PC for parents. $400-$500?

[g3kk0]

My parents need a new PC and have asked me to build one. I built my own high-end gaming PC, so this will be my second PC I've built.

Like I said they would like to spend $400-$500. The PC will be used mainly for Word Processing and Casual Video & photo editing (Photoshopping, making movies, etc). Also regular stuff like burning CDs/DVDs, and other stuff.
Nothing too demanding like video games or CAD rendering or anything like that.

Here is what I threw together really fast:
LITE-ON Black 20X CD/DVD
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11
MSI N9600GT 512M GeForce 9600GT 512MB 256-bit
OCZ GameXStream 700W
Mobo: I have a Gigabyte and I really like it. It's simple to set up and all. I'd like to learn about RAID and delve into more advance BIOS techniques but I'll save that for my next gaming PC. So, any ideas for a nice mobo for under $100?

RAM: I would like to get the best bang for my buck, if ya know what I mean. I'm learning about bus and RAM speeds and such in school at the moment (working on my Networking Specialist Degree...) but I don't know much about these speeds yet. I'd like to buy 4GB of RAM if my budget allows.

OS: I'll probably go with Vista, I like it ok on my PC. I have Home and it meets my needs, will that be all right for photo and video editing as well?



Well I'm a bit over budget but once we get a general idea of what will be nice to put in this machine, we can slim down the spending a bit.
Thanks so much for looking and I look forward to your replies!

-Cason

 

[chesirecat1701]

IMO the 700w PSU is a waste man, I've let my friend use my 680w and it's ran an e8500 and SLI 9800 gtx+ along with a volley of lights and fans. so look into something like the raidmax 530w PSU which I saw at NewEgg for around $50, it'd work plenty fine.

As far as ram goes all DDR2 is very relatively cheap, I've seen 4gb sets going for $50. You Won't need anything above a 750i equivalent chip set for a mobo.

 

[Trotter]

The 9600 is definite overkill. My wife's computer uses a MX4000 and it can handle light editing. As long as the card has decent memory on it, it will handle it... maybe not as fast, but it will do it.

Yeah. 700W is a bit much. Go for 50=100 watts over what the card needs, not less than 300.

 

[chesirecat1701]

Here's My Suggestion:

Newegg.com - RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB530P Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 530W Modular LED Power Supply - Computer Cases - Case
Newegg.com - ECS GF8200A (V1.0) AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards - Mobo
Newegg.com - ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/512M GeForce 8400 GS 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards - GFX
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory - Ram
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±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners - DVD/CD
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives - HDD
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Brisbane 2.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops - CPU


All from NewEgg and your looking at about $20 is shipping so around $430. I have this ECS board and it is rock steady. The case comes with the PSU and a $30 MIR, not to mention it is quiet stock (parent friendly) and sleek yet professional looking. GET the 8400 GS as it's all your parents will ever need by the way it sounds and you you'll get a ~ %35-%40 performance boost using the Hybrid SLI feature it supports. I have used this Mobo/Vid card/CPU combo before. The 500 GB HDD i only $10 more than most 250 GB and will give them plenty of space. The DVD/CD drive comes with Lightscribe which is actually very fun to use for labeling.

 

[Ethan_Kaizer]

Here's My Suggestion:

Newegg.com - RAIDMAX SMILODON ATX-612WB530P Black 1.0mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Foldout MB Computer Case With 530W Modular LED Power Supply - Computer Cases - Case
Newegg.com - ECS GF8200A (V1.0) AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 8200 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards - Mobo
Newegg.com - ASUS EN8400GS SILENT/HTP/512M GeForce 8400 GS 512MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards - GFX
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory - Ram
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±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners - DVD/CD
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives - HDD
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon 64 X2 5600+ Brisbane 2.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops - CPU


All from NewEgg and your looking at about $20 is shipping so around $430. I have this ECS board and it is rock steady. The case comes with the PSU and a $30 MIR, not to mention it is quiet stock (parent friendly) and sleek yet professional looking. GET the 8400 GS as it's all your parents will ever need by the way it sounds and you you'll get a ~ %35-%40 performance boost using the Hybrid SLI feature it supports. I have used this Mobo/Vid card/CPU combo before. The 500 GB HDD i only $10 more than most 250 GB and will give them plenty of space. The DVD/CD drive comes with Lightscribe which is actually very fun to use for labeling.

To be honest, I don't support any of those choices.

Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - LG Black 22X (CAV) DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD+R DL 22X (CAV) 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±R DVD Burner with LightScribe - CD / DVD Burners
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - Internal Hard Drives
Newegg.com - MSI R4350-D512H Radeon HD 4350 512MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Desktop Graphics / Video Cards
Newegg.com - Antec earthwatts EA380 380W ATX12V v2.0 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC 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 - GIGABYTE GA-EP43-DS3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards
Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

$415 and it will handle all of the things your parents will be using the computer for with ease, and the parts are the best in their price range, and they'll all last for a long time.

 

[chesirecat1701]

well we all have our own tastes, with that said yes the Intel CPu will definitely kill the AMD but hey it was just a 5 minute tour of Newegg lol

 

[Dire Marksman]

If you already have a CRT or LCD display and all the peripherals PC's are quite cheap.

You could buy a QC loaded with Vista 2-4GB RAM for $400-$600 at Best Buy or Comp USA and be done with it. It will be able to run anything you want and will have decent enough graphics to do some light gaming as well.

 

[saltynay]

If you already have a CRT or LCD display and all the peripherals PC's are quite cheap.

You could buy a QC loaded with Vista 2-4GB RAM for $400-$600 at Best Buy or Comp USA and be done with it. It will be able to run anything you want and will have decent enough graphics to do some light gaming as well.

Thats no fun and it wouldn't have the speed of Ethans's build so your paying more for less. We don't reccomend parts that are liable to break so there is no need for a complete system warranty as individual parts warranty are 3-5 years in that price range.

 

[g3kk0]

Thats no fun and it wouldn't have the speed of Ethans's build so your paying more for less. We don't reccomend parts that are liable to break so there is no need for a complete system warranty as individual parts warranty are 3-5 years in that price range.

Yeah, I don't plan on ever buying a pre-built computer again. Except for a laptop, and even those will be able to be built at home in the years to come I bet.

I really want to go Nvidia. I have really liked their cards so far, and if it isn't broken don't fix it.
Would this be a good card?
I haven't purchased an EVGA card before. Besides, it's only $40 after the rebate.

I'm sticking with the Hard drive I picked. It's one of the more important things about this PC. I want it to be fast, and I want a lot of space. I thought about buying a terabyte hdd but I decided we'll wait until they fill the 750gb hdd up. :happy:

I like that mobo, Ethan. I'll probably go with that one. Nice RAM too.

I gotta go to class now, but I'll get back on here asap.
Btw, where can I find the wattage needed on a gfx card?

Thanks for the great help so far, guys!
-Cason

 

[saltynay]

laptops are home buildable now its jut the retail parts prices are extortionate a pentium M mobile skt at 1.6ghz was £120 last time I checked bear in mind thats a 5 year old processor. You can also do a complete laptop build and make the case yourself using ITX boards and desktop parts with riser cards.

quite old now (you could make it a lot smaller now he had inefficient space usage):
mini-itx.com - projects - itx laptop

Yeah that 8600 is quite a good card for your situ and can handle light gaming. For my parents I would go with a passive 8500 as It would be silent and in the UK quite a bit cheaper.

Experience the advertised wattages for cards are heavily overestimated to cover the cheapo psu's that are really overrated. For that build look into the Antec basiq at 400W