Good/bad time to build a PC?

[monkeyboy311]

I am looking to build a new PC for my dad, I havent kept up with the latest CPU news and was curious if its a good or bad time to build a new PC. The budget guide from February looks pretty good, thinking about those components.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/4164/budget-system-builders-guide-february-2011/2

 

[skipsneeky2]

Looking at the specs it looks like a pretty decent budget system.

If your father doesnt game and does basic emailing and stuff of that nature heck that system there will do just fine .

 

[skipsneeky2]

Also if he just emails and stuff like that he could also run ubuntu which wont cost nothing and that can save $100 over the os cost permitting you have a second rig and can burn a iso file.

 

[alyarb]

nm i didn't even see he was looking at the budget box.

For very basic web computing on a computer you don't want to replace for many years, you would be better getting a triple core and not the Athlon II X2.. this is pretty cheap.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.643096

and get a samsung F3 hard drive.


With Llano you may see these X3's become even cheaper. But the cheapest Llano quad core + motherboard would probably be $60 more than the above-posted combo, and I would consider Llano overkill for basic web computing.

 

[drizek]

I say wait for Llano.

 

[Zap]

I say wait for Llano.

This. Wait until middle of June. That's when rumors say Llano will be released. It should be a relatively budget platform, with better power properties (lower TDP) than current AMD CPUs.

 

[RussianSensation]

Do you have a MicroCenter near you? You can get a Phenom II X4 CPU+Mobo bundle for about $130.

 

[monkeyboy311]

Do you have a MicroCenter near you? You can get a Phenom II X4 CPU+Mobo bundle for about $130.

Thats a nice deal. Nearest MC is 7 hours away

THanks for all the responses. My Dad basically checks email, surfs the web, MS Office, and watches videos/movies.

Ive read that the integrated video on the newer mobos can playback 1080p just fine, anyone have experience with this? He does have a 24" widescreen monitor, so it would need to playback video with no issues.

 

[RussianSensation]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.638451

$200

I would probably add an HD5450 for $25 on top for movies.

Not sure how much you want to spend, do you want room to upgrade down the line (i.e., to replace the processor or add more than 4GBs of RAM?). If you have a budget of $400-500, I'll put something else together for you

Also, have you thought about just buying a laptop? Your dad could hook it up to a monitor but have the added portability factor (plus less power consumption and space being taken up).

 

[Duke of Nada]

If you go with Ubuntu go with 10.10. Give the 11.04 some time because it has to many problems still.

 

[GrumpyMan]

It's always a good time to upgrade if you have some funds and do some research like you have been. Wait a bit as suggested to have as many options as possible.
I have a week of vacation coming up and some available funds for an upgrade, but the funds also sure do look good in my account too.....do I really need an upgrade from my E8500 at 4.1 w/P5EPremium? Not really, but the itch is there.....dammit.

 

[Texashiker]

Good/bad time to build a PC?

If you wait for the newest products to be released, and prices to drop, you will be waiting forever.

Buy what you can afford, and be happy.

 

[flexcore]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.638451

$200

I would probably add an HD5450 for $25 on top for movies.

I would stay away from the motherboard that is included in the combo you linked to. Actually I would stay FAR away from any motherboard that is based upon a Nvidia chipset. VERY outdated crap,

 

[monkeyboy311]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.638451

$200

I would probably add an HD5450 for $25 on top for movies.

Not sure how much you want to spend, do you want room to upgrade down the line (i.e., to replace the processor or add more than 4GBs of RAM?). If you have a budget of $400-500, I'll put something else together for you

Also, have you thought about just buying a laptop? Your dad could hook it up to a monitor but have the added portability factor (plus less power consumption and space being taken up).

I want to spend around $300. I plan on using the same case, optical drive, and other common parts. The PSU in his current computer is a 400W Antec but its the old ATX standard so Im not sure how picky newer mobos are about that.

 

[drizek]

$300 for a motherboard CPU and RAM?

Llano. Definitely. $160 chip, $90 motherboard, $60 RAM.

You'll have a quad core with a midrange graphics card, a fully featured board and 8GB of DDR3. It should last you a very long time.

 

[tweakboy]

He will be all setup with that rig setup you showed. gl

 

[monkeyboy311]

He will be all setup with that rig setup you showed. gl

The budget guide?

As far as waiting for Llano, when is that chip due out? I try not to get stuck in a rut of waiting for new tech because there will always be something better coming out, but sometimes its best to wait a little longer to get the latest.

 

[tweakboy]

After taking another look. Your system for 546 is a rip off big time.

That CPU is worth 50 bucks, video 50 to 100 dollars 8800GT or 9800GT

I wouldnt take that CPU if you gift wrapped it and sent it. This is for your DAD, and for him its a great system, it will be fast , with what he wants to do. photos videos ,data etc etc.

 

[toolbag]

get a Sandy Bridge 2500k. You're dad will need this when you start him gaming.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

The budget guide?

As far as waiting for Llano, when is that chip due out? I try not to get stuck in a rut of waiting for new tech because there will always be something better coming out, but sometimes its best to wait a little longer to get the latest.

If there was ever a time to wait for something better to be released, it's now. Wait for Llano unless you absolutely must build this rig asap.

 

[RussianSensation]

$300 for a motherboard CPU and RAM?

Llano. Definitely. $160 chip, $90 motherboard, $60 RAM.

Why definitely? You realize you can get a Core i3 2100 system $115 CPU that beats a Phenom II X4 955 for most every day tasks (which is what the OP is looking for his dad). Llano is only useful if you need that added GPU performance, which in this case can easily be covered by an HD5450 for $25 which will be no worse than the Llano GPU for movies/videos in 1080P.

Also, that Antec 400 Watts PSU is perfectly fine as long as you have a 20- to 24-pin adapter as new motherboards use 24 pins.

 

[Gigantopithecus]

Thats a nice deal. Nearest MC is 7 hours away

THanks for all the responses. My Dad basically checks email, surfs the web, MS Office, and watches videos/movies.

Ive read that the integrated video on the newer mobos can playback 1080p just fine, anyone have experience with this? He does have a 24" widescreen monitor, so it would need to playback video with no issues.

If that's what your pops uses his computer for, then my suggested AMD nettop build is a better option than the systems in my budget builder's guide. Also, assuming your parents are like mine and need little to no storage space, get an SSD instead of a mechanical HDD. The system snappiness and responsiveness will definitely impress him.

 

[aigomorla]

if its just for email, surfs the web, MS Office, and watches videos/movies (1080p?).

Even an ATOM setup would be king, and some of them are small enough to fit inside your backpack even.

Well it would depend on the 1080, and what type of format the 1080 is.

 

[lopri]

Memory price is very attractive right now.

 

[alyarb]

I'm going to throw out that my Rana+F3 suggestion is the only one under $200 and is negligibly slower than other suggestions in the basic stuff the computer will be doing. The only reasonable step up for this would be the i3 2100, but money spent there would be more appreciated on a small sandforce SSD like the 50GB Vertex 2 to accompany the F3.