I need input/help on what to buy- Building a computer

[Termie]

Okay, I've tried to put together something I think might work. It's not all the parts, but I've decided he can find his own sound card and other things.
I guess just tell me if this would work, or if something is horrible wrong? I'm really trying here, I've still been sitting here since my last post.

Intel Core i5-3330 Ivy Bridge 3.0GHz (3.2GHz Turbo) LGA 1155 Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i53330
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...&Tpk=i5%203330

Great choice.

GIGABYTE GA-B75M-D3H LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128555

I'd go for an H77 board instead, as it provides more SATA 6Gbps ports (for hard drives) and SSD caching for just a few dollars more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157302

Patriot Viper 3 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model PV316G160C9K
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820220686

---I realized that ther00kie16 had picked out different RAM for only $5ish more than this one, so it's probably better...
$60 ($15 promo) for any 16gb DDR3 1600MHZ kit like this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104318

Either one will work - they are equivalent.

Western Digital WD Blue WD10EZEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...lue%20WD10EZEX

Good choice.

Rosewill CHALLENGER Black Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, comes with Three Fans-1x Front Blue LED 120mm Fan, 1x Top 140mm Fan, 1x Rear 120mm Fan, option Fans-2x Side 120mm Fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...scrollFullInfo

That will work fine.

Rosewill RV350 350W ATX 1.3 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0W%20ATX%201.3

This is one area you don't want to cut corners on. You really should stick with the Corsair options here for just a few dollars more: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...1&name=Corsair

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
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...827135204

That will work.

Thank you for your time!

Amanda

Nice work!

I've put a few comments above in red.

 

[ther00kie16]

Agree on motherboard & power supply suggestions by Termie. I've heard plenty of bad power supply stories. Also keep the computer on a surge protector.

DVD burners aren't really worth it these days. I'm sure there'll be a $50 Blu ray burner this Black Friday considering it was only $60 last year on newegg. And you could probably use the old drives.

The Rosewill Challenger is ok but there's a newer version with USB 3.0. My friend got it when it was on sale for $50 and thought it was ok, not great. He cut his finger on the inside of the case.

There'll be quite a few better cases in that price range in sales this month I'd imagine so the case along with the optical drive and hard drive are parts you can wait to get better deals or better alternatives.

 

[random_numbers]

Okay, maybe I got carried away with the fancy looking blue light they have in the picture with that one case, I'll get the Corsair 300r instead and a Corsair power supply. My husband probably wouldn't want the pretty blue light anyway, especially if I told him I thought it was pretty, hehe!

And I'll get the H77 motherboard too.

Thank you guys for all your help! I'm so excited!

Amanda

 

[ther00kie16]

Forgot to mention that sound cards aren't necessary he has specific uses as onboard audio has been very good for awhile.

 

[mfenn]

Get an i3. And more importantly get a HD7750. Dont sick an IGP on anyone you love. Anyone who says otherwise clearly does not know what they are talking about. Those things choke up and die as soon as you play a video on one screen and a simple flash game on another screen. Get a video card! HD 7750 is quite low power. Read the reviews and find one that is quiet!

You've got something seriously wrong with your computer if you can't play multiple flash videos or games at the same time, IGP or no IGP. I just opened 4 720p youtube videos on my Macbook Air (HD4000 IGP 1.8Ghz Ivy dual) at the same time and they played flawlessly.

 

[mfenn]

Okay, maybe I got carried away with the fancy looking blue light they have in the picture with that one case, I'll get the Corsair 300r instead and a Corsair power supply. My husband probably wouldn't want the pretty blue light anyway, especially if I told him I thought it was pretty, hehe!

And I'll get the H77 motherboard too.

Thank you guys for all your help! I'm so excited!

Amanda

Which Corsair power supply? You don't need more than 430-500W for this system, so there's no need to spend a lot of money on anything bigger.

 

[ther00kie16]

You've got something seriously wrong with your computer if you can't play multiple flash videos or games at the same time, IGP or no IGP. I just opened 4 720p youtube videos on my Macbook Air (HD4000 IGP 1.8Ghz Ivy dual) at the same time and they played flawlessly.

Yup, I could stream 720p and dual screen with core 2 platform laptops and Intel IGP is way better now. Surprisingly, ATi's IGP was giving me artifacts back in the days instead.

Which Corsair power supply? You don't need more than 430-500W for this system, so there's no need to spend a lot of money on anything bigger.

mhmm... cheapest is the 500w model actually for $50-$20 rebate.

 

[random_numbers]

Which Corsair power supply? You don't need more than 430-500W for this system, so there's no need to spend a lot of money on anything bigger.

I was going to buy
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

 

[Termie]

I was going to buy
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply

That is a good choice, although right now the 500w model happens to be cheaper. If you aren't purchasing soon, the 430w model will likely be the better buy.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

You've got something seriously wrong with your computer if you can't play multiple flash videos or games at the same time, IGP or no IGP. I just opened 4 720p youtube videos on my Macbook Air (HD4000 IGP 1.8Ghz Ivy dual) at the same time and they played flawlessly.

The HD4000 is a capable little chip. The HD2500 is NOT a capable little chip. Its fine for basic single monitor setups but just lacks the power to drive two 1080p's at the same time. Even my "mini" media-centre Celeron G465 can play 1080p youtubes without breaking a sweat (CPU usage ~15%). I would pay for a 35W Celeron with a HD4000 equivalent GFX core... :thumbsup:

To the OP, you could go with a 3225 with the HD4000 it should be plenty sufficient for basic(non-gaming) use...

my 2c...

 

[Termie]

In response to the above, remember that the goal here is to give the user a good base to build with. The i3-3225 does have the advantage of the faster HD 4000 graphics chip over the i5-3330 and its HD2500, but the latter is a quad core, which is likely a better long term investment. If the on board HD2500 doesn't work out, adding a video card is a simple solution. The HD 4000 will become outdated much faster than an i5 quad core.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

In response to the above, remember that the goal here is to give the user a good base to build with. The i3-3225 does have the advantage of the faster HD 4000 graphics chip over the i5-3330 and its HD2500, but the latter is a quad core, which is likely a better long term investment. If the on board HD2500 doesn't work out, adding a video card is a simple solution. The HD 4000 will become outdated much faster than an i5 quad core.

You're properly right. As I wrote the HD2500 is fine if you just run a single monitor and its easy to add a discrete card later. Given the choice I would definitely go with the i5-3330. But Intels weak GPUs (Other then the HD4000) is something to keep in mind when you run a multi-monitor setup. Why doesn't Intel make a low-end i5 with the HD4000, they are bound to have some binned HE-4 chips lying around...?

 

[random_numbers]

Okay, I'm confused. So the i5 isn't able to handle two screens at once? And I will have to buy a video card right away?

If that is the case, is there a certain kind of video card I should get?

 

[ther00kie16]

Okay, I'm confused. So the i5 isn't able to handle two screens at once? And I will have to buy a video card right away?

If that is the case, is there a certain kind of video card I should get?

i5 will. Insert_Nickname has boasted of his Celeron before and it's not even HD 2000 as it's based on the previous generation. Previous generation's integrated graphics included HD 2000 and the higher HD 3000. Current generation's 2500 and 4000 are faster than the previous. Ivy Bridge Processors (3rd gen core i) will output to 2 (and 3) displays as long as there are 2 video outs on the motherboard (3rd video out has to be displayport). Only minor thing to note would be that the 2 video outs have to be one of each of analog (VGA) and digital (DVI/HDMI) so it could be problematic if the current monitors only have digital or only analog. The latter case can usually be solved by a simple adapter but I'm not sure about the former.

I'm using a 2nd generation i3 laptop and output to 2 screens just fine so there'll be no worry about the video issue. Also, video cards increase in performance faster than processors so you don't want to be buying that ahead of time, not to mention there'll be better deals come Black Friday/Christmas. Also, if your husband needs a video card, he'll probably have his own view of how much GPU power he needs, which is something he may have to research and ask a lot more questions on his own if/when that time comes.

 

[mfenn]

The HD4000 is a capable little chip. The HD2500 is NOT a capable little chip. Its fine for basic single monitor setups but just lacks the power to drive two 1080p's at the same time

Absolute nonsense. The HD2500 and HD4000 are the exact same thing except for clock speeds and the number of enabled EUs. Neither of those matter in this case because basic video output and hardware decode acceleration is handled by fixed function units that are the same between the two models.

Rendering Aero does use the EUs, but it is so easy that even the slowest Arrandale IGP could handle it across two monitors without issues. The HD2500 is about an order of magnitude faster than that.

 

[Ketchup]

Random_numbers, getting your husband parts for a new pc is a great idea! My wife has surprised me in the past with computer parts, and I loved it!

As far as recommendations, I don't want to bore you. Instead, I recommend you follow Termie's recommendations. He has been offering great advice to folks who are upgrading and building new PC's for quite some time.

 

[Termie]

Random_numbers, getting your husband parts for a new pc is a great idea! My wife has surprised me in the past with computer parts, and I loved it!

As far as recommendations, I don't want to bore you. Instead, I recommend you follow Termie's recommendations. He has been offering great advice to folks who are upgrading and building new PC's for quite some time.

Thanks, ketchup, although I'm not the only one with good ideas here. Luckily random numbers has been a good sport about hearing all the ideas and trying to sort through them.

Hopefully, this will all work out and her husband will be very impressed. Maybe he'll even want to join our forum and share his build experience!