Build for a Friend

Well im building a computer for my friends mom and she told me about all she was going to be doing is have a bunch of applications open at once like a couple MS words, MS power points, etc and limewire will always be on, multiple web pages and she uses her comp for making web pages or something. Now she doesnt want any slow down with all those apps open. She wants a 19" lcd, for cost effectiveness i gonna try to talk her into a 19" CRT. But with the monitor she thinking about $1000(usa) So i was thinking

CPU: Pentium D 820 (2.8GHz) $246
Mobo: MSI Neo-f 945p chipset $120
Mem: 1 gig DDR2 533 from OCZ cas 3-3-3-8 $106
HD: WD SATA II 160 GB $82
OD: Lite-On 52x32x52x/DVD player $32
GPU: Sapphire Radeon x300 SE (not Hyper Mem) $52
Antec Sonata w/smart power 2.0 450 $110
Either a 19" LCD or CRT: LCD-285 CRT-200

Total: $949.00 +S&H (this is with CRT)+$75 building Fee (i need some profit)



The only reason im going with Intel is cause they have the cheaper dual core.
Now then is this overkill, which i think it might be, if you need more info on what she will use the computer for just tell me and i try to get a hold of her.
I'm hoping i can cut some corners and not sacrifice to much performance. Critques would be appreciated.

One more question, as far as sound quality goes, what type of difference will she notice between an Audigy 2 and onboard while listening to music (no games no movies). Also she is upgrading from an old laptop so i expect her to notice a huge performance boost.

 

Is there any big performance difference between a dual core 2.8GHz and a HT P4 640 3.2GHz in terms of multitasking.

 

That system should be perfect for what she needs, i don't think it's overkill at all considering making websites also includes image manipulation most of the time so a powerful processor is necessary. The Dual Core Pentium will do the job well so stick with that.
Other than that i don't have any criticism's except if she really want's the TFT, give it to her and skimp on something else if she doesn't want to spend over $1000

 

I don't think it would be major but the Pentium D would win out bit a bit, with the price being similar I'd go with the PD, I'd be curious to see how it works out for her. But to be honest I don't think she'd need that much, if it was Photoshop I could see a little extra oomph but Word/Powerpoint, and Web browsing are pretty much the most basic tasks out there. I'd say get here a Sempron 3000+ (64 ready), some good looking mobo from ASUS, Abit, Gigabyte, or maybe DFI. A 9550 video card maybe but it doesn't really matter, Corsair Value select 1GB (doubt she'd need it but will a lot of windows open you never know), and the best monitor you can afford. Otherwise I would think that the power and money would be wasted as there's no way you need dual-core for that.
EDIT: Image manipulation will be more ram ram and gpu intensive than cpu as most any cpu in the past couple years can handle dreamweaver and flash etc. pretty well. I'm sure she would get better performance out of the PD but I don't know if she'd notice, as I've said this isn't terribly demanding work.

 

Well let me get some more detailed info on exactly what she will be using it for, and ill post a revised version tommorow.

 

Image manipulation isn't too GPU intensive, but wouldn't a 6200 be better than X300?

I'm no confident that a Pentium D would actually benefit her, this isn't someone compiling programs while doing simulations. Multiple apps of that kind is hardly seen as multi-core needs. I would go for a cheaper CPU, possible A64/Sempron or P4 HT if she's going to be multimedia intensive. RAM will be cheaper too. With the money you save you could get some quiet HSF/noise reduction equipment.

 

The X300 is a little faster than the 6200 in most test

 

what is the difference between the 945P and 945G chipsets.

