£450 - Help me to spend it!!!!

Black Rat · 10 Aug 2007 at 09:24

Hi,

I've been asked to build a system for someone. Absolute budget of £450. This does need to include a 19" monitor and Vista Home Premium.

Here's what I've quickly screwed together. The user isn't too interested in games, they just want a good PC, that'll generally perform well day-to-day. Basically, they want the best they can buy for £450.

Any improvements to the list below will be gratefully received.

Asus VW193S 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - VW193S 19" £99.99
(£117.49)
Intel Core 2 Duo E2140 "LGA775 Conroe" 1.60GHz (800FSB) - Retail £39.99
(£46.99)
Asus Vintage V2-P5945G Barebones System - Intel Core 2 Duo £60.99
(£71.66)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-Bit Edition DVD - OEM - 1Pk (66I-00788) £54.99
(£64.61)
GeIL 1GB (2x512MB) PC5300C4 667MHz Value DDR2 Dual Channel Kit (GX21GB5300DC) £19.99
(£23.49)
Western Digital Caviar SE16 320GB 3200AAKS SATA-II 16MB Cache - OEM £38.99
(£45.81)
Samsung SH-S182MBEBN 18x18 DVD±RW Dual Layer LightScribe ReWriter (Black) - OEM £15.99
(£18.79)
Sub Total : £350.92

Total : £424.02 (inc shipping and VAT)

Also, in the future they might want to add a sound card. Can anyone recommend a decent one <£30?

Many thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!

Black Rat · 10 Aug 2007 at 12:02

Is anyone gonna help me.....? :mad:

I was told this was the best place to come....? :rolleyes:

stickroad · 10 Aug 2007 at 12:05

Black Rat said:
Is anyone gonna help me.....?

I was told this was the best place to come....?

Goodluck getting far with that attitude mate.

clocka · 10 Aug 2007 at 12:05

that seems alright, just use the onboard sound.

fastwunz · 10 Aug 2007 at 12:07

lol easy tiger - people are probably looking for alternatives as we speak!

Black Rat · 10 Aug 2007 at 12:13

Sorry Stickroad - bored at work and was hoping for a reply so as not to be so bored.

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 13:14

Bump it up to 2GB RAM for Vista, especially if it'll be given to someone who might not maintain/strip down the installation perfectly.

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 13:19

clocka said:
that seems alright, just use the onboard sound.

Also yes, do as above unless they have a strong reason to use a standalone card. On-board will usually do surround sound (5.1 or 7.1 now) - the main reason I can see for a separate card would be to use an optical out, or to use gaming sound effects - I assume it isn't the latter reason.

Black Rat · 10 Aug 2007 at 13:41

Cheers GrowlingFish!!!!

TBH...I'm a bit of a novice at this computer building game, I just need pointing in the right direction.

Thanks for your posts.

Spooter · 10 Aug 2007 at 13:48

make sure you fit a turbo button to the case!! This will really help performance in games.

mattyrigby00 · 10 Aug 2007 at 13:52

looks good, maybe add another 1gb of ram, not sure if the onboard gfx on that can use aero but if it doesnt then oh well

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 13:59

Spooter said:
make sure you fit a turbo button to the case!! This will really help performance in games.

*slaps*

Nullvoid · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:03

I've tried to put together one that doesn't involve a barebones system, food for thought if nothing else.

Case & Power Supply - Antec NSK4400 with 380w smartpower psu
Motherboard - Abit IP-95 micro atx
Processor - Intel e2140
RAM - 2gb Crucial pc2-5300
Graphics Card - Sapphire Radeon 2400pro 256mb
Hard-drive - Samsung Spinpoint T 160gb
Operating System - Vista Home Premium 32-bit
Optical Drive - Samsung 20x dvd burner
Monitor - OcUK Value AH191DPB 19"

That lot comes to £455.74.

Let me explain the reasoning behind a few of the choices. Firstly the monitor has a DVI connection which is missing on the Asus (being cheaper is also nice

). By not getting a barebones we've been able to spec the ati 2400pro which should be more powerful than any onboard solution (it's also rather good for movie-watching, if not games). Then there's the 2gb of ram, vista should love having the extra to work with.

Whether you think those changes make up for losing 160gb of hard-drive storage...*shrug*.

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:03

mattyrigby00 said:
looks good, maybe add another 1gb of ram, not sure if the onboard gfx on that can use aero but if it doesnt then oh well

From what I've just read it seems that the Intel GMA950 (which is the onboard in that barebones) is fine for Aero.

Edit: this wasn't a critique of the post above - just wrote it before it was posted. If you don't mind the added steps involved in a complete build then the spec above is nice.

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:07

Nullvoid said:
Whether you think those changes make up for losing 160gb of hard-drive storage...*shrug*.

I'd be really surprised if there wasn't a larger one in the B-grade section you could get for a nice price.

Black Rat · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:12

Thanks NullVoid....

I like the thinking behind your system. I guess it gives me instantly more bang for my buck. Extra's like a bigger HDD can be thrown in at a later date.

To keep the costs down I can always keep an eye on the B-Grade kit too.

Are the Samsung Spin points rated by you guys?

Cheers for all posts!!!

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:23

Black Rat said:
Are the Samsung Spin points rated by you guys?

Cheers for all posts!!!

Yeah they're fine. Supposedly one of the quieter types, but TBH the Spinpoints, Barracudas and AAKS Caviars are all quiet and fast.

Black Rat · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:40

Ok - it looks like I've got myself an kit list to get on order.

Cheers for the advice fella's. I can't wait to get on with the build now

P.S. I'll be back when I need a new PC (couple of months) my budget will be nearer £750 - £800....!

Growlingfish · 10 Aug 2007 at 14:44

Check the Samsung and BenQ 20" widescreens in B-grade (£99.99). Also check with OCUK that dead-pixel monitors don't get put in B-grade

Spooter · 14 Aug 2007 at 14:47

Hi This system looks like a nice build. The Asus Vintage Barebones Systems look nice and are easy to put together. Not sure if they are any good if you wish to overclock though. I have the AMD version of this and it runs very well Xubuntu installed. I picked mine up on the B grade section for a great price.

What does everyone else think of the Asus Vintage systems? I think they look pretty good for the price...