to get close to a 6570, but just threw that out there to save money. The APU route will require a sub-20 dollar after market CPU cooler to be safe.