Rate this budget build

[Kaido]

Doing an build for my wife's parents. I'm at $977 total including shipping, already have a keyboard, mouse, speakers, and printer. Goal is to keep it under $1,000. They don't upgrade often so they want to make it count (Core 2 Duo, 2 gigs of ram, relatively large hard drive). Comments and part suggestions more than welcome

Windows XP Professional Upgrade Academic - $90 (upgrading from W2K)
19" widescreen LCD monitor - $193

Case with PSU - $106
DVD burner - $37
320gb SATA hard drive - $95

Motherboard with onboard VGA and Audio - $72
1.86ghz Core 2 Processor with HSF - $184
2gb ram - $200

 

[Kromis]

Is it just me...or did that E6300 go up $10 in price...?

 

[bobsmith1492]

If they want to play any games, you might want a video card... but, they sound "old," so they may or may not want to...

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: bobsmith1492
If they want to play any games, you might want a video card... but, they sound "old," so they may or may not want to...

Yeah no games, just light video...figured integrated is fine.

 

[trOver]

looks good man

 

[stogez]

The case and mobo went down and proc went up
Maybe check forums for Win XP? If its just normal use, they can probably get by with Home edition at half cost.

 

[moosey]

Would going with the P965 chipset be better than the 945 in the OP...just a thought
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...8+107171869&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=280
Intel Compare
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/sho...=999999,8765&familyID=10&culture=en-US

Also, are 2GB mem really necessary? Since there's no video card I'm guessing they're not going to be running Aero on Vista or anything and no gaming. Plus, if it were ever thought that this wasn't enough that'd be a really easy upgrade.

Maybe going with 1GB you could get a 965 based board and the faster C2D??
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

 

[LOUISSSSS]

why dont u try to squeeze a 20-22in monitor in there somewhere?
i think its worth the price difference for the resolution and size increase, they'll like it

 

[razor2025]

-If you got time and some bit more budget wiggle room, a 20" widescreen isn't too far away.
-Careful on the Foxconn motherboards, they don't include manuals, and only gives you a huge setup poster. If you like manuals and have a mobile computer, I'd suggest downloading their PDF manual instead of using the poster. The poster is pretty simply and intuitive, but it lacks a good bit of details.
- 2GB is kind of overkill, but since it's for long-haul (possible Vista down the line), I think you've made the right choice.
- Case choice is personal, so I can't comment. I would look around outside of Newegg (ZZF, directron) to see what other prices & choices there are. I recently worked on the Antec SOLO case, and it looked very elegant and was very easy to work with. You can get the PSU bundled version for under $100 I think.
Here's the link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129015

Smaller cousin: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129012

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Doing an build for my wife's parents. I'm at $977 total including shipping, already have a keyboard, mouse, speakers, and printer. Goal is to keep it under $1,000. They don't upgrade often so they want to make it count (Core 2 Duo, 2 gigs of ram, relatively large hard drive). Comments and part suggestions more than welcome

Windows XP Professional Upgrade Academic - $90 (upgrading from W2K)
19" widescreen LCD monitor - $193

Case with PSU - $106
DVD burner - $37
320gb SATA hard drive - $95

Motherboard with onboard VGA and Audio - $72
1.86ghz Core 2 Processor with HSF - $184
2gb ram - $200

My number one problem with this build is the power supply. Apparently Antec SmartPower 2.0 PSUs have a terrible problem with bad caps. Mine burnt out after a little over a year of use. I suggest a FSP Group unit if you're concerned about reliability, or an Ultra V-Series if your chief consideration is price.

Also, 2GB RAM is nice, but if you're on too tight of a budget for both I'd choose a decent overclocking board, instead. I recommend the Gigabyte GA-945P-S3 ($91+ship). That board doesn't have video, though, which means you'll need to pick up a card to go with it. They start at about $35+shipping. A fast overclock will boost performance exponentially across the board, while 2GB will only improve performance in certain areas, and even then not much.

So there ya go. I hope that helps.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: moosey
Would going with the P965 chipset be better than the 945 in the OP...just a thought
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi...8+107171869&Submit=ENE&SubCategory=280
Intel Compare
http://indigo.intel.com/compare_cpu/sho...=999999,8765&familyID=10&culture=en-US

Also, are 2GB mem really necessary? Since there's no video card I'm guessing they're not going to be running Aero on Vista or anything and no gaming. Plus, if it were ever thought that this wasn't enough that'd be a really easy upgrade.

