Second build - gift for brother

[rickybobby]

Just finished my first build, ran me about 1200 bucks runnin on an core 2 8400 and a 4850 copper pipe cooled graphics, amazing setup so far. Here's the deal...

My brother is young and focuses on his high school, so he doesn't have a job yet but he's still running on a pentium 3 computer. I want to reward his efforts for being such a good kid, and because of the fact that I never get to see him since i'm at college, I want to build him a pc as a gift, but I don't exactly have another 1000 to throw down for it. Any recommendations for a build somewhere around the 500 dollar range that can play all the latest games at medium/reasonable settings (he's not a graphics whore, unlike me who wants to play crysis on my 50 inch tv). He's already got the keyboard, mouse, monitor and XP operating system, so I just need the parts list for a comp that may cost somewhere around 500 if possible that he can enjoy for at least a year or two. I don't want onboard graphics on this one though, has to have some sort of separate GPU even if its not the greatest one, maybe a cheap 8800 series or less? Any ideas/suggestions?

[shadowpr]

About as close as I can get you. It comes to $551.44 before taxes and shipping. Also before rebates. It has $60 in rebates. All you would have to add is the case.

MB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131288

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115052

Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820145590

Video: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814102747 (Can drop this down some to save money)

HD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148231

DVD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106263

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

[Masaki 7-11]

Here is a computer which should fit the bill nicely and work for many years if the games/applications aren't too demanding (if they are, you have lots of upgrade options):


LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model iHAS220-08
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106265
$31.99

COOLER MASTER Elite 330 RC-330-KKN1-GP Black SECC ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119115
$39.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148261
$54.99

EVGA 512-P3-N860-TR GeForce 9600 GT 512MB 256-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814130360
$109.99

COOLER MASTER eXtreme RP-500-PCAR 500W ATX from factor 12V V2.01 Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817171018
$49.99

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146118
$44.99

GIGABYTE GA-P31-S3G LGA 775 Intel P31 ATX Intel Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128077
$64.99

Intel Pentium E2220 Allendale 2.4GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2220
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116070
$89.99

Subtotal: $486.92

[Peli]

Well, I have two tips for you before I list some great parts:

1. If you can ask your brother if he can be patient and wait for you to save up some more money, because trust me I did the same and I'm happy I did so, you'll end up with much greater parts that will last longer in terms of gaming

2. Always pick your parts, based on need, in this situation and in most, it's best to go from GPU, CPU, RAM, CASE, and so on...

Okay here we go, since you have most if not all the peripherals (mouse, keyboard, etc) this should work, might cost you extra but hey remember my first tip, the greatest tip of all.

1. GPU - GeForce 8800 GT 512 MB Superclocked - Only $135 after MIR

2. CPU - Intel Core 2 Duo e8400 3.0 GHz 6 MB Cache - Only $170

3. RAM - Corsair DDR2 800 XMS2 2 x 2 GB (4 GB) - Only $66.50 after MIR *Use only one stick if you have a 32 Bit Operating System*

4. CASE - Xion Onyx 1 x 140mm Fan 2 x 120mm Fans - Only $60 after MIR *Great case, I have it, strongly suggest it's the best for that price range*

5. HD - Seagate Barracuda 500 GB 7200 RPM 32 MB Cache - Only $80

6. MB - Haven't found a great MoBo for you yet, but if you like this setup, try to get one that is compatible with your Ram, CPU and has great reviews.

7. PSU - Still looking, best to pick this last so power usage is covered based on the parts.

TOTAL: $511.50

I know if you add the MB and PSU it will probably go to $650+, in the future I would strongly suggest you try to get Vista 64 Ultimate, so you can get the most out of that RAM.

But hey, for just $150+ more than your budget, that's not bad for some great parts! Man I wish that Video Card was that cheap when i got it ($270!!!!) Same with the RAM, I got 2 GB for $100 that were no where near the quality of this one for almost $40 cheaper!

This is why I strongly encourage you to wait a little longer.

I'll check back on this thread later and update my list.