A computer for my brother

C

Computernewbie

New Member
Hi guys,

After seeing that I built a computer from scratch and that I did a great job, my brother asked me to build him one. He's not rich either, so when I saw that offer, I started wondering if it could be worth it:

http://www.circuitcity.com/applicat...27TT&cm_mmc=EML-_-Main-_-CCEM727-_-circuit727

The computer looks good and seems to be well loaded, so I could just add a video card (there is a pci-e x 16 slot ready), a new power supply (this one is just 300 w) and memory (ddr3). What do you think about it?

Thanks in advance,

Computernewbie
 
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jonnyp11

jonnyp11

New Member
well 1, 4gb's ddr3 is plenty and probably has all slots filled, 2 looks like a pretty good deal, 3 that 4250 is a good igpu and i heard it will max out cs: source, so it'll work fine if he isn't playing black ops or crysis.
 
C

Computernewbie

New Member
jonnyp11 said:
well 1, 4gb's ddr3 is plenty and probably has all slots filled, 2 looks like a pretty good deal, 3 that 4250 is a good igpu and i heard it will max out cs: source, so it'll work fine if he isn't playing black ops or crysis.
Click to expand...

Oh, so I wouldn't need to add a video card? Nice! I didn't know there were good igpu's...

But I think that there are still 2 slots for ddr3 that are free on that computer... I could pump it up to 8, but maybe it's not necessary...

And since he doesn't play big games on pc, he should be fine with that...

But do you think it would be ok to keep that 300 w power supply, then? I mean, if I don't add a graphic card...

Thanks, man

Computernewbie
 
I

ixiboneheadixi

banned
seems like a good deal, bt i just dont trust acer, all my friends who have had acers are fine for 6 months, then every other weekend its out getting fixed
 
jonnyp11

jonnyp11

New Member
well you can't get anything better for that price, and that's not always the case, take hp, the worst brand around, they also make the emachine in my sig, unless that's gateway, who are just as bad, if that's gateway then hp is my compaq, i have had this emachin e for 1 year no problem, and my compaq for over 10 years now, it has had problems but if you know what you're doing, and have a spare copy of windows, then you'll be fine.
 
I

ixiboneheadixi

banned
jonnyp11 said:
well you can't get anything better for that price, and that's not always the case, take hp, the worst brand around, they also make the emachine in my sig, unless that's gateway, who are just as bad, if that's gateway then hp is my compaq, i have had this emachin e for 1 year no problem, and my compaq for over 10 years now, it has had problems but if you know what you're doing, and have a spare copy of windows, then you'll be fine.
Click to expand...

i hate being stuck on a HP for now lol
 
C

Computernewbie

New Member
I don't think Acer is really great, but hey, it's a really good deal, I think. About HP, I still have my Pentium 4 hp tower that is still working perfectly fine, even though it's 6-7 years old. I mean, it's a bit slow, but it's usable. However, all the other HP I've had after that were not good quality and didn't last long, even if I was taking care of them. So for me, HP is dead. I think they made good computers before, but now they are shitty.

My gateway netbook is also running very well, so they're probably not that bad either and it's been more than a year since I bought it.

But I'm still going to search for an equivalent computer around the same price. I'd rather have something else than Acer, but again, maybe I won't find such a good deal in the next few weeks...

I'll post any new deal I encounter!

Take care,

Computernewbie
 
claptonman

claptonman

New Member
If you get a graphic card, you definitely need to upgrade your PSU. And if you don't, it might be a good idea to do it anyway, because it's of low quality. Why don't you build another computer from scratch?

Also, Circuit City went bankrupt, I thought... unless their online store still is up.
 
wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Computernewbie said:
I don't think Acer is really great, but hey, it's a really good deal, I think. About HP, I still have my Pentium 4 hp tower that is still working perfectly fine, even though it's 6-7 years old. I mean, it's a bit slow, but it's usable. However, all the other HP I've had after that were not good quality and didn't last long, even if I was taking care of them. So for me, HP is dead. I think they made good computers before, but now they are shitty.

My gateway netbook is also running very well, so they're probably not that bad either and it's been more than a year since I bought it.

But I'm still going to search for an equivalent computer around the same price. I'd rather have something else than Acer, but again, maybe I won't find such a good deal in the next few weeks...

I'll post any new deal I encounter!

Take care,

Computernewbie
Click to expand...
reference. HP = Compaq, Acer = Emachines/gateway. Both are garbage.

