cpu and case recomendations for a quiet budget pc

[jeffmd]

Ive been tasked to select a pc for a friend to the tune of $650. Originaly I was gonna suggest a dell (the dimension 5150 seemed to fit the bill) but since this price is higher then the original $500 estimate, I began wondering if building a better pc for him at that price range would be possible. Ive built many pc's for myself btw, but since i heavily game, I just raise enough money to get the hardware needed. Also the last cpu I baught was an xp2800, and the intel and amd market has grown hugely since then. Also seeing the core duo in action on my new laptop has made me realisie just how slow my xp is compared to newer chips, even low powered ones. ^^

The target of the PC is to be low noise (not really silent or quiet, but I don't want anyone to think "wow thats a loud PC" when turned on) and a cpu/gpu build capable of playing todays descently (he has an xbox360, so hes mainly interested in playing some of the pc only games like MMORPGS and shooters like battlefield 2).

So CPU wise, I am clueless. I really like my duo so dual core woul be great, but I dont want a mini-oven. Motherboard suggestions are also accepted, though once I know the socket I need, I am usualy good to go on hunting a mobo at the price/features I want and making sure its not a lemon board.

Case, I usualy use antec cases. My last case was a P150 and it would have been a great canidate except it carries a pretty large cost. Finding cheap crappy cases is easy, and so is finding a premium quality case. Finding a good case for the $60-80 range, not so much.

Video, I am thinking a saphire x1600pro for $90 would be ideal for a person who cares to play all the latest games except oblivon?

[Le_Gritche]

Ive been tasked to select a pc for a friend to the tune of $650. Originaly I was gonna suggest a dell (the dimension 5150 seemed to fit the bill)...

With a Dell you can't pick every item you want, but at least he will have a valid Windows copy and some kind of waranty and hotline access I think. Otherwise YOU would be the hotline, you will need to come up with a valid windows licence (or make do without one, if you know what I mean)... some points to take into account.

So CPU wise, I am clueless. I really like my duo so dual core woul be great, but I dont want a mini-oven. Motherboard suggestions are also accepted, though once I know the socket I need, I am usualy good to go on hunting a mobo at the price/features I want and making sure its not a lemon board.

Dual-core is not really useful for gaming yet, but why not, it could be handy for future-proofing the rig. Core Duo (what you have) and Core 2 Duo (just released) are not the same thing. Core 2 Duo should mostly be fine regarding power consumption.
Going the AMD road, you could get an Athlon64 X2 (X2 meaning dualcore) for socket AM2.
Just released Intel Core 2 Duo will have better performance, while AMD Athlon64 X2 will have a lower entry price. Avoid Intel's older CPUs (prescott), they run very hot.

Video, I am thinking a saphire x1600pro for $90 would be ideal for a person who cares to play all the latest games except oblivon?

I would suggest putting more money on the vid card, choosing in the 130-180$ range would be better given your $650 budget. Graphic cards are very important for gaming performance, much more than CPU or RAM these days, so don't be cheap on that part. An expensive thus powerful vidcard will consume a lot of power, causing some noise. Given your noise concern, you could choose one of the fanless graphic cards ( Nvidia's fanless 7600GS and GT come to mind as I'm not very much familiar with ATI's offerings)

Read through other threads in this section to get a better idea of what can be a balanced setup, so as not to buy a top notch CPU with a miserable graphic card (or the contrary), and maybe it will help you better define what are your friend's requirements (some HTPC capabilities, DVI output, look of the case...)
Did you read the review of Antec's NSK3300 published just today btw ? It requires a micro-ATX motherboard, so it will reduce your possibilities (not necessarily a bad thing as you seem a bit lost ) but the small size, good look and decent price would maybe fit your friend's tastes.

Last but not least, do you need to buy a screen with that $650 budget ? Because taking $300 for a 19" LCD screen would cut the budget in half for the remaining parts and thus drastically change what you can afford to get.

[jeffmd]

With a Dell you can't pick every item you want, but at least he will have a valid Windows copy

Good call, that would be another 100 bucks there huh. :/ For myself its not a big deal (I do own one non-oem liscense, but more then one desktop. ^^) but hes not savy enough to jump around with a non valid one.

Dual-core is not really useful for gaming yet, but why not, it could be handy for future-proofing the rig. Core Duo (what you have) and Core 2 Duo (just released) are not the same thing.

Didnt think I mention core 2? I would avoid core 2 now just because its new and expensive. On the other hand I wouldnt mind using a core duo in a desktop. My new laptop is way more powerfull then my xp2800. I still game on my xp2800 though because it has a better video card and 20 inch lcd. ^^

As for dual core uses, while many games arnt optimised, I find the dual core in my laptop has made lot of things a bit faster, mainly if one program is working and I want to load another.

Avoid Intel's older CPUs (prescott), they run very hot.

ahh good, was eyeing these. So I guess if I cant put a core duo in a desktop easily enough, i'll get an X2. Is there a certain ( is theres a newer?) revision I should look for?

