Need some holiday help. Budget Build.

[Crabnife]

I've been running around trying to find a Christmas present and I just found out she is really excited for Sims 3 and needs a new desktop. I don't keep up with hardware unless I am looking to build for myself. So I have been out of it for a while. I am trying to throw something together quickly so I can get it the way I want it by Christmas time.

I don't want to spend much over $500.

Any help from you guys would be massively appreciated.

 

[nderscore]

Does she also need an operating system?

 

[nderscore]

Newegg.com - SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 22X DVD Burner - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 590 RC-590-KKN1-GP Black SECC / ABS ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.com - GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2 AM2+/AM2 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards
Newegg.com - MSI N9800GT 512M OC GeForce 9800 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - BFG Tech GS-550 550W ATX12V V2.2 / EPS12V V2.8 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Power Supply - Power Supplies
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5000+ Brisbane 2.6GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

It will be $466 before shipping and applicable taxes.

 

[DesoShade]

Newegg rocks!

 

[Crabnife]

Wow that was really fast. Thank you so much.

I was looking at the same HD and Video Card you recommended.

Admittedly, I don't know jack about Mother Boards. Is there a specific reason you picked that one? (I've always had to ask my brother what Mother Board to get when I made a build)

Also, any specific reason for that case? Or did you just pick one?

 

[nderscore]

I chose that motherboard mainly due to its price, it has limited expansion options but it will get the job done.

 

[saltynay]

You could use those spare pennies to get this
Newegg.com - AMD Phenom 9600 Agena 2.3GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 2MB L3 Cache Socket AM2+ 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
or a decent aftermarket cooler and get that puppy upto 3.4ghz

 

[nderscore]

I would agree with saltynay that if you can fit the extra expense of getting a Phenom then it is well worth it, because the SIMS are historically more CPU intensive.

 

[Crabnife]

The last thing I want to do is overclock her machine. I just want to slap it together, wrap it up, and have her plug it in on Christmas. No maintenance. Just happiness. haha

Why do you recommend the quad over the dual? I've heard quads are slower than dual when it comes to gaming.

 

[nderscore]

Quads are not necessarily slower than duals in gaming, in fact quads are faster in some situations (made 3.2Ghz Intel Q6600 made the difference between playable and not playable against a 4.0Ghz Intel E8400 in Crysis - forgot what settings). But if it is a game optimized for multithreading, then a quad core is a wise purchase. Also, the quad core is a newer chip than the dual so your machine, thus theoretically faster.