Your thoughts? Little sisters first PC ($701 for everything) (my second build)

[Ghoulardi]

Your thoughts?
Hopefully I didnt mess anything up because I already ordered it. I tried not to go over $700 and It came to $701 with shipping. Not a bad price for a complete setup.
Any comments appreciated. Thanks!



AMD Athlon 64 X2 4000+ Brisbane 2.1GHz Socket AM2 Processor Model ADO4000DDBOX

BIOSTAR NF520-A2 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 520 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard

EVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16 Video Card

Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply

A-DATA 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Model ADQVE1908K

Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM


Full list here http://i16.tinypic.com/5ybeux5.jpg
or here (Newegg wishlist) https://secure.newegg.com/NewV...itle=Katie+pc+option+3

 

[airhendrix13]

Well, it's hard to judge system specs without knowing what the user intends to do with it. My guess would be it will be used for some light gaming. I have no real complaints about it, good build.

airhendrix13

 

[Ghoulardi]

Yes, she'll mostly be using it for school work and the Internet but maybe some light gaming. She's not into games but I don't think it would have a problem playing any (I hope).
Thanks for your input.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Well, you already ordered it, so that's that. I'm not sure what you're asking, here.

 

[airhendrix13]

Yeah, this PC will do just fine for what she will be using it for. For light gaming, this setup will perform just fine.

Enjoy,

airhendrix13

 

[zach0624]

great build I was a little worried at first because I thought the items you listed on this forum were all you got for $700. what you have will handle most tasks well and even run most games at a great resolution.

 

[Ghoulardi]

Originally posted by: zach0624
great build I was a little worried at first because I thought the items you listed on this forum were all you got for $700. what you have will handle most tasks well and even run most games at a great resolution.

Thanks Zach! I think it will be great too. Probably more then she needs.

hurtstotalktoyou, I guess I was asking for some qualified opinions. Not to worry, the other posters understood just fine. Thanks anyways.

 

[LOUISSSSS]

-i'm pretty sure she doesn't need a 7600gt, shoulda got a 8500gt or a HD2400, more up-to-date cards with more features than a dx9 card or last year.
-that thermaltake psu is pretty crappy.. shouldn't skimp on THE most important item in a PC
-shoulda got some Crucial/Corsair/OCZ 1 x 2gb or 2 x 1gb value ram. those brands are known and trusted
-you spent $20+shipping on reg light kits, when you spend merely $12+shipping on speakers which she'll prob be using to listen to music 24/7
-there are cheaper ($30) DVD burners...

overall i'd rate it 5/10, shoulda asked for comments before purchasing, or else theres no point in asking here

 

[jpeyton]

Bad move.

You can buy a better system from Dell (which comes with a little-sister-friendly 1 year on-site warranty) for under $500, which includes a 19" LCD and an operating system too.

If your sister plays lots of PC games, you could have added any PCI-E video card and still come out with a lot of money left in your pocket.

Dell systems are quieter too.

 

[Ruger22C]

I believe I have that same power supply. I bought it on amazon to replace my 350w that was dying, random PC shut-downs. Maybe it's just me, but I seemed to notice a nice increase in FPS after installing the Thermal Lake. It's served me well so far, as well. Nice cabling, and it had amazing reviews.

 

[imported_Imp]

Since it's just for school and light gaming, it looks fine. However, I would have went with a single stick of 1Gb to make upgrading easier in the future. Who knows when school and light gaming needs 3 Gb...

 

[GregMal]

Geez....I just finshed a new build and I got almost the same hardware as you.
Except..I went with the Biostar geforce4 MB, 2 Gigs of Kingston ram, Athlon 64 X2 4200,
EVGA 7600GS 512, WD sata 320 retail.
Got Vista Home premium, put it all together, booted on 1st try. Vista installed recognizing
everything. Had to download audio and MB drivers.................all is well.....

 

[Ghoulardi]

Originally posted by: jpeyton
Bad move.

You can buy a better system from Dell (which comes with a little-sister-friendly 1 year on-site warranty) for under $500, which includes a 19" LCD and an operating system too.

hmmmm, dout it.

 

[duragezic]

Yah, I don't really get it. It will work fine for her but uh it is like 10x more than what she needs. No OS as well. My old Tbird 1.2ghz w/ 512mb RAM and 10gb hard drive that I gave to my parents is surprisingly quick for basic tasks when I'm at home and use it. Hell it will even do some gaming (HL-based games like CS, DoD, TFC, Tribes 1/2, etc) cause my old Radeon 64 VIVO is in there! But anyway, retail would no doubt be the best choice in this case.

Take that deal for the $199 Compaq system with Celeron, 512mb RAM, etc and Vista. Spend a bit on another 512mb RAM and for stuff like speakers, flash drive, etc. Another $150-175 or so on a basic LCD and you have a system that wouldn't seem one bit different to her, is much cheaper, much quieter, has a warranty, etc.

If you did build it yourself, I would've went with something more resembling a retail system, which would emphasize simplicity, integrated components, low noise and heat, convenience things like front panel ports & I/O, wireless KB/mouse/internet, as well as cost. Meaning:

- cheap motherboard with integrated video. I'm not sure why you'd want a PCI-Ex card that adds cost, heat, and most importantly noise when integrated is more than adequate
- cheaper CPU like Brisbane 3600 unless price difference is negligible
- cheaper burner
- cheaper case without a stupid window. And people, a TT 430w isn't a problem for a system like this.. well its only a problem that it is way overkill. A system like this under load probably is no more than 150-175 W, which any PSU will do, and it is unlikely she will even put it under that kind of load, ever. But that figure should be lower even since it should be integrated video.
- no lights. $20 for neon lights?? I'm not sure how old your sister is, but most young girls would be embarrassed to have a ricey, windowed case!
- better speakers for sure... a lot of girls listen to music a ton

Stuff like that... with the money saved from the above, I'd get her a wireless KB and mouse (girls would probably love this), and possibly a wireless card.

Or with all the money saved, I'd have built her a mATX or SFF (like a Shuttle) system. I just think something small, quiet, and cool would be far better for someone with her needs and something more pleasing to her eye. Also I think the wireless devices would be great for her, unless she doesn't like dealing with the batteries or whatever.

When I see friend's or whatevers Dell and retail systems (P4s usually I think), it is absolutely amazing how quiet they are. Even as an enthusiast (but one who can't afford to do silent PC stuff), I get disgusted sometime at the noise and heat my homebuilt systems over the years put off. Dude, your little sisters computer is close to the best thing I can afford now as the sole reason I upgrade is due to games, otherwise I'd have my old Tbird or something.

I don't mean to sound like this is the only way to go, but unless I'm totally off base on what your sister is using the computer for, I think a way different direction is better with a homebuilt system. But I still would say that retail would EASILY be the best choice here.

 

[porschetr]

LOL, you got her a $5 mouse, $7 keyboard, but added a $18 light kit?