Helping a friend convert from Mac (build thread)

[Orwellian]

My friend's apt was broken into and they got his Wii and Mac. Since I can't build him a Wii, I figured I'd help with the computer. He had been thinking of leaving the church of apple for a while, and this is the tipping point. So first off, win7 or xp? I assume 7...

priorities are:

internet (watching a lot of videos)
gaming (he's a geek, but hasn't been able to do much besides WoW since he was Mac)

anyways here is my tentative build for the desired $800 range. needs a complete system. While he would like a better rig, his wallet makes this a mid-low range gaming rig. Mostly I need advice on alternates that would be more suited to the gaming side for the same price. my list hit ~$820 with the combos and shipping. Obviously my build skills are pretty much: pick parts with lots of reviews, mostly good.

Case and PS: Antec 900 case and PS combo 620w http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.304809

MOBO: GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P AM3 AMD 770 ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128392

CPU: AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processorhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103680

HD :Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136098

Vid Card:EVGA 01G-P3-N959-TR GeForce 9500 GT 1GB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support Video Card http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130395

Memory 2gig:Crucial 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146526

DVD burner:LITE-ON 22X DVD Writer http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106328

Monitor: Acer X213Hbid 21.5" 5ms HDMI Widescreen Full HD 1080P LCD Monitorhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824009175

Logitec mouse/keyboard ~$22
Win 7 32bit OEM $104

USofA

Now I do have a crappy old case w/ a 500w PS (questionable, I haven't used it) I could use them if that money would make a big difference in other parts. I'm hesitant though since this is for a friend. If it was going in my house I'd use them in a second.

 

[mpilchfamily]

List the items don't just leave a link. It sucks having to click back and forth form all the links to see what you are going for.

Use the old case just not the old PSU. Especially if that PSU came with the case originally. A new 400W PSU will be able to support better hardware then that old 500W since it hase more power going to the 12V rails then the old one does.

As for the OS. You may be hard pressed to get a copy of XP for a new build. But yes win 7 is the only way to go unless you want an open source OS. i.e. a flavor of Linux

 

[Bateluer]

That 9500GT video card isn't going to cut it for much in the way of gaming. The Radeon 4650 is around 50 dollars and leaves even and OC'd 9500GT in the dust.
http://www.madshrimps.be/vbulletin/...-gt-vs-8600-gt-vs-hd-4650-vs-hd-3650-a-57719/

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161303

 

[elconejito]

You're going to definitely want to go Win7. No reason not to. Way better than XP in every way.

Instead of the WD3200AAJS, I'd go for the WD3200AAKS which is literally $2 more. Even better the WD5000AAKS for $7 more. But at least get the WD3200AAKS which has 16mb cache instead of 8mb.

For the case and PSU I'd pick up a smaller PSU (like has been mentioned). There's a Corsair CMPSU-400CX for $50 that would be perfect. Pickup a non-ugly cheapo case for $50 or less. Might save up to $50 there, or $90 if you give him your old case.

I did a quick search on newegg between $50-75 and there are a couple of 4650's and 4670's in there. If I were in your shoes I'd pickup the 4650 for near $50, and use the savings towards some more RAM to get it up around 4GB. That might save you another $20.

 

[WildW]

I would go for Win 7 64bit. Even if you don't need it now there's no reason not to go 64bit on new hardware, and it will make life easier when he wants more ram.

I would agree on reusing an old case if it's any good, just add a new power supply. Saved money to go to a faster graphics card. Antec cases are really nice, but a luxury.

And CPU . . for the money you can have Phenom II X2 or Athlon II X4 . . .I would take the extra two cores over the extra cache, particularly if you stretch to the 630 for another $15. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103704

 

[boardsportsrule]

You're going to definitely want to go Win7. No reason not to. Way better than XP in every way.

Instead of the WD3200AAJS, I'd go for the WD3200AAKS which is literally $2 more. Even better the WD5000AAKS for $7 more. But at least get the WD3200AAKS which has 16mb cache instead of 8mb.

For the case and PSU I'd pick up a smaller PSU (like has been mentioned). There's a Corsair CMPSU-400CX for $50 that would be perfect. Pickup a non-ugly cheapo case for $50 or less. Might save up to $50 there, or $90 if you give him your old case.

I gotta agree 100% with this post. bigger hard drive; lesser case. the ram is your call. 2gb is fine, 4gb is better. 4gb=> 64bit win7...

 

[Orwellian]

this is why i don't build without coming here. I appreciate all the thoughtful advice and will keep it all in mind when I order for him.