Hello guys,

I'm planning on an $800 PC for mainstream purposes, mostly Internet and e-mail and some games (Microsoft Flight Simulator X and NFS: ProStreet) without the need for extreme performance.

I've then planned out this build which should do the job for my requirements. I can get the components from a local vendor (MysteryByte of course) and here is my list:

CPU: INTEL Pentium Dual-Core E2160 1.80GHz FSB 800MHz 1MB LGA775 - $79
Mainboard: GIGABYTE GA-P35-S3G P35+ICH9 5PCI/1PCI-EX1 4DDR2 1PCI-E X16 1333MHZ FSB, AUDIO, GB LAN, ATX - $94
Memory: Super*Talent 2GB DDR2-667 / PC2-5300 / CL5 / Micron Chips (MFG Lifetime) - $56x2 (4GB total)
Video card: Sapphire ATI Radeon HD3650 512MB DVI/VGA PCI-E Video Card 1YR MB (1YR MB Warranty) - $79
Power supply: Antec EarthWatts 380-Watt Power Supply ATX12V v2.0 – comes with case
Case: Antec New Solution NSK4480 – Mini tower – 380 Watt (ATX12V 2.0) - USB - $84
Operating System: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit English OEM on DVD - $133
CD/DVD drives: LG GH20NS10 SATA BLACK DVD±RW (20X+/-) DUAL LAYER w/ SW (1YR MB) - $32
Hard drive: WD Caviar SE-16 / SATA-II 3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA-II (3YR MFG - 3YR MB) 1st yr Hot Swap - $76
Memory card reader: Super Talent INTAIN1MCR 3.5" All-in-1 USB2.0 Internal Card Reader, Retail (support SDHC) - $19

TOTAL: $708 (before tax)
$800.04 (after 13% tax)

Here is a basic list of the specs of this pending build:
Intel Pentium Dual-Core E2160 1.8GHz processor
4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 RAM (can be upgraded to 8GB)
ATI Radeon HD3650 512MB PCI-Express video card
380W Antec EarthWatts 80 PLUS power supply
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit operating system
20X LG SATA DVD±RW drive
320GB SATA-II hard drive
All-in-1 internal memory card reader

I'm doing research on what will be the best for up to $800 (after tax). I already looked at the pre-built Acer, HP, Compaq, etc. PCs at Best Buy and Future Shop and fortunately none of them appeal to me.

Any suggestions guys/gals?

ALSO I AM WONDERING IF IT IS OKAY TO HANDLE THE PC COMPONENTS. MY HOUSE HAS CARPET FLOORING (WHICH CAN HOLD STATIC) AND THAT IS NOT GOOD. ALL I HAVE IS AN OLD ANTI-STATIC WRIST STRAP FOR ANTI-STATIC MEASURES. MY BASEMENT HAS FOAM FLOOR MATS ON TOP OF A HARD FLAT CONCRETE/CEMENT FLOOR, WILL FOAM FLOOR MATS BE BETTER TO HANDLE COMPUTER PARTS OVER THAN A CARPET FLOOR?

Also, how hard is it to install the standard Intel S775 heatsink on to the motherboard?

Some people seem to find it difficult. My case has a removable motherboard tray so I can have the board mounted on it and outside the case which aids in getting the pins to go through and lock in place and plenty of room to get a grip on things(not that I've ran a stock HS in a while ). My suggestion would be to mount the HS before you put the mobo in that case, setting the mobo on something that will support it, but allow the pushpins to go through un-impeded. Just read the directions first.

Parts seem decent. I've got the LG DVD RW you're looking at, it's a noisey brute. I'd go with the Pioneer 212DBK. You don't get software, but it's a lot quieter. (got one of them too) SuperTalent memory, people were raving about them, then it died off, not sure why. Vista, