I'm trying to build a computer for my uncle...need some help

[littletemple]

My uncle has asked me to build a computer for his daughter. He wants a really good one and his budget is anything under $1000 and he already has an LCD monitor so a monitor is not included in the $1000 budget. I haven't been keeping track of the latest technology of CPUs, motherboard, cases, power supplies and video card, etc and wish for some help in the catergory. I was wondering if I could get some suggestions of what to buy, where to get and how much it is around for? I'm probably going to stick with AMD 64bit cpus, and video card for some light gaming...

PART - Name - Where - Price
CPU - AMD 64 xxxx+ - ? - ?
Motherboard - Asus? - ? - ?
Case - ? -? -?
Power Supply - ? -? -?
Video Card - ?- ?- ?
Hard Drive - Seagate 300GB - Frys(tomorrow) - $70AR
DVDRW - Benq 1655 - Newegg - $48
Memory - HyperX 1GB Kit - ZipZoomFly - $73AR
Keyboard/Mouse - MX610 - newegg - $27AR and not keyboard yet
Speakers - ?- ?- ?

THANKS

 

[daveymark]

get a dell and be done with it

 

[stan394]

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

 

[Schfifty Five]

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

Best idea ever.

You can get a great system for $1000, and the best part would be that you woudln't have to be 24/7/365 tech support for the life of the comp.

 

[thecrecarc]

WRONG FORUM!!

 

[littletemple]

Originally posted by: thecrecarc
WRONG FORUM!!

which one then?

 

[littletemple]

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

 

[daveymark]

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

scratch off the labels and cut a hole in the dell

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

"Beggars can't be choosers"?

Why the need for a window?

Why the aversion to Dell?

MotionMan

 

[littletemple]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

"Beggars can't be choosers"?

Why the need for a window?

Why the aversion to Dell?

MotionMan

THey want some LED fans and they want a cool looking case(they've seen mine with LED lights and they like it) and I don't know why they don't want a Dell....but dell desktops don't have side windows...

 

[alimoalem]

what's bes to do, littletemple, is to choose your own components and post it here for critique. even if you don't do that, we need to know what they want. are they willing to overclock? what's going to be done with the rig? does your cousin game? what is it she needs this for? just word processing and web browsing?

here's what i would get:
CPU: X2 3800 - $295...or the opteron165 if they're overclocking (it's $30 more)
motherboard: Epox 9npa+ Ultra - $105
GPU: eVGA 7900GT - $299
RAM: 2gb kit of g.skill value ($139 - CAS 2.5)
hard drive: Western Digital SE16 250gb - $96
psu: fortron 450 w - $50
optical: NEC DVD Burner or get the $36 one (search newegg) - $36
case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 - $54

this comes to around $1075....has everything she'll really need...2 gigs of ram; a good overclockable system; an awesome video card; stable power supply; dvd burner; 250gb hdd....only problem i can see is the case. it does have a window but i don't personally find it too attractive.

if you wanna save $75, i would cut down to a single 1gb stick of the g.skill ram and add a second one whenever they have the money to do it. your hard drive saves $20 more. there are a lot of decent $90 motherbords too

 

[otispunkmeyer]

do it, but just tell them you cant be their tech support.

if you build a good system, and show them how to look after windows, things should take care of themselves. i always by quality brands (especially PSU, mobo, and gpu) and ive not had a single hardware problem.....well ever.

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

"Beggars can't be choosers"?
Why the need for a window?
Why the aversion to Dell?
MotionMan

THey want some LED fans and they want a cool looking case(they've seen mine with LED lights and they like it) and I don't know why they don't want a Dell....but dell desktops don't have side windows...

Dell + Dremel = Side Windows + (Tech Support + a really good <$1,000 computer + less headaches for you).

Just seems like you will be putting forth a lot of effort for very little payoff.

Your uncle and cousin seem more concerned with looks than performance, so if you have a Fry's nearby, just grab the Friday newspaper ad and build your cheap, cool-looking computer from that.

MotionMan

 

[pkrush]

Motherboard
Processor
DVD Burner
Video Card
Case
Power Supply
Total with the hard drive and memory you picked out ~ $750
You'll also need a windows license and you may want to upgrade the processor, video card, and memory, but otherwise this should be a perfectly good build.

