Need Some Advice On Second Build

[Jared4781]

Hey everyone. I need some advice on a build that I am putting together for a friend. He isn't going to be using this as a gaming rig or anything sort of power hungry (audio / video) it's just going to be a internet / music / basic needs machine, maybe with a game played once every 6 months. I have a budget of keeping under $700 and I've pretty much done that here. I have chosen the following for his build, please let me know your thoughts. Thanks.

APEVIA X-QPACK (he wants this case)

ASUS P5L-VM 1394 LGA 775 Intel 945G Micro ATX

Intel Pentium D 915 Presler 2.8GHz 2 x 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 Processor

Rosewill RP500-2 ATX 2.01 500W Power Supply 115/230 V CSA, CB, TUV, FCC, UL (I know the rep for this company, but the review for this PSU have been great on the net)

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 (Perpendicular Recording) ST3250620AS 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

XFX PVT72GWANG GeForce 7300GS 512MB(256MB on Board) 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card

NEC Black 18X DVD+R Cache E-IDE / ATAPI DVD Burner

[flanzig1]

Drop the Rosewill, doesn't need that much power even if it was a good brand.
Something like this should power that system:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104901

Don't see any ram or OS on your list.

[newbuilder14]

If you have a budget of $700 and he isn't gaming immediately, then drop that video card - it is not very powerful anyway. Use onboard video until he can afford a decent placeholder card. Actually, you could probably fit in a 7600GS or 7600GT in that budget. If you do this, you'll need a more powerful power supply, such as the Xclio 450BL or FSP AX450, both high quality units. Don't get a cheap power supply.

[Jared4781]

thanks for the advice guys. On the memory side, Im just going to put in a 1GB stick of something. Also for the OS I will probably just do XP Home and he can upgrade to vista when needed. The video card, I wanted to give him something more than onboard video, the 7600GS is around $120 I think ... he's not wanting to spend that, so I figured this is a good one that can be replaced when needed. Also wanted to go ahead and use the PCI-E X16 on it

[newbuilder14]

Get 2x512mb memory sticks so you can enable dual channel memory mode, it will give you better performance.

Like I said, the 7300GS is not powerful, could you spring for a 7600GS or 7600GT? Either way, that video card will take your system memory since it only has 256 onboard, which in return can really impact performance. Get no video card at all, or a card without HyperMemory or TurboCache.

[Jared4781]

with my system I sprung for much more, but when it's someone elses money you have to play by their rules. He is really not wanting to spend much on the video card, he doesn't game and feels like it would be a waste. Any suggestion for a better video card, I could probably get him to spend $80 max. I know that's a bit limiting.

[flanzig1]

Don't just get any generic ram, get some quailty stuff: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145568
The price difference won't be that much.

[Jared4781]

I was taking a look on newegg and found this PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104935

I want a PSU that looks pretty haha yes I know it should fucntion well before looking great, but with the case having the large window, I wanted to make sure something looked nice. Also was attracted to the Rosewill's light up. My question on this PSU is, do you think I would have trouble fitting it into the case?

[flanzig1]

It should fit OK but may have a problem with the optical drive fitting all the way in.

[newbuilder14]

I was taking a look on newegg and found this PSU

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104935

I want a PSU that looks pretty haha yes I know it should fucntion well before looking great, but with the case having the large window, I wanted to make sure something looked nice. Also was attracted to the Rosewill's light up. My question on this PSU is, do you think I would have trouble fitting it into the case?

Go for this one alternatively: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817104954 or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817189003 - both are great units.

For the video card, here is what I'd recommend that won't eat your system memory:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102040

[Jared4781]

thanks for the products ... have to see if I can find that video card elsewhere. newegg is sold out.

[newbuilder14]

Also: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102630

If you look around a bit you'll see there are several cards for under $80 that have dedicated memory.

[Jared4781]

forgive me if I sound dumb ... but I can't make out the different of the card I selected and the card you put up. how can one tell if there is dedicated memory on board?

[Mr.Ferrari]

For ATi its referred to as Hypermemory and with nvidia its Turbocache. Sometimes it just says something like 512mb(256mb onboard), meaning its gonna eat up half of the 512mb from your system ram.

And since hes not gaming a low end 7300 or x1300 with dedicated memory should be more then enough.