budget PC build

[Biggerhammer]

:beer:Building a PC for my wife. She needs basic office applications, some web surfing, and some low-end games such as Sims 3. She wants a Shuttle case. She'll be using XP Home, may install Ubuntu later.

I put the following together at NewEgg for about $450. The onboard graphics would be too wimpy for real gaming but should satisfy for what she needs.

How does it look?

• AMD Phenom II X3 710 2.6GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core Processor Model HDX710WFGIBOX - Retail $99 after instant rebate

• Patriot Extreme Performance Gaming Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $43.99

• Shuttle SA76G2 AMD Socket AM2+ / AM3 AMD 760G Barebone - Retail $199

• HITACHI 0A38016 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive - OEM $74.99

• Rosewill RCR-IC002 74-in-1 USB 2.0 3.5" Internal Card Reader w/ USB port Retail $15.99

Quoted from stickied thread:
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
-- PC will be for my wife, so... much word processing and web surfing, plus Sims 3 and the like for games
2. What YOUR budget is.
-- $450
3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
-- United States. Probably from NewEgg.
4. IF YOU have a brand preference.
-- Brand is irrelevant
5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
-- Keyboard and LCD will be recycled
6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
-- Yes, but this PC does not need a fraction of the gaming ability that most systems have.
7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
-- Stock speeds only.
8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
-- Gaming will be Sims 3 at 1024x768 or so
9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
-- Soon, as in this weekend.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: Biggerhammer
:beer:Building a PC for my wife. She needs basic office applications, some web surfing, and some low-end games such as Sims 3.

Talk her into a Dell

 

[brblx]

i'd probably agree.

http://configure.us.dell.com/d...xfull&oc=brcwa1p&s=bsd

why is a shuttle case a necessity?

 

[brblx]

here's what i'd have for a custom build-

antec 300 with bp430 - $90 free ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811129065

phenom II x3 720 with asus 790gx board - 200
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...?ItemList=Combo.205337

4gb crucial ddr3 - 58
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820148262

500gb caviar blue - 57
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16822136073

dvd burner - 25
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16827136144

total is about 440, no rebates. i'd look out for a 9600gso or 4670 deal, though, you might find those for 50 bucks or less. sims 3 was probably designed to scale to onboard graphics, but a cheap card would help a lot. even a 3650 or 9400gt, but you get a lot more for your money if you look a little higher.

 

[Biggerhammer]

Originally posted by: brblx
why is a shuttle case a necessity?

It pains me to say it, but she thinks that the little HTPC cases are cute. Hence, necessary.

 

[jdjbuffalo]

You will need at least a low end $50 - $75 graphics card in that. in order to play the SIMS 3 or any real PC game released in the last 5 years. Here is what EA recommends for the game:
Video Card: 128 MB Video Card with support for Pixel Shader 2.0. Supported video cards include: NVIDIA GeForce FX 5900, FX 5950, 6200, 6500, 6600, 6800, 7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950, 8400, 8500, 8600, 8800, 9600, 9800, GTX 260, GTX 280 (GeForce FX unsupported under Vista); ATI Radeon 9500, 9600, 9800, X300, X600, X700, X800, X850, X1300, X1600, X1800, X1900, X1950, 2400, 2600, 2900, 3450, 3650, 3850, 3870, 4850, 4870; Intel Extreme Graphics GMA X3x00 series.

 

[cparker]

I think the integrated graphics on some of the shuttles should work just fine. I'm not sure that 760g is up to the "game" task -- you can easily check, although a 780g or non AMD equivalent is more than enough I would think. Have you thought of a Silverstone matx case? There's the SG03 which is very cool looking and pretty small. In that case it would be a piece of cake to get a 780g board/amd cpu and wail. Check out the AT guide on budget systems that came out a few months ago.