$500 computer -- what do you think of these components?

[dswo]

Any advice will be gratefully received. I had this in the shopping cart, and I was typing in my credit card info when I thought: "Better check with the ones who KNOW."

My own build, described several weeks ago, is on hold for the time being, so I'm building this for someone else. In this price bracket, it's tempting to just get a Dell Inspiron or similar, but the recipient runs two monitors and that means adding a video card -- at which point, with the Inspirons, you may also need to get a new power supply. So, I'm going to build.

Will purchase Windows 7 separately and use the Antec 450W power supply that was left over from my previous build two years ago (PSU came with my Sonata II case but I bought a larger power supply separately). Will also reuse keyboard, speakers, and mouse.

Base: this isn't really a gaming rig, but to get started I used this recent article at Tom's Hardware, on building a $550 Gaming PC: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/cpu-gpu-overclock,2659.html. I opted for a different video card (see below), different DVD burner (based on my own experience with the last build; my pick was all of $1 more), and a larger hard drive. The RAM they recommended wasn't available at NewEgg, so I picked something else that got good reviews and was in my price range. Kept the case, mobo, and CPU the same.

Goals: the user mainly uses office apps, the web, and streams video online. Some light gaming. This will be a big upgrade from the present machine, a six-year old Dell Inspiron. Should be much snappier and stream video much smoother.

Constraints:
1. Total cost not to exceed $570. (I have some room here, as you can see.)
2. Needs to be quiet (that's one of two reasons I picked this particular version of the Nvidia 9800; it's MSI, and it has low power requirements).

If there's a better mobo/CPU combination in this price bracket, I'd love to know about it. Same for case and memory. (With hard drives I have a somewhat arbitrary rule: NO unless it the average review at NewEgg is five stars.)


Qty.Product DescriptionSavingsTotal Price1http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/13-131-603-02.jpg
ASUS M4A77TD ATX AMD Motherboard (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813131603)
Item #:N82E16813131603
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$84.991http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/22-152-181-02.jpg
SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 500GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822152181)
Item #:N82E16822152181
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$54.991http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/27-129-043-S01.jpg
Pioneer CD/DVD Burner Black IDE Model DVR-118LBK LabelFlash Support (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16827129043)
Item #:N82E16827129043
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy

$22.991http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/11-119-115-11.jpg
COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black Computer Case (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119115)
Item #:N82E16811119115
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$44.99
$39.991http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/19-103-724-02.jpg
AMD Athlon II X3 435 2.9GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103724)
Item #:N82E16819103724
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

$70.001http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/20-231-180-03.jpg
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231180)
Item #:N82E16820231180
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy

$102.991http://images10.newegg.com/ProductImageCompressAll/14-127-441-02.jpg
MSI GeForce 9800 GT N9800GT-MD1G Video Card (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814127441)
Item #:N82E16814127441
Return Policy: VGA Replacement Only Return Policy
-$5.00 Instant
$20.00 Mail-in Rebate (http://images10.newegg.com/uploadfilesfornewegg/rebate/SH/MSI14-127-441Jun01Jun3010cd12a.pdf)
$119.99
$114.99Grand Total:$490.94

[txnetcop]

David as long has you don't have real high expectations in FSX it should have fairly decent frame rates at medium settings. Not a bad choice for $500 and the motherboard is very good over-clocker. I hear a lot of people knock that three core and call it a joke but it actually does fairly well. I think I would have chosen the high end dual core X2 over the X3 but if do other video related things besides FSX I can see why you picked it. You might look into a 32mb caching 500gb or 640 GB Western Digital. They have two internal processors that really speed things up which helps on scenery recall.
Ted

[dswo]

My own build, described several weeks ago, is on hold for the time being, so I'm building this for someone else. In this price bracket, it's tempting to just get a Dell Inspiron or similar, but the recipient runs two monitors and that means adding a video card -- at which point, with the Inspirons, you may also need to get a new power supply.

I should have expressed myself better here. All of the prebuilts in this price range -- and you do get a lot for your money -- have onboard video. There either aren't enough output heads, or there isn't enough VRAM, to support two monitors. There's a PCIe slot, so you can add a video card, but then there's the question of "Can the PSU handle it?" --Which is why I'm building instead of buying.

