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Building A System for a friend.

D

dbu8554

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
May 7, 2002
Messages
5,191
Hey guys my best friend is in need of a new system, so I talked him out of buying a dell and now I come to you guys.

He wants to play the newest games, and such.

His old system has nothing that can be used except maybe a case but its a compaq and its like 8 years old has anything changed in the way cases work to where he cant use his case?

He will want a flat screen due to limited space and would like a smaller computer case but we will see about that after we get the rest of the PC built.

Budget is about 1000 dollars.

since he needs speakers and monitor and all that, would he be better off buying a base model dual or quad core from dell or someone and then just buying more RAM and a bad ass video card for it.

Or buy a used system from someone here at [H] or buy it piece by piece over time and save money that way.

Just wondering what you think would be the best route, also XP or Vista?

I was thinking. 500gig-1tb HD 4+gigs of ram depending on what current prices are.
should I go with the newer Nvidia cards or maybe the best of the old gen, I just picked up a 9600gt for 100 bucks and its awesome..

As far as processor, I know how the multicores work but, what is the fastest out right now, and what would be the budget processor out that would compare to the celeron or the AMD Tbird back in the day, I know I know im a fuckin noob read more yadda yadda but nothing really answers my specific questions.


So what processor is decently priced but will be usable for years down the road maybe something that overclocks easy?

Only one PCI-e slot needed.

I just got to thinking as far as video card maybe, after I get the rest of the stuff priced out see what I have left to chose the video card?
 
All that for under $1000? You may get it with a Dell system... but the power supplies Dell uses for its systems aren't strong enough to handle any video card greater than the 9600GT. Check the FAQ/sticky for a list of bargain sites where you could get a deal on a Dell system... you could find a system with a quad-core processor, 2-3GB of RAM, and a 250GB-500GB hard drive for as low as $500 (without monitor).

Which size/resolution monitor does your friend have in mind? Which games does he want to play? Depending on your answers, you may or may not be better off with a self-built system. But you'll need over $1000 to cover the costs of a decent gaming system, plus a monitor, speakers, keyboard and mouse, and (likely) the operating system (and don't forget shipping and taxes, too).

The 9600GT can play most games at medium settings on most monitors up to 19" (1280x1024).

XP or Vista is a matter of personal preference, but if you get 4GB or more RAM, the 64-bit versions of Vista has better hardware support than XP Pro x64. Vista Home Premium is enough for most versions, and a OEM copy can be found for around $100 (for both the 32-bit and 64-bit versions).
 
Looking around on new egg now seeing what can be build for the price looks like a decent mobo and cpu is still hovering around 200 bucks that is good..

Anyways as far as new games, he wants to be able to walk into fry's and pick a game up without having to worry about if his computer can run it, as far as screen size I was thinking a 22 inch flat screen as far as res he doesn't need to run it at max res it wont bother him he is not a hardcore gamer looking for every FPS but he is looking for something that runs new games well.

Operating system wont be a problem, I get free copies of vista. Just wondering if there was a reason to go with Xp looks like no.

As far as ram I was thinking at least 4 gigs if not 6 or 8.

I don't know much about the newer mass produced machines but from what I understand dells quality has gone to shit HP owns compaq so its just Dell and HP right?

I was looking around if I can find a decently priced dual core system from either one with maybe a shit video card and a PCIe slot and maybe only a gig of ram but would be able to take 4+ and the system is under 600 I may go that route only if it comes with a monitor and all that jazz...

But then again I am 100% willing to buy a decent gaming rig from a [H] user and just upgrade what may need to be upgraded.

Ahh choices
 
Something to get you started:

Antec Sonata III 500 Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - $99.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $84.99
Acer AL2216Wbd Black 22" LCD Monitor - $209.99
SAPPHIRE Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCI Express 2.0 x16 - $169.99 - $15 MIR
OCZ Gold 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ2G8004GK - $80.99 - $30 MIR
MSI P43 Neo3-F LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - $83.99 - $10 MIR
Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - $119.99

These are current newegg prices. Total is $849.93 + shipping with $55 in possible Mail-in-rebates. You could choose to upgrade to the E8400 CPU for $50 more and you could get a different motherboard if you wanted more features, or the ability to CrossFire two ATI video cards, but I don't think that's necessary for a casual gamer.

Shop around a bit to find the best price on the Antec Sonata III case, everything else should be fairly well priced at newegg.
 
For peripherals -- keyboard, mouse, and speakers -- it's largely subjective, so I can't really offer any suggestions on that end.

dhc014's build is actually pretty good. But taxes and shipping would bump the total up to around $900 before the costs of the peripherals come into play.
 
 
@ hossdaddy, no reason to pay 160 for a case and mobo when the OP said it didnt matter, when you can get the sonata for 100 even w/ 500w antec psu that seems durable. Also I wouldnt go with a biostar, maybe its me but never had much luck with them, id get a ep43/45 and can get it aroudn same price. NO reason to go ddr2 1066 over ddr2 800 for the 30 dollar price diff, Also that monitor is Trash with a capital T, bought 3 at MC and returned em all for horrible backlight bleeding.

