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Don's PC Project #3!


madd-hatter
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This time I'm looking to assemble a desktop for one of my friend's mothers. I'm unaware of the budget at this moment but I assume it's well under $1000, probably closer to the $300-$700 range, but I'm not sure.

I've been reading about AMD's newer "APU" processor chips that have built-in GPU's. I like what I've been reading, they seem to have numerous benefits, and I'm thinking about starting there. High-end gaming isn't likely to be a priority and I'm going to focus on web and flash performance, with additional benefits.

I need to speak with her more about it to get a good idea of the budget and the focus but these are my initial thoughts:

Casing and cooling:

Case: She'll choose a mid-sized ATX or smaller case

Power Supply:

Heatsick/Fan: optional

mobo & components:

Motherboard: ASUS F1A75-M Pro. Micro ATX, FM1 socket. HDMI, DVI, and VGA ports onboard.

Processor: AMD's A8-3870K APU chip. Quad-core 3.0GHz with Radeon HD 6550. FM1 socket.

GFX Card: Optional Radeon HD 6xxx future upgrade

RAM:

HDD, SSD:

SSD: Undecided

HDD: Undecided

Drive Bays:

CD/DVD: ASUS CD/DVD drive

With my current thought's, the mobo, CPU, GPU, and DVD drive are covered for $250, with the bonus of a lifetime registered Malwarebytes account. Leaving just the case, power supply, ram, and storage to be decided and possibly a Radeon HD 6xxx card for some GPU crossfire performance boost. Her son should be able to acquire Win 7 pro for free from his alma mater.

Any thoughts, ideas, or shared experience is welcome!

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8 GB of any RAM (GSkill, Corsair, Mushkin) is gonna run around $30.

I would encourage the lowest end of the PC Power and Cooling supplies (white, modular series) or another good one in the 400W range with good reviews and a solid warranty.

I'd spend a bit more for a WD Black Edition drive, not for the performance, but for the warranty, or spend less, but set her up with automatic backup, possibly even a WD Live drive, for network, or any external that will auto backup for her...

SSD is so not worth it.

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8 GB of any RAM (GSkill, Corsair, Mushkin) is gonna run around $30.

I would encourage the lowest end of the PC Power and Cooling supplies (white, modular series) or another good one in the 400W range with good reviews and a solid warranty.

I'd spend a bit more for a WD Black Edition drive, not for the performance, but for the warranty, or spend less, but set her up with automatic backup, possibly even a WD Live drive, for network, or any external that will auto backup for her...

SSD is so not worth it.

Sounds good but what are your impressions of the APU + mobo and the future potential of an optional gfx card?

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This is a computer I recommended for a friend about a year ago. It serves its primary function very well (shared business computer) and as far as I know he has no complaints (Case is kind of lame though). Considering current RAM prices I would agree that you may as well get 8GB. Leaving the option for a future GPU upgrade seems reasonable - especially if no gaming yet. When you're selecting your PSU, be sure to take into consideration the potential addition of a GPU later. IIRC, $10-20 gets you an extra 100-200 watts and less of a headache down the road.

Quick thoughts of components on this list:

Case - Sucks for the price

Mobo - Works fine

PSU - Probably overkill for this setup

CPU - Spend the extra $10 for the better version

RAM - Get 8GB

Optical - Works

OS - Not much choice

Rosewill BLACKHAWK Gaming ATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with Five Fans, window side panel, top HDD dock

Model #:BlackHawk

Item #:N82E16811147107

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$99.99 -$10.00 Instant $89.99

ASUS F1A75-V PRO FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Model #:F1A75-V PRO

Item #:N82E16813131765

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)

$119.99 -$5.00 Instant $114.99

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core ...

Model #:CMPSU-650TX

Item #:N82E16817139005

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$119.99 -$10.00 Instant $109.99

AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU (CPU + GPU) with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D AD3850WNGXBOX

Model #:AD3850WNGXBOX

Item #:N82E16819103942

Return Policy:CPU Replacement Only Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$129.99 $129.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Model #:F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL

Item #:N82E16820231277

Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$29.99 $29.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model #:WD1002FAEX

Item #:N82E16822136533

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$149.99 -$10.00 Instant $139.99

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

Item #:N82E16827135204

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$18.99 $18.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM

Model #:FQC-04649

Item #:N82E16832116992

Return Policy:Software Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$139.99 $139.99

Subtotal: $773.92

This is another build that I did. The lady who wanted it was quite vague on the purpose so this probably ended up being major overkill. She is happy and the setup is nice so I guess I really don't care that it probably cost $300-400 more then what was required...

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Model #:CAC-T05-UW

Item #:N82E16811119068

Out Of Stock

Note (Add)

ASUS P8Z68-V LE LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS

Model #:P8Z68-V LE

Item #:N82E16813131773

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$137.99 -$5.00 Instant $132.99

SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity

Model #:100315L

Item #:N82E16814102908

Return Policy:VGA Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)

$149.99 $149.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Model #:WD1002FAEX

Item #:N82E16822136533

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$149.99 -$10.00 Instant $139.99

CORSAIR Enthusiast Series TX750 V2 750W ATX12V v2.31/ EPS12V v2.92 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC High Performance Power ...

Model #:CMPSU-750TXV2

Item #:N82E16817139021

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Mail in Rebate Card

Note (Add)

$139.99 -$35.00 Instant $104.99

Intel Core i5-2500K Sandy Bridge 3.3GHz (3.7GHz Turbo Boost) LGA 1155 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 ...

Model #:BX80623I52500K

Item #:N82E16819115072

Return Policy:Iron Egg Replacement-Only Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$219.99 $219.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Model #:F3-12800CL9D-8GBXL

Item #:N82E16820231428

Return Policy:Memory Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$46.99 $46.99

ASUS VH226H Black 21.5" 2ms(GTG) HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor

Model #:VH226H

Item #:N82E16824236051

Out Of Stock

Note (Add)

ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

Model #:DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS

Item #:N82E16827135204

Return Policy:Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$18.99 $18.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 64-bit - OEM

Model #:FQC-04649

Item #:N82E16832116992

Return Policy:Software Standard Return Policy

In Stock

Note (Add)

$139.99 $139.99

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