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+--- Thread: General Computing PC (/showthread.php?tid=1291)
General Computing PC - LazyTriangle - 07-16-2011
My brother has asked me to build him a new computer to replace his old HP desktop, he saw my gaming PC which I built a few months ago with the help of this site and told me if I could build him something similar, minus all the gaming trimmings (i.e. no video card). His budget is $800-$900 so far this is what I put together:
Intel Core i5-2500
ASRock Z68 PRO3
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB)
Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB
Samsung EcoGreen F4 2TB
LITE-ON DVD Burner
OCZ ModXStream Pro 500W Modular PSU
LIAN LI Lancool PC-K62 Black
Windows 7
thoughts, suggestions?
RE: General Computing PC - Brian - 07-16-2011
Quad-core Core i5 is pretty overpowered for a general computing PC. Go with the Core i3, or better yet, a Phenom II X4 (which falls behind on gaming, single threaded benchmarks but still very capable and fast). AMD motherboards are also cheaper.
Furthermore, I'd recommend this power supply, which is more efficient. Also, you don't need 500W. You need to buy a power cable separately with this power supply though.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151086&cm_re=seasonic-_-17-151-086-_-Product
With the money saved, you should get a 64GB or 128GB SSD (I'd recommend the Crucial m4), as SSDs make a world of difference in day-to-day responsiveness.
RE: General Computing PC - van13330gg - 07-16-2011
Is your brother interested in gaming at all or he wants to be able to expand later on?
RE: General Computing PC - LazyTriangle - 07-19-2011
Quote:Quad-core Core i5 is pretty overpowered for a general computing PC. Go with the Core i3, or better yet, a Phenom II X4
yeah that's what I told him but he insisted on the Core i5 (had to talk him out of buying an Core i7 lol) and yes I will probably get rid of one the HDD's, replace it with a SSD and use it as boot drive
(07-16-2011, 11:56 PM)van13330gg Wrote: Is your brother interested in gaming at all or he wants to be able to expand later on?
he doesn't game as much as he used to now that he has a kid, when he does play it's usually stuff like Plants vs Zombies, Bejeweled, etc. he should be fine with the integrated gpu I think
RE: General Computing PC - MathieuB - 07-19-2011
While the Core i5 is overkill for now, it will prove to be more future-proof than an AMD Phenom II X4, so it's not a bad investment.
I'd consider a H61 based motherboard such as this one: http://bit.ly/gvkgou
It also features video outputs and it will cost a lot less than a Z68 based motherboard.
This DVD Burner will cost you $5 less and is more reliable: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204
+1 to getting a SSD to improve general responsiveness.