Opinions on this budget Conroe build please!

[twinturbovenom80]

Below is the parts that I am building for a friend (or rather his 2 younder daughters - about 13). The computer is Core 2 Duo based (but I am getting the chip from a friend, not NewEgg).

Please tell me also which of the two motherboards listed below is more suitable for the PC. It will be used for casual games, lots of music, downloading stuff, chatting etc. They want everything wireless/clean, which is why the bluetooth keybaord and the integrated speakrs into the monitor. Also, how is the case? I think it is a good aluminum case.

ANY AND ALL comments would be GREATLY appreciated.

Part Description Price
LITE-ON 16X DVD Burner w/ LightScribe - Retail 1 37.99
COOLER MASTER Mystique 631 Aluminum ATX 1 99.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 250GB 7200 SATA 1 77.99
Optiquest by Viewsonice Q7B3 17" 8ms LCD 1 149.99
XFX Geforce 6800 Xtreme 256MB GDDR3 PCI 1 134.77
FSP AX450-PN 450W Power Supply 1 51.5
Thermaltake Silent Wheel A2330 130mm Fan 4 23.97
Logitech MX 5000 Bluetooh KB and Mouse 1 98.99
MSI 975X Platinum Socket T Intel 975X ATX 1 179.99
OR
DFI Infinity 975x Socket T Intel 975X ATX 1 189.99
Intel Core 2 Duo E6600 1066Mhz FSB CPU 1 369.99
OCZ Gold 1 GB (2x512mb) DDR2 800 Kit 1 97.99


TOTAL with DFI mobo 1,333.16
But I will get it for this price ~$1.200



OPINIONS PLEASE !

 

[twinturbovenom80]

No replies? Come on guys..

 

[twinturbovenom80]

Bump

 

[Dragoon42]

If you know how to overclock you could save $$$ on the cpu and get a e6300.

These are the parts I would change out

Cpu: e6300 - $200 (save $170)
Motherboard - Gigabyte DS3 - $150 (save 30-40)
Memory - Corsair 1GB Kit or 2GB Kit ddr 2 800mhz kit
Tuniq Tower CPU Cooler or Ninja Scythe - $50


If you went with the 1gb memory kit you'd save about $125 total. I'd get the 2gb kit since it's $190 after the rebate and you'd still save about $75. Take that money and spend it on a nicer graphics card.

I'm still a bit new to intel, but I think the 800mhz memory would be a waste for you since you're not overclocking? Could you not just get a 667mhz rated memory?


I'd also get a BenQ drive instead of lite-on

 

[Howard]

Most girls don't play FPSs, right?

 

[Dragoon42]

Originally posted by: Howard
Most girls don't play FPSs, right?

Wow, I should have read the entire post. I just realized that he was getting for 2 girls age 13.

yea...o.k. So unless they're going to be gaming you can get a lot cheaper solution ^^. Also going with a conroe 2 might not be so smart. I know that most mobos are still having issues, and so unless you want to continually work out the kinks I'd probably go with a s939 setup. Or better yet, since this is for someone else, tell them to get a dell.

I've built the computers for friends, family, etc... and it's really not worth it. Because when something goes wrong (doesn't matter how long they've had it) they'll always call you to fix it. It's really not worth the effort.

 

[twinturbovenom80]

Thanks for the help. These girls play occasionally Sims 2, and I think a little Oblivion...

But, I am getting the Conroe Core 2 Duo for half of the street price, so that almost 400 dollar chip, I am paying only $200, daaamn good deal.

Also, isnt it always better to have DDR2800 versus DDR2677 for most apps? Should I go 1 GIG DDR2800 or 2 gigs DDR2 677? Keep in mind this has to be a pretty good PC with gaming power, even a little Oblivion capability. And about the GIGABYTE DS3 mobo, that is 965, which is unstable versus the 975 right? Please recommend a good 975 mobo that can run Core 2 Duo that is 150-210 dollars (I wish I could get the Asus P5WB Deluxe whatever its callled, you know what I mean! - but isnt that 965 too? )


Also, since it is for family, I want it to be very reliable, so I am not doing any kind of Overclocking!

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: twinturbovenom80
Thanks for the help. These girls play occasionally Sims 2, and I think a little Oblivion...

But, I am getting the Conroe Core 2 Duo for half of the street price, so that almost 400 dollar chip, I am paying only $200, daaamn good deal.

Also, isnt it always better to have DDR2800 versus DDR2677 for most apps? Should I go 1 GIG DDR2800 or 2 gigs DDR2 677? Keep in mind this has to be a pretty good PC with gaming power, even a little Oblivion capability. And about the GIGABYTE DS3 mobo, that is 965, which is unstable versus the 975 right? Please recommend a good 975 mobo that can run Core 2 Duo that is 150-210 dollars (I wish I could get the Asus P5WB Deluxe whatever its callled, you know what I mean! - but isnt that 965 too? )


Also, since it is for family, I want it to be very reliable, so I am not doing any kind of Overclocking!

DDR2 800 is for people who wanna overclock. All the Core 2 Duo CPUs run on DDR2 533 RAM by default. If you're not gonna overclock, 1GB of DDR2 533 will be good enough, 2GB if you wanna be a little more future proof. Gigabyte DS3 uses the 965P Express chipset and is newer than the 975X chipset. I don't know where you hear that 965P is less stable, maybe from all the people overclocking w/ bad RAM compatibility. Gigabyte w/ 2GB (2x1GB) of Corsair Value DDR2 533 should suit your setup just fine.