$900 System - sanity check

[zeroinfish]

I built my first system about a year ago. I was nervous about it, but with help from this forum I did it and it was a big success. I got a great value, my machine still works great, and I had fun making it.

Now I am going to advise a friend of mine how to do the same thing. Despite one success under my belt, however, I am still pretty new at it, and I feel a bit nervous with someone else relying on my limited expertise. Particularly what I am worried about is buying these items and trying to put them together only to find out that some of them can't work together for some technical reason I was unaware of.

What I would like to do is post my parts list here and get any feedback you folks would like to give me on these selections, with a particular eye towards whether this set of purchases is all I need to build a working computer.


Intel Core 2 Duo E8400 Wolfdale 3.0GHz 6MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...00%20Wolfdale%203.0GHz

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16813128345

G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 200-Pin DDR2 SO-DIMM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Laptop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231156

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...c%20Sonata%20III%20500

POWERCOLOR AX4830 512MD3-H Radeon HD 4830 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16814131129

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136218

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 22X DVD-R 16X DVD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827151173

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 32-bit English 1pk for System Builders DSP OEI DVD - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16832116485

Hanns·G HW-191DPB Black 19" 5ms Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16824254005


We'll be reusing mouse/keyboard/etc. This system will be used for standard productivity and some moderate gaming. It's unlikely to be used for any bleeding edge games, it won't be overclocked, and we're looking to get the most bang for our buck while keeping a relatively low price point. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[DSF]

I'm not trying to scare you away from building, but what if you run into a problem you aren't able to troubleshoot? What if your friend encounters a hardware or software issue down the road that you can't take care of?

Being responsible for own PC in that situation is one thing. Being responsible for someone else's could be a bummer for both of you. I would at least consider going with a prebuilt, especially since he's not doing much heavy-duty gaming.

 

[sonnygdude]

Yes DSF, but fortune favors the bold! And how else are he and his friend going to learn to do it than by taking the bull by the tail or the tiger by the horns or whatever (I'm not a zoologist)

To OP, would it be possible to spring for an HD4850 and a slightly bigger monitor, like 21"? Adds to the price but I think the experience becomes much more enjoyable above 19"

And if you're going Vista anyway with 4 GB of memory, why not go the 64bit route? I haven't encountered any productivity applications that have had an issue w/ x64. Or any applications at all for that matter. Although a friend of mine does have a Palm that doesn't sync because they haven't updated their USB drivers for 64 bit yet. He had to buy a bluetooth dongle

 

[Denithor]

If budget allows, a 22" monitor is nice...and several been on sale recently for $150-170 at Newegg.

Go with Vista Home Premium 64-bit. Take full advantage of that 4GB RAM.

And you can get the Sonata III from Buy.com for about $20 less than Newegg.

Have fun with the build!

 

[disports]

Just to let you know the ram you listed is for a laptop and not a desktop...

I'm sure you meant this ram:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820231122
G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

And about a month ago, I built my friend's computer for him..so far so good.

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: sonnygdude
Yes DSF, but fortune favors the bold! And how else are he and his friend going to learn to do it than by taking the bull by the tail or the tiger by the horns or whatever (I'm not a zoologist)

Like said, I don't want to scare him away from it if he and his friend want to get into it. I just think they need to have a clear discussion about who's responsible for troubleshooting after the build.

 

[Barfo]

Originally posted by: DSF

Originally posted by: sonnygdude
Yes DSF, but fortune favors the bold! And how else are he and his friend going to learn to do it than by taking the bull by the tail or the tiger by the horns or whatever (I'm not a zoologist)

Like said, I don't want to scare him away from it if he and his friend want to get into it. I just think they need to have a clear discussion about who's responsible for troubleshooting after the build.

Looks like you've been a victim of "you built it and therefore you're at fault for every problem I have with it for all eternity", I feel for you my friend.

 

[Roguestar]

As soon as you put it together you're on implied lifetime tech support.

 

[Red Squirrel]

I built and sold a PC for my uncle, and regretted it badly. It's been a while now, but 3-4 years later I'm STILL stuck supporting it. To think, I was ready to build him a server and everything for his business at the time. I just did not realize what I was getting into.

I also did a loss on it, because he kept wanting to add new stuff without wanting to pay extra for the shipping. Shipping was 30ish per shipment, my original markup was suppose to be 100 bucks but it ended up costing ME 200 bucks for HIS computer.

 

[myocardia]

Never build a computer for a friend or family member. Ever. Tell them you'll recommend the parts, and you won't mind answering questions pertaining to the build, but that's all. If you do any more than that, it will be your loss.

 

[jae]

Originally posted by: myocardia
Never build a computer for a friend or family member. Ever. Tell them you'll recommend the parts, and you won't mind answering questions pertaining to the build, but that's all. If you do any more than that, it will be your loss.

Agreed! Doesnt even have to be a computer, set up a wireless network for old roommate; everytime something happens, I get called. Most of the time hes entering his key wrong, or needs to reboot it because of power loss. For now on... Ill recommend the parts you should get on the pre-built, but im not becoming your 24 hour tech support. PAY ME WHAT YOU WOULD PAY DELL.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Roguestar
As soon as you put it together you're on implied lifetime tech support.

That's the sad truth. Has happened to me too.

 

[sonnygdude]

The devious side of me would suggest messing things up on purpose until they get frustrated enough to ask someone else and find out you "don't know as much as they thought." But that would be underhanded

 

[DSF]

Originally posted by: barfo
Looks like you've been a victim of "you built it and therefore you're at fault for every problem I have with it for all eternity", I feel for you my friend.

My dad and brother are tech-savy enough that it doesn't matter, and my sister likes laptops, so I've never been put in the situation. I've known people who have, so I've avoided it.