New Rig Suggestions

[satchmo]

I am building a new desktop for one of my nurses.

She is going to use it to watch Netflix movies, surf the net, and prepare PowerPoint presentations. She doesn't play any games.

Her budget is under $900

This is the list that I come up with so far.

Any suggestions?

 

[SlackerITGuy]

Here's what I'd go for:

CPU: Newegg.com - AMD Phenom II X2 550 Black Edition Callisto 3.1GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops

LGA 775 is dead. Better go for a cheap, yet fast (very fast), AMD AM3 CPU here.

I've seen this puppy get up to ~3.8Ghz (on air) without breaking a sweat.

Motherboard: Newegg.com - ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

785G is the way to go here. Somewhat future-proof thanks to AM3 socket. On-board Radeon HD 4200 should be more than enough for non-gaming tasks.

RAM: Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ - Desktop Memory

HDD: Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

Western Digital, 320GB, 16 MB Cache. Rock solid.

PSU: Newegg.com - Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC 430W ATX12V V2.2 Intel Core i7 Compliant Dual 80mm Fans Full Cable Sleevings Power Supply - Power Supplies

This PSU will get the job done. I've seen it run Quad core systems with no issues whatsoever.

LCD Monitor: Newegg.com - Acer P235Hbmid Black 23" 5ms HDMI Widescreen LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 50000:1(ACM) Built-in Speakers - LCD Monitors

Very nice choice =).

Optical: Newegg.com - Sony Optiarc Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA DVD/CD Rewritable Drive - CD / DVD Burners

Case: Newegg.com - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UB Black /Blue Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases

Keyboard / Mouse: Newegg.com - Logitech 967973-0403 Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Standard Deluxe 250 Desktop - Keyboards

Speakers: Newegg.com - Cyber Acoustics CA3550RB 68 watts 2.1 Black Speakers - Speakers

OS: Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Full - Operating Systems

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TOTAL: $835.39

~$65 bucks to spare. Maybe go for a better case?, bigger/better HDD?, more/better RAM?, bigger/better PSU?, bigger LCD Monitor?, etc...

 

[nate42nd]

Here's one I just built. It uses a Core 2 Quad and DDR3 memory and is pretty inexpensive. It turned out REALLY good. I would recommend all these parts. It should last a while too.

 

[smarteyeball]

I am building a new desktop for one of my nurses.

She is going to use it to watch Netflix movies, surf the net, and prepare PowerPoint presentations. She doesn't play any games.

Her budget is under $900

This is the list that I come up with so far.

Any suggestions?

How long is she planning to use this machine?

As it is, for her current needs, it's a decent enough build.

The only two options I'd suggest would be a larger HDD and an extra 2GB of ram if you plan on going x64.

 

[pparks1]

I don't see any reason to use Windows 7 64-bit on a machine like this. Based on her needs, I doubt she would benefit at all from 64-bit. More than likely, she would run into a hardware driver or such which wouldn't be compatible long before she suffered a performance problem from sticking with 32-bit.

 

[satchmo]

Thank you for all the suggestions so far.

Good point about the 64-bit OS, but what I am afraid of is that within three to four years, 64-bit software would be the standard and 32-bit ones will be obsolete.

Besides, the current build offers the option of expanding the memory to 4 GB, which a 32-bit OS would be limiting this hardware potential.

Adding a stick of memory is perhaps the easiest and most economical way to upgrade, and I factored that in when I put the system together.

 

[pparks1]

Good point about the 64-bit OS, but what I am afraid of is that within three to four years, 64-bit software would be the standard and 32-bit ones will be obsolete.

I think the fear of this happening in 3 to 4 years time is unwarranted. I can understand your choice and likely she won't have any hardware which doesn't support it so it likely won't be a big deal anytime soon. Of course, within 3-4 years we would also have a new version of Windows. With so many people simply sticking to Windows XP..I don't see the whole world jumping full bore to 64-bit for quite a long time yet.