Thoughts on this rig please!

Glenmoray · 3 Nov 2010 at 15:28

Hi everyone,

I'm building a PC for a friend.

His primary needs are internet browsing (he literally has like 50 tabs open at once normally which destroys his aged Acer Ferrari single core laptop...). Video watching i.e. movies, video conference etc.

Limited games, the odd Age of Empires etc so graphic power is not necessary. No video editing or anything of the sort.

The budget is 350euros, 305 GBP. Obviously the cheaper the better.

I have a spare ATI 1950XTX and IDE DVD drive. He does not want Windows7 as it will take him a while to get used to. So 2GB of RAM I think is enough for him.

This is what I've made: (I'm really unsure about the CPU and mobo.. I will try and unlock additional cores with the CPU but was wondering your guys opinion).

AMD Phenom II X2 555 € 87 ----75 GBP
Xigmatek Asgard Case € 35 ----30 GBP
Samsung 1000GB HDD € 52 ----45 GBP
Kingston 2GB 1333MHz DDR3 Non-ECC CL9 DIMM € 33 ----29 GBP
Antec EarthWatts 380Watt € 46 ----40GBP
Asus M4A785T-M € 69 ----60GBP

€322 279 GBP
Thoughts? Areas for improvement? Would be greatly appreciated.

(Please note as an expat my prices are different but after hard research I think this is the best I can come up with).

Many thanks,

Glen

cmndr_andi · 3 Nov 2010 at 15:39

If he has LOADS of tabs open then he will probably benefit from more RAM. 4GB would be a ideal.

The CPU is a nice one - however you may want to try an Athlon II X3 instead. It is about £15 cheaper, has the possibility of unlocking to a quad (like the Phenom II X2) but it is a bit slower. However - for the stated uses it should be more than fast enough.

The 785G chipset motherboard is a good choice - it supports all AM3 chips and the onboard graphics can handle 1080p video.

The PSU is nice, but tbh you could get away with something like a Corsair CX 430W - which should be a bit cheaper.

With the operating system - does he have that covered already? I assume that he has a retail version of Windows XP or something, though please bear in mind that an existing OEM XP license cannot legally be used with a new motherboard.

Also, if the PC is mainly for Internet browsing - may I ask what browser will be used?

95thrifles · 3 Nov 2010 at 15:41

Hi
Youd be better with an Athlon X4 than a Phenom X2
If you can it'd prob still be worth getting 4 gig RAM
You may well find the modern onboard gfx is equal to that old dedicated card so it will be unnecessary

Glenmoray · 3 Nov 2010 at 16:24

cmndr_andi

absolutely, both great advice so far thank you.

95thrifles,

I picked the Phenom X2 because I thought I could try and unlock its cores.. maybe not a worthwhile attempt as I'm typically unlucky but between the X3 or X4, its difficult to decide based on what he needs. I'm also not entirely sure on the differences between the cores and what would justify the price difference.

While his needs are limited and I'm on a tight budget, I don't mind as much if paying more for a CPU would be worth it and future proof his rig.

the onboard graphics sounds great for what he needs but - is the board overkill maybe? There are some cheaper budget boards but they seem to have older chipsets and onboard GPUs which deter me from purchasing them.

The budget will cater for 4GB so will go for that, thanks.

In terms of Windows XP I'm not sure if its OEM or not, will check that up but he won't want Windows7 as he really is so used to how XP works.

Thanks again guys!

95thrifles · 3 Nov 2010 at 16:48

No, good choice of mobo, stick with it, the 785G chipset is v good as Andi said
Re the CPU, the Phenom would help if he was doing a lot of gaming, the extra cache n all, but as his uses are what they are, if it were me, Id rather take the guaranteed extra cores which will be much more beneficial, if he's comfortable doing so he can OC the Athlon too
Re windows, 7 really isnt like vista, its much better, he's going to have to move over sooner or later (lol) and iirc theyre stopping XP support next year is it?