New build for a friend

[MrToilet]

A friend asked me to build him a decent gaming computer for his son - not top of the line or anything, just decent for today's games, also used for general computing. He wants this computer to be good for at least 3 years or so, since his son will be taking it to college, etc.

Price is somewhere around $1500 with some wiggle room, but he wants a 24" LCD. I'm buying most of my stuff either online (Newegg, etc) or B&M (CompUSA, I know, high prices, yada yada, but it's close to my house).

I've used AMD parts for most of my other builds, but I'm open to a good Intel setup. This will be all new parts, btw. This system will NOT be overclocked, and quietness is preferred to performance.

So, with that in mind, here is what I came up with: prices are approximate from Newegg:

Case/PSU: Coolermaster Centurion w/ Window, Enermax Liberty 500W - $150
Motherboard: Asus M2N SLI - $130
CPU: AMD X2 65W, 2.4 gHz - $70
RAM: 2 x G.Skill 2x1GB kits - $100
Video Card: 8800GT 512MB - $270
Sound Card: X-Fi - $80
HD: Seagate 250 or 320 - $60 @ BB, or $65-$85 online
DVD/DVD-R drives - $50 for both
OS: Vista Home Premium - $110
Webcam, microphone, card reader, wireless adapter - ~$80 for everything

Samsung 24" LCD from Newegg: $400 w/ MIR

Total is right around $1500.

Any thoughts? Thanks.

 

[Denithor]

Dump the sound card, there is virtually no reason these days to pay the extra cost as on-board audio is excellent quality. Go with an Intel system if this is used mainly for gaming. Get a single DVD burner, no need for two. Go with 64-bit Vista Home Premium to really use that 4GB of RAM, this OS will probably be more useable in the future as more 64-bit software is released. I have also recommended a better PSU below at a lower price than the Enermax you found.

abit IP35-E $97
e6750 (2.66GHz, 4MB cache) $190
mushkin 2x2GB DDR2-800 $88 (after $25MIR)
Seagate 250GB (Sata, 16MB cache) $65
Sony NEC 20X DVD burner $26
Coolermaster Centurion w/ Window $55
Seasonic 500W PSU $70
Vista Home Premium 64-bit $111
EVGA or XFX 8800GT $275
Webcam, microphone, card reader, wireless adapter - ~$80
Samsung 24" $400 after MIR

Total: $1457 after MIR

This will be a much faster computer than you listed for about the same price. Note that you still have a little room for a sound card if it is absolutely necessary (only buy this after you build the rig and the kid decides the onboard sound is inadequate--neglect to tell him it doesn't have the X-Fi and he will never miss it).

EDIT: Go with an EVGA or XFX 8800GT because of their excellent lifetime warranty (make sure to register the card right away). I would personally go EVGA because if new, much higher performance next generation cards are launched within 90 days of purchase you can use their Step-Up program to turn in your card, pay the difference, and get a faster model.