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new guy, new build opinions please?

D

dull

Junior Member
my gf hasn't had her own computer for 3 years since we moved so for valentines day i'm building her a new one. she'll be using it for browsing, youtube, flash video, netflix, email, caming, etc.

does this look like a good build for her? i'm going to be using on-board graphics and trying to keep the budget around $350, and shopping at frys. any suggestions are welcome.

antec sonata with 380watt ps- her old case
amd a6 3650---$90
corsair 90gb force lll ssd---$99 ar
kingston ddr3 1600 8gb ram @1.65volts---$40
gigabyte ga-a75m-d2h---$90

thanks!
 
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Buy RAM that is 1.5 volts. $90 for a mobo in a $350 total budget seems pretty high, however the newegg price for that same mobo is $70 AR.

If she does everything through the browser and doesn't store media files or other space consuming files on the PC itself, even a 64GB SSD might be enough. Crucial M4 64GB is only $80 on newegg. More reliable than Corsair Force and no rebate hassle; could also check the price at Fry's.

Personally I would build around Intel Sandy Bridge (i.e. Celeron G530 / Pentium G620), they have better cpu performance for the price. I don't know though whether the stuff she does on the internet requires a bit more oomph on the graphics side - but as ken g6 pointed out, a discrete GPU can be fit in the budget in that case.
 
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i promised the gf that i would at least start the build this weekend, and i wanted to buy local and fry's selection is very poor. that's kind of why i landed on the amd. i'm heading over there now and i'll see what's on the shelf. thanks for all your help and i'll let you know what i end up with.
 
Personally I'd get
Sempron 145$39
880g mobo$80 (not a very good price for an 880g mobo)
4gb RAM$23
Your choice between SSD or mechanical HDD.

Should be right around $200.

I'm using a 785g mobo which is basically the same as an 880g with a slower graphics clock speed, it runs all the flash based stuff you mention just fine, if gaming means zuma and farmville the above system will be fine, if you intend to play real games you have money in your budget for a discrete graphics card and an Athlon II or Phenom processor. There are many reports of sempron CPUs unlocking to Athlon II X2 CPUs.
 
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kornphlake said:
Personally I'd get
Sempron 145$39
880g mobo$80 (not a very good price for an 880g mobo)
4gb RAM$23
Your choice between SSD or mechanical HDD.
Click to expand...

There is no reason to get a single core Sempron for $39 when you can get a dual-core Sandy Bridge G530 for $52. Add in a low-cost H61 mobo and you're at price parity. Needless to say, the G530 will be much faster than the Sempron.
 
mfenn said:
There is no reason to get a single core Sempron for $39 when you can get a dual-core Sandy Bridge G530 for $52. Add in a low-cost H61 mobo and you're at price parity. Needless to say, the G530 will be much faster than the Sempron.
Click to expand...

If you can unlock the Sempron to an AthlonII X2 2.8ghz all else should be roughly equal though right?
 
kornphlake said:
If you can unlock the Sempron to an AthlonII X2 2.8ghz all else should be roughly equal though right?
Click to expand...

No, the Sandy Bridge would still be faster. Why would you want to spend more money on a slower chip that you have to hope will unlock?
 
here is the build:

cpu-- g530 $49
mobo-- gigabyte z68ma-d2h-b3 $110 a/r
memory-- 8gb samsung mv-3v4g3d $40
case-- coolermaster elite 360/350w ps $40 a/r
dvd-- asus oem $25

total $264

i spent more than i planned to on the mobo looking to up-grade to an i5 or ivy later this year, and frys intel selection was very limited. i also bought a corsair 90gb ssd but was able to re-use an old hard drive so i'm going to return it to frys and wait for a better deal with more gbs. i initially bought an msi h67ma-e45 but would have had to flash the bios to work with the g530.

thanks everyone for your help. the gf was very, very pleased with her new computer:biggrin:
 
Kind of overkill on the mobo, but I guess you have to work with what's available when you buy locally. Glad she likes it though!
 
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