Entertainment Build

[Dragonsmight]

Looking to make a build for a friend he is looking to "watch Blu rays, record TV, and surfing the internet wireless via tv monitor. Also would like to do some photo editing. Also some light gaming mostly just nes, snes, psx emulators."

This is what I have so far, please add any improvements/suggestions. Also any suggestions on a simple plain case that will fit everything.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

Processor: AMD Phenom II X4 955

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-MA790XT-UD4P AM3 DDR3

Video: HIS Radeon HD 4670 1GB

Memory: CORSAIR XMS3 8GB (4 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3

Psu: CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W

Optical drive: LG Black 8X BD-ROM 16X DVD-ROM

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EADS 1TB

Tv Tuner: Hauppauge WinTV-HVR 1800 MCE Kit 1128 PCI-Express x1 Interface - Retail

Wireless Adapter: AZiO AWD102N IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n

OS: Windows 7

 

[tom-knox]

Nice build there but some of it is a little overkillic

 

[Dragonsmight]

Any suggestions on lowering the price (what ever is overkill) is much appreciated

 

[rohan23]

This what you need to get rid of/change and why.

AMD CPU- Intel does better than AMD with editing programs. You can buy him a dual core and it should last him a while for what he wants to do. Or, just got with an i5 if you get a good price. That would be your best option.

RAM- 8GB is way too much RAM. His computer will barely use 4GB during editing.

HDD- I think that green hard drive is 5,400RPM. Go with a 7,200RPM drive with a lower capacity.

 

[Gamputer]

You should get better GPUs. The rest of the rig is pretty good, but the GPU is low-mid. I don't know if you want a good GPU though since you didn't state any gaming needs.

 

[Dragonsmight]

Ok, from the suggestions I have received I am making these changes. Any more suggestions?

Also any suggestions on a simple plain case that will fit everything?

Gamputer what GPU would you suggest for just light gaming?

CPU/PSU: Intel Core i5-750 / OCZ ModXStream Pro OCZ600MXSP 600W

Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-P55-UD3L LGA 1156 Intel P55

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB

 

[Grantofhell]

I built a media PC that cost me a little over 300 (no OS or optical).

Specs:


Intel E5300 @ 2.6Ghz (From NewEgg.com)
Evga 730i (From TigerDirect.com)
Ultra LS350 PSU (From TigerDirect.com)
SeaGate Barracuda 7200.12 500Gb/16Mb (From TigerDirect.com)
CoolerMaster Elite 330 Case (From TigerDirect.com)

I feel bad because of how I worked the system. TigerDirect has a $1.99 shipping deal on orders over 100 dollars but under 20Lbs. So I made multiple orders over 100 dollars but under 20Lbs each from Tiger. And the proc from NE had free shipping. So I only ended up paying about 4 dollars for shipping overall.

woo http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/campaigns/campaigntemplate.asp?CampaignID=780

EDIT: For anyone that may be referencing this build in the future, DO NOT use the RAM I had originally posted above as it has compatibility issues with even the latest BIOS on the Evga 730i. I would suggest the OCZ Platinum (2x1) PC2-6400.