Help me build a new machine for my brother

[Rand{CLR}]

The sad thing (from one perspective; good from another) is that technology has slowed down enough that even though the industry keeps advancing, you aren't pretty much forced to upgrade every other year or whatever. 6-7 years is a bit old, but could conceivably still do a lot.

Most of my current system is approaching 4 years old. Now I just had to replace a blown power supply, I popped in a supplemental hard drive, I've replaced the CPU fan, and I've upgraded my RAM and my video card once each, but the core components of the Core 2 Duo E6700 and the Mobo are the same, and there's nothing on the immediate horizon that will force me to have to upgrade there.

I WANT to, but I can't afford it now, so I'm glad I don't HAVE to.

-Rand

[BadHabitz]

I also think part of the reason things have slowed is because somewhere down the line the companies have learned when it comes to PC titles the higher your requirements are the lower your customer-base might be.

[Tuck]

As for your own build next year, if you're buying near the leading edge of new technology, forget about "zero defect".

Hell, I can't afford to be near the leading edge. I'm always a year behind the curve, and usually pleased just to be in the race.

[Tuck]

The sad thing (from one perspective; good from another) is that technology has slowed down enough that even though the industry keeps advancing, you aren't pretty much forced to upgrade every other year or whatever. 6-7 years is a bit old, but could conceivably still do a lot.

Most of my current system is approaching 4 years old. Now I just had to replace a blown power supply, I popped in a supplemental hard drive, I've replaced the CPU fan, and I've upgraded my RAM and my video card once each, but the core components of the Core 2 Duo E6700 and the Mobo are the same, and there's nothing on the immediate horizon that will force me to have to upgrade there.

I WANT to, but I can't afford it now, so I'm glad I don't HAVE to.

-Rand

Yeah, I'm pretty much in the same boat. My machine is a bit over 3 years old, but it still packs a punch, so I'm gonna let it ride. I doubled my RAM to 8GB, and upgraded from Vista to Windows 7, but other than that it's pretty much as I built it.

[Dead...Again]

The sad thing (from one perspective; good from another) is that technology has slowed down enough that even though the industry keeps advancing, you aren't pretty much forced to upgrade every other year or whatever. 6-7 years is a bit old, but could conceivably still do a lot.

Most of my current system is approaching 4 years old. Now I just had to replace a blown power supply, I popped in a supplemental hard drive, I've replaced the CPU fan, and I've upgraded my RAM and my video card once each, but the core components of the Core 2 Duo E6700 and the Mobo are the same, and there's nothing on the immediate horizon that will force me to have to upgrade there.

I WANT to, but I can't afford it now, so I'm glad I don't HAVE to.

-Rand

My system is about as old as yours, but with an E6600. It is starting to show its age, though. I can't get above 50 FPS in BC2. I am itching to build something new soooon....

You are correct, though, that systems hold up for longer periods now with a few fairly minor upgrades. A video card upgrade after a few years really makes a huge difference.

[Tuck]

Thanks, guys. Here is the build we purchased. I'm really pleased with this build, at least on paper. We broke the budget a little bit, but we decided not to compromise too much on the mobo, the video card, the monitor and the CPU. We could have easily trimmed a couple hundred with a few of those compromises. And maybe another hundred by shopping around instead of what we did, which is to go Newegg all the way.

Antec Nine Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
Item #: N82E16811129021, $99.99



ASUS VE247H Black 23.6" Full HD HDMI LED BackLight LCD Monitor, Item #: N82E16824236112 $189.99



Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760
Item #: N82E16819115067, $209.99

EVGA 01G-P3-1373-AR GeForce GTX 460 (Fermi) Superclocked EE 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready SLI Support ...
Item #: N82E16814130568, $219.99

Linksys WRT54GL 802.11b/g Wireless Broadband Router up to 54Mbps/ Compatible with Open Source DD-WRT (not pre-load)
Item #: N82E16833124190, $49.99

GIGABYTE GA-P55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel P55 USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard
Item #: N82E16813128425, $119.99

CORSAIR CMPSU-750TX 750W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Compatible with Core i7 Power ...
Item #: N82E16817139006, $109.99

G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL
Item #: N82E16820231277, $49.99

Western Digital Caviar Black WD1001FALS 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822136284, $87.99

Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Keyboard 4000
Item #: N82E16823109148, $41.99



Logitech MX 518 8 Buttons 1 x Wheel USB Wired Optical Gaming Mouse
Item #: N82E16826104178, $36.99



ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM
Item #: N82E16827135204, $18.99

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754, $99.99

Total Cost: $1,200 (after $80 in rebates, and not including shipping) If you don't count the monitor, the router, the keyboard and mouse, it's right at a grand.

[Devilguns]

Very nice Tuck. you'll have to get him gaming at the Lair now

[Duke{CLR}]

Nice rig, be sure to post a few pics when it's all put together.

[Tuck]

Nice rig, be sure to post a few pics when it's all put together.

Good idea. My brother is just as excited that he'll be building this himself as he is about getting a nice new rig. He'll be doing the hands-on stuff, while I'll be supervising and assisting. He'll easily double his knowledge about how computers work through this.