I'm helping put parts together for a friend for a new computer. He's running some 5-year-old crappy computer and wants to play some hot new games, like Civ 4. He doesn't like FPS's, so the requirements can be fairly low. But he's a big role-player, and I imagine he might like to give Oblivion a try (even though it's a resource hog, as much so as FEAR, from what I've heard).
Anyway, he's comparing to a Dell for $1000 with these specs:
Pentium-D Dual Core 820 (2.8 GHz)
1 GB RAM
ATI X300SE video
160GB hard drive
19-inch LCD flat panel
16x DVD+/-RW
I've put this together using Newegg:
Cooler Master Centurion 5 Case - $42
Why? Simple, basic case with rolled edges and toolless. Since I'll be putting it together for him, I want to make it nice and easy.
Themaltake TR2 W0070 430W PSU (18A on the 12V rail) - $40
Why? It's the right price, Thermaltake is a decent brand, and 430W means that even if this is a peak value (which I always suspect) there should be plenty of power to run this system even if the power dips well below 430W, ya know? My concern is that 18A is a little on the low side for my taste - I like at least 20A. But it's tough to get a 20A 400+W PSU for under $50 that's not going to catch on fire as soon as you power it up.
ECS RS480-M motherboard - $61
Why? Honestly, because it's cheap. I don't know much about ECS but I've heard that some of their stuff is good (like the one featured in the article here on AT a couple of days ago).
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice - $152
Why? Okay, I'm really torn here. The Dell has a dual-core Pentium, but I just think that's overkill right now. I haven't seen any real-world applications where a dual-core makes that much of a difference. He's not going to be compiling and playing Doom 3 at the same time. Yes, I know some future games are supposed to be optimized for dual-core, but that's later on. Is it worth $150 more to get a dual core AMD?
OCZ DDR400 2x1GB (2GB total) kit - $195, and a $50 rebate makes it $144.
Why? 2GB is better than 1GB, that's why. I firmly believe that no matter what the application, more memory is better than less. At $144, I think this is a huge bargain (if the rebate ever shows up!)
Lite-On 16X Burner - $35.50
Why? It's a burner. I can't think of any reason not to get this drive.
eVGA GeForce 6600 256MB PCI-E - $90
Why? Man, this is such a better video card than that silly X300SE. Yet it's still pretty cheap. More than enough power to run strategy games, and will function (though not well) for higher-demand games, too. I really like eVGA as a company. They have great support and a nice stepup program.
AMV S1916 19" 12 ms LCD - $219
Why? It's about the cheapest 19" monitor I can find.
Rosewill Keyboard-Mouse wireless combo - $19
Why? He wants wireless, it's cheap enough.
EDIT: Forgot the hard drive. Seagate 7200.7 SATA150 120GB - $70
Total price: $921.41
Shipping: $60.69
Total: $982.10
(and there are $70 after rebates, which we will just consider bonus money for now)
So, critiques - where can I save money or increase performance with a minimum in price increase? Keep in mind that the primary goal here is under $1000. If something is upgraded, then something else is going to have to be downgraded. Granted, the guy could spend $1100 if he wanted, but if it goes over $1000 he's just going to buy the Dell anyway, and I don't think any of us want that. (Unless you work for Dell.)
Anyway, he's comparing to a Dell for $1000 with these specs:
Pentium-D Dual Core 820 (2.8 GHz)
1 GB RAM
ATI X300SE video
160GB hard drive
19-inch LCD flat panel
16x DVD+/-RW
I've put this together using Newegg:
Cooler Master Centurion 5 Case - $42
Why? Simple, basic case with rolled edges and toolless. Since I'll be putting it together for him, I want to make it nice and easy.
Themaltake TR2 W0070 430W PSU (18A on the 12V rail) - $40
Why? It's the right price, Thermaltake is a decent brand, and 430W means that even if this is a peak value (which I always suspect) there should be plenty of power to run this system even if the power dips well below 430W, ya know? My concern is that 18A is a little on the low side for my taste - I like at least 20A. But it's tough to get a 20A 400+W PSU for under $50 that's not going to catch on fire as soon as you power it up.
ECS RS480-M motherboard - $61
Why? Honestly, because it's cheap. I don't know much about ECS but I've heard that some of their stuff is good (like the one featured in the article here on AT a couple of days ago).
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice - $152
Why? Okay, I'm really torn here. The Dell has a dual-core Pentium, but I just think that's overkill right now. I haven't seen any real-world applications where a dual-core makes that much of a difference. He's not going to be compiling and playing Doom 3 at the same time. Yes, I know some future games are supposed to be optimized for dual-core, but that's later on. Is it worth $150 more to get a dual core AMD?
OCZ DDR400 2x1GB (2GB total) kit - $195, and a $50 rebate makes it $144.
Why? 2GB is better than 1GB, that's why. I firmly believe that no matter what the application, more memory is better than less. At $144, I think this is a huge bargain (if the rebate ever shows up!)
Lite-On 16X Burner - $35.50
Why? It's a burner. I can't think of any reason not to get this drive.
eVGA GeForce 6600 256MB PCI-E - $90
Why? Man, this is such a better video card than that silly X300SE. Yet it's still pretty cheap. More than enough power to run strategy games, and will function (though not well) for higher-demand games, too. I really like eVGA as a company. They have great support and a nice stepup program.
AMV S1916 19" 12 ms LCD - $219
Why? It's about the cheapest 19" monitor I can find.
Rosewill Keyboard-Mouse wireless combo - $19
Why? He wants wireless, it's cheap enough.
EDIT: Forgot the hard drive. Seagate 7200.7 SATA150 120GB - $70
Total price: $921.41
Shipping: $60.69
Total: $982.10
(and there are $70 after rebates, which we will just consider bonus money for now)
So, critiques - where can I save money or increase performance with a minimum in price increase? Keep in mind that the primary goal here is under $1000. If something is upgraded, then something else is going to have to be downgraded. Granted, the guy could spend $1100 if he wanted, but if it goes over $1000 he's just going to buy the Dell anyway, and I don't think any of us want that. (Unless you work for Dell.)