Graphic cards are very important for gaming performance, much more than CPU or RAM these days

I am well aware the importance of video cards, but this isnt a gaming rig nore is this guy going to be a hardcore pc gamer. I need to find a good bang for your buck ratio. And if you add in the cost of atleast a gig of high speed ram, a HD, a cpu, a case, ect, I really dont think I'm going to have more then $100 for a video card.

you could choose one of the fanless graphic cards ( Nvidia's fanless 7600GS and GT come to mind as I'm not very much familiar with ATI's offerings)

I though the x1600 was along the performance of a 7600 pcie ^^

Fanless might be nice, but my 7800GS's fansounds fine and I imagin the fanless solutions are more expensive.

Last but not least, do you need to buy a screen with that $650 budget ? Because taking $300 for a 19" LCD screen would cut the budget in half for the remaining parts and thus drastically change what you can afford to get.

Yea, the dell was going to come with a 19inch analog lcd and I figure I should beable to find one of those for under 200 bucks as well.

Now i know why I stoped doing budget pcs, you just cant buy the good hardware you need so much at rock bottem prices. I can build alienware level systems at a quarter of the price, but i'll be damned if I can fit what dell does into a mear 500 bucks.

[natethegreat]

Antec Solo $62 +shipping
AM2 A64 3200+ $86
ECS NFORCE4M-A (V1.1) Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 4X $70
OCZ 1GB Kit DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Gold Edition $96 after $10 MIR
Gigabyte Geforce 7600GT Silent Pipe II $162 after $20 MIR
Western Digital Caviar SE16 SATA 3.0 250gb $70 after $10 MIR
NEC ND-3550A $29 +shipping
Seasonic S12 380W $60 +shipping
Win XP Home SP2 OEM $89 +shipping
Total price = $724 + some shipping

Wow this stuff really adds up fast! You will still need to replace the stock hsf but basically the copy of Windows blows the budget. Maybe just modding a Dell for silence would be the most cost effective route for a $650 budget.

You could save $60 by substituting the Antec Solo and S12 380 fo an Antec NSK6500 with a NeoHE 430 Watt and maybe save some money by starting out with 1 512mb stick and buying another stick later.

Price saver:
Antec NSK 6500 $69 +shipping
AM2 A64 3200+ $86
ECS NFORCE4M-A (V1.1) Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce4 4X $70
OCZ 512MB DDR2-800 PC2-6400 Gold Edition $47 +shipping
Gigabyte Geforce 7600GT Silent Pipe II $162 after $20 MIR
Western Digital Caviar SE16 SATA 3.0 250gb $70 after $10 MIR
NEC ND-3550A $29 +shipping
Win XP Home SP2 OEM $89 +shipping
Price saver total= $622 +some shipping

Whoa! didn't see that the $650 needs to include a monitor also! Dude your gettin a Dell

Anandtech did a budget pc buyers guide with gamers in mind not to long ago: http://anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2791

[Le_Gritche]

Didnt think I mention core 2? I would avoid core 2 now just because its new and expensive. On the other hand I wouldnt mind using a core duo in a desktop.

I'm not sure that processor can be used in a desktop system, I was under the impression they are only for laptops (meaning expensive to adapt for desktop usage).

ahh good, was eyeing these. So I guess if I cant put a core duo in a desktop easily enough, i'll get an X2. Is there a certain ( is theres a newer?) revision I should look for?

Not really, just socket AM2 as it's newer than 939 for a very small price premium. A 65nm version will be ready in 6 months or so, but I don't think you are willing to wait that long. Prices are dropping right now as AMD lowered them last week, so in a week or so that should be fully reflected by street prices. The cheaper one (X2 3800+) should be around $150.
With 650$ you just can't get a 19" LCD, a winXP licence, and an AMD dual-core.

19" LCD : 180$
winXP : 90$
X2 3800+ : 150$
AMD's heatsink/fan (HSF): 0$
1Go value RAM : 80$
mobo : 70$
graphic card : 80$
80 Go HDD : 50$
cheap case with PSU : 40$
DVD burner : 40$
keyboard, mouse, speakers : 40$

total : 820$

To save the 170$ over your planned budget you need to salvage any part possible from an old computer (DVD burner, HDD, keyboard, mouse, speaker).

You should choose a motherboard with integrated graphics. Compared to a 80$ graphic card that's definitely the best bang for the buck considering your very limited budget. That would maybe add 10$ to the mobo price but save you 80$ (no graphic card anymore).

You can also buy an Intel 805D dual-core, it will run hotter but will save you 50$ (even though 30$ of those would probably be spent on a silent HSF later on).

You need 1Go RAM for BF2, but buy value RAM, there is no point in putting more money in the RAM with such a budget PC.

Basically you will have to increase the budget or use integrated graphics, except if you can salvage lots of parts from a previous computer.
I'm not sure for BF2, but playing World of Warcraft on my brother's computer with ATI's integrated 3200 is fine (with reduced quality obviously). It will still be possible to buy a graphic card later.

Anandtech did a budget pc buyers guide with gamers in mind not to long ago: http://anandtech.com/guides/showdoc.aspx?i=2791

Yes, they price a 650$ budget PC, but for that price there's neither screen, nor Windows licence...

[natethegreat]

Yes, they price a 650$ budget PC, but for that price there's neither screen, nor Windows licence...

This reference was more for ideas on what parts would be considered "good buys" for a budget pc.