System Build Advice

[LeeAdami]

I am building a lower end PC for a friend and was wanting to get some feedback on the parts selected. Remember this is on the lower end of things and he is not wanting to spend much. Any input on getting more bang for the buck or places to trim the fat would be really appriciated. I am going to put Win 7 64 Home Premium for the OS.

ASRock P67 PRO3 SE LGA 1155 Intel P67 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard $99.99

Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz $124.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory $34.99

Antec High Current Gamer Series HCG-520 520W ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V v2.91 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply $58.99

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity $154.99

Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" $34.99

Xigmatek ASGARD II B/B CPC-T45UC-U01 Black / Black 0.8 mm SECC / Aluminum and Aluminum Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $29.99

LG DVD±RW SuperMulti Drive 22X $18.99

 

[cmcghee358]

3 things:

Whats his budget?

Whats his intended use?

And When does he want it by?

 

[LeeAdami]

Budget: $700
Use: Games, TV, Internet
Time Line: buying by 8-22

 

[cmcghee358]

All added up it comes to $558 so that leaves him $140 to spend.

There's 2 ways to go, he could get an i5-2400 for true quad core and have a longer CPU life(effective) or he could get a better PSU/Case.

The benefit for spending extra on PSU/Case(especially case) is it can carry over into new builds.

So I'd talk to your friend, and weigh what he thinks about the CPU or the PSU/Case. Educate him on Efficiency, Airflow etc. Then show him the i3-2100 in gaming benchmarks vs an i5.

But either way it may not be worth the extra money in his opinion.