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Build Advice Advice Request - New Build For Wife

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by CrazyBlade, 31 May 2012.

  1. CrazyBlade

    CrazyBlade What's a Dremel?

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    Hi guys!

    I'd like to request some advice. My wife is a casual gamer currently playing on a Sony Vaio laptop (I know, I know!!) which is starting to die its eventual death and wants me to build her a system.

    She's looking for a small form tower (Micro ATX, perhaps?), something that can be put on her desk easily. She's very much a casual gamer, but she wants the system to be able to run Guild Wars 2 at reasonable settings. She also wants the front panel connections to be at the top for ease of use.

    GW2 site lists their specs as follows: Windows® XP Service Pack 2 or better • Intel® Core 2 Duo 2.0 GHz, Core i3, AMD Athlon 64 X2, or better • 2 GB RAM • NVIDIA® GeForce® 7800, ATI X1800, Intel HD 3000, or better (256MB of video RAM and shader model 3.0 or better) • 25 GB available HDD space • Broadband Internet connection • Keyboard and mouse.

    She doesn't want a large monitor - 19" max - so high resolutions are not a requirement. Huge storage is not a massive requirement but a decent amount would be preferable (1TB perhaps).

    Budget is pretty open, and we don't need to budget for a monitor as we already have a 19" ready.

    I'd appreciate any advice you can give me. Thanks.
     
  2. mrMonkeyChunks

    mrMonkeyChunks EVGA Cheesecake

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    What inputs does the current 19" monitor have?
     
  3. CrazyBlade

    CrazyBlade What's a Dremel?

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    1 x DVI, 1 x VGA
     
  4. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    How does this look?

    [​IMG]

    I've been quite generous with the budget, including the beautiful FT03 and future-proof components, but if you need to trim it let me know and I'll have a second pop...
     
    Last edited: 31 May 2012
  5. mrMonkeyChunks

    mrMonkeyChunks EVGA Cheesecake

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    Last edited: 31 May 2012
  6. mrMonkeyChunks

    mrMonkeyChunks EVGA Cheesecake

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  7. mikeyman198

    mikeyman198 Lets pretend this is hilarious.

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    Here's one that's £700, if the £1.8k was a bit sweet for your tooth :p Obviously the CPU and GPU can be changed when the lower end Ivy Bridge and mid range kepler stuff comes out :)
     
  8. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    I had a second pop for a much lower budget machine and came out with this:

    [​IMG]

    Only thing this case lacks is the top USB ports. They're on the side of the front panel instead.

    My mistake on the first one it was under £1000 but I somehow added everything twice, but I've redone it now so it's correct :)
     
  9. Itchy Rim

    Itchy Rim Minimodder

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    FFS, just get her a 2nd hand PC from eBay for small money, no need to build a rig costing a load of money for her needs. Save the time of sourcing components and putting it together and have done with it.



    Itchy Rim
     
  10. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    I kinda agree.

    Guild Wars 2 is such a low power game all of the above are overkill. Especially if she is used to playing it on a laptop.

    I don't really know why the people above are recommending such expensive components, given the rigs stated use.

    You might want to look at a Llano build. Please see below, then just add your chosen case.

    [​IMG]
     
  11. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    ^ For this reason, and the fact that this is Bit-tech and not PC Advisor :D

    Building PCs is much more fun than buying pre-built, and I'm sure she'll grow tired of Guild Wars 2 in the end...
     
  12. Parge

    Parge the worst Super Moderator

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    Sure I agree. I'd always recommend a self build. However, no point in going overkill unless you have money to burn.
     
  13. Shirty

    Shirty W*nker! Super Moderator

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    Very true, but CrazyBlade could build it with his wife and introduce her to the wonderful world of self-building. And he now has multiple component options should he choose to go down that path too :thumb:
     
  14. CrazyBlade

    CrazyBlade What's a Dremel?

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    Hey Guys, sorry for the delay in replying. Thankyou all for the suggestions, very much appreciated and certainly food for thought.

    Itchy - you're probably right but I've kinda got the building bug and it's another system to practice on. I may even try some of the techniques with regards to spray painting the case etc that I've seen here and in the mag.

    Shirty - that's not too bad an idea, actually. She may actually enjoy building it with me!

    Parge - very interesting build there re: Llano. Would it really be able to handle the specs I mentioned in my first post? I must admit, I'm a little unsure of the power of such a build.
     

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