9 replies to this topic

[Samfolds]

Hi Guys! It's been a while!

My friend asked me to build her a new computer for under 600$ CAD including taxes and shipping. That is, 600$ including the OS, but she already has keyboard, mouse and monitor.

Her goals are mainly internet surfing and very light gaming. (Sims 3 is the only game coming to my mind). I have put up a build on newegg.ca that costs 632$ with Shipping and Taxes.

I would like to have your comments on this build. I will be ordering this in the next week.

Many thanks in advance!!

Samfolds


Combo (115$) :
MOBO : BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard 65$
CASE : Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Combo (158$) :
CPU : AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
PSU : CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

MEMORY : G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL7D-4GBRH 35$

HD 1 : Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive 40$

HD 2 : OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5" 60GB SATA II MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) 100$

DVD player : ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM 21$

OS : Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM 110$

SUB-TOTAL=579$
S/H= 23$
Taxes (5%)= 30$
TOTAL=632$

Edited by Samfolds, 25 September 2011 - 05:48 AM.

[WOLF_TEAM_LEADER]

Why not start with a combo like this?
http://www.newegg.ca...st=Combo.719549
It will have a HD 6530D which is far superior to the HD4250 on the Biostar board.
It comes with a good ASUS mobo, 32nm Quad Core CPU, decent memory, a 1TB 7200rpm HDD, a more than good enough case (although the window isn't really necessary) with a 460W PSU and an ODD.
There is no need for an SSD for this sort of a build, especially as a 60B will only annoy the user and for everyday use and light gaming a standard 7200rpm drive will still keep the system snappy.
Along with Win7 the system costs $467.98 so you could add a real GPU (not really needed) or a SSD if you really want one or get a decent KB and Mouse, speakers or monitor.
Take a look at the list of combos here: http://www.newegg.ca...h=1&srchInDesc=

Wolf

Edited by WOLF_TEAM_LEADER, 25 September 2011 - 07:57 AM.

[Honey Badger]

Looks like you're already settled on what you're gonna get, but have you considered getting a H67/i5 setup instead? The on-board graphics inside the second generation i5 will run most low end games very well, such as Sims 3. It'd also save you money I think, and get you better performance if you ever do get in to higher end gaming, as you won't need to upgrade your whole system, just add a video card.

[jfrydom]

The current setup is pretty bad. An SSD can cannibalize a budget at this price, and money is better spent towards 8GB of ram than an SSD. Nonetheless if gaming is done at 720p a discrete gpu is not needed and a AMD or Intel solution can be used, freeing up budget for an ssd:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136236
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119203
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136490
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139026
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820233180
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131716
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115078
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227728
total=$615
-$10MiR
-$20MiR
-$10 code
_________________
=$575 + shipping

[Derbixrace]

jfrydom, on 28 September 2011 - 11:07 PM, said:

The current setup is pretty bad. An SSD can cannibalize a budget at this price, and money is better spent towards 8GB of ram than an SSD. Nonetheless if gaming is done at 720p a discrete gpu is not needed and a AMD or Intel solution can be used, freeing up budget for an ssd:
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16827136236
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16811119203
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822136490
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817139026
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820233180
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16813131716
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819115078
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986
http://www.newegg.co...N82E16820227728
total=$615
-$10MiR
-$20MiR
-$10 code
_________________
=$575 + shipping

really nice build, i'd get this CPU instead, it has the better HD3000 integrated graphics http://www.newegg.co...0&Tpk=i3%202105

[Challenger]

I disagree. A SSD is a must in any new pc build. 8GB of ram is pretty much unneeded for most thing and most games where 4GB is ample. So save some money there and get a SSD and believe me you'll thank me

Even just for webbrowsing a SSD makes a whole world of difference!

[jfrydom]

Challenger, on 28 September 2011 - 11:59 PM, said:

I disagree. A SSD is a must in any new pc build. 8GB of ram is pretty much unneeded for most thing and most games where 4GB is ample. So save some money there and get a SSD and believe me you'll thank me

Even just for webbrowsing a SSD makes a whole world of difference!

My father does trading only, and his PC speed increased greatly going from 4 to 8GB of ram.I constantly have windows trying to close my programs with 4 GB of ram, yet I survive easily on a GREEN hdd. At any rate the if you actually looked at the configuration I listed an SSD is present.

[dirtylarryuk]

jfrydom, on 29 September 2011 - 12:04 AM, said:

My father does trading only, and his PC speed increased greatly going from 4 to 8GB of ram.I constantly have windows trying to close my programs with 4 GB of ram, yet I survive easily on a GREEN hdd. At any rate the if you actually looked at the configuration I listed an SSD is present.

Trading and apps can use lots of RAM, Games don't most are 32 bit so only eat around 2 GB max WIn7 wants 1 GB that leave 1 Gb spare for win7 to fill for superfetch etc which is fine on lite media and gaming in general.

Thing is soon as you say SIM3 I say SSD as that game streams ALOT (as bad as any mmo) so a SSD really impacts the FPS and makes the game better also impacts saves and load times.

4gb is fine I would look at a HDD as well for media and a nice cheap x4 AMD or even just a i3 for light gaming my laptop is REALLY a 32nm I3 in desktop terms as its dual core HT (intel now call this mobile I5) and the 32nm CPus are fast.

Stay away from lano and I5-i7 IGP for games the drivers are rubbish vs desktop cards.

So I would recommend a cheap 400-500w corsair, nice case, I3 mobo 4GB or 32nm AMD and for Sims 3 something like a GTX 540 for 720 maxed or 1080p meduim high GFX. IF you can fit it in a 60GB SSD helps for win7 booting in like 5-7 seconds and for games like sims 3 and makes media faster and web use faster. lots fo deals around on GTX 460 as well these days that's a good card for a SIMS3 rig.

So Sam the x4 is good though, have a think about waiting for bulldozer or advise the person about it and examine I3 build costs. I would urge something more than IGP or onbaord video for SIm3 (its far more demanding than most people know, and really benefits from a good GPU say GTX 450+). Urge the SSD as well even if they need a bit more budget.

Edited by dirtylarryuk, 29 September 2011 - 12:48 AM.

[Derbixrace]

[dirtylarryuk]

Great build derb.

OP just remind the buyer for Sims3 if she can squeeze a tad more cash and go up a grade on the GPU it will run even better (eg 67 ** or 68**) or GTX 460 or better.

if her screen is old and low res like 1280x720 or 1024x768 the card derb put in should be good i would still avoid using the IGPs for games (the intel drivers still need alot of work) they are fine for media though.

Edited by dirtylarryuk, 29 September 2011 - 05:16 AM.