advice on build your own pc for me ma

[matey]

my mum wants a new pc soon and my sister has a friend who can build one so i was wondering if this sounded decent

won't be playing any games so graphics card/more than a bog standard monitor not necessary

something that lasts a while, doesn't crash and works fast and smooth although won't be using it for much more than her business watching youtube, maybe i'll play a bit of poker on it maybe not but nothing too taxing

she wants to copy and burn some dvds though and i get a bit confused by all the +-rw cd dr etc etc so this samsung one work for all kinds or will i need a different rewriter for different dvd types...obv a big noob with this sort of thing

total £520 inc vat

anything that i'm missing out? do i need extra fans or any other little bits and bobs i've forgotten? everything compatible, decent and unlikely to be obsolete after a while? etc. etc.

do i need a cd drive or something for cds? doesn't seem to say there is one in the case specifications

many thanks

this is all from novatech btw:

Corsair CX 400W ATX2.2 Power Supply

Samsung Spin Point F3 SATAII NCQ 500GB 16Mb Cache Hard Drive <9.0ms 7200rpm - OEM

Antec Three Hundred Case - Black - No Psu

AMD Triple Core Athlon II X3 425 2.7GHz 1.5MB Socket AM3 - Retail

Windows Home Premium Edition 7 DVD - Retail

Samsung S222A 22x DVD+/-RW 8x Dual Layer DVD-RAM IDE Black - OEM

Novatech 19" Widescreen LCD Monitor - Black

Crucial Ballistix 2GB (2x1GB) DDR2 PC2-8500C5 1066MHz Dual Channel Kit


Asus M4A77D AMD 770 (Socket AM3) PCI-Express DDR2 Motherboard (kind of clueless on motherboards...this is cheapest that is am3 ddr2 and isn't micro...don't know what to look for beyond that)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Do the computer parts have to be only from Novatech BTW??

For instance you could get the following:

AMD Athlon II X3 425 ~ £55

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/176042

Gigabyte GA-MA785GMT-UD2H ~ £62

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/170230

This has integrated graphics whereas the 770 chipset does not have integrated graphics.

4GB DDR3 ~ £82

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/179278

Antec Mini P180 ~ £60 to £62

http://www.ebuyer.com/search?q=mini+p180&x=18&y=9

OCZ 400W StealthXStream PSU ~ £40

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/152505

Samsung SpinPoint F3 500GB ~ £37

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/146252

SATA DVD rewriter ~ £17

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164449

Dell IN2010IN 20" TFT Monitor ~ £95

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/164840

Windows 7 Home Premium Retail ~ £92

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/168373

If you want to save some money you can get the following case and power supply combination:

http://www.ebuyer.com/product/130946

[matey]

no im just a lazy shopper i guess although i wouldn't want to order like one item elsewhere to save just a couple of pounds as postage is free

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

no im just a lazy shopper i guess although i wouldn't want to order like one item elsewhere to save just a couple of pounds as postage is free

I have edited my previous post and Ebuyer also offer free postage too.

[matey]

can't quote your urls

yes this looks good

only 22 more and covers the integrated graphics i overlooked

assuming this covers everything i think this should be fine

thanks a lot

i think she wants it in a month or so....will prob get it then

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

yes this looks good

only 22 more and covers the integrated graphics i overlooked

assuming this covers everything i think this should be fine

thanks a lot

i think she wants it in a month or so....will prob get it then

There is a cheaper case and PSU combo which should be cheaper which I linked to also.

[matey]

yes but i have read ocz and corsair are better than the others and it's important to get a great psu and also it would be nice to be flexible and maybe use the ocz one for a different computer in the future

although it would be a bit cheaper, i don't mind so much with reusable components

but i'll ask the girl who will build it and see what she thinks

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Antec are quite a good company too and I would rate their PSUs among the best. However the OCZ StealthXStream is probably one of the best 400W PSUs out there:

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/794

The mini-P180 is also a very good case although it is quite heavy as it is built like a tank IMHO:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article810-page1.html

[mcmiller]

If you or anyone else is a student in your family you can also get a cheap copy of win 7 from

http://www.software4students.co.uk/

If you plan on buying the Corsair psu buy it from Scan so that you can return if to them and they can ship it to corsair

[BUFF]

If you or anyone else is a student in your family you can also get a cheap copy of win 7 from

http://www.software4students.co.uk/

or if no student you could buy oem Win 7

[Domestic_Ginger]

I think the antec 300 looks like a gamers case. Something more sophisticed (I can't even spell it!). The P180 mini comes in white as well and I wish Cat would stop posting it as I would like one and can't really justify switching to mATX and selling my current case.

I would rate PSU indiviually as the marketing company will buy different models from different manufacturers.

[abaxas]

Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to support to buy an 'off the shelf' computer?

I'm sure Dell has something perfect for the job in hand.

[Domestic_Ginger]

Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to support to buy an 'off the shelf' computer?

great suggestion; everytime i say that the thread starters usually poo poo me!

[BUFF]

for someone that doesn't want to individually specify eash component & won't be upgrading components on a regular basis Dell etc. are hard to beat (especially as they get to do any tech. support rather than you ...).

[matey]

I looked at dell to see what was on offer for an equivalent price.

