Light Gaming Machine for Christmas gift.

[theyosh]

Hello all! Well I am building a gaming rig for a Christmas gift and my budget is $1000 US dollars. This budget includes taxes and shipping. I've been purchasing almost all of my components from Newegg and so far I am very satisfied with them. This is what I have so far:

CPU: Intel Core i5-750
Mobo: Asus P7P55 LX P55 ATX
RAM: Corsair XMS3 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
Video Card: Asus Radeon HD 4670 512MB PCI Express 2.0
HDD: Western Digital Black 750GB
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts 650W ATX12V Ver.2.2 / EPS12V version 2.91
Optical: LG SATA DVD Burner
Case: Lian Li Black Aluminum Mid-Tower case
OS: Microsoft Windows 7 64bit Home Premium

Now as far as games goes this will run the following games:

Halo PC
Counter-Strike:Source
Guildwars
Sims 3
Call of Duty 4

Also this computer will be used for school work, browsing the web and checking her e-mail but I know any gaming rig will be able to handle these tasks without a problem. I also have purchased Windows Office 2007 that allows me to install a copy on 3 computers.

I will not need a monitor, keyboard and mouse. So the $1000 budget is strictly for the tower. What do you guys think? Any changes I should look at? Any items that are overkill? I know the video card is a bit weak compared to the cpu but I plan on upgrading the video card 6 months from now when the ATI HD5xxx series start dropping their prices. Thanks for any help!

theyosh

[pam123]

Looks good.

[glc]

The only thing I'd do is get the full P7P55D instead of the LX version.

That Lian-Li case is sold out - may I recommend a Coolermaster RC690?

[theyosh]

Thanks for the replies. Now GLC is this the board you are recommending:

Asus P7P55D LGA 1156 P55

What is the difference between this one and the LX, to me they look pretty much the same to me. Also that case you suggested doesn't float her boat... lol. I think she's into something more subtle. I guess as far as cases go I'll just have her pick out a case that's made from a good manufacturer in the case section of this forum.

theyosh

[glc]

The LX doesn't have Firewire or eSATA. The more expensive board also has better power regulating circuits.

Another case to look at - the Antec Sonata III 500 - it's a particularly good deal because it comes with a 500 watt Earthwatts PSU.

[theyosh]

Thanks alot GLC, I really appreciate all the help that you give to everyone here. I think I will use that Antec case for my multi-media pc for my tv down the road. I found another Lian-Li case that she likes so I'm going to run with that. Of course if it was me I would just run with the Antec case/psu and save some cash, but she wants the Lian-Li because it's "prettier."

theyosh

[glc]

I have absolutely no complaints with Lian-Li cases - I have a Best Buy Rocketfish case which is made by Lian-Li. The quality is second to none. It's just in general, they are quite expensive. FYI, Antec has some great small cases that are more suited for living room multimedia than big towers. They are just about the only manufacturer that installs high quality power supplies in their cases, everyone else throws junk in to keep the price down.