ChappyEight
New Member
(Full disclosure, I posted this exact same message on a different board as well; in case you're having some deja vu.)
Hello again. I used these wonderful forums roughly 3.5 yrs ago to build a PC for myself and I'm proud to say it's still going strong (though it could use a memory bump). Anyway, my parents have asked that I build them a replacement for their 5 year-old Dell. I haven't built any PC's since my build in `08 so I'm incredibly out of touch and rusty when it comes to putting a system together. On to the build...
My father would like to be around $650-$700 with a hard cap at $800. I'm hoping you all can have a look at my choices and let me know if all the components will play nicely with each other, if there are any better choices for individual components based on your experiences, and finally, to let me know if I'm simply overdoing it in certain areas. My Dad dropped the horrible phrase "future proof" many times. So, I tried to choose components that would allow this machine to be at least somewhat functional 5 years from now and/or allow for upgrades that will keep it relevant.
Since this is a replacement tower, I will be reusing the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. For some reason he loves the look of the case, so if at all possible, I'd like to keep that in there as is, though I'm open to suggestion. Finally, as far as uses, this machine will be used mostly for internet browsing/mail, iTunes (heavily), and photo storage and small-scale editing (think intermediate Photoshop user).
Now for the components. I'd really like to add a second HDD for them because I think they'd use it with their music/photo collection, but it's not in the budget right now based on the components I've chosen (not a big deal if it simply needs to come later):
CASE: RAIDMAX SMILODON - $64.99 after rebates
PSU: Antec BP550 - $69.99 after rebates
MOBO: ASRock Z68 - $101.99 after rebates
CPU: Intel Core I3-2120 - $129.99 after rebates
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green - $129.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4GBx2) - $48.99
OPT(x2): LITE-ON DVD Burner - $19.99
GPU: ASUS EAH5450 - $34.99
OS: Windows 7 Professional (OEM) - $139.99
I show these components coming in at $790.73 after rebates and shipping. Again, that's within his budget, but I was hoping to optimize the cost a bit to include a second HDD and/or just bring the cost down some if I'm using unnecessary components.
Also, do you think I need an aftermarket CPU fan? I'm thinking the stock fan will be enough for this application.
I would very much appreciate any advice you can provide.
Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Chappy
Hello again. I used these wonderful forums roughly 3.5 yrs ago to build a PC for myself and I'm proud to say it's still going strong (though it could use a memory bump). Anyway, my parents have asked that I build them a replacement for their 5 year-old Dell. I haven't built any PC's since my build in `08 so I'm incredibly out of touch and rusty when it comes to putting a system together. On to the build...
My father would like to be around $650-$700 with a hard cap at $800. I'm hoping you all can have a look at my choices and let me know if all the components will play nicely with each other, if there are any better choices for individual components based on your experiences, and finally, to let me know if I'm simply overdoing it in certain areas. My Dad dropped the horrible phrase "future proof" many times. So, I tried to choose components that would allow this machine to be at least somewhat functional 5 years from now and/or allow for upgrades that will keep it relevant.
Since this is a replacement tower, I will be reusing the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. For some reason he loves the look of the case, so if at all possible, I'd like to keep that in there as is, though I'm open to suggestion. Finally, as far as uses, this machine will be used mostly for internet browsing/mail, iTunes (heavily), and photo storage and small-scale editing (think intermediate Photoshop user).
Now for the components. I'd really like to add a second HDD for them because I think they'd use it with their music/photo collection, but it's not in the budget right now based on the components I've chosen (not a big deal if it simply needs to come later):
CASE: RAIDMAX SMILODON - $64.99 after rebates
PSU: Antec BP550 - $69.99 after rebates
MOBO: ASRock Z68 - $101.99 after rebates
CPU: Intel Core I3-2120 - $129.99 after rebates
HDD: 1TB Western Digital Caviar Green - $129.99
RAM: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (4GBx2) - $48.99
OPT(x2): LITE-ON DVD Burner - $19.99
GPU: ASUS EAH5450 - $34.99
OS: Windows 7 Professional (OEM) - $139.99
I show these components coming in at $790.73 after rebates and shipping. Again, that's within his budget, but I was hoping to optimize the cost a bit to include a second HDD and/or just bring the cost down some if I'm using unnecessary components.
Also, do you think I need an aftermarket CPU fan? I'm thinking the stock fan will be enough for this application.
I would very much appreciate any advice you can provide.
Thanks in advance for your assistance,
Chappy