Girlfriend's New Computer

[Kailasa]

Hi All,

I am going to be building a new computer for my girlfriend. She is going to primarily use it for Excel, Word, Quickbooks and watching movies as well as general internet use. She is not really a gamer, but it is possible she may play a game or 2 here and there. I do not plan to overclock and I'll be buying everything in the US.

Also, I want to try to keep her costs around the 700 to 800 range or less if possible. We're going to pick up mouse, keyboard and monitor locally.

Any and all recommendations are greatly appreciated. She has her own unique style and wants a unique looking computer.

1. Case: She is thinking of this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811144152 Thoughts?
2. CPU- Which do you recommend?
3. Motherboard ?
4. RAM- 1 GB or 2GB?
5. GPU?
6. HD-Probably Western Digital
7. DVD Drive-Plextor or Sony
8. Power Supply- Tier 1 or 2. Preferably Modular like Corsair or Seasonic. 400 to 500 watts?
9. OS- Vista Home Premium

Thank you,

Allan

 

[MarcVenice]

For such light taks, I'd buy a dell ?

1:Anyways, case, no. 80mm means more noise then necesary. As for the build qaulity, I couldn't say, but I doubt it's very good. Get the antec 900 for 80$ AR if you want a qaulity case with lots of bling.
2:CPU, e2200 or e4500, probably should stick with the e2200, all she needs for Excel, word, quickbooks and watching movies and browsing the inet.
3:abit ip35-e
4:2gb is plenty, can be had for 28$ AR, or 35$ or so without rebates, any ddr2 800mhz kit will do
5:Sigh, what's playing a game or two ? You either buy a 8800gs or 9600gt for 130-150$, or you buy a crappy card for 30-50$, that will barely play games at all.
6: Pick any 250-500gb you like, make sure it's sata !
7: Pick one you like
8:550vx here: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/205852646.html or 520hx: http://www.buy.com/prod/corsai...loc/101/203270716.html
9:Go with 64x if you ask me, in case you ever throw in another 2gb of ram and stuff...

 

[Raekin]

outlet.dell.com

Check it out, buy a cheap one.

 

[lxskllr]

Dell's probably more practical, but a computer built by you will be more special.

I like Aspire cases. I've used them in 3 builds, and while the quality isn't spectacular, it's worth what you pay for them. If you get that case, replace the 80mm fan in the back with a 120mm for quietness.

MarcVenice gave you good recommendations for the rest.

Edit:

I just looked at the Antec 900, and it's a pretty sharp case. Your girlfriend should make the final decision though.

 

[SonicIce]

:camera:'s?

 

[Roguestar]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
:camera:'s?

ROFL, this isn't ATOT .

 

[KoolDrew]

Originally posted by: Raekin
outlet.dell.com

Check it out, buy a cheap one.

 

[RebateMonger]

Originally posted by: Roguestar

Originally posted by: SonicIce
:camera:'s?

ROFL, this isn't ATOT .

Maybe he meant pics of the computer?

 

[spikespiegal]

She has her own unique style and wants a unique looking computer

I thought only dudes had taste that bad in computer cases, so this is a first.

Oh well, I suppose Martha Stewart could do worse

 

[jterrell]

That case isn't awful but it's not really a good buy. Take her to microcenter if there is one close by and let her pick one out there. You'll save more in shipping than you eat in taxes. Plus if she is a girly-girl you can always add some pink lighting or some junk like that so she's knows it is hers not yours


I got the antec earthwatts psu and I'd recommend it as another possibility. I got the 500 but the 430 would work wonderfully in that build. 53 bucks no shipping or waiting on rebates.
http://www.buy.com/prod/antec-...loc/101/203477215.html


A cheap 9600 GT is hard to beat in value but if there is really no gaming going on at all it's overkill.

 

[Zepper]

That case isn't total junk, but close - you can get a lot better quality for the same bux. Just off the bat you'll have to cut out those absurd fan grills to get some decent flow going. Look at the NZXT Apollo or Hush or the Zero if your budget will stretch.

If it was me, I'd buy this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811147042 and spend some of the money I had left fancying it up a bit to her taste. One of the best basic cases out there (identical to the legendary Antec SLK3000-B inside) and a steal right now with free ship. Casitude (tm) score: 4.5 of 5. It is identical to an HEC/Compucase model that you might find at a lower price elsewhere. The Rosewill is OEM by Compucase for Newegg as was the SLK3000 for Antec.

.bh.

 

[Extelleron]

I would say an AMD setup may be your best choice, mainly because of the 780G chipset and cheap CPUs.

Intel may have faster CPUs if you want to spend a lot of money, but on the low end, AMD will be just as fast if you don't plan on overclocking. The 780G chipset has great integrated graphics and will be more than enough for playing movies and basic games. Power consumption will also be low.

CPU- AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ 2.5GHz = $84.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16819103212
Mobo-ASUS M3A78 780G HDMI Motherboard = $89.99
Mem- Corsair XMS 2GB (1GBx2) DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 = $34.00 AR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16820145034

I don't know too much about cases, for the hard drive go with Seagate or WD, capacity depending on what she needs - 500GB for around $100~ is the going price, that's what I'd go with.

OS, Vista HP... 32-bit vs 64-bit is debatable, 32-bit is more mature for programs but 64-bit is coming along and it will allow you to upgrade memory to 4GB+ down the road. That's up to you.

If you would end up going with this setup, you may want to get the Gigabyte 780G board for $10 more as it has Firewire support if that is something you want.

 

[Fardor]

Originally posted by: SonicIce
:camera:'s?

:thumbsup: