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Building a budget system..

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I know this isn't really the best forum for this, but it's the only computer forum I spend any time on. So maybe someone will have some input on this. I am going to build a budget system for my fiancee's niece. I am very experienced in working on computers, but I am a little behind on the current PC technology and I'm hoping to get some opinions on hardware.

Here is what I have so far:


ASUS P5QL PRO LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard

Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor

GeForce 9600 GSO 768MB 192-bit GDDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Supported Video Card

Also 2 gigs of RAM, a 320 Gb HDD, and all the other hardware I have already, including an ATX case.

She plays The Sims 2 with all the expansion packs and wants to be able to run it smoothly at high resolution, and also be able to run The Sims 3 when it is released. I think this will be more than capable. What do you think?
 

bobtomay

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Should be a great system for what you're looking at.

If you're paying $170 for the video card- it might be over kill for those games.
I'd probably consider a 512MB card and spend the extra $50 on a better processor myself.

Sheesh, and I remember paying close to $400 on a 32MB video card and again on a 64 ... well, nevermind.
 
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sims3.info - The Sims 3 Frequently Asked Questions - FAQ

It says to have a Core 2 Duo proc at 2.0 gigs, at least. I'm sure the Allendale chip would do just fine, but if you could spare the extra cash I'd beef up the ram to 4gigs, and try to get a C2D processor. Newegg.com - Intel Core 2 Duo E7200 Wolfdale 2.53GHz 3MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
This is a decent processor for a decent price. It's roughly twice as much as the Allendale Core Duo, but that's not saying too much since the chip was already very cheap to begin with.

Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Desktop Memory
Here's a good pair of 4 gig ram sticks for about 50 bucks.
 
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Actually the video card is only $77. The entire system is only $332.
 
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Oh yeah, how powerful of a PSU am I going to need for this? The case I have has a 400W PSU in it, I am not sure if that will be enough..
 
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You should have at the LEAST a 600W, but I would go with a 700W PS. Newer video cards are HUNGRY. And do by all means, dump that CPU and get a C2D Intel. The core duos are nice. But if you are building a new computer, use the current gen CPU, the C2D. The performance boost will be considerable.
 
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When I looked into building my own budget system I found that for budget systems it's actually cheaper to buy a Dell or something than to build yourself. But the upside to building your own is your components are typically warrantied longer than a built system and hopefully a little more reliable.
 
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Psh, you don't need a 700W.

I have an 8600 and it runs fine on my 450W. The only difference between the 8600 and the 9600 is that the 9600 actually is better on power consumption.

I would stick with your current PSU and only upgrade if it doesn't work, which i think it will.
 
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When I looked into building my own budget system I found that for budget systems it's actually cheaper to buy a Dell or something than to build yourself. But the upside to building your own is your components are typically warrantied longer than a built system and hopefully a little more reliable.

Well it is significantly cheaper for me because I already have a case, hard drive, all fans and cables, optical drive, wireless card, keyboard, mouse and monitor. So basically this is more of a significant upgrade than a whole new machine.
 
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Psh, you don't need a 700W.

I have an 8600 and it runs fine on my 450W. The only difference between the 8600 and the 9600 is that the 9600 actually is better on power consumption.

I would stick with your current PSU and only upgrade if it doesn't work, which i think it will.

Your computer may be running "fine" on 450W, But your PS is extremely over taxed. Now, the difference in survival and sinkage, in such a case is the quality of your power supply. If you have a cheapo generic PS, chances are the extra strain you are putting on it will likely burn it out eventually and MAY take other component with it, or you may see system instability. Now if you have a higher end PS, like a Thermal Take or something along those lines, then sure you will be fine over taxing it. But just because it runs "fine" does not mean it is fine.

I have built, fixed and managed PCs for around 20 years and I build just about every high end gaming rig that this county sees. So while you may or may not agree with me, I do know what I am talking about :) You really SHOULD have a bigger power supply. You gear will run better, longer and safer.
 
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Your computer may be running "fine" on 450W, But your PS is extremely over taxed. Now, the difference in survival and sinkage, in such a case is the quality of your power supply. If you have a cheapo generic PS, chances are the extra strain you are putting on it will likely burn it out eventually and MAY take other component with it, or you may see system instability. Now if you have a higher end PS, like a Thermal Take or something along those lines, then sure you will be fine over taxing it. But just because it runs "fine" does not mean it is fine.

I have built, fixed and managed PCs for around 20 years and I build just about every high end gaming rig that this county sees. So while you may or may not agree with me, I do know what I am talking about :) You really SHOULD have a bigger power supply. You gear will run better, longer and safer.

In essence you are saying, "You should spend more money because its better" and then listing how it is better, which I agree with. But I am saying that the box for both MOBO and Vid card said that my PSU was fine, and all the benchmarks, and temp tests I run agree with that. Also, I run this sucker 24/7, and its been a good 6 months, if there was going to be instability I imagine I would see it.

My roommate has run either an 8800 or a 9800 with the same processor I have on a 500W for over a year...
 

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