Please critique ~$450 budget build

[Inim1cal]

A friend of mine has asked me to build a system for him. Here's some basic info:

USE: Standard office type applications, e.g. word, excel, iTunes, thunderbird, photoshop, etc. No gaming will be done with this system.

OPERATING SYSTEM: Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit

BUDGET: Not to exceed $450, lower is better

COUNTRY: United States, probably ordering the parts from Newegg

BRAND PREFERENCE: Western digital hard drive would be nice, but not necessary. Otherwise none.

CURRENT PARTS TO USE: I plan on using the case, monitor, keyboard, and mouse from the old system.

OVERCLOCKING: I might overclock the system somewhat, but due to budget reasons I would like to use the stock HSF if possible, so probably not.

WHEN: Soon, but no rush

He won't be doing anything too intensive with this system, but I want the applications he does use to run lightning quick, and I would like the system to last him for at least a few years.

I've been out of the computer building game for a few years, so I could really use your advice on this system. I spent some time on Newegg, and this is what I came up with:

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz - $99
Reasoning - Quad core performance for under a hundred dollars

MOTHERBOARD: ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX - $130 after MIR
Reasoning - Onboard video & sound, seems to have lots of good features, well reviewed

HARD DRIVE: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAJS 250GB 7200 RPM $45
Reasoning - Western digital, cheap, friend will never use up the space

OPTICAL DRIVE: LG 22X DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model GH22LS50 LightScribe Support - $25
Reasoning - Friend wants lightscribe

PSU - Sunbeam Hush PSU-HUSH580-US 580W ATX12V - $23
Reasoning - I know this is probably an objectively awful PSU, but I have no idea what I'm really looking for with this system.

MEMORY: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 - $93.99
Reasoning - Seemed cheap and had decent reviews

SUBTOTAL: ~$416

Like I said before, I haven't built a system in a long time, so I would appreciate any comments you have.

Thank you!

 

[jjmIII]

Great budget build.....but get a better power supply. That cheap-o is really $32 with shipping. Get an Antec 400w for $40 shipped.

Get the 320gb WD for only $3 more.

 

[Inim1cal]

Thanks for the PSU suggestion, jjmIII. That looks much better than what I picked out. A bigger hard drive would be nice too.

I was wondering... for standard desktop applications, is a quad core really necessary or even slightly worthwhile? I saw the AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz suggested on another board as a good budget processor, and it looks like a pretty solid choice to me, especially at $59.

And does anyone have suggestions for a cheaper motherboard? The one I found seems nice, but it also seems a bit pricey. I would just need it to have onboard video, though, unless it would be cheap enough that I could also afford a cheap video card.

 

[jjmIII]

I'd stick with the cpu for the hell of it .
I built that cpu on a much cheaper board with slightly cheaper DDR2 for a friend of mine.
The setup runs great & has a pci-e for later upgrades.

The motherboard you picked is a full atx....will it fit in his old case?

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

You don't need a $130 board. ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO is a really nice board (with 128MB dedicated video memory) for $92 on newegg at the moment. And, yeah get a better PSU. Corsair or better.

You might even be better off getting your friend a new Pentium dual core with a vanilla intel board and a Radeon HD 4350 or something like that. The ASUS 785TD-V EVO only scores a 4.8 OC'd in Windows Aero. 5.5 in 3D. (Windows Experience Index) I have no idea what a 4350 would score, but it's got to be better for sure, since the 785G chipset is supposedly a Radeon HD 4200.

You don't need a quad core. SSD will speed it up more (Intel X25-V for $130 or less on sale). Dual core is plenty.

 

[Wogdog]

I was going to suggest the 785G too, but poster before beat me to it. Like all others said, go with a better power supply, save the headaches.

 

[jjmIII]

No, a Quad isn't necessary.....but at $99 we can all have one. Plus, he did say Photoshop .

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

No, a Quad isn't necessary.....but at $99 we can all have one. Plus, he did say Photoshop .

Well, OK then what does the OP do in Photoshop? Any huge files that you apply effects to?

 

[NoQuarter]

Yea change the mobo and PSU as suggested and it's really good. I think he'd be better off with a Seagate 7200.12 over the WD Blue though.. WD Blue is a pretty slow drive. The Seagate 7200.12 is almost as fast as the WD Black and quite a bit cheaper.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Yea change the mobo and PSU as suggested and it's really good. I think he'd be better off with a Seagate 7200.12 over the WD Blue though.. WD Blue is a pretty slow drive. The Seagate 7200.12 is almost as fast as the WD Black and quite a bit cheaper.

The 7200.12 and Black 1TB are both $100 at newegg right now, and $100 vs. $105 w/ $15 MIR at ZZF. The 7200.12 look decent now which is a HUGE step up form the 7200.11 - stay far away from those .11s

 

[NoQuarter]

The 7200.12 and Black 1TB are both $100 at newegg right now, and $100 vs. $105 w/ $15 MIR at ZZF. The 7200.12 look decent now which is a HUGE step up form the 7200.11 - stay far away from those .11s

Yea, but the Seagate 500GB is $55 compared to WD Black 500GB at $70, and the 750GB Seagate is $60 compared to WD Black 750GB at $80.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Yea, but the Seagate 500GB is $55 compared to WD Black 500GB at $70, and the 750GB Seagate is $60 compared to WD Black 750GB at $80.

touché

 

[rivethead]

Agree on the point about the motherboard....you don't need to spend that.

Superbiiz has some good cpu/mobo combos. I bought the Athlon II x4 620/MSI-785GM-E65 combo here:

http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=ADX620WFBX

Don't forget 8% bing cash back.

 

[rivethead]

Yea, but the Seagate 500GB is $55 compared to WD Black 500GB at $70, and the 750GB Seagate is $60 compared to WD Black 750GB at $80.

You can get the WD Black 500GB for $59.99 at New Egg using the coupon code EMCLMMR32 which expires tomorrow.

 

[ChaiBabbaChai]

Newegg doesn't know how to package HDD's for shipping, so if you don't live near CA or NJ, it could arrive DOA or something bad.

 

[M0RPH]

Do you need to buy the OS or not? If so, you probably shouldnt even be building.

Dell Home has Dell Studio Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Desktop Computer for a low $449.00. $12.95 Shipping. Tax in most. Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 @ 2.5GHz; 3GB RAM; 500GB HDD; DVD burner; Windows 7 Home Premium; 1yr warranty
(from techbargains)

 

[KeithP]

Do you need to buy the OS or not? If so, you probably shouldnt even be building.

Dell Home has Dell Studio Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 Desktop Computer for a low $449.00. $12.95 Shipping. Tax in most. Intel Core 2 Quad Q8300 @ 2.5GHz; 3GB RAM; 500GB HDD; DVD burner; Windows 7 Home Premium; 1yr warranty
(from techbargains)

I would also add that some great deals can be found in the Dell Outlet. You can frequently get 15% and sometimes 20% off coupons from the Dell Outlet's facebook page or by following them on Twitter. I got a 518 with a Q9400, 3GB of RAM, 640GB HD, DVD burner, etc. for about $410 shipped more than 6 months ago.

-KeithP