 

[Bobthelost]

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

"Beggars can't be choosers"?
Why the need for a window?
Why the aversion to Dell?
MotionMan

THey want some LED fans and they want a cool looking case(they've seen mine with LED lights and they like it) and I don't know why they don't want a Dell....but dell desktops don't have side windows...

Dell + Dremel = Side Windows + (Tech Support + a really good <$1,000 computer + less headaches for you).

Just seems like you will be putting forth a lot of effort for very little payoff.

Your uncle and cousin seem more concerned with looks than performance, so if you have a Fry's nearby, just grab the Friday newspaper ad and build your cheap, cool-looking computer from that.

MotionMan

I don't know why but i suspect that taking a dremmel to the side of your case might invalidate the warranty somewhat.

 

[Diasper]

If it's for his daughter at a guess it might be worth looking at a smaller, more portable computer, less clunkly looking unit especially if this is for going off to uni etc

What I'd look at

- Aspire QPack (I'd recommend the all black windowless one - change/undervolt the rear fan for lower noise)
- Enermax Liberty PSU 400 / 500W depending on other power components
- X2 3800+ or 165+ if overclocking as before. 3200+ S939 if she won't be doing anything intensive ever.
- Zalman 7000 heatsink if going for the X2 3800+ at least (the heatsink that comes with the 165 is rather good)
- DFI RS482 or Jetway RS482 based boards - the latter is more feature rich (SATA2, faster USB, better sound) but doesn't overclock as well - rather only to 300HTT which is still decent. Check hardforums SFF section for more info.
- 2GB RAM if she is into/or will be into gaming/photoshopping/will ever use Vista otherwise 1GB would be fine.
- graphics card depends on whether she's gonna be a gamer or not - and even if she is what type eg the Sims doesn't require much and onboard would be fine. Consider sticking with on-board if you want.
- 200-300GB hardrive
- MX518 mouse? Logitech G15 keyboard if she's a gamer and into lighted keyboards
- BenQ DVD-RW as the best DVD-RW on the market. Otherwise NEC.

 

[theMan]

window = helping girl learn about inside of computer? besides, its fun to build a computer. make sure you have them do the actually building, with your help of course. theres no point in getting a custom computer unless you have all the fun of building it.

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: theman
window = helping girl learn about inside of computer? besides, its fun to build a computer. make sure you have them do the actually building, with your help of course. theres no point in getting a custom computer unless you have all the fun of building it.

:thumbsup:

 

[MotionMan]

Originally posted by: Bobthelost

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: MotionMan

Originally posted by: littletemple

Originally posted by: stan394

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

yeah. why the hassle...

they want a case with a side window and they don't want a dell...

"Beggars can't be choosers"?
Why the need for a window?
Why the aversion to Dell?
MotionMan

THey want some LED fans and they want a cool looking case(they've seen mine with LED lights and they like it) and I don't know why they don't want a Dell....but dell desktops don't have side windows...

Dell + Dremel = Side Windows + (Tech Support + a really good <$1,000 computer + less headaches for you).

Just seems like you will be putting forth a lot of effort for very little payoff.

Your uncle and cousin seem more concerned with looks than performance, so if you have a Fry's nearby, just grab the Friday newspaper ad and build your cheap, cool-looking computer from that.

MotionMan

I don't know why but i suspect that taking a dremmel to the side of your case might invalidate the warranty somewhat.

Not as to the innards.

In any event, it looks like they have their heart set on something else. Good luck.

MotionMan

 

[Ausm]

Originally posted by: Schfifty Five

Originally posted by: daveymark
get a dell and be done with it

Best idea ever.

You can get a great system for $1000, and the best part would be that you woudln't have to be 24/7/365 tech support for the life of the comp.

I hear ya there I build computers on the side and people think for some reaon it comes with free lifetime support!

Ausm

 

[alimoalem]

Originally posted by: Ausm
I hear ya there I build computers on the side and people think for some reaon it comes with free lifetime support!

Ausm

that sucks...good pay or it's really just for fun?