Aunt looking for PC

[B1Gtime]

Well my Aunts down from Flordia and she was asking me what a good computer is.

She said is HP good. I said Ya, but i suggested a custom computer(i would build it, she loved the idea) So now im building a computer for my aunt. Its mostly for work and internet. And my little cuzin might play those flash games off of mini clip and so on...

Heres what i was thinking:
C2D E6600
ASUS P5N32-E SLi Plus
G.Skill 1GB
Thermaltake 600watt
Western Digital 80GB and 320GB
BFG 6800 (any other good ones out there(nothing crazy?)
Antec Performance One P180B Black(case)
Sony DVD Burner

pirce(including shipping)=1,063.35

Pretty good price for what shes looking for all she need is some Speakers and a LCD Monitor.

how is it?
missing any thing?

thx-Steve

*I still didnt start my Custom PC(coming this summer tho)* But thats ok.

[Zephik]

Dell.

Building a PC for other than yourself... its a headache waiting to happen. With a Dell, you also get a nice warranty. Instead of the warranty being You.

[simon275]

I think there is a bit of overkill in the processing department unless your aunt is a gamer/graphics artist.

[B1Gtime]

Im not buying a Dell from all the crap i went thro with them and plus there getting sued for all the bull sh!t they been getting away from.

She likes the idea of the Custom Computer, i just need to know if the specs are good for what she is willing to do with it

[B1Gtime]

I know what you mean Simon ,

She is a Graphic Designer, not a gamer.

(She owns her own graphic buisness.)

What CPU u thinking?

[.Maleficus.]

I know what you mean Simon ,

She is a Graphic Designer, not a gamer.

(She owns her own graphic buisness.)

What CPU u thinking?
In that case, you may as well disregard the post. For a graphics designer, you may want to think about more RAM. Ditch the motherboard, get a cheaper one and throw in another Gb of RAM. She'll need that more than an SLI capable mobo. No need for a Tt 600W either. You could get away with a 550W from a different brand and save some money too.

Video cards you may want to look into:
Sapphire Radeon X1650 512Mb
(http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102084)
Gigabyte 8500GT 256Mb (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814125062)


Edit: Oh, an you're missing an OS...

[Zephik]

A graphics designer? lol That is something you should of said earlier man. I thought she was just your average "I don't know anything about computers" adult, like my parents. I guess that was my fault for assuming though.

I would say the setup you have is pretty sweet. It's definitely overkill, looks more like a gamers pc. One thing I have been told though is, for graphic designing ram is good to have. So go with mal's suggestion and get another gig of ram. For the graphics card I would go with that sapphire that mal listed. That looks pretty good and I've always liked sapphire. Seems to be a pretty decent/cheap brand.

Hmmm, since she's a graphic designer I would go with a monitor with some nice viewing property. Maybe a 24" widescreen? How much are you looking to spend on a monitor?

Yep, mal beat me to it. I just noticed it too lol. Can't run a PC without an OS. :p

[xRyokenx]

I agree, do NOT go with Dell, we have a few Dell craptops that keep dying, my dad's work one died a couple times in the past few months, and it's awful, they didn't even fix the damn thing right the first time either... an HP for about 6-800 bucks would've been good, but hey, building it always is better, in some ways... more personal a gift.

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

ye fer a graphics PC u dont needa as much CPU horse power as much as u need ram and GPU power...... also rememeber they have specialy designed graphics cards for graphics power users... ones that may not have all the goodies of a gaming card... but more than enuff power for graphical work.
try no to overkill it with gaming goodies... and give it what it needs..
just on a side point... i refuse to build computers for family.... cuz if they **** something up they usualy want u to fix it for free.... and when ur like me and aint got the cash nor time they usualy feel insulted..
lolz but hopefully ur family is nicer :P

[Luke122]

I second the "go with a Dell" idea. If you build it, you are the warranty. If something goes wrong, you'll get the call.

If something happens with a Dell, the call goes to India. :D

If shes a designer, maybe she'd prefer a Mac? If not, make sure you put on XP Pro rather than Vista.

I dont know why so many people hate on Dell.. I buy Dell's exclusively for my work, and I've yet to have any serious issues with them. Hell, my last job had a couple of p2 Dells still in service when I left two years ago. We have 17 Dell laptops in service right now, and the only issue was one battery failure... and it wasnt even the spectacular exploding/melting battery.. just died, and wont hold a charge... pretty dull.

[xRyokenx]

We're prolly just getting the rotten eggs or something. Still, I go by my own experience, I've seen good PCs built by me and good HPs and whatnot, our Dells just seem to randomly **** up. The one we had was killed by my bro who pulled out the HDD while it was on, and then we fixed it, and then the RAM died. The other couple just died on us a few times...

[Luke122]

I think we can all agree that Compaqs and Emachines = doorstops.

:)

Check out the Quadro and FireGL cards for design work, and definitely go with 2gb of quality ram.

Dont try to save money on the monitor.. most designers I know wont even use LCDs.. it's all about the CRTS for color accuracy. A cheap 19" LCD wont even come close to the picture quality of a good 17" CRT. Since it's for your Aunt, maybe ask her what she prefers. :)

[LiTHiUM0XiD3]

emachines r ****.... take it from the owner of a emachine laptop... STAY THE F AWAY FROM ALL EMACHINES!!!! SAVE URSELF!!! RUN!!! :D

[Crimson Sky]

You forgot to add on at least $150 for the OS ;) And as far as Dell "getting sued" FACT # 1:

every single big company in the world is getting sued daily and in court constantly for some reason or another. Litigation and law suits are always expected in big business.

[B1Gtime]

-thx for the help so far.