Maybe going with 1GB you could get a 965 based board and the faster C2D??
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819115004

My father-in-law does CAD, so the more ram the better

 

[Crescent13]

Doesn't CAD require tons of graphics power?

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: Crescent13
Doesn't CAD require tons of graphics power?

Not the stuff he uses, it's all 2D.

 

[Kaido]

All finished! Again this was a build for my wife's parents...so I had her build it! She's a Mac fan, so this was a new experience for her:

Mmm...shiny Sonata II...

Elite cable management

Lots of those little zip ties and some electrical tape and voila, a system that can breathe. The only thing she didn't do was the cable management, she got a little ticked at the system after dealing with the tiny Power/Reset/HDD/LED wires. I told her to the sign the bottom of the case and after writing her name she wrote, "Blame Dave if anything goes wrong" Currently running Memtest. Should be a nice upgrade from their current W2K machine!

 

[stogez]

Nice looking system. Just keep an eye on that PSU...mine died after a month

 

[InFeXiOn]

Nice cable management, and the system looks good. 'Grats.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: stogez
Nice looking system. Just keep an eye on that PSU...mine died after a month

Bummer, I have heard from several people of this happening. Built a system with a Sonata II for my brother a few months ago...hope it holds out! :Q

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: InFeXiOn
Nice cable management, and the system looks good. 'Grats.

Thank you I used about 50 zip ties lol

 

[InFeXiOn]

I wish I was that handy with those damn zip ties. My worry is that now when I go to move my parts to a new case; which I gotta do soon, that it's going to be tricky business slipping my scissors/knife into the small spots I left myself with cutting any wires. That'll be a fun filled day, when I finally make the switch.

 

[stogez]

Originally posted by: Kaido

Originally posted by: stogez
Nice looking system. Just keep an eye on that PSU...mine died after a month

Bummer, I have heard from several people of this happening. Built a system with a Sonata II for my brother a few months ago...hope it holds out! :Q

I think mine might have been a power surge though. Thankfully nothing else in the system was harmed
Its covered by Antec warranty so you should be ok. My new one came in a couple of days.

 

[Varun]

Originally posted by: Kaido
All finished! Again this was a build for my wife's parents...so I had her build it! She's a Mac fan, so this was a new experience for her:

Mmm...shiny Sonata II...

Elite cable management

Lots of those little zip ties and some electrical tape and voila, a system that can breathe. The only thing she didn't do was the cable management, she got a little ticked at the system after dealing with the tiny Power/Reset/HDD/LED wires. I told her to the sign the bottom of the case and after writing her name she wrote, "Blame Dave if anything goes wrong" Currently running Memtest. Should be a nice upgrade from their current W2K machine!

Nicely done! I've built several systems with the Sonata II (and original Sonata) and haven't had any issues with the PSUs yet. I think it is a great case for the money. The only thing I would suggest is you flip the hard drive around so the cables are at the back. I find it does a nicer job with the wiring and looks a bit better that way.

 

[Kaido]

Dangit, the ram is bad - both sticks. Showing errors at 300mb and 1300mb Never had to exchange ram at Newegg before, any tips?

 

[YOyoYOhowsDAjello]

Originally posted by: Kaido
Dangit, the ram is bad - both sticks. Showing errors at 300mb and 1300mb Never had to exchange ram at Newegg before, any tips?

Call them?

I tried filling out an RMA electronically and they were going to charge me a restocking fee or something. Better off going with a phonecall first I think.

 

[Kaido]

Originally posted by: YOyoYOhowsDAjello

Originally posted by: Kaido
Dangit, the ram is bad - both sticks. Showing errors at 300mb and 1300mb Never had to exchange ram at Newegg before, any tips?

Call them?

I tried filling out an RMA electronically and they were going to charge me a restocking fee or something. Better off going with a phonecall first I think.

Will do

Amazingly the processor is running at a cool 78F. I can't remember the last time I've had a proc run that cool :Q Dual core no less!

 

[engiNURD]

Antec had a bad run of PSUs. They'll RMA it if it goes bad. The Sonata has a 3yr warranty, I believe... just keep your receipt. I just bought one for $40AR, but I dont plan on using the SP2.0 450W... I'll keep it as a spare I guess. My P4A 1.8Ghz idles at 24ºC, hehe.