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Christmas Computer Build

M

marley1

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Jul 18, 2000
Messages
5,447
One of my clients wants to get his kid all the parts to build a computer. I got a newegg list going but not sure if a good setup.

I had:
Antec 300 Case
GTX 660 TI from MSI
Corsair CMPSU-650TX
G.Sill Ripjaws 8GB
MSI Z77A-G45
Core i7 3770
Crucial M4 256GB

This is a 11 year that started playing Halo, but wants to play other PC games. Maybe i5 good start, maybe no SSD, maybe doesn't need that card. I priced out an Alienware for $1500 that wasn't in the budget, he likes the idea of parts so his son can learn and grandparents can get parts as well.



1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
- Gaming
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
- Cheap as we can get, roughly $1000.
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
- US, NY
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
- Case, Power Supply, Motherboard, Memory, CPU, Videocard, Hard Drive, OS
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
- None
6) Will you be overclocking?
- 11 year old kid getting into computers, may
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
- Dell 22" Ultrasharp
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
- Now
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
- No
 
Corsair Carbide 200R is a better case as long as you can get some proper airflow setup and aren't OCing to high temps. It seems to be a better quality case than the 300. There was a comparison between the two at TechReport here.

No need for a 3770 when a 3570k would do just fine. I'm not a fan of MSI motherboards (I stick to Asus or Gigabyte), but that's personal preference.

At the 660ti price range, you're going to get better performance from a 7950.
 
If you are looking to make the build as cheap as you can, that CPU and Ram is definitely overkill. An i5 would be just fine, and you can cut the cost of the ram in about half (although I realize that is not a huge saving) by going with the G.Skill Ares instead of the Ripjaws X.

Might want to consider a HDD over a SSD as well, typically a SSD is paired up with a HDD, a single SSD 256GB SSD will fill up pretty fast.
 
Want to order from Newegg.

So you are suggesting really just to go i5 and no SSD?

What about videocard? i am really not a huge fan on AMD
 
A SSD is meant to be paired up with a HDD (this is why some are now even built into hybrid drives), you can easily get a 3TB HDD for less than the price of a 256GB SSD. That and and 256GB won't last you very long nowadays, especially if by games you don't just mean Facebook and flash-based software played in the web browser. Many modern games are in the 10GB+ mark, nearly all would be at least above 5GB each. Obviously though, 3TB would be beyond overkill, 1TB would probably be more than enough... and below $100. If you do go HDD, don't go too cheap and get one below 7200RPM though, the cost savings isn't worth that much performance loss IMO.

Considering you are going with an i5, that means the videocard will be the most expensive component. A 660 Ti would probably be the best choice for that pricerange (around $300) while still being able to play most modern games at higher settings (albet not the highest).

OH! Also, I just remembered. Are there any Microcenter stores near you? Because they have the most powerful i7, the 3770k, on sale for $230.... which is about $100 off and puts it around the price of most i5 CPUS. However, this sale is in-store only, not online (and don't forget that means you will have to pay tax). Definitely worth it if there is a Microcenter within driving distance of you, if not, go with an i5.
 
First and foremost, do note that you chose the older and costlier TX650 model. The newer model is the TX650 V2:
$90 - Corsair 650TX V2 650W PSU

With that said, you don't need either PSU for this setup. You'll be fine with this PSU:
$58 - Antec NEO ECO 520C 520W PSU

Motherboard and OS wise, go for this mobo and OS combo as that'll shave off $25 off the total costs of the build:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.1031930

GPU wise, drop the GPU down to the regular GTX 660:
$228 - eVGA 02G-P4-2660-KR GeForce GTX 660 2GB PCI-E Video Card

RAM wise, you'll be fine with this set of RAM:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231607

As for the CPU, you'll be fine with the Core i5 3450 or 3470, whichever one has the better deal.

I definitely concur with Xonim's recommendation for the Corsair 200R case over that Antec 300. That TR article clearly shows the 200R being a superior case choice.

As for the SSD, it really depends on how computer saavy this kid is or will be and how much of a downloader he'll be. A 256GB SSD will be more than enough space if the user is frugal and doesn't download everything and anything. Alternatively, if the kid is willing to learn and taught well, you could go the 128GB SSD for the OS and apps + 1TB hard drive route. Make sure the kid doesn't install or download everything onto the SSD and that 128GB + 1TB setup will be the more optimal route.

If the kid may not be a saavy computer user, just get a 1TB drive to keep things simple.
 
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