cheap build + remote control

[rangor gubbins]

so my housemate wants me to build him a computer on a budget of £400
What do you reckon to this lot:

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663) £63.99 (£75.19)


FSP Sparkle Blue Storm 2 400W ATX2.0 PSU £36.99 (£43.46)


OcUK GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £54.99 (£64.61)


Asus P5B (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £63.99 (£75.19)


Akasa AK-ZEN-01-BK Zen Black Case - No PSU £24.99 (£29.36)


Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £66.99 (£78.71)
Sub Total : £311.94
Shipping : £9.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £56.33
Total : £378.22

will be used for some gaming (but not hardcore 'must have highest possible FPS' gaming), as he has an xbox360.
Making music. again nothing too intensive, just playing around. and the usual web, work, listening to music, films etc.

One more question. He wants a remote control for the PC. Something so that he can control winamp like a normal stereo. Can you buy anything like that for a PC?

Anyone got any suggestions on components changes/upgrades?

Cheers

 

[sid]

so my housemate wants me to build him a computer on a budget of £400
What do you reckon to this lot:

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663) £63.99 (£75.19)


FSP Sparkle Blue Storm 2 400W ATX2.0 PSU £36.99 (£43.46)


OcUK GeForce 8600 GT 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £54.99 (£64.61)


Asus P5B (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £63.99 (£75.19)


Akasa AK-ZEN-01-BK Zen Black Case - No PSU £24.99 (£29.36)


Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £66.99 (£78.71)
Sub Total : £311.94
Shipping : £9.95
VAT is being charged at 17.5% VAT : £56.33
Total : £378.22

will be used for some gaming (but not hardcore 'must have highest possible FPS' gaming), as he has an xbox360.
Making music. again nothing too intensive, just playing around. and the usual web, work, listening to music, films etc.

One more question. He wants a remote control for the PC. Something so that he can control winamp like a normal stereo. Can you buy anything like that for a PC?

Anyone got any suggestions on components changes/upgrades?

Cheers

You could use windows MCE remote but that maynot work in winamp. There are third party remotes that work though like the ones by Imon for example or the shuttle pn31 IIRC.

BTW you are missing a dvdrw and hdd in that spec.

sid

 

[Jaffa_Cake]

Sapphire ATI Radeon X1950 Pro 256MB GDDR3 HDTV/Dual DVI (PCI-Express) - Retail £84.99
(£99.86) £84.99
(£99.86)
Antec NSK6500 Super Midi Tower Case - 430W PSU Antec NSK6500 Super Midi Tower Case - 430W PSU £58.99
(£69.31) £58.99
(£69.31)
Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663) Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-5300C3 667MHz Dual Channel Kit (BL2KIT12864AA663) £63.99
(£75.19) £63.99
(£75.19)
Gigabyte GA_965P_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard Gigabyte GA_965P_S3 (Socket 775) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard £59.99
(£70.49) £59.99
(£70.49)
Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail Intel Core 2 Duo E4300 "LGA775 Allendale" 1.80GHz (800FSB) - Retail £66.99
(£78.71) £66.99
(£78.71)

Total : £405.26

Thats a more powerful GPU but not DX10 unfortunatly DX10 not needed properly for several months.

 

[rangor gubbins]

cheers people

@sid - that iMon thing looks just the ticket. thanks. He already has a HDD and a DVDRW. However his HDD is old school PATA, so i might try and convince him to upgrade to a SATAII

@Jaffa_Cake - i was thinking about a 1950pro, but thought i would go along the DX10 route. now you have me thinking again. Hes unlikely to want to upgrade his GPU again anytime soon, so i figured go for a DX10 card, but i realise powerwise he'd be better off with a x1950pro or even a second hand X1900 XT or something.
I didn't go for the case+PSU package, as i have done before on another budget build. The PSU died (bloody Antec smartpower). To get it RMAed i had to take the whole PC apart to send the case+knackered PSU back to OcUK. As well as being a major pain in the arse it would have taken ages, so i bit the bullet and just bought a new PSU. Not buying bundles anymore.

 

[Jaffa_Cake]

i was thinking about a 1950pro, but thought i would go along the DX10 route. now you have me thinking again. Hes unlikely to want to upgrade his GPU again anytime soon, so i figured go for a DX10 card, but i realise powerwise he'd be better off with a x1950pro or even a second hand X1900 XT or something.
I didn't go for the case+PSU package, as i have done before on another budget build. The PSU died (bloody Antec smartpower). To get it RMAed i had to take the whole PC apart to send the case+knackered PSU back to OcUK. As well as being a major pain in the arse it would have taken ages, so i bit the bullet and just bought a new PSU. Not buying bundles anymore.

Those PSU's are usually very reliable and well made.

Tbh, if your wanting to play DX10 games then.. a 8600GT.. won't do it well enough to even be worth paying for the DX10. I would go for the X1950 over a 8600 anyday.

You can buy sound cards with remote control. Mine has one ( Audigy 4 ) and it works rather well if im sitting on my bed ( 2 meters away) and I want to change song.

You can get universal remotes but not from OcUK I think.

 

[rangor gubbins]

Those PSU's are usually very reliable and well made.

Yeah i'd agree, BUT if it does go wrong its a major pain in the ass

Tbh, if your wanting to play DX10 games then.. a 8600GT.. won't do it well enough to even be worth paying for the DX10. I would go for the X1950 over a 8600 anyday.

i think i agree with you there

You can buy sound cards with remote control. Mine has one ( Audigy 4 ) and it works rather well if im sitting on my bed ( 2 meters away) and I want to change song.

You can get universal remotes but not from OcUK I think.