Windows 7: PC Build Confirmation

Goodmorning!


First of all, I would like to thank, and express my gratitude for all the help that I have recieved on this forum. You guys truly are great, and have helped me out of some rough spots. To inform you all, (thanks to you) I am attempting my second batch of PC builds! While my first was for my brother, I am now building two to server as school computers for friends. They wanted two computers for their children, that could run an online education system known as E2020. Their budget was a lowly $900 for two computers. This did not include the price for two monitors. So I went to trusty Newegg.com to assemble some components. After looking at the reciept from the last build, I knew that I could whip these two up with very little modifications. Seeing as my brothers cost $485, and I needed to get these down to $450 a piece. Not to mention that they had 2 160GB hard drives already. By the end of the modification process (between price changes and rebates that were no longer available) I ended up with a very different machine. In fact, the only common point was the CPU (intel i5 3550).

Basically, what I need you guys to do, is just make sure I haven't messed something up in a huge way (wrong PSU, poor quality parts, ill sized case, .etc). These computers seem to be really decent for the price, but what do I know?

Thanks guys so much for your help,
The Unofficial

P.S. Nobody in the family is very tech savvy, and they won't be playing really any games on them, or doing anything super intensive above basic photo editing and Windows Movie Maker.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Case:
RAIDMAX Viper ATX-321WR Red Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case

Monitor:
Acer S Series S202HL bd

Power Supply:
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2



RAM:
Crucial Ballistix sport 8GB

CPU:
Intel i5 3550

Motherboard:
MSI Z77A-G41

The PSU has a pretty good reputation.

The CPU is serious overkill for what a kid would need at school, but if it fits the budget, go ahead on.

Likewise, 4 GB of RAM is likely enough for any prospective use, but if it fits the budget......

Case is personal preference---they may want red, side panel windows, etc. I'd look at an Antec 300 for the same price, but it's all personal preference.

I assume you don't need to buy any Windows licenses?

No DVD drive?

You can save a lot more money ~ $60 per processor by opting for the i3 instead of the i5. If that PC is only for school work, i5 is seriously overkill as mentioned by ignatzatsonic. Choose the i3 and spend the rest of the money for educational software, etc.

Thank you very much sir for your speedy reply!

The money was given to them as a gift, so they told me to max out the budget. To me, it seems that I got the best components possible for the price.

The case was cheaper than the other two that I was looking at, since it has a $10 rebate + 10% off rebate making the viper cost $54 (a $8 difference between the two computers), $44 with the rebate. The other two cases I was looking at were the COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 and Antec Three Hundred Illusion (the illusion is the same price and build, but has 2 more fans). The total makes the Viper about $15 less than the competing cases. I agree that the red "Viper" look is a little over the top for a $425 build, but its cheap, and they'll think its cool. Do you think that getting the Antec or Coolmaster is a better buy?

So, over the top CPU and RAM and Case. Gotcha. Does your eye see any incompatibilities I was unaware of?

Thanks for your suggestions,
The Unofficial

Here's the cost of i3: Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 BX80637i33220

It's excellent bang for the buck for school work and even Photoshop, Movie Maker.

My main reason for going so overkill on the processor, is that they're not the kind of people that will be updating anytime soon. The E2020 program that they are enrolled in requires no other educational software. I wanted to use such a high level processor to ensure that it will be relevant for an extended time. Do you think this is a poor decision?

I'm not trying to be stubborn. Just trying to make sure I get the people the best hardware for their money.

I'll ignore the case---I'd read the reviews of it at Newegg to see if there were any glaring complaints.

If it were me and it isn't, I'd shave maybe 80 to 100 off that processor and use the saved money to buy an SSD of 64 to 80 GB. Put the OS and applications on the SSD. Put all data on the 160 GB hard drives that you already have.

I'd even cut back to 4 GB of RAM if necessary to get the SSD.

Such a system would be more responsive in day-to-day operation than the CPU/hard drive combination you have suggested.

To repeat: do you need Windows licenses or DVD drives?

CPUs in the Sandy Bridge/Ivy Bridge category are all quite strong--particularly those in the $200 area and up. I wouldn't worry about them becoming "underpowered" in the next five years.

Okay. That makes sense. The hard drives are NIB, so no issues with wiping them. I'll look into some SSD's. Oops! Forgot to answer the Windows 7 part. Yes, they already have two licenses that I will use.

Look at Intel, Samsung, and Crucial SSD brands. OEM is fine if you already have cables.

And Intel socket 1155 processors in whatever range that keeps you in the budget.