Build list for a friend.

[Silk_the_Absent1]

One of my friends is in a bit of a jam, his computer died on him, and he is considering having me build one for him. I'm not too current on what is good and cheap, and could use some input on putting together a build list for him. No budget so far, but think cheap, he's disabled and on a fixed income.

His old computer was an old RDRAMM-era P4, so we're basically talking about a complete new system here.

I kind of appreciate the opportunity to get my hands dirty on this, keeping busy is keeping me too occupied to think about the fact that my fiancee dumped me on Christmas Day.

Anyway, let's come up with a list for him, doesn't need to be a massive gaming system, but he would like to do a little bit on it, so we are probably talking about a dedicated video card. Hard drives, again, not a huge user, but there is so much available in the low-end of the price chain. I'd like to get him on at least a dual core, but again, not sure what is the best bang for the buck in the cheap ones. Same goes for memory, I'd imagine we're talking DDR3 here, but I don't know.

Oh, he will need to also buy Windows, he was on XP, but it was on his olde Gateway. So that should be counted in the price list.

-Adam

[shovenose]

radeon 5770, antec bp550 psu, 4gb ram, amd triple core, wd caviar blue 500gb

[cypherpunks]

Their system builder's guide (http://www.anandtech.com/print/4025/) is usually a good place to start. Ars technica used to have some good ones, too, but they haven't updated in a year.

Apparently tweaktown does something similar, but I haven't looked at it. (Well, they recommend an OCZ ModXStream PSU, which doesn't make a good first impression.)

Basically, AMD owns the low-prices processor & motherboard range. Intel will add $100 to your price.

The Antec three hundred is a very nice case that can often be found on sale, but maybe you can just recycle the old one.

[McSteel]

Intel route:

Pentium G6950 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116283&cm_re=g6950-_-19-116-283-_-Product) ~100$
GA-P55A-UD3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128412&cm_re=p55_ud3-_-13-128-412-_-Product) ~115$ / -10$ MIR

The G6950 overclocks like a beast, and the Gigabyte board makes it possible.

AMD route:

Athlon II X3 445 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103872&cm_re=x3_445-_-19-103-872-_-Product) ~77$
GA-770T-USB3 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128431) ~80$ / -10$ MIR

The X3 445 is exclusively CACAC AC (Deneb C3) based, and has about 75% chance of a working 4th core and a bit over 65% chance of fully working cache, albeit with a bit of a voltage raise. Again trusting Gigabyte to do the job.

Now, for the rest of the components...

Corsair XMS3 2+2GB DDR3 1600 CL9 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145260) ~50$ / -10$ MIR

No contest here, pretty much the best value for money. Goes easily up to 1866 MHz with a bit of a voltage raise, as needed.

Palit GTS 450 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814261079&cm_re=gts_450-_-14-261-079-_-Product) ~105$ / -15$ MIR

Could've gone lower in price and had a GTS 250 (shaving off up to 25$), or a bit higher and snatch a GTX 460 (768 MB would be at least +25 not counting the MIR, the 1 GB one is +40 minimum, again, w/o MIR). Ultimately, this one is right on the money for light-to-medium gaming and the latest GPGPU capabilities.

HIS Radeon HD 5770 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338&cm_re=hd_5770-_-14-161-338-_-Product) ~130$ / -30$ MIR

For those who prefer AMD/ATi. Performance is around par with the GTS 450, it pulls ahead here, and falls behind there, all by a small margin (+/- 5%). The high rebate makes it a worthwhile competitor, without it it's less of a value.

Samsung SpinPoint F3 1 TB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&cm_re=samsung_f3_hard_drive-_-22-152-185-_-Product) ~70$

Again, no contest. The WD Black comes close, but it's louder, hotter and more expensive. Even if the F3 500 GB wasn't out of stock, this one is better value.

LG GH24NS50 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177&cm_re=lg_dvd-_-27-136-177-_-Product) ~19$ / +5$ shipping

Completely arbitrary. Picked this one from personal experience, it's a solid ODD, but swap out for your favorite cheap-as-dirt device. Nothing made after the Teac W540E really lasts or works for long anyway...

Antec TPN 650W (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371021) ~90$ / +4$ shipping

Best value as of today. Something else always pops up (like that yummy X-650 did), but if this is urgent, a solid DC-DC Seasonic is the way to go, and this one's the cheapest.

Xigmatek Utgard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815007&cm_re=utgard-_-11-815-007-_-Product) ~60% / +10$ shipping

I suppose a case (yay pun) could be made for the CM Elite 334 or the Antec 300, or even Xigmatek's own Asgard II. But a superior cooling performance, complete with a (slightly warm) 2-channel fan controller (3 fans/channel), great cable management, tool-less retention clips that actually work, enough space for long VGAs and tall CPU coolers, and a design that won't make your eyes bleed ticks all the boxes for a great value enclosure.

Since OC and/or Core Unlocking are a definite possibility, one of these aftermarket HS/coolers should be employed:

Thermaltake Frio (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835106150&Tpk=frio) ~56$

Gelid Tranquillo (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835426023&Tpk=tranquillo) ~40$ / +8$ shipping

Very little between the two in terms of performance, with the Tranquillo better suited for the AMD route, and being significantly quieter.

Well, I hope I made some sense with this. Didn't really go for the dirt-cheap stuff, but this probably isn't expensive to the point of being unaffordable, especially the AMD build...

[MrWicked1968]

Biostar A770E3 MB $60 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138179)

Phenom II X2 555 BE $90 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103846)

2x2 GB Mushkin Enhanced Essentials DDR3 1333 $42 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146748)

500GB Seagate 7200.12 $50 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395)

Gigabyte HD5670 $90 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125339)

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116754)

Rosewill Green Series 530w PSU $55 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182199)

thermaltake V3 case $45 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133094)

$532 shipped

[walterm]

Need to work some combo deals in, check combinations.