Home Build

[wocket92]

Hi
I've been asked by my parents to build them a computer. They just need a basic home computer. I've done a bit of research and was just wondering if the parts I have chosen will work fine.

Motherboard - Asus P7H55-M Xtreme

CPU - Intel i5 - 661
Intel i5 - 760 (I have found these for the same price, which one would be better? I was thinking of just using the dual core one).

RAM - 4Gb DDR3 1333 mhz

Case - microATX with 440 PSU

Hard Drive - 500Gb western digital

Disk Drive - Haven't selected. Least of my worries.

The price of this came to about $650, could I get something better for around the same price.
Thank you for your help.

 

[Luke_Uk_Baggy]

Hi,

Firstly it depends how you class 'basic home computer'. What are they going to be doing on it? I know, personally, that my parents would just want to get on the internet at a decent pace, and be able to create things in microsoft word.

Are you going to be needing Monitor? Operating System? Mouse? Keyboard? Printer? All these things are going to push your budget up - Do you have a specific budget?

The motherboard and CPU are probably a bit over the top to be honest.
You could get away with a decent Dual Core processor, AMD OR Intel, anywhere between 2.5-3ghz clocked or overclocked, and probably 2GB of RAM. (although the 4 is nice) Also you could probably get away with 250GB HD....

Again its all about how future proof you want to make it - if at all, and what sort of job it will be doing.

You could save a little by going AMD, and could probably get a bit more for your money yes. Also personally wouldnt opt for a case that comes with a PSU, as generally, they are pretty poor PSU's. No prices on the parts so cant comment on that aspect.

 

[Indigo]

I hesitate to recommend anything overclocked to anyone but the user who is overclocking it themselves, there's nothing wrong with stock clocked CPUs as long as you buy the right one for the job!

I disagree with the memory and hard drive front however. 2GB is too little these days, even for an Internet beater. 4GB is the minimum anyone should configure anymore, unless it's a headless box used for file serving.

Hard drive space for a family or parents will be appreciated. Photos and downloaded galleries from family members can take up a lot of space. 500GB is definitely a good choice.