So my cousin needs a new computer(he has a compaq, nuff' sed) and he asked me what was good, i compiled this basic list, but it never hurts to have a second set of eyes look it over. It's AMD because AMD is cheap, and great for the money, kept ATi to keep it all the same. he has a budget of ballpark 700, excluding shipping, he's based in the US, all he does is play WoW with it, msn, music. Hard Drive 320GB Seagate 3.0 GB/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148215 CPU AMD X2 6000+ AM2 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16819103773 Graphics ATi Visiontek 3850 512MB PCI-E 2.0 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16814129102 RAM 2(2X1GB) G-skill PC2-6400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231098 PSU Silverstone 500W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16817256008 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-MA770-DS3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16813128081 Case Coolermaster Centurion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119104 Subtotal: $736.93 He can pirate an optical drive from his old computer.
Looks good - I was going to suggest the [eurl=http://www2.abit.com.tw/page/en/motherboard/motherboard_detail.php?pMODEL_NAME=AX78&fMTYPE=Socket+AM2]Abit AX78[/url] but the Gigabyte also looks pretty decent. Or, for the price of a 6000+ you could get: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130098R or http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128057R and one of these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115031. Personally, I'd go for the MSI and E4500 considering the features. Oh, and a Corsair VX450.
+1 for the intel option. Major advantage of that MSI board is he could drop a Q6600 in there in the future if he needs a bit more performance. And from the reviews, the Q6600 is equal to the pheonomes from AMD. (correct me if I'm wrong). Plus of course the E4500 uses less power than the 6000+ for the very similar performance.
Intel Version Here is a revised intel version. Hard Drive 320GB Seagate 3.0 GB/s http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16822148215 CPU Core 2 Duo E4500 http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16819115031 Graphics Zotac 8800 GT 512MB http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16814500007 RAM 2(2X1GB) G-skill PC2-6400 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16820231098 PSU Corsair 450VX http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16817139003 Motherboard Gigabyte GA-P35-DS3L http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx?item=N82E16813128059 Case Coolermaster Centurion http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?item=N82E16811119104 Subtotal: $711.93 I think longevity is more key than performance overall, because he doesn't have much money to spend on hardware, or at least he will not after this purchase. He's most likely going to be keeping this for quite some time. Thanks for the feedback.
Well, the AMD will allow him to upgrade in the future CPU wise rather easily since the AM2 socket will live on for a while with 45nm Shanghai core... I'll say the AMD if he doesn't overclock. edit: If he's going to stay with the system for quite some time, the Intel would be better.
third the intel option. and with 8800GT, it's far better than 3850. so he'll get more gaming performance for his money.