They have this:
COLOUR CHOICE Piano Black colour edit
PROCESSOR AMD Athlon™ II X4 630 (2.8GHz, 2MB Cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit - English edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 2Yr In-Home Warranty Support, including evenings and Saturdays edit
PROTECT YOUR NEW PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English edit

Dell Recommends
You have selected 15 months Security Protection.
Why not upgrade now to 24 months of comprehensive security protection for just £14 more.
Upgrade to McAfee® Security Centre - 24 Month Protection - English [add £10.00 or £1/month1]
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT No Accidental Damage Support edit
MONITOR Dell IN1910N 18.5" HD Widescreen Monitor - UK/Irish edit
MEMORY 4096MB Dual Channel DDR3 1066MHz [4x1024] Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 320GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD Integrated ATI Radeon HD4200 Graphics edit
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) with DVD Burn software edit
KEYBOARD Dell™ USB Entry Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY) edit
MOUSE Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black edit
SOUND SOFTWARE Integrated 7.1 channel audio edit
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES 19-in-1 Media Card reader edit
MODEMS No Modem edit
Accessories
PROTECT YOUR DATA DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year edit
Also included with your system
Dell System Media Kit Inspiron Desktop 570 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Shipping Documents English Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference D015718
Order Information Inspiron Desktop 570 Minitower Order - UK
Speakers No Speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Standard Warranty 1 year of coverage included with your PC
Cable 2 Meter Power Cord - UK
Call Dell Experts One free Dell Expert call to help with your PC queries within 60 days of purchase
DataSafe (Services Owned) Datasafe Loc

I understand hard drive and memory are what count for having everything smooth stable fast and snappy with minimal lag which is what really counts for me I think.

They don't give any choice for hard drive which obv looks inferior to the samsung f3 and memory is only 1066mhz and not 1333mhz

How much difference would they make for my mums browsing/office type needs long term? Computers obv slow down over time which is what bothers her most and it would be nice to have something that takes much longer to deteriorate than usual so I thought a great hard drive would be a good idea.

This system would be same price with the cheaper tower inc its own psu btw~£500

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I looked at dell to see what was on offer for an equivalent price.

They have this:
COLOUR CHOICE Piano Black colour edit
PROCESSOR AMD Athlon™ II X4 630 (2.8GHz, 2MB Cache) edit
OPERATING SYSTEM Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium 64bit - English edit
OFFICE SOFTWARE Microsoft® Works 9.0 / English - (Does not include Microsoft® Word) edit
HARDWARE SUPPORT 2Yr In-Home Warranty Support, including evenings and Saturdays edit
PROTECT YOUR NEW PC McAfee® Security Centre - 15 Month Protection - English edit

Dell Recommends
You have selected 15 months Security Protection.
Why not upgrade now to 24 months of comprehensive security protection for just £14 more.
Upgrade to McAfee® Security Centre - 24 Month Protection - English [add £10.00 or £1/month1]
ACCIDENTAL DAMAGE SUPPORT No Accidental Damage Support edit
MONITOR Dell IN1910N 18.5" HD Widescreen Monitor - UK/Irish edit
MEMORY 4096MB Dual Channel DDR3 1066MHz [4x1024] Memory edit
HARD DRIVE 320GB (7200rpm) SATA Hard Drive edit
GRAPHICS CARD Integrated ATI Radeon HD4200 Graphics edit
OPTICAL DRIVE DVD +/- RW Drive (read/write CD & DVD) with DVD Burn software edit
KEYBOARD Dell™ USB Entry Keyboard - UK/Irish (QWERTY) edit
MOUSE Dell 2 Button USB Scroll Optical Mouse - Black edit
SOUND SOFTWARE Integrated 7.1 channel audio edit
FLOPPY/MEDIA DRIVES 19-in-1 Media Card reader edit
MODEMS No Modem edit
Accessories
PROTECT YOUR DATA DataSafe Online Backup 2GB 1 year edit
Also included with your system
Dell System Media Kit Inspiron Desktop 570 Resource DVD (Diagnostic & Drivers)
Shipping Documents English Documentation
Gedis Bundle Reference D015718
Order Information Inspiron Desktop 570 Minitower Order - UK
Speakers No Speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Standard Warranty 1 year of coverage included with your PC
Cable 2 Meter Power Cord - UK
Call Dell Experts One free Dell Expert call to help with your PC queries within 60 days of purchase
DataSafe (Services Owned) Datasafe Loc

I understand hard drive and memory are what count for having everything smooth stable fast and snappy with minimal lag which is what really counts for me I think.

They don't give any choice for hard drive which obv looks inferior to the samsung f3 and memory is only 1066mhz and not 1333mhz

How much difference would they make for my mums browsing/office type needs long term? Computers obv slow down over time which is what bothers her most and it would be nice to have something that takes much longer to deteriorate than usual so I thought a great hard drive would be a good idea.

This system would be same price with the cheaper tower inc its own psu btw~£500

The build I suggested will have better quality components. No doubt the processor is better in the Dell but TBH it should not make much difference for normal IMHO. Dells are decent but tend to use the components which are the bare minimum for the hardware specification. If you do a self-build it will also be easier to upgrade and replace parts too as sometimes Dell uses propriety components!