HD4250 is not a good IPU in any sense. It will run some games, but just plain sucks at Open GL operations. For example, I get 300 FPS in a game under GT540m, but under a HD4250 im getting less than 50. And due to the lack of memory, it will not utilize AA/AF at all.
 
jonnyp11

jonnyp11

New Member
my point was depending on what he wishes to play it is a good card, not our (people without $1K machines) fault we don't have the money to get multi hundred buck gpu's, for an igpu it is great, i make do playing Crysis, the original one, on an igpu, the geforce 7050, probably one of the worst igpu's over the last 5 years, and i maintain over 20-30 fps and highre, just have to know how to do settings.

and as said b4, my "garbage" compaq from '01 or earlier is still running toay, well not today from something i did recently, but it has lasted over 10 yrs, and i can play crysis on it and its specs in my sig, an athlon xp 2400+ single core @ 2ghz and a radeon 9600se.
 
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wolfeking

wolfeking

banned
Im not saying that they are all bad johnny. I have used HPs for 10+ years without fail, but they have all been Professional series except for my DV7, and it spends more time down for repair than in use. Same with my Acers. They have been plagued with HDD read issues, even with brand new HDDs.
The band Gateway (and all if their subbrands) and HP (and all if its subbrands) are the worst out there.
 
C

Computernewbie

New Member
Hi guys,

Here is a build I thought was nice for my brother's computer. He doesn't have a big budget and he doesn't have a lot of room to put a computer tower. So, I thought about making a mini computer. Here is the build:

Motherboard: Giada MI-R880G-01 AM3 AMD 880G ATI 4250 HDMI+VGA eSATA ITX Motherboard

DDR3: CORSAIR 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model VS2GB1333D3 G (x2)

CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX250OCGMBOX

DVD burner: ASUS 24X 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 DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

Hard drive: Seagate Barracuda ST3250312AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Case: APEX MI-100 Black / Mirror finish Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply

Monitor: LG W2040T-PN Glossy Black 20" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 70000:1

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

So, what do you think about it? For 571$ including taxes and shipping, he would have a very nice everyday and occasionnal LIGHT gaming computer.

Please tell me what you think about this build and what I did wrong if there is something wrong. Remember, it's not a kickass pc he wants.

Thanks in advance,

Computernewbie
 
C

Computernewbie

New Member
Is this micro atx build better?

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-USB3 AM3+ AMD 880G HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard

OS: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

DVD burner: ASUS 24X 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 DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS - OEM

Case + Power supply: HEC 6K28BBX585 Black 0.8mm SECC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 585W Power Supply

Hard drive: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Monitor: ASUS VE198D Black 19" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor 250 cd/m2 10,000,000:1

DDR3: Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770

Processor: AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz 2 x 1MB L2 Cache Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor ADX250OCGMBOX

Total: 591$


Sorry if it's a micro atx build again, but I think it would be better because he really doesn't have a lot of place at home. He has a laptop right now and it dying (hp, duh...), so he needs another computer.

Thanks in advance,

Computernewbie
 
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linkin

linkin

VIP Member
jonnyp11 said:
my point was depending on what he wishes to play it is a good card, not our (people without $1K machines) fault we don't have the money to get multi hundred buck gpu's, for an igpu it is great, i make do playing Crysis, the original one, on an igpu, the geforce 7050, probably one of the worst igpu's over the last 5 years, and i maintain over 20-30 fps and highre, just have to know how to do settings.

and as said b4, my "garbage" compaq from '01 or earlier is still running toay, well not today from something i did recently, but it has lasted over 10 yrs, and i can play crysis on it and its specs in my sig, an athlon xp 2400+ single core @ 2ghz and a radeon 9600se.
Click to expand...

Compaq were awesome machines until HP bought them out.
 
Benny Boy

Benny Boy

Active Member
If you only need obv then that board is ok.
Power supply's that come with cases will most always put the other components at risk. As in the hec. Get case/ps separately. Corsair/Seasonic/XFX/Silverstone/Antec/PC Power&Cooling.
The blue drive is slower than Samsung F3/F4 - WD Black - Seagate (7200.12)
DDR3 1600 costs about the same as 1333. 4gb will be plenty, so use the saved $ somewhere else, like the ps or cpu.

$600 is the budget?

There are small cases that will accept an atx mb. Mine for example is a bit extreem in that regard, HTCP case + atx mb.
Still don't know if/what your brother's games are.
So here's a budget machine with an HD 6770, AM3+socket w/9xxx chipset, and an x3 processor.
There's $50 in x1 promo/x2 rebates.
Out the door (before rebates and after shipping), is about $556 w/o a case.

GIGABYTE GA-970A-D3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard

AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Desktop Processor ADX450WFGMBOX + Asus 6770

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified ...

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBNQ

Seagate Barracuda ST3500413AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive + OD

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM
 
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