 

CPU Intel Pentium 4 630 (3.0GHz) $178.91
MoBo MSI Neo-F 945P $119.50
Mem OCZ Technology 1GB DDR2 CAS 3-3-3-8 $106.44
HD Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB SATA II $84.50
OD Lite-On Black IDE combo Drive (52x32x52x)(16x DVD) $32.99
GPU Sapphire Radeon x300 SE $49.50
Monitor Rosewill 19” LCD (8ms response time) $264.99
PSU Antec Smart Power 2.0 450 $70.00
Case Antec Sonata II $40.00
Speaker Logitech x230 2.1 (2 sattelites and Sub) (32 watts) $32.98
Total Includes 3-Day S&H and Build Fee $1099.36

Does this look pretty good, or do you think i should change something. Also i know im saving her money cause i went to Dell and HP and a computer like this cost over $1400.

I was at MSIs website and they said you have to an 8pin cpu connector plugged in for the board to work, is that just for Ex. Editions or all intel CPUs

 

I do agree with Exfoliate

But I would go further, the D will be a complete overkill.
Also price wise....

I cannot comment on AMD as I never used an AMD system. Further more, I am not a computer builder and can only comment from experience.
Any P4 2.4-2.8 will be very happy running three office based programs and three to four browser windows open.
How do I know? I do it nearly every day with my very humble office work- satation. I have Outlook, Powerpoint, Excell and word open at the same time with three to four browser windows going. Also I might have Dreamweaver opened as well (I have to update certain areas of the firms intranet). The only thing that slows the workstation down is when it needs to retreive data from the network.

My work station is a P4 2.4Ghz with a tiny 256MB RAM (PC2700 if I remember correctly). It has a 40GB drive and onboard sound and video.

I would say that yes, go for a decent CPU but no need to go completely mad. What you need more than anything for office programs is RAM. 512MB will suffice. Coupled with a high speed of the memory, mobo and drives this will give her bags of performance.If she uses any of the Macromedia web design programs then that might put a bit of pressure. But it won't be on the CPU.
I would dare to say that for what she needs, even a 64MB G card would do the trick.
The 19" is a nice touch but take insurance for your back before you order it....

If you really want to put the PC your self go for it, otherwise for the same price you will pay you will get this - http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs#tabtop

If you want to be a bit more cost effective - http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dp_dotw_dimen3?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

 

That first one is a good deal but with S&H + Tax it is $1258.96, so if she wants to save the extra $60 she can buy this, only problem is i wont get my build fee, thus i wont make any money.

 

I thought she was a freind...... LOL... just kiding.

I did not realise the price did not include S+H and tax.... duhhhh
I am used to the prices in UK which always include it already...

I think that really, my main point was - do not over do it.....
Be kinder on her pocket....

 

Its my friends mom, my friends i wouldnt charge, but this is his mom, and considering im taking time to do all the research on parts and take a whole saturday afternoon to build it and load the OS and Apps i think a little pay isnt to much to ask , plus from what i understand most big name vendors use lower quality parts.

 

That is a point.....I mean the quality parts etc....

 

personally I'd go with an AMD 3000+ processor. Even at that, it's still a little overkill.

 

So you think with that it will be able to multitask without any slow down. Cause if i used amd on this build i would have used the 3200+ and gotten the same ram i have in my system (patriot 1 GB 2-3-2-51T) and The MSI Neo4/SLI (she doesnt need SLI but its cheap and a good board) for 99$ Now because the ram and teh CPU would be sightly more expensive and the MobO will be cheaper it would be about the same price. So would you guys do that.

 

in this case multitasking won't be a problem, none of that is really CPU intensive anyway.

 

Well in that case its really just a matter of opinion. So what would you guys do. AMD or Intel

 

Not much, I belive 945P is a slightly fancier version, you can often find them with 2 PCIe slots for instance, 945G is always just a single PCIe board.

 

in terms of speed is a 3200+ the same as a 3GHz or 3000+ the same speed as a 3GHz
also which do you guys like more seagate or WD
If i go amd, which should i get both same price $104 (after $25 mail in rebate)
MSI neo4 platinum
MSI neo 4 sli
if i get the 3200+ it will be more expensive if i get the 3000+ it will be about the same price. So should i go for intel p4630 or AMD 3000+ Venice