PC for a Friend

[taggart6]

A buddy of mine is looking to build a new PC. It'll be for your standard internet surfing and word processing usage. On top of that, he wants to be able to play Wasteland 2 when it comes out as well as a handful of other turn based type games.

Budget is about 800 to 1,000. Would need all setup including Monitor. He can reuse his old mouse and keyboard.

Looking for some suggestions for an Intel system. It's been a long time since I put a build together and I could the starting help.

[richardginn]

1) XFX HD-695X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6950 1 GB

1) Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500 GB SATA 6Gb/s

1) NZXT Source 210 Elite White Steel with painted interior ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ Black Front Trim

1) Gigabyte GA-H61MA-D3V motherboard

1) LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

1) Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
Series: Core i5

1) Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

2) CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CML4GX3M2A1600C9B

1) Hanns-G HL227DBB 21.5" LED monitor 5ms Full HD 250 cd/m2 X-Contrast 15,000,000:1

All this for under 1 grand at Newegg.com.

[taggart6]

Thanks for the start!


Took a look and made some changes. Would appreciate feedback. Went for more memory, nicer case, and slightly better mb:


1
LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04
Item #: N82E16827106289
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $17.99
1
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822148767
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $85.99
1
Hanns-G HL227DBB 21.5" LED monitor 5ms Full HD 250 cd/m2 X-Contrast 15,000,000:1
Item #: N82E16824254058
Return Policy: Monitor Standard Return Policy -$30.00 Instant $169.99
$139.99
1
Antec EarthWatts EA-650 GREEN 650W ATX12V v2.3 SLI Ready CrossFire Certified 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
Item #: N82E16817371044
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy -$10.00 Instant $89.99
$79.99
1
Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I52500K
Item #: N82E16819115072
Return Policy: Iron Egg Replacement-Only Return Policy $219.99
1
CORSAIR Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B
Item #: N82E16820145345
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy -$5.00 Instant $54.99
$49.99
1
GIGABYTE GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128502
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy $129.99
1
Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129066
Return Policy: Limited Replacement Only Return Policy $69.99
1
HIS IceQ X Turbo H695QNT2G2M Radeon HD 6950 2GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
Item #: N82E16814161372
Return Policy: VGA Standard Return Policy $269.99

[richardginn]

well you did go over the 1 grand price point. Is that okay???

[James]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024

$120 Antec Sonata case w/ 500w PSU. Could save you some money.

[taggart6]

well you did go over the 1 grand price point. Is that okay???

I did! By 60 bucks. I want to see what he thinks and scale back if needed. I might be able to re use his DVD drive and can go with a cheaper case. There are also some case/PSU combo deals that can lower down the amount as well.

[Timman_24]

Hmmm, exactly what games will he be playing? If they are rudimentary, then I will throw out there the possibility of waiting just a bit and picking up a 3550K (graph shows 3770K, but both use the 4000HD intel graphics chip.) It has an onboard HD4000 chip that plays really well. Another option an AMD route, their onboard graphics chips are awesome.



As you can see from the chart, the AMD A8 and HD4000 offer a lot of gaming performance without having to go with a discrete graphics card. If he doesn't need the graphics maxed, then this may be a way to go. If he feels it isn't enough, then it is as easy as adding a graphics card later. It would save you some money upfront, and if it works out it would save a lot over all. Both chips scream in terms of CPU performance too for day-to-day tasks.

Here is a link to AMD's offering on newegg. Only 140 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819106001

Also for monitors, hit up newegg around 5-7pmCST each day and check their open box deals. I snagged two 23" Asus monitors for only 89 bucks each. I am currently using a 25" Asus LED monitor that retails for 280, I got it for 115. In the mail is a 630 dollar 27" 120HZ 3D monitor that I picked up for 340. I may resell that one and make 200 bucks

[taggart6]

Hmmm, exactly what games will he be playing? If they are rudimentary, then I will throw out there the possibility of waiting just a bit and picking up a 3550K (graph shows 3770K, but both use the 4000HD intel graphics chip.) It has an onboard HD4000 chip that plays really well. Another option an AMD route, their onboard graphics chips are awesome.



As you can see from the chart, the AMD A8 and HD4000 offer a lot of gaming performance without having to go with a discrete graphics card. If he doesn't need the graphics maxed, then this may be a way to go. If he feels it isn't enough, then it is as easy as adding a graphics card later. It would save you some money upfront, and if it works out it would save a lot over all. Both chips scream in terms of CPU performance too for day-to-day tasks.

Here is a link to AMD's offering on newegg. Only 140 bucks.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819106001

Also for monitors, hit up newegg around 5-7pmCST each day and check their open box deals. I snagged two 23" Asus monitors for only 89 bucks each. I am currently using a 25" Asus LED monitor that retails for 280, I got it for 115. In the mail is a 630 dollar 27" 120HZ 3D monitor that I picked up for 340. I may resell that one and make 200 bucks

Wasteland 2 and the new Enhanced remake of Baldur's Gate coming out.

I suggested that he hold off till the specs for the game announced, but he's adamant about replacing his PC now because of its poor current state. That said, he also expressed an interest in playing more PC games in the future. He's a big Bethesda Soft fan and wants to play more of their games on the PC. Right now he's been playing them on his ps3.

I like the monitor suggestion. I will tell him to keep an eye on a good deal.

[Timman_24]

Wasteland 2 and the new Enhanced remake of Baldur's Gate coming out.

I suggested that he hold off till the specs for the game announced, but he's adamant about replacing his PC now because of its poor current state. That said, he also expressed an interest in playing more PC games in the future. He's a big Bethesda Soft fan and wants to play more of their games on the PC. Right now he's been playing them on his ps3.

I like the monitor suggestion. I will tell him to keep an eye on a good deal.

Those monitor prices are free shipping too. Is he planning to overclock? Videocard prices are dropping nicely with the release of the new gen. He could probably pick up a 560Ti for 170-180. I've even seen 570's in the low 200's now.

[taggart6]

Those monitor prices are free shipping too. Is he planning to overclock? Videocard prices are dropping nicely with the release of the new gen. He could probably pick up a 560Ti for 170-180. I've even seen 570's in the low 200's now.

Thinking of going with a 570 if I can see one on sale. Looked at a 550Ti for 150 that seems really nice for him.

No overclocking for now since the guy has no idea how a computer really works or build one. I'll leave it up to him depending on how into this he gets.

[Timman_24]

Might want to check this out:

http://www.logicbuy.com/deals/galaxy...ard/38301.aspx

570 for 240 - 30MIR + 8 shipping. Great deal!