Criticism on $500 Build

[zicogja421]

Hello all. I am building my friends a computer for Christmas. I will not be buying a monitor, speakers, or a wireless adapter. Their mom gave me $500 to build it, and I can go up to $560, no more. They are not PC gamers, but it would be nice if they can run a few modern games. I am very interested in the following things: upgrade-ability (Esp. when it comes to the mobo and the PSU), compatibility (Will all these parts work together?), and quality (Are the parts good for their price? Will they last?). Here is what I have come up with:

CPU: $59: Amd Athlon II x2 240 Regor 2.8 GHz : http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103688

Mobo: $55: ASRock K10N78M AM3 GeForce 8100 Micro ATX: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157160

PSU: $70: ($45 after rebate) OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ55FTY 550W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341022

RAM: $83: G.SKILL 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2 800 (PC6400) 240-pin: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231122

Video Card: $45 with OS: Sapphire Radeon HD 4650 512MB 128-bit GDDR2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.297850

Hard Drive: $48: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136098

DVD Burner: $29: Lite-On SATA DVD Burner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106289

Keyboard: $7: Lite-On SK-1788: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16823107120

Mouse: $10: Microsoft N-71 3-button Optical Mouse: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16826105026

OS: $105: Microsoft Windows 7 64-bit OEM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.297850

Including shipping, and if the $25 rebate for the PSU comes through, this package totals $502, which is very good, considering my stated price goal. Of course, I have to buy a case still, but I intend to get one at CompUSA for about $40-$50 (if I order one online, I'll have to pay at least $15 more in shipping, so I might as well just buy one locally).

So, will this combination of parts (especially the CPU+mobo+PSU+RAM+video card) work? I have never dealt with a micro ATX mobo... is there any difference besides the size and less features (I presume)? Will the vid card fit?

[Masaki 7-11]

Looks good for the most part, but I would take a look at a different motherboard as Asrock isn't very good quality (microATX motherboards are a bit smaller than normal ATX motherboard, but for the most part you can treat them the same way as a normal ATX motherboard); if you want to stick with DDR2 ram, here is a good motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131376
If you want to be a bit more upgradeable, then a AM3 motherboard and ram combo like this would work:
Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131619
Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227307

[zicogja421]

Originally Posted by Masaki 7-11 Looks good for the most part, but I would take a look at a different motherboard as Asrock isn't very good quality (microATX motherboards are a bit smaller than normal ATX motherboard, but for the most part you can treat them the same way as a normal ATX motherboard); if you want to stick with DDR2 ram, here is a good motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131376 If you want to be a bit more upgradeable, then a AM3 motherboard and ram combo like this would work: Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131619 Ram: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227307

Thanks for your reply. Do you think DDR2 is on the way out? I have no idea about memory standards. I have DDR3 in my PC, but that's only because I heard it's the new thing. I looked at your links and some other motherboards and RAM, and the price difference doesn't seem to be too much more for a DDR3 Motherboard/ram combo... but do you think DDR2 might last for a couple of more years?

[Masaki 7-11]

From what I've been reading a lot of the memory manufacturers are changing production to DDR3, so in the next few years the price and availability of DDR3 will be better while the price and availability of DDR2 will get worse. Right now though either type of ram should work fine.

[zicogja421]

That is what I am beginning to understand. I have switched to a DDR3 mobo and RAM. Thanks for your advice.