[txnetcop]

I see your point...like I said for $500 if that is the limit, well that isn't too bad of deal for the money it just means lower expectations for FSX.
Ted

[dswo]

Thank you, Ted. I've seen you help a lot of people on this forum including me. Please tell your wife that we are all grateful.

[dswo]

This is what I ended up ordering. I did what Ted said and got the WD hard drive (I have two of these in my own rig). The RAM I had chosen was out of stock, so I got something a little faster (10600 --> 10666) at about the same price. And Newegg has a one-day sale on Centurion cases with free shipping, so I got a slightly better case and saved $10 on shipping.

If I were building this for FSX, I'd be nervous. But for its intended purposes, I think it's going to be ok, and make its owner very happy.

Thank you again, Ted.



1 x ($70.00) CPU AMD|ATH II X3 435 AM3 R (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103724)

$70.00






1 x ($84.99) MB ASUS M4A77TD AMD770 R (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131603)

$84.99






1 x ($39.99) CASE COOLERMAS|CAC-T05-UW BLK RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119068)

$39.99






1 x ($114.99) VGA MSI|N9800GT-MD1G RT (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127441)

$114.99






1 x ($25.99) DVD_BURN PIONEER|DVR-118LBK % - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827129043)

$25.99






1 x ($59.99) HD 640G|WD WD6401AALS % - OEM (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319)

$59.99






1 x ($97.99) MEM 2Gx2|ADATA AD3U1333B2G9-DRH R (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820211364)

$97.99








Subtotal: $493.94
Tax: $0.00
Shipping and Handling: $9.38
Total Amount: $503.32

[dswo]

I did the build Wednesday after dinner, installed Windows today and copied over the old files. The user is very pleased with the speed (no overclocking so far). I am happy with the sound level. Thank you again, Ted, for your suggestions.

[harleyman]

That should do rather well once OCed a bit too...

[txnetcop]

David I have a little surprise for ya. Without raising the voltage in the BIOS you can run the bus speed in the bios to 232 mhz which will raise the core speed to almost 3.4Ghz and it runs FSX just fine on medium high settings.
Ted

Later if you are interested I will tell you how to get that core up to 3.8Ghz and there you will see an even better graphics representation of FSX. However you will have to buy an aftermarket cpu heatsink and fan and raise the voltage a bit-not that much. It will still run at 46C on full load which is more than acceptable tolerance for heat.

[dswo]

David I have a little surprise for ya. Without raising the voltage in the BIOS you can run the bus speed in the bios to 232 mhz which will raise the core speed to almost 3.4Ghz and it runs FSX just fine on medium high settings.
Ted

Later if you are interested I will tell you how to get that core up to 3.8Ghz and there you will see an even better graphics representation of FSX. However you will have to buy an aftermarket cpu heatsink and fan and raise the voltage a bit-not that much. It will still run at 46C on full load which is more than acceptable tolerance for heat.

That's pretty impressive. One of the things I want to try, after the build has proven itself in the stock configuration, is unlocking the fourth core. For $90, this is turning out to be a very capable motherboard -- at least as good as the Gigabyte I used three years ago. This was my third ASUS product in the last year -- other two were a router and monitor -- and so far they've all been solid.

I also like the way the (stock) heatsink attaches to the Athlon processor. Whether it's as effective as the Intel system with four pins I don't know -- I imagine the four-pin system distributes pressure more evenly -- but it's definitely less stressful on me.

Also impressed by the Centurion case. I think I like my Antec Sonata better, and for my next rig I want to try one of the Lancool models from Lian Li (Lancool brand = cheaper materials, same design). But the Centurion came with everything I needed, and for a budget case it was pretty easy to work in. The side panel doesn't slide on and off as easily as the Antec, and although it's billed as "tool-less" I would have been lost without a screwdriver. You need one to attach the mobo, and you need it again to attach the PSU. The plastic tabs that are supposed to hold the cards in -- I just needed two slots, for the GPU and its fan -- broke immediately, so I needed a couple more screws there. (I expected this from the reviews on NewEgg.) On the plus side, the locking mechanism for the drive drawers works pretty well (although, again, I think the Antec design is even better). On the other hand, the Antec has a stupid, stupid front door that covers up the "on" switch.

Finally, kudos to NewEgg: good prices, LOTS of reviews, efficient shipping. I placed my order with $10, three-day shipping on Monday morning and got it Wednesday afternoon. That's from NJ to NC. (They have another warehouse in TN, but I guess the NJ one has more stuff.)