Helping Friend w/Build

[tungt88]

Hey folks, I'm just giving my friend some help here with a build he's wanting to do (managed to steer him away from choosing Ibuypower, thankfully).

Question time!
1)What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mostly Gaming/Web browsing

2)What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$2-2.5k, includes tax/shipping

3)Where do you live?
Miami, FL

4)What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
CPU (wants i7), video card, power supply, 2x dvd burners, sound card, Mobo, card readers/usb ports, case, fans, hard drive, mouse, keyboard

5)If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Not reusing any parts

6)Will you be overclocking?
No overclocking

7)What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
24" monitor that he's planning to buy (not included in this build cost)

8)When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
He wants to build it around April, preferably beginning of

9)What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Doesn't need RAID/Firewire/Xfire/SLI

10)Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
He wants a new OS; is fine w/Vista 64

All suggestions/comments welcome

 

[engiNURD]

This is just to get you started... A recent build I did for someone... (swapped out BR drive for two dvd burners)

$230 - Core i7 920
$270 - GA-EX58-UD4P
$100 - F3-12800CL8TU-6GBPI
$400 - HD4870X2
$110 - WD1001FALS
$130 - OCZSSD2-1VTX30G
$105 - ST60F
$145 - APC BR900 900VA
$25 - DRW-22B1ST
$25 - SH-S223Q
$35 - Silverstone FP35B
==========
$1575 + tax and shipping

Case, keyboard, and mouse are all subjective... this is what he got...
$120 - Lian-Li PC-8B
$35 - Saitek PZ30AU
$40 - Logitech MX518

Onboard sound is fine for most people. He had a AC-1 to re-use, but I don't think he ended up using it. He also picked up Vista Ultimate 64 from the ultimate steal deal for $65 (students only).

 

[Dangman]

I'd go with Enginurd's fdz' build but if you don't need/want a modular PSU, I recommend going with the $120 Corsair 750TX.

Also note Enginurd got the Core i7 920 from Microcenter, so you may not be able to get that CPU for $230.

Excellent move on your part in getting him away from ibuypower!

 

[auceny]

dvd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136152

hdd 2x wd6400aals http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136319 if you want a larger storage drive you could get one of these and one of the 1tb drives enginurd said

sound card ht omega striker http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16829271001 all the ht omega cards have 5 star ratings on newegg so i imagine they're pretty awesome. its what i'd get if i were upgrading.

keyboard razer lycosa http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823114004 looks and works well but is a little pricey

mouse razer deathadder http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826153007 looks and works well but is also pricey

ram gskill 6gb 1600 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231225

vista home 64bit http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488

dvd/card reader combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.176224 same dvd as above and i don't know much about the card reader, just saw it was a combo deal

evga x58 sli/evga gtx 285 combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.173832 both good products

i7 920/pc p&c 750w combo http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.174757 i7 920 is great and the psu is top notch but not modular

just under 1700 then add the case.

case is up to you/him just make sure its a good case that will fit the video card. obviously these are just suggestions and other options to think about. a lot of it is stuff i used in my recent build and find to work pretty well. like said above, you can get the cpu cheaper at microcenter. i like evga a lot because their customer service is great. i had issues getting my system running and i called their 24/7 tech support and they helped me out a ton.

 

[tungt88]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I"ll talk to him soon and see what he says.