Micro ATX build

[windsleeper]

I'm building a Micro-ATX based PC for general use - web, email, some games, but nothing cutting edge. $500 price range.

Any input would be appreciated.

$100 Apevia case with 500 watt PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144147

$85 Foxconn G45 Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186162

$120 e7400 Core 2 Duo 2.8MHz CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115206

$41 A-Data 2x2GB DDR2 800 Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211188

$75 MSI Radeon 4830 512 MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127420

$60 Seagate 7200.12 500MB Hard Drive SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148395

$25 Liteon 22x DVD Burner SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106286

I'll also be spending another $20 to swap out the 2 fans with red LED fans and to put in a red cathode light to blingify it for my daughter.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811998107

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811998123

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811994003

[not important]

For your use, you could save some money with this Asus MOBO:http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131288
This CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116072

[shadowpr]

Along with what NI said, I would suggest getting a Western Digital caviar black drive.

Also, get a better quality psu. Look at this sticky for help: What Power Supply should I get? How many Watts? Who made it? Guide Inside

And don't forget the OS.

[joshrogoff]

If i could i would like to offer an AMD alternative which would be in the same price range but much faster than the intel...

ASUS M3A78-CM http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131330

AMD Phenom II X3 720 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103649

This set-up is 13 bucks more but quite a bit faster, not to mention the extra core for better multitasking! Just make sure you have the 1201 BIOS update and you are ready to roll.

[jdeb]

I like the build, would go with the wd hard drive that was mentioned until the smoke clears with seagate.

[windsleeper]

Thanks for all the input. Apparently I have a little glitch - my daughter thinks the case I picked out is "ugly". I have her ok on a different case, which holds a regular ATX board, so I'm going to go with that. It doesn't come with a PSU, so that gives me the opportunity to throw in a decent quality PSU, as you guys suggested. I'm sticking with the Intel CPU - I just have more comfort on upgrades there, as I know I'll be able to toss in a quad core down the road in a few years if need be. Thanks for the suggestions on the WD drives. I've always bought the Seagate 7200's, and was surprised to hear about their recent issues.

Here's the new build:

$45 Apevia mid-tower ATX case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811144221

$40 OCZ SleathXStream 600W PSU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341010

$87 Asus P5QL P45 Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131329

$120 e7400 Core 2 Duo 2.8MHz CPU http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819115206

$41 A-Data 2x2GB DDR2 800 Memory http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820211188

$75 MSI Radeon 4830 512 MB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814127420

$70 WD Caviar Black 500MB HD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136320

$25 Liteon 22x DVD Burner SATA http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106286

$20 3 120mm Red LED fans http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811998123

$8 Red Cold Cathode Lights http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811994003

Total Spend: $531

This new build is a few dollars more - the new case and PSU is a bit higher than the old combo case/psu and the hard drive is $10 more. I'm happy too that I can use an ASUS board here without busting the budget - I used them on a previous build and was very happy with the quality. On the OS, I have a copy of XP I bought from newegg back last June, for just this purpose.

[shadowpr]

Looks good.

[jdeb]

your other build was better from a hardware stand point.

[windsleeper]

Originally Posted by jdeb your other build was better from a hardware stand point.

How so? I changed the HD as you and other people suggested. I have a brand name PSU now as opposed to the junky PSU in the old case. The only other difference is the motherboard.

Is there something specific you think is wrong with this build?

[not important]

Your new list looks great to me. GoodI would caution you on the case with a side window......they get scratched VERY easily.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by windsleeper How so? I changed the HD as you and other people suggested. I have a brand name PSU now as opposed to the junky PSU in the old case. The only other difference is the motherboard. Is there something specific you think is wrong with this build?

my bad, I was thinking of a different motherboard. your good sorry for the confusion.

[windsleeper]

Thanks all for the input. My order should be here today.

Thumbs up for the best tech forum.

[not important]

Originally Posted by windsleeper Thanks all for the input. My order should be here today. Thumbs up for the best tech forum.

Follow this guide and all should go smoothly! Good luck.
http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=132409