800USD build

[theDreamer]

A co-worker was wondering what she could get for 800USD (this is the top end price) in a new system. Her uses would be some light photo work, web/email, and chatting mostly. She has most everything else, monitor, keyboard, etc., but just wants a new system.

So this is what I have shown her and told her I would do some more research, any thoughts or better deals to help cut costs with out losing performance?

I choose micro-ATX because the board is cheap and has what she needs. Though by going with that I have no clue what to do about a case in this size. Buying from any Directron is nice because we are located in Houston and only have to pay tax, but if other places have better deals that would be just as good. Newegg has some good sales now and again, and many times free shipping, I am unsure about other places though since I rarely buy from them.

Current setup:
~Hard drive: WD Caviar SE16 3.5in 640GB 3.0Gb/s SATA Hard Drive, 7200 RPM, 16MB Cache, Model: WD6400AAKS. OEM - 99.99
~DVD: Black Samsung SH-S203B/BEBN SATA DVD Burner, 20X DVD+/-R, 8X DVD+RW, 6X DVD-RW, 12X DVD+/-R DL, 12X DVD-RAM . OEM - 26.99
~Power Supply: Corsair VX Series 450W ATX12V V2.2 Computer Power Supply CMPSU-450VX, Active PFC, Supports SATA and PCI-E - 76.00 (10.00 Mail-in Rebate)
~Memory: OCZ 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 Vista Performance Gold Dual Channel Memory OCZ2G8004GK, DDR2 800 (PC2-6400), 240-Pin, Unbuffered - 99.99 (30.00 Mail-in Rebate)
~Graphics: EVGA 512-P3-N861-AR GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Retail - 149.99 (10.00 Mail-in Rebate)
~Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail - 64.99
~CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail - 118.99

Shipping - ~20.00USD
Tax - ~25.00USD

Thank you for any help on this, I normally do not build budget system so it is tough to judge what is good for what price.

 

[gwai lo]

What about opting for a G33M-DS2R or P5E-VM HDMI and using the onboard video? It just doesn't sound like a dedicated GPU is required in this situation.

mATX boards will fit in regular ATX size cases. If you want a matx case, then take a look around on newegg or in the SFF sub forum here for case ideas.

Other online retailers to take a look at are, clubit, zipzoomfly, mwave, and ewiz.

 

[9mmx19]

Yeah it doesnt seem like she would need a 9600GT. Not gaming so its just a waste.

You might also be able to save a little with a smaller HD.

What OS is she using? If its XP 2GB might be good enough. You might be able to get some some thats $70 before any rebates too. Then again RAM is so cheap now...

You could also save $50 by going with an E2180 instead. You only lose 200MHz and some cache which she wont miss.

What about case? Since youre saving on the video card and going mATX you can get stylish with a Lian Li or a SUGO

 

[exe]

I just saw Dell has a quad core with a 20" LCD for $600, and a dual core with 20" LCD for $400. Really can't beat the price.