I'm building a PC for my girlfriend. I recently built my own, but went a bit overboard. This time I want to be a little more cost-efficient. Here's the basic setup:
Rosewill R101-P-BK 120mm Fan MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case = $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147112
GIGABYTE GA-H55M-S2V LGA 1156 Intel H55 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard = $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128457
CORSAIR Builder Series CMPSU-500CX 500W ATX12V v2.3 Active PFC Power Supply = $70
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139018
Intel Core i5-650 Clarkdale 3.2GHz LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80616I5650 = $190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115220
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL = $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231277
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive = $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148395
ASUS ENGT430/DI/1GD3(LP) GeForce GT 430 (Fermi) 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready = $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121397
Questions:
1. Are there any obvious flaws in this build?
2. Is there a better graphics card within the same price point?
3. Is this power supply sufficient for this build?
I should also mention I've never worked with a micro-ATX case before and don't know its limits, besides reduced air circulation.
Any input would me much appreciated. I'd have posted this in the PC building thread, but I'm not sure if it's been reincarnated yet..
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The new Sandy Bridge i5s are out and are comparably priced but with two more cores.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115075
An AMD processor is still a better bargain depending on whether his GF actually needs the performance benefits Sandy Bridge brings to the table.
But either way there's no good reason to buy an older Core i5, it's true.
For a build around this price, Sandy Bridge is pretty heavy overkill, especially given that it further robs the build of money to use on a GPU. Unless the budget for the build is higher than the value of the original build he quoted us, he's better off with a solid Phenom and enough money to buy something nicer GPU-wise.
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