Suggestions for new build please...

[SpydaMan]

I am helping a close friend build a new computer, since hers is several years old. She is a single mom raising 2 young girls and working 2 jobs cause "dad" doesn't want to help out.

Her budget is no more than $1,000. She does not need a moniter, keybopard, or mouse now, but if I can get a nice set of speakers in there too, that would be a plus but not needed.

The system will be used for general use, and she loves her music and playing with photos. Here is what I came up with, not including the case, and I am also unsure if I should get a motherboard with onboard video or get one without and buy a seperate video card. We also want to get Vista as well.

The total below is approx. $625.00..

POWER SUPPLY - Thermaltake W0093RU ATX 12V 2.0 Version 500W Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16817153028

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131030

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115030

MEMORY - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145527

(2) HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148262

DVD Burner - ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827135156

DVD Player - ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135143

FLOPPY / CARD READER - Rosewill RCR-FD200 All-in-one USB 2.0 Black 3.5" Card Reader with 1.44MB Floppy Drive - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820223072

[Cricket]

Triple (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=191871) post. (http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=191872)

On-board video is fine for a computer that won't be used for gaming.

Personally, I wouldn't use a Thermaltake power supply...don't trust 'em.

You need faster memory for that processor. Look for DDR2 800 PC2 6400 Corsair RAM.

Does she really need two optical drives?

I would get the Mitsumi floppy/card reader instead of the Rosewill.

:) Cricket

[SpydaMan]

[QUOTE=Cricket]On-board video is fine for a computer that won't be used for gaming. Personally, I wouldn't use a Thermaltake power supply...don't trust 'em. You need faster memory for that processor. Look for DDR2 800 PC2 6400 Corsair RAM. Does she really need two optical drives? I would get the Mitsumi floppy/card reader instead of the Rosewill. /QUOTE]

Could you suggest a good ASUS motherboard with onboard video?

I changed the power supply and card reader...

Before I change the memory for the processor, is that processor MORE than she really needs? Am I better off changing processors when it comes to cost???

Personally, I always liked having 2 optical drives for copying cds, but I never spoke to her about it. Is it a problem to copy a cd without 2 optical drives???

Cost so far is still approx. $625 withough the case...


UPDATED LISTING...

POWER SUPPLY - Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371007

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS P5B LGA 775 Intel P965 Express ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131030

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030

MEMORY - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145527

(2) HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262

DVD Burner - ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135156

DVD Player - ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135143

FLOPPY / CARD READER - MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16821104104

[shadowpr]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131187

[David M]

[QUOTE=Cricket]
Before I change the memory for the processor, is that processor MORE than she really needs? Am I better off changing processors when it comes to cost???
[/url]

For what is intended to be an inexpensive computer you have chosen the least expensive of the Intel dual cores. Good choice. ..(directed towards Spydaman.)

[SpydaMan]

Changed motherboards to one with onboard video. See updated list below... case not decided. Appreciate the suggestions and looking for more... price is now approx. $640.00


POWER SUPPLY - Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371007

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS P5K-VM LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131187

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030

MEMORY - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145527

(2) HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262

DVD Burner - ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135156

DVD Player - ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135143

FLOPPY / CARD READER - MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16821104104

[shadowpr]

At a minimum, look at this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098

[SpydaMan]

At a minimum, look at this memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145098

That's actually the one I THOUGH I selected... oops!!! OK updated the list again...

POWER SUPPLY - Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371007

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS P5K-VM LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131187

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz 4M shared L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115030

MEMORY - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820145098

(2) HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262

DVD Burner - ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135156

DVD Player - ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135143

FLOPPY / CARD READER - MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16821104104

[shadowpr]

That's a nice build right there.

[Cricket]

Could you suggest a good ASUS motherboard with onboard video? Here's another option. (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131197)Before I change the memory for the processor, is that processor MORE than she really needs? For the uses you have listed you could actually consider using a E4500 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031) or even a E2140 (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116037) for the processor. My spare computer is a PIII 800MHz that I use to cruise the net, use Office 2000 and do some photo editing with...it's a little slow but it can still do what I need it to do. A 1.6GHz or 2.2GHz CPU would be fine for basic computer use.Am I better off changing processors when it comes to cost???In this case I'd say yes. And since the two processors I listed are 800MHz FSB processors the memory you have chosen would be fine.

The problem is most computer enthusiasts will choose the fastest CPU they can afford because we like the speed, but do most average computer users who do no gaming at all need a really fast computer? Probably not. I try to match the processor to the needs of the user and will only go with faster, more powerful CPUs if the user is a gamers and indicates he wants a fast processor. If they just want a basic computer for uses like the one you listed, I tend to go with less powerful processors that are still good at doing everyday tasks. Most people are happy when they can spend less on a computer that is still able to do what they want it to do. And the majority of the computer users out there aren't computer enthusiasts and don't care about speed that much.Personally, I always liked having 2 optical drives for copying cds, but I never spoke to her about it. Is it a problem to copy a cd without 2 optical drives??? Depends...how much disc to disc copying would she do? With just one optical drive the disc copy would take longer because the data would have to be ripped to the hard drive from the original disc and then burned from the hard drive to the burnable DVD.

I like to keep the computer as simple as possible for average users. If the user is an advanced one and has specific needs then I'll build based on their user needs. Personally all my home computer have only one optical drive installed but I don't do disc to disc copying.

:) Cricket

[SpydaMan]

Updated processor for this build. Still debating on the motherboard...


POWER SUPPLY - Antec earthwatts EA500 ATX12V v2.0 500W Power Supply 100 - 240 V UL, CUL, FCC, TUV, CE, CB, C-tick, CCC - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817371007

MOTHERBOARD - ASUS P5K-VM LGA 775 Intel G33 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16813131187

CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E4500 - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819115031

MEMORY - CORSAIR ValueSelect 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16820145098

(2) HDD - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250410AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148262

DVD Burner - ASUS 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model DRW-2014L1T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16827135156

DVD Player - ASUS Black 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-ROM SATA DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3T - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135143

FLOPPY / CARD READER - MITSUMI Black 1.44MB 3.5" Internal USB 2.0 digital card reader with Floppy Drive - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/product/produc...82E16821104104

[Alaron]

That build looks fine.

I did want to point out that copy/pasting links from earlier posts will kill them. The forum shortens long links, so they are all dead in your previous few posts. Use "Copy Shortcut" from the right click menu instead. :)