UPDATE:
C2D E6600
ASUS P5N32-E SLi Plus(ill look after school, recommend me a board?)
G.Skill 2GB(changed to 2GB)
Thermaltake 600watt( i might keep the thermaltake, good PSU, i dont want nothing really cheap)
Western Digital 80GB and 320GB
BFG 6800 (still not sure:Mal, i really didnt like the reviews on those vid cards you listed, so ill keep looking around)
Antec Performance One P180B Black(case)
Sony DVD Burner

for the OS, i have no clue....

[.Maleficus.]

For the OS I imagine you'll want Windows... Whether or not she wants XP or Vista is up to her. Ask her what programs she usually uses, and check Vista compatibility with those. If it's poor, get XP.

And what was wrong with the reviews? The 8500GT had 5 eggs, and the only real con anyone had was it's not a good gaming performer, and the X1650 had good reviews except for the 1 egg-er because he was unlucky with the shipments (happens to everything) and the 2 egg-er because Catalyst wasn't on the CD (something that doesn't warrant a rating that low). I personally think the X1650 would be a good choice with the 512Mb of RAM. What's the budget (or what's she willing to spend) on a video card? I was looking for things under $100, but if you can go to $150 or $200 your options open greatly.

[B1Gtime]

Mal i see what you mean, lets go for $150

and ill ask about Vista,

got to go to school in like 5 min.



-thx

[dfigravity]

I'd say go with the e6700 for an extra $100...the charts show a fairly signifigant increase over the 6600. What do you guys think though?

[xRyokenx]

Don't forget that you can get a copy of Vista from tybrenis at a lower price. Just wanted to point that out as DaJe (... I think it was him anyway...) accidentally bought it from somewhere else for more.

[B1Gtime]

Minty i took your advice, with the HDD. But i know what raid is but how you do it?


Sony DVD Burner

Antec Case

WD 400GB

WD 400GB

XFX GeForce 7900 GS

Thermaltake 600watt

G.Skill 2GB

GIGABYTE GA-945GZM-S2 LGA 775 Intel 945GZ Micro ATX Intel Motherboard(good?)

C2D E6600

[B1Gtime]

Sony DVD Burner

Rosewill Case(how do you know if the PSU fits, just from atx, micro atx and on right?)

WD 400GB

WD 400GB

XFX GeForce 7900 GS(post a link to a good video card that you think is good(not so pricy, nothing more that $150(theres no matrox on newegg)

Rosewill 550watt(is that good?)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182017

G.Skill 2GB

GIGABYTE GA-945GZM-S2 LGA 775 Intel 945GZ Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

C2D E6600(still thinking, might just stay with Intel)

[.Maleficus.]

Stay with the E6600. You won't regret it.

Stay with the video card too. You won't find any workstation graphics cards for $150, so a normal one will have to do, and that will be fine for the job, unless she's rendering massive 3D files. What's she running now?

I personally am not a fan of Rosewill, but that got decent reviews so it's your call.

[B1Gtime]

hmm what brand you think good that is not as much as the Thermaltake PSU.
Ill go with the Rosewill case, tho.

[Airbozo]

Few notes;

For Graphics designers, the 2 most important issues will be the video card and memory. Your Aunt will not need a top of the line graphics card, but a decent one if she is working with lots of layers. The memory on the card is not _that_ important (She would probably not notice the difference between 256 and 512 unless she uses animation packages).

You can get away with a slower processor if you stay with the C2D. Don't spend alot on the mobo since you will probably not be OC'ing it. Just get a stable one with good reviews. Minimum 2GB memory. That is where she will see the difference. Most graphics editing programs save the undo's and other info such as layers and color correction data in memory, _not_ the video card or HD. That is also where an entire model in Autocad is kept, then the viewing window is just filled with the viewable bits. The power supply is also overkill. As Minty said, a 450w will more than fill the bill, especially if you go with a slower proc and a moderate video card. Also stick with XP for now.

A major thing to think about is noise. Select parts that are quiet. Even go with an after market CPU heat sink possibly fan less and let the case fans move the air past it. Your Aunt will be sitting next to this box all day long so make it as unobtrusive as possible.

[AJ@PR]

That is also where an entire model in Autocad is kept, then the viewing window is just filled with the viewable bits.
Solid proof that I NEED more ram in my work box!!!


Boss!!!

[B1Gtime]

Thx airbozo for the notes


UPDATES: Good update?
CORSAIR 550WATT
XFX 8500GT
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400

[B1Gtime]

SAMSUNG 941BW Black 19" 4 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 500:1 - Retail

Looking at this right now^

$184

Alot say no dead pixels
Some say 1 or 2 dead pixels

and 8 dead pixels to be sent back, Bull----

or this one: SAMSUNG 906BW Black 19" 2 ms (GTG) DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 2000:1 DC - Retail

$209 No Problems with D-Pixels , No DVI CABLE THO!

[B1Gtime]

Update:
Sony DVD Burner
Rosewill Case
WD 400GG
WD 400GB
G.Skill 2GB
GIGABYTE GA-945GZM-S2 LGA 775 Intel 945GZ Micro ATX Intel Motherboard
XFX 8500GT
Intel Core 2 Duo E6400
NZXT 500w
Samsung 19"

[Redundant]

If you want good colors on an LCD, look for the highest contrast ratio.
That Samsung one with the 2000:1 is much better than the 500:1 one.

[B1Gtime]

Unless of course my work hooked me up with a 22" widescreen 2-3000:1 ratio LCD, AKA "Tha Badass!" lol

LOL

ya im thinking of going with the one with the better ratio.
I want my Aunt to have something nice.

the 2000:1 is alittle more expensive, but i guess its worth it