Maximum PC

Hey all!
A friend of mine is planning on building a new computer and he wants me to help him out. I was hoping to get your insight on good computer parts...

It will be used for basic computer needs (typing, email, web, music etc.) and some light gaming (maybe some semi-newer games but not expecting to play with super high visual settings) .

He will be re-using his DVD drive an old HDD, a mouse/keyboard and an older CRT 17 or 18 inch monitor.

He would like:

-1 TB HDD
-Windows 7
-Mother Board
-Case
-Video card
-power suply
-cpu
-RAM

Is this possible with a $500 budget? How about $400?

thanks

alright now this isn't the best but it'll suffice

Case
Seagate 7200 1TB HDD
ga-ma770t-ud3
Sapphire 5670
COOLER MASTER Elite 460
Gskill 4gb ddr3
Athlon II X4 630
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
COOLER MASTER Hyper 212
total:$543
after mir $503
do note that win 7 really kills this budget as it cost $100
if anything ask him if dx11 is important and if he uses anything cpu intensive that would require a quad core?
also what resolution is the monitor at

thanks for the input...


DX 11 isn't necessary nor is any super intensive program (gaming would be the most intensive stuff), but those two things would be nice if possible.
I will have to double check with him what the resolution is on the monitor

Which games he plays would also be pretty important as gaming is about the most stressful activity you can do on a PC for the most part.

I'd make a few adjustments, personally.

I would use the same HDD, PSU, Heatsink and Memory listed, but change a few other things.

I'd swap to This Case, which is $25 plus free shipping, so a $20 savings.

I would go with a Phenom II X3 as a processor. The addition of L3 cache trumps the extra core in most basic apps and gaming, IMO. Plus, you have a good shot at getting that 4th core for free.

This is a smoking deal on a GT240 which isn't quite as good as the card above, but will play games at 17" CRT resolutions great, and it'll save another $30.

And finally, to trim a few more bucks you could pick up This Asus motherboard, which isn't as nice as the one 002 reccomended, but it does the job and is only $49.

That total comes to $527 with $80 in MIR, so $447. If you want to spend the extra $50, you could consider something like a GTS 450, which would put you just about $10 over budget.

yah, I like those changes because it saves a couple bucks...

I found out exactly which monitor he has...
Envision EN 775e
Max Resolution 1280X1024
http://www.epinions.com/review/pr-Monit ... 6391775876

Does anyone else have any suggestions for parts or do the suggestions given look GREAT to you all?