• My dad wants a desktop computer for ~700
    28 replies, posted
So, my father was showing me some adverts for 700 dollar pre-build desktops, and after a bit of talking, I convinced him that building a computer would be better. He said he'd be willing to spend 700 dollars maximum, and said I have free reign with parts. We need everything except a disk drive, keyboard, mouse, and headset. Also, a decent gaming-ish setup would be nice. Anyone care to help me build this? Parts from Newegg, please.
What case do you or your dad want? I guess it matters if its going to be used by your farther. And do you want it to be full out for the budget for an as powerful rig as possible, or save some money if its only going to be used for everyday casual uses? placeholder case, almost 100$ below your budget for any changes, you can switch the cpu to a 2500k if you need or want the extra processing power, or you can just upgrade it later if you or your father will actually need it [img]http://puu.sh/8q5S[/img]
Naos's is good except I'd get this [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271&Tpk=Z68%20extreme3]motherboard[/url] and you can get [url=http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231308]8gb[/url] of ram for a tiny bit more and it may pay off with heavy multitasking and whatnot, situational though. And to extend on what Naos said, a 2500k with the extra money is a great investment if you need the power.
Naos, would replacing the GPU you have there with a Nvidia 460 be okay? Thanks for that, I'll show my dad this.
[QUOTE=milkandcooki;33223787]Naos, would replacing the GPU you have there with a Nvidia 460 be okay? Thanks for that, I'll show my dad this.[/QUOTE] Yeah the 460 and 6850 are usually around the same price / performance.
[QUOTE=Shadaez;33224864]Yeah the 460 and 6850 are usually around the same price / performance.[/QUOTE] Thanks for that.
The 6850 is about 10-15% faster than a 460, it's a better buy honestly.
[QUOTE=David Tennant;33227904]The 6850 is about 10-15% faster than a 460, it's a better buy honestly.[/QUOTE] on release they were both almost a dead match (or as close as cards from each brand can be), driver updates will have changed this but it's still not going to be a significant difference
If you get the 460 for cheap definitely go for it.
Here is a build almost the same as naos but diff case and PSU and an i5 for $670 + shipping is $694 [IMG]http://filesmelt.com/dl/PCbuild9.PNG[/IMG] I would go for the i5 just so if he plans to upgrade anytime he wont have to upgrade the CPU. [editline]12th November 2011[/editline] Feel free to get the MSI board if you want to go $10 cheaper, Also I forgot that was 8gb so you can get 4gb cheaper and this build will be about $630 + shipping will be $650
Atleast invest that little bit more for a i5-2500k. Imho the 2300 is a waste.
[QUOTE=Goz3rr;33245639]Atleast invest that little bit more for a i5-2500k. Imho the 2300 is a waste.[/QUOTE] It's better than the i3.
But you can't overclock. The idea of the i3 is that you upgrade to a 2500k, or Ivy bridge etc.
[QUOTE=Goz3rr;33245820]But you can't overclock. The idea of the i3 is that you upgrade to a 2500k, or Ivy bridge etc.[/QUOTE] Its not like his dad is going to overclock or do any serious gaming or anything, Also there are ways you can overclock the i5 2300.
[QUOTE=Zerokateo;33245914]Its not like his dad is going to overclock or do any serious gaming or anything, Also there are ways you can overclock the i5 2300.[/QUOTE] [QUOTE=milkandcooki;33211441]Also, a decent gaming-ish setup would be nice. [/QUOTE] You don't really want to fuck around with the FSB when you can get a unlocked multiplier for a little more
[QUOTE=Goz3rr;33246013]You don't really want to fuck around with the FSB when you can get a unlocked multiplier for a little more[/QUOTE] Well unless his dad wants to push his budget to $800 hes gonna have to deal with the i5 2300
[QUOTE=Zerokateo;33246072]Well unless his dad wants to push his budget to $800 hes gonna have to deal with the i5 2300[/QUOTE] Or just go with the i3 because that runs all games fine. [editline]12th November 2011[/editline] And the 2500k is 215$, if you add that to the same build you come to 715$. That's nowhere near 800$
[QUOTE=Goz3rr;33246175]Or just go with the i3 because that runs all games fine. [editline]12th November 2011[/editline] And the 2500k is 215$, if you add that to the same build you come to 715$. That's nowhere near 800$[/QUOTE] k $740 then, and why not just get the i5 2300? his dad is more than likely not going to be overclocking and its a quad core, A dual core wont last him very long if he wants to play some of the newer games yet to come, whether it be the next BF or COD game hes gonna want more than a shitty dual core.
[QUOTE=Zerokateo;33246434]k $740 then, and why not just get the i5 2300? his dad is more than likely not going to be overclocking and its a quad core, A dual core wont last him very long if he wants to play some of the newer games yet to come, whether it be the next BF or COD game hes gonna want more than a shitty dual core.[/QUOTE] Because the option to overclock is better than not having that option. [editline]12th November 2011[/editline] Oh and the i3-2100 outperforms a X4 955. What are you calling a shitty dual core now.
The thing is my dad wants a computer for around 700 dollars, and wants me to "express my creativity" by building one with him. He subtly hinted that I could cleverly disguise this as a decent gaming rig while I wait to save up my own money for my own computer. How long would that processor last without overclocking, by the way?
i5-2300 is just a i5-2500k, but at a lower clockspeed and you can't overclock. They'll last equal without overclocking, but you can almost get a 2GHz overclock with aftermarket cooling. That'll just give it a boost when you feel its starting to run slow.
Just get the i5 2500k if you can afford it since goz3rr is bitching about it and if you cant afford it get the i5 2300 because you really don't have to overclock right away and you can always download programs that will unlock the CPU and you can overclock that way.
Get out. You can't unlock a i5-2300
[QUOTE=Goz3rr;33247557]Get out. You can't unlock a i5-2300[/QUOTE] whatever.
[QUOTE=Zerokateo;33246788]Just get the i5 2500k if you can afford it since goz3rr is bitching about it and if you cant afford it get the i5 2300 because you really don't have to overclock right away and you can always download programs that will unlock the CPU and you can overclock that way.[/QUOTE] if you can really unlock an i5 2300 I'll send you the 35$ of price difference
[QUOTE=Zerokateo;33249058]whatever.[/QUOTE] Any proof? I and many other people would like to see this, seriously.
Its either getting a cpu that is more powerful then the i3 2100 but a bad long time investment as it wont last nearly as long as a i5 2500k, or just getting the i3 as a temporary cpu up until the point that he will need the actual upgrade, and that IF he will even need it. Do note that this is a build for his father that he can play games on until he [I]can afford making his own build. [/I] I think its more a choice of OP, obviously both choices are just fine, just that the 2300 path will make him spend more money if he will want to upgrade it later on. The i3 2100 will perform well enough in games for quite a good while. If you do choose a i5 2300 anyhow, then you won't need a z68 motherboard, as an upgrade to a 2500k will be quite pointless, you can also lower the powersupply wattage and, and why zerokateo picked such a ricer case is beyond me.
I'm thinking that the 2500 is a better choice. I went down to Fry's with my dad today, so he could show me the desktops he was interested, and I explained to him that it's much cheaper to build online, and now he's less reluctant to pass that 700 dollar mark. Thanks for all the suggestions, guys.
[QUOTE=tratzzz;33249296]Any proof? I and many other people would like to see this, seriously.[/QUOTE] You can overclock non K SB's with the FSB. You don't really want to do this because - You get a minimal overclock, say 200MHz - You increase the speed of almost everything (PCIe and RAM iirc)
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