Building PC for friend, need help

[Symon14]

I decided to build my best friend a new computer with my birthday money, and quite frankly, I need your help!

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Playing MMOs, he mainly plays WoW.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
As cheap as possible, I really just want to give him a system that is equal to or slightly better than mine.

3) Where do you live?
DFW, Texas

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Everything, although right now I'm mainly concerned about components. I can just get him a budget case at Fry's in the meantime or something, and he can find a "prettier" one later.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
None. He's never had an all-new computer, and I want the sheer newness of it to be part of the gift.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No.

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
He has (I think) a 19 inch monitor.

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Immediately, as in the next couple of days.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Not too picky here. He doesn't really mess with anything other than watching some movies and playing some fairly old games. He doesn't play Crysis or anything.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
I'm going to put Windows 7 beta on there for him until he can buy his own OS.


Parts I was thinking:

Mobo - Gigabyte EP43-UD3L
Processor - Intel C2D E7400
RAM - 4GB OCZ DDR2 800MHz
GPU - EVGA 9800 GTX 512MB
PSU - Corsair 750W PSU
Hard Drive - Western Digital 320GB

 

[mutantmagnet]

CPU is good
Ram is good but keep in mind you have cheaper alternatives if you want to risk using a less popular brand.

PSU is overkill for the task required but it offers a lot of room for SLI or Crossfire.
If you think that would be something he doesn't want to do then I recommend looking at lower rated supplies like this. Seasonic is the main manufacturer of Corsair PSUs just for your information.

The GPU is acceptable for WoW but AMD has come up with a much better alternative while staying below the 9800's price point. So get something like this because XFX offers great warranty coverage, especially if you register their products within 30 days.

Hard drive is OK but it seems like you could do better. I would defer to the opinions of others on this instead of offering my own.

 

[Dangman]

Here's what I recommend instead:
$159 - AMD Phenom II X3 710 CPU + ASUS M3A76-CM AMD 760G uATX Motherboard
$45 - Corsair TWIN2X4096-6400C5C 2 x 2GB DDR2 800 RAM
$55 - Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$125 - XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCi-E Video Card
$80 - BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU
---
Total: $464 plus tax and shipping

Key notes:
- The Phenom II X3 710 CPU and mobo combo is roughly equal to the E7400 + Gigabyte mobo you chose
- Didn't see a need for a 750W PSU for that setup.
- The HD4850 is faster than the 9800GTX
- I trust Corsair a bit more than OCZ.

 

[HardwareGuru]

Let's go cheapskate cheap hehe

CPU/MOBO(Combo) - Intel Pentium E5200 (2.5ghz) + Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L for $140
RAM - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) for $43
VIDEO CARD/PSU (Combo) - XFX Geforce GTS 250 512MB + Antec earthwatts 500W for $175

Total: $358

Forgot the HDD. $55

Total: $413

 

[Symon14]

VIDEO CARD/PSU (Combo) - XFX Geforce GTS 250 512MB + Antec earthwatts 500W for $175

XFX HD-485X-YDFC Radeon HD 4850 512MB PCi-E Video Card
$80 - BFG Tech LS-550 550W PSU

Thanks guys for your responses. This kind of stuff is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. On these two PSU/GPU combos, what are the differences in driver stability (preferrably in a 64-bit environment) and performance?

 

[Dangman]

Thanks guys for your responses. This kind of stuff is exactly the kind of stuff I was looking for. On these two PSU/GPU combos, what are the differences in driver stability (preferrably in a 64-bit environment) and performance?

Driver wise, ATI and Nvidia are about the same AFAIK. Performance wise, the HD4850 beats the GTS 250 512MB. PSU wise, the BFG LS-550 is a far superior PSU since it has 6A more on the +12V rail and better quality of components. But the Earthwatts 500W would be enough for this system as long as you don't plan on upgrading for another 2-4 years.

 

[Symon14]

Driver wise, ATI and Nvidia are about the same AFAIK. Performance wise, the HD4850 beats the GTS 250 512MB. PSU wise, the BFG LS-550 is a far superior PSU since it has 6A more on the +12V rail and better quality of components. But the Earthwatts 500W would be enough for this system as long as you don't plan on upgrading for another 2-4 years.

Thanks! I'll go with your recommendations then. I'll add the stuff to my cart and sit on it for a few hours to see if anyone else chimes in with pertinent information.

 

[mutantmagnet]

You should just go for the 4770 even over the 4850. The performance jump doesn't scale with the price. The 4850 and the GTS 250 are redheaded stepchildren between cards like the 4870 and the 4770.

 

[Dangman]

You should just go for the 4770 even over the 4850. The performance jump doesn't scale with the price. The 4850 and the GTS 250 are redheaded stepchildren between cards like the 4870 and the 4770.

To each his own I guess. My own conclusion after reading reviews comparing the HD4770 and HD4850 is that the HD4850 is totally worth the extra $25 over the HD 4770. Considering that the HD 4850 that I recommended to the OP comes with a double lifetime warranty, that's additional value for $25 more.

 

[engiNURD]

Wow... I must say, you're a nice friend! Wanna be my friend? Looks like Danny and company have you covered.