I have a friend who needs a new computer (Athlon 1800 just isn't cutting it anymore)

Use: Mainly Word/Powerpoint/Office productivity software, email. Every now and then she needs video editing capability as well as the ability to burn DVD.

Critical Features: Dual monitors, graphics card with good video editing capabilities, non-bloated windows (xp preferred, but can be 7, but must be Microsoft)

A good general description: quick turn on, plenty of speed, potential for upgrades. This doesn't have to be the latest, greatest gamer-suitable hardware, it just needs to work well.

Price: 500-1000

Does anyone have any suggestions? I've built many before, it's just been awhile and I'm not 100% sure what is 'mid-grade' if such a descriptor can be applied. Thanks!

2/10/2010 11:42:09 PM

Just get some kind of Dual DVI PCIe video card. Not many video editors take much advantage of video cards unless you get those 800$ jobs.

Get some older Core2Quad board and chip with 4-6GB of RAM. Should last a while.

2/11/2010 8:04:14 AM

using newegg in 5 min i was able to build for $965

Intel Core i-7 Quad Core 2.8Ghz
ECS P55H-A ATX Motherboard
22x DVD Burner (or you can salvage the older drive and save some bucks)
Thermaltake Aluminum ATX Case
650W Power Supply
6GB DDR3 PC1033 Memory
ECG GeForce GTX 275 Video Card

didnt include a hard drive/xp because everybody usually has one or two extra already but that wouldnt drive the price up too highanyway

and that would probably be considered higher than midgrade so just depends if she wants to stick closer to 500 or 1000

2/11/2010 8:34:23 AM

I'm pretty sure she wants to include dual LCDs in her budget.

2/11/2010 10:36:22 AM

$89.99 GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2H LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
$84.99 OCZ StealthXStream OCZ700SXS 700W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready Active PFC
$103.99 Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model
$199.99 Intel Core i5-750 Lynnfield 2.66GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Processor Model BX80605I5750
$59.95 Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
$139.99 XFX HD-575X-ZNFC Radeon HD 5750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready
$89.99 HITACHI Deskstar HD31000 IDK/7K (0S00163) 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive
$24.99 LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS50
$339.98 2x ASUS VW224U Black 22" 2ms(GTG) Widescreen LCD Monitor
_________
$1,133.86

https://secure.newegg.com/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.aspx?ID=12205605

The only difference between \/ and this is the PSU, CPU, and GPU. Both of these are valid, it just depends on how much power/performance she wants.

[Edited on February 11, 2010 at 11:08 AM. Reason : f]

2/11/2010 11:03:01 AM

about as close as i can get, but doesn't include OS
http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10455134
+ $65 for Windows 7 Pro via win741.com if she is a student.
or
+ $105 for Windows 7 Home via newegg

2/11/2010 11:03:04 AM

^ I don't know if that PSU will be enough

2/11/2010 11:11:29 AM

^most computers with quad-core single cpu, single gpu, 4 dimms and 2 hard drives, aren't going to go over 400W w/ 80% efficiency, also i went with caviar black hard drive because they are the fastest with longest warranty (5-year)... not sure you need that robust of a video card to start either, 4670 1GB is comparable and a lot less, just no DX11 support for future games, but again the CPU/GPU are upgradable so not much difference other than initial cost.

wattage doesn't mean jack in the new PSU's... with most of them over 80% efficiency it means you can power MORE with LESS. also the newer CPU's are all low power, no more power hungry CPU's

i mean 400W would be plenty, probably 550W or higher if you want to do crossfire (2xGPUs).

[Edited on February 11, 2010 at 11:16 AM. Reason : .]

2/11/2010 11:12:51 AM

Wattage is a marketting gimick. What you want to look for is amps on the 12v rails to see if they're enough to service the video card. The corsair in that list is a good pick. I'd say that entire list is pretty well done. The only thing that threw me off a bit was the price on the ram, but i haven't really looked at prices on ddr3.

2/11/2010 11:15:31 AM

also, check slickdeals.net every day for deals at Dell. Sometimes they'll throw up systems with prices better than you can build yourself + better warranties.

2/11/2010 11:17:04 AM

i was going to say that as well, since Dell can buy the OS at such a discount, along with good LCD's, you might find a better price there.... not sure about better warranties though, typically they cost $150 for 3-years, whereas the parts if you buy them separate are at min. 3-years included, some 5-years, and memory lifetime.

2/11/2010 11:20:41 AM

Alrighty, I redid mine. $1003

I still don't think that 400W is enough. 700W is definitely overkill for this build, though. I was just searching based on price/reviews.

Upon further reflection, I think this is all pretty much overkill. If shes upgrading from a Athlon 1800, even something like a POS C2D would be fine. There really is no reason for her to get something that she will upgrade, if you consider what she plans on using it for and how often she has upgraded.

edit: Nevermind. The cheapest C2D is still ~$120. I would say that the build that Prospero came up with is pretty spot on and she could do with a smaller HDD.

[Edited on February 11, 2010 at 12:01 PM. Reason : f]

2/11/2010 11:56:24 AM

yea, that's why i went with dual-core i3 still WAY better than what she's probably use to... btw, that's a good price on crucial ballistix...

2/11/2010 12:00:34 PM

So, when are the new GeForce series 400 cards coming out? I guess the 300 series label got eaten up in a re-branding of old tech.

2/11/2010 12:33:10 PM

Honestly, I'd just rock a e5200 in that build.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072

Find yourself a cheap P45 board as such

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372

some DDR2

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

and the rest of the items from Prospero's build. It'll be more than enough for the listed needs. Just giving you options.

2/11/2010 3:35:51 PM

if only there was a thread about this already

2/11/2010 3:47:53 PM

inorite.

i decided to go easy since the OP only has 59 posts.

2/11/2010 3:50:52 PM

[user]jchill2's[/user] list is pretty good ... would go for less on the case/power supply if not an active gamer though. Also, can swap out a Core i5 for Core Duo if you need to knock it down a bit more.

Question: Truly need dual monitors, or will a single large monitor suffice?

2/11/2010 6:45:12 PM

Thanks for the posting! I'm getting a better understanding of what is available.

Quick notes: She already has dual monitors so that won't have much bearing on the price.

I didn't post in the perpetual build thread because it seemed that it was more high-end level hardware.


Thanks again!

2/11/2010 6:51:06 PM

i'd stay away from LGA775 if she wants to upgrade later.

2/11/2010 6:55:56 PM