Build: Gaming/Everyday Computer

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wrxdrunkie

Limp Gawd
Joined
Dec 23, 2007
Messages
461
Hey guys, I am helping a friend build a new gaming PC. The only things he has really stressed are he wants it to be fast for at least 3 or 4 years, not necessarily games, but everyday tasks. I was thinking i5 setup, but also debating getting him to just buy a desktop and put a 5850 in it... He will be using the PC with his LG 1920x1080 tv.


1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Gaming, web browsing/email/schoolwork, etc.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$1,000
3) Where do you live?
Austin, Tx
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything, including Keyboard and mouse, he really likes the Microsoft X6 keyboard. Which will need to be budgeted for as well.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Nothing
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
47" running at 1920x1080
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
ASAP
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing specific, he is very basic, just gaming and some recording of tv shows.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Yes, windows 7



I have been debating keeping it really simple and just telling him to get an HP firebird Voodoo DNA 802

Or possibly a refurbished alienware 4850 crossfire setup

I was just looking for advice, I could max out his $1,100 budget really easily. Maybe you guys can get me going in a clear cut direction. I am just pushing it with the budget trying to fit an i5 and 5850 in the budget.


Are there any good deals out there on pre-built gaming desktops? Around $1,000?

Help :)
 
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Have you considered building an AMD platform? You can build one much cheaper and still get plenty of performance.

Use a P2 550 for $100 or P2 720 for $125. You said you wont be overclocking but since those are Black Edition procs, it would be super easy to bump them up quite far on stock cooling and voltage. Take that $100 savings and get a 5870 instead and own any game out today and in the future!
 
I wouldn't go with the refurbished Alienware since it only has a 90-day warranty. In addition, since its built by an OEM, you pretty much lose out on any of the warranty available on the hardware. As for the HP setup, I personally don't like the gaming performance and limited upgrades offered by it but if your friend wants something small, go for it. But it also looks like you might be SOL if some of those parts fail since it's pretty much specialized for that system.
 
For mainstream OEM manufacturers like Dell, HP, and Acer/Gateway, you could build a better system for the money you would spend on one of the prebuilt systems. "Boutique" OEM manufacturers like AVA Direct can make good systems, but you'll bust your $1000 budget.
 
for non-gaming tasks, like writing papers, checking email, etc I've got boxes from ten years ago that are still just fine

how did I accomplish such a feat?
its called good browsing and usage habits
that means no P2P garbage, walking into pornados with no protection, browsing with unpatched IE, ignoring the importance of anti malware/spyware software, clicking whatever looks "awesome", etc

I also don't try to run the absolute latest and greatest pumped up GUI nightmares on them, meaning no Vista, no Windows 7, no Office 2010, etc

now, these boxes COMBINED can not hold a candle to a modern gaming rig in terms of compute power, but for those basic tasks they run just fine and will continue to do so until the hardware physically stops (for example I used to have a 486DX 50mhz that was just fine for writing papers, sending emails, etc until it finally died around 2002 (thats some 12 years), now if that machine still ran in 2009 it'd be worthless for anything online because of how graphics heavy things have gotten (consider that even cheap graphics cards today have more memory than that entire system, high end ones have as much memory as it had disk storage))

that said, gaming on most of those boxes is nearly impossible, and thats a limit you'll hit with even four to five year old hardware, if you want to play new era games (for example Crysis will not run on computers from 2003)

so on one hand, yeah you can "future proof" a box simply by using software that accomplishes your task (for example I've got a friend that still has his original PS/2 on his workbench for various tasks (and it still looks nearly brand new...)), however that doesn't mean it'll run the latest and greatest, basically thats probably games above anything else in this context

that said, you can custom build something very nice for a grand and have great performance 'round the house today, and in three to four years still expect the machine to run just fine, although not be pushing the newest games

take a look at what you can put together on newegg or similar, you'll probably be pleasantly surprised
 
Since you live next to a fry's, you need to build your computer.

i5 is usually $150
Mobo ~ $125
Ram ~ $100
500 gb Seagate $44
DVD burner $35
Antec sonata III is $99 (20mir also=$79)

+ video card
 
Hey guys, I just wanted to say I really appreciated everyones opinion, he is slightly leaning towards the simplicity of the HP firebird at the moment, he feels that he cant not got THAT much better of a computer for the money, especially as far as sleekness is concerned. He admits, he like the looks of the firebird. And for $700 dollars I admit that it is an attractive buy. I bet we will end up building, but we will see.


And gwarren007 my fry's normally has the i5 for $200, yours?

Also does anyone know if the earthwatt 500w power supply in the sonata III would power an i5 setup with a 5850?
 
the earth watts will power anything as long as you dont have dual video cards (5970 or GTX 295 doesnt count as 1 vid card lol) or cpu's running.
 
Alright guys, thought I might update.

Picked up an AMD Phenom 2 X2 Black Edition and Asus m4a78l-m MB for $130

Looking at:
Antect sonata III with 500w PS - 99.99 shipped
XFX 5850 Black Edition - 329.99 shipped
WD caviar Black 1tb- 99.99 Shipped


Thoughts? Still deciding on RAM... What is the sweet spot for voltage for the AMD Phenom II as far as RAM goes?

Thanks guys!
 
Looks good.

AFAIK, there is no max or safe voltage for AMD CPUs.
 
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