~£550 Spec Please

[BillytheImpaler]

Hello, folks. I've volunteered to put together a machine for a friend after he'd been bitten by 2 DOA Acer desktops. He wants to spend roughly the equivalent of £550. I used to love spec'ing rigs but after changing jobs I failed to keep up to date on the latest, greatest, and highest value parts.

It'll primarily be used for the usual ho-hum desktop apps and WoW. WoW doesn't require much grunt to work nicely AFAIK so something like a 4750 should be more than enough by a long shot. Set me straight if I'm wrong though.

Requirements:
Vista 64-bit Home Premium
Monitor
4 GiB RAM
Case that doesn't look like it was designed by a 12-year old anime fan on speed.

The Asus barebones rigs look tempting.

Can you help? If so, please do! Thanks in advance.

 

[BillytheImpaler]

That looks very good. Thanks, jak. I'll have a play with getting something similar and report back with any questions or whatnot.

 

[BillytheImpaler]

Ok, here's what I've got:

ASUS V2-P5G31 Intel Socket T(LGA775) Intel G31 Black & Gray Barebone - Retail
$149.99

SAMSUNG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner with LightScribe Black SATA Model SH-S203N
$21.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F1 HD753LJ 750GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$79.99

ASUS VH242H Black 23.6" 5ms HDMI Full 1080P Widescreen LCD Monitor - Retail
$229.99

SAPPHIRE 100256L Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card
$94.99

Creative Inspire T3100 2.1 2-way Speakers
$45.99

Microsoft Comfort Curve 2000 B2L-00047 Black USB Ergonomics Keyboard and Mouse
$19.99

Kingston 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2K2/4GR - Retail
$36.99

Intel Core 2 Quad Q8200 2.33GHz LGA 775 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80580Q8200
$169.99

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders
$99.99

COOLER MASTER SAF-B83-E1 80mm Case Fan
$3.99

*****************************************
Shipping: $55.08
Total: $953.89

As you can see, I was able to move up to a 1920x1200 monitor and a quad. I also threw in all the accessories assuming he needs 'em. If not he can pocket the difference in cost.

I can spend up to $1000 so I have some room to play. What changes would you make? He doesn't need a bigger HDD and the F1 is plenty fast if memory serves. What's a good step up in the GPU department? I can use the money to move up to a real 24" monitor, not this weirdo-sized one. Any idea what the difference might be?

 

[BillytheImpaler]

Is the 300 W PSU in that barebones rig sufficient for the GPU and CPU? I don't know anything about Asus's PSUs. I might end up having to blow the spare money on a decent PSU.

Edit: Would an MSI MBOX G31M3-F be a better choice?

 

[BillytheImpaler]

I'm thinking that was probably a bit overkill.

Regardless, I swapped out the Asus for the MSI barebones set. It's got the same chipset and a dual 14A 12V PSU which should do the trick. It was also about $50 cheaper meaning I have about an extra hundred to spend.

Where would you apply it?