PC for a friend.

My friend has requested me to set up a small Computer Build for him, someone else had created him a 1.5k build, which I find useless and a complete waste of money as he does not use 1/2 of what that could offer.

This is to hover around the 1.1k margin.

Prices shown are Directly from PCCG, for its quality, but sadly expensive shipping, especially for cases :(

CPU: AMD Phenom 1055t $189 

AMD is renowned for being quite cheap and especially bang-for-buck, this 1055t six-core is the bigger brother of the 955 quad-core, the CPU that won many awards and recognition from many reviewers and enthusiasts. It will easily handle games and applications, even the demanding ones. These days games are heavily dependent on the Graphics Card, which should be expanded upon. The AMD Phenom 1055t offer great performance for its sub-$200 price.

Motherboard: Gigabyte MA-770t usb3 edition $109 

The good old MA-770t, now packed with usb3 compatibility. The MA-770t is known for stability and quality, where its electrical components are of the same quality as the ones found in its higher end brothers. Costing just $110 dollars, it suffices the needs of my friend. You people may be thinking: "Hey, there's just ONE graphics card lane!" Well here's reality, chances are 88% of you people will never crossfire/SLI your graphics cards, one great graphics card is better than 2 together.

RAM: G-Skill Ripjaws F3, 7-7-7-21 timings model $75

The beloved Ripjaws from G-Skill, starting from $100+ and now sell for sub-$100 prices, due to the massive DDR3 RAM price drop late last year. This model has tighter timings, looks great with its custom heat-spreader, and it pretty much does anything another 2x2GB DDR3 RAM kit, except at a more competitive price and looks.


Graphics Card: Gigabyte GTX460 overclocked $209

The Nvidia GTX460 is literally its most successful production last year and maybe this year for the $200 mark range for Graphics Cards. It is quiet, cool, is energy efficient and most importantly; powerful. This edition from Gigabyte is pre-overclocked, so you don't have to worry about doing it yourself/break the warranty in other words. Also with Gigabyte's windforce cooling, which is silent and does its job well.


Hard drive: Samsung F3 $69

Hard drive prices have gone through a massive price drop, and Samsung's F3 offering is no exception. Besides having a low price it is also fast, reviewed by review sites around the net.


Chassis: Coolermaster 690 II advanced $119

The old edition was a popular case, recommended by people and various editions of it were released by Coolermaster, such as the CM 690 nvidia edition, and the CM 690 true black, my favorite. But just last year  Coolermaster went back to its drawing board and created a smack-on-the-spot case satisfying the needs of a normal gamer; the Coolermaster 690 II advanced. With a hell load of fan holes, it looks fantastic with its blue LEDs and mesh design. It can ably cool the parts listed without much noise.

Powersupply: Corsair TX-650 $119

When that words 'Corsair' is spoken millions of PC enthusiasts will turn their heads around to face you and instantaneously say 'Aye'. Corsair, quite a new but old company has been making quality products for a long time now, every section of the market it ventured, it succeeded. It was like Corsair had the Midas Touch, their PSU's are just of great quality, the TX series is aimed at mid-range PCs, where G, C and V are for the much lower end, though they never skimp on quality. This powersupply is dead silent and produces excellent and efficient power.


Optical Drive: Sony AD7240SGB 24X DVDRW $29 

Not much to say about this, most drives are the same and with Sony quality there isn't much more to ask for. Blu-ray isn't as widespread as DVDs at the moment, they are currently still mingling with the TV and Home Theatre section. There isn't much of a need for it right now.

EXTRAS                                                                                                     


CPU Cooling: Scythe Mugen2 rv.B $75 

With plent of money left to spend I decided on an after market CPU heatsink. An efficient cooler, which is dead silent. What do you expect? It's made by Scythe. With its multi-separate tower style it is a great cooler, a bit heavy but worth it. 






I do not want to decide on the Peripherals (mouse + keyboard +monitor) because they are usually personal preference, but I can recommend the:

Logitech Mx518 $40 

Microsoft Sidewinder x4 $50

A 24" monitor, a budget one should cost $200.

So Peripherals add to $290 in total.

In total the ENTIRE PC will cost $1208 


Without the Peripherals this PC will cost $918, surprisingly cheap isn't it?


With $300 left as spare cash my friend could by McDonalds for breakfast for 2 months. If he is going to use his old mouse and keyboard this computer will cost $90 less, and using his current monitor it will cost $918, much cheaper and efficient than his proposed i5 2500k build which costs $1500.