@OP, If your friend doesnt mind 2nd hand. Lots of good stuff can be found in th FS/T section, usually really good for GPU's that havent been used much ( people sellign 4850/70 getting ready for x2)

+1 for eng

Motherboard:ep43-ds3l $90
CPU: E8400 $170
Memory: G.skill 4gb $80
GPU: 4850 $190 ( 170 AR)
Case and PSU : Antec Sonata w 500w PSU $100
HD: WD3200AAKS $65
Decent Keyboard mouse and generic speakers prob run less than 100 bucks

Total= 795, doesnt include shipping or rebates ( which a couple have)

As far as a monitor goes I would start at Bestbuy or something, Brick an motar stores have better return policies than online stores for the most part, plus if you bring it home and dont lik the look you can return it w/o ass raping shippage
 
well Rydawg5143 it seems you got 3 lemons when over 1500+ people gave that monitor a great rating and it got an award from newegg. Also your comment about the psu is un-informed. The 4850 needs a very strong psu with a lot of amps and that earthwatts psu will not cut it, see the ati certified psu link here that is the certified Antec psu's as per ATI. The psu is never a place to skimp and 99% of all builders will agree with me here. You also were commenting on overspending and then you suggest en E8400 which is $50 more than the E7200 I suggested(which btw is being oc'd to 3.8G on aircooling) I cannot argue with you about the Biostar board, I have never owned one myself but they usually get a decent rating.
As for the ram, if he ever decided to overclock the 1066 would give him more headroom, but for the avg user the 800mhz is enough. Keep in mind the op, in general, doesn't always give the most indepth info.
 
For the E7200, DDR2-800 is more than enough. For the E8400, you'd be better served by some DDR2-1000.

According to that "ati certified psu link," the TP2.0 550W is good enough to power the HD4850, and the TP2.0 only has 30A on the +12v rail(s). The EA500 has 34A on the +12v rail(s), so its overqualified for the job, according to that list. The TP2.0 was built by CWT (uses fuhjyyu) and is notorious for high failure rates at high temps while the EA500 was built by Seasonic and got great reviews (and doesnt use fuhjyyu caps). BTW, don't take this personally, I just hate "certified lists" in general, because there's no way for a company to test all the shit out there for compatibility, and no company wants to pay to have every single one of their products "certified."

I agree, the E7200 is a better deal than the E8400.

Biostar TForce boards are actually pretty decent. Their non-TForce boards are bleh.

Oh, and I bet you half of those 1500+ people who reviewed that monitor don't even know what backlight bleeding is -- I just don't care much for newegg user reviews. I've bought stuff that had 5 eggs and it was utter trash, and I've bought stuff that had 1-2 egg ratings and they were better than what the reviewers had said. No, 1500+ people can't be wrong, but I agree that you should not order a monitor online without checking it out in person beforehand. ...and no, there's no way to ensure you get a good one if you order online, but if you get it from a B&M, its much easier to return it. ;)
 
hey enginurd nice post. But i had several chats with jonnyguru and he told me the best way to confirm the total amps on the 12v rail was to subtract the total volts to the +3 and +5 rails from the total volts on both 12v rails and divide by 12 for the amps on the 12v rails. Based on this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...tion=Antec+earthwatts+EA500+500W+Power+Supply

it shows 408v for 12v rails but you subtract 130v for the +3 and +5 rails leaving you with 278v and divide by 12 = 23amps.

If this math is faulty please inform me otherwise.
 
hossdaddy said:
hey enginurd nice post. But i had several chats with jonnyguru and he told me the best way to confirm the total amps on the 12v rail was to subtract the total volts to the +3 and +5 rails from the total volts on both 12v rails and divide by 12 for the amps on the 12v rails. Based on this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...tion=Antec+earthwatts+EA500+500W+Power+Supply

it shows 408v for 12v rails but you subtract 130v for the +3 and +5 rails leaving you with 278v and divide by 12 = 23amps.

If this math is faulty please inform me otherwise.
Click to expand...

Yes that math is faulty. Mind posting what JonnyGURU wrote to you in its entirety?
 
hossdaddy said:
...
it shows 408v for 12v rails but you subtract 130v for the +3 and +5 rails leaving you with 278v and divide by 12 = 23amps.

If this math is faulty please inform me otherwise.
Click to expand...

Well, I really hate to nitpick, despite it being an obvious typo, but for other readers...

Power = P = VI; P, power is measured in watts (W), V, voltage in volts (V), and I, current in amps (A).

While the label says the most power available from the +3.3v and +5v rails is 130W, it also states the most power available from the +12v rails is 408W. You can't trust one but not the other. :p Many times, the power available on the +12v rails is unavailable, in which case, you have nothing to go on except the power available on the +3.3v and +5v rails (which leads to the math you explained). However, sometimes even those aren't provided; in which case I wouldn't trust the PSU at all, lol.

The best way to determine the true capability is to use an A.T.E. (automated test equipment, like several review sites, JG and [H] included; or just use a DMM and measure for yourself ;)).

Again, most modern systems draw MOST of their power from the +12v rails. You can even see from JG's review of the EA500, that it can truly deliver 34A on those +12v rails, and with only a 20mV ripple (ATX spec range is 120mV):
http://jonnyguru.com/modules.php?name=NDReviews&op=Story2&reid=35

If my logic is flawed, set me straight -- I'm no electrical engineer. :eek:
 
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