Critic My Office Computer Build Plan

F

flegg

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Jun 1, 2008
Messages
1,269
Building a computer for aunt's office

All they will be using it for is corel wordperfect, the internet, and "funny videos" they e-mail each other. But they want it fast, no hiccups.
Budget is ~$500 after shipping & tax > including monitor but NOT including mouse, keyboard, OS.
Office is in cocoa beach FL
Building from scratch and overclocking would be mild
Plan is to have up and running by the end of Feb.

$140 -22" LCD 1680 x 1050 monitor /w DVI
$60 -AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
$62 -GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX
$75 -DDR2 800 2x2gb
$55 -Samsung F3 500GB
$80 -Antec NSK 4482B case w/ 380w psu
$20 -DVD-R optical drive

Any revisions/suggestions/amazing price finds would be much appreciated!
 
Last edited:
Onboard video is fine, you might want to try to find a better brand and possible the GMA4500HD instead of the 3100. Also you might want to go with the Samsung F3 500gb (single platter) vs the caviar black. Any reason you are going with a dead 775 socket and not going with an amd build? The AMD onboard is superior to the intel. Also if you are really trying to cut corners you can just get 2gb of ram, I doubt she will need any more than that for daily use.

This is what I would suggest:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152181

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.315685

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.320261

That is about 370$ right there.

Better motherboard, better ram, better hd, better cpu (imo).
 
Shadowsong, can you put a description for the rest of us, so we don't have to click each link?
 
Definitely gonna go with the F3 single platter instead.
I think I'll be taking your advice on the AMD/MOBO too. Just not familiar with AMD that's why I didn't go with it.
RAM seems overkill but then again it's only a little bit more $$ since DDR2 is like overpriced now?

So I guess I'm going with all of your suggestions. Sticking with 4gb ram not 2gb though. EDIT ~ going to save ten bucks by going with OCZ ram

I'll update my post with Shadow's suggestions ~ damn good price you found for the mobo/cpu too
 
Last edited:
Damn nice case/psu find.

Looks like I have to go with that monitor too.

Updated with both.
 
In the original bost you can eliminate the EA380 because the case I linked has one.
I second the Gskills :)
 
flegg said:
$60 -AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Processor
$62 -GIGABYTE GA-MA785GM-US2H AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX
$75 -OCZ Enhanced Bandwidth Platinum Dual Channel DDR31600+ 2x2gb
Click to expand...

Dude, that DDR3 RAM will not work with that motherboard has it only has DDR2 RAM slots. So either switch the RAM to DDR2 or get a mobo based on only the AM3 socket for DDR3 RAM support.

Same goes for Shadowsong's build as well.
 
Danny Bui said:
Dude, that DDR3 RAM will not work with that motherboard has it only has DDR2 RAM slots. So either switch the RAM to DDR2 or get a mobo based on only the AM3 socket for DDR3 RAM support.

Same goes for Shadowsong's build as well.
Click to expand...

Bah damn these AM3/AM2+/AM2 motherboards. I didn't notice that, good catch. As far as I can see there are no DDR3 motherboards combo'd with the 240.
 
Have you considered a Dell? Under $500 and you'll still get a monitor with it. This way you won't have to troubleshoot when something goes wrong, and there's a unified warranty.
 
450 said:
Have you considered a Dell? Under $500 and you'll still get a monitor with it. This way you won't have to troubleshoot when something goes wrong, and there's a unified warranty.
Click to expand...

Well there's FL sales tax and shipping costs with DELL which are already included in the prices above. Monitor won't be as big, cases won't look as professional, and system will be close but not quite as powerful. Upside is windows 7 included.

I've had more trouble with DELL computers than with computers I have built (~with the exception of nvidia motherboards), and I prefer un-unified to unified warranty anyways. If I can find a good deal on e-bay I might bite but it looks like building is the way to go.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top