Budget Build Input Needed

[Boyo]

I am building a rig for my father who uses his computer to write and edit books, surf the internet and other general things. I will be buying the parts in the USA, and keeping a Lian Li case, OCZ 850W PSU, and his monitor. He won't be doing any gaming or overclocking.

Asus P7P55D LGA 1156
I5-750 Lynnfield
Thermalright Venomous X-RT
Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x4GB) 1600
eVGA 9800 GTX+
OCZ Vertex Series 60GB SSD
WD Caviar Black 1TB

Total = $900

 

[dpodblood]

Seems like a lot of that is overkill for the intended use.

 

[GregMal]

Yeah....you can get a Dell for around $400 that will do those things easily, with warranty and OS..............

 

[polarmystery]

I have a feeling this build is an excuse to use his computer as not to appear as a gaming machine if you don't have your own already...

 

[mfenn]

Agree with everyone else. A Venomous X on a email machine? WTF?

Seriously, just get a Dell/HP with a warranty and be done with it.

 

[dpodblood]

Hell; an Acer Aspire Revo could do the things your asking for $450.

 

[Boyo]

lol.........ok. He has an HP. I'll tell him to get another one.

 

[mikeford]

My idea of a budget build is cheap Fry's combo and reuse of as many old parts as possible. This one idles at 71 watts, boots at about 115 watts, does movies etc around 85 watts.

NmediaPC 5000B for $70 shipped free. Newegg.
Athena Earthwatt 380w $39 shipped free.

Biostar TA760GM2+
Athlon II X2 250 $54 Fry's combo

Patriot 2x 1G DDR2 PC6400 $50 at Fry's
Seagate 2TB $85 from TigerDirect.

 

[Davidh373]

You seem to be set now on buying an HP or Dell, which is more than fine. If you still want to consider building for the experience of building then get him an Athlon II X2, 2GB Ram, a 320GB-500GB hard drive and a 400w PSU with a $30-$40 case. He won't need anything special. It'll all likely come out around the same price as that HP or Dell and it would have about the same performance, so you wouldn't do that for anything but shiz n' giggles.

 

[GregMal]

Yeah but if you build it yourself and something goes wrong....guess who he's gonna call....you.....

 

[darkewaffle]

Yeah but if you build it yourself and something goes wrong....guess who he's gonna call....you.....

Exactly.

Dude, got my parents a Dell.

 

[Boyo]

yeah, I priced out an HP and I think he will be more than fine with that. He doesn't do anything more than a dual core processor will handle. I want to give him my old rig, but I keep getting a BSOD with a Machine_Check_Exception message, which tells me I have a hardware problem. I have narrowed down the problem to the most likely culprit which is my CPU. It's an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe with a AMD 4400+ CPU. Can I just get a new processor with that mobo?

 

[mfenn]

yeah, I priced out an HP and I think he will be more than fine with that. He doesn't do anything more than a dual core processor will handle. I want to give him my old rig, but I keep getting a BSOD with a Machine_Check_Exception message, which tells me I have a hardware problem. I have narrowed down the problem to the most likely culprit which is my CPU. It's an Asus A8N32-SLI Deluxe with a AMD 4400+ CPU. Can I just get a new processor with that mobo?

A Machine check exception is definitely a hardware problem. It could be the CPU or HT link on the chipset. If you want to investigate it further, you can boot Linux and use mcelog to decode the error.

It's a Socket 939 board, so I don't think you're going to find anything for a reasonable price. Best to just junk it IMHO.

 

[Boyo]

A Machine check exception is definitely a hardware problem. It could be the CPU or HT link on the chipset. If you want to investigate it further, you can boot Linux and use mcelog to decode the error.

It's a Socket 939 board, so I don't think you're going to find anything for a reasonable price. Best to just junk it IMHO.

What a shame, but I can totally see your point. It's an obsolete board. Well now you know why I need a new build. These BSOD's are getting worse. I have to keep a fan on the Case for extra cooling. That has helped a bit.

One question mfenn, for my new build I picked an XFX HD 5870. Would you recommend that card over a eVGA 470 GTX?

 

[mfenn]

What a shame, but I can totally see your point. It's an obsolete board. Well now you know why I need a new build. These BSOD's are getting worse. I have to keep a fan on the Case for extra cooling. That has helped a bit.

One question mfenn, for my new build I picked an XFX HD 5870. Would you recommend that card over a eVGA 470 GTX?

Have you checked the temps on that CPU? You might try unmounting the CPU's HSF and reapplying the thermal paste.

As for the 5870 vs. GTX 470, they are pretty close in performance but I'm recommending the 470 right now because it can easily be had for $270 AR whereas the 5870 is still stuck up around $390.

 

[Boyo]

I think I most definitely need a new heatsink. I am idling at 60c....I am using an Arctic 7 HSF.

 

[Boyo]

I just found a new Zalman 9700 HSF in my closet. I forgot I bought it a few years back. I guess now would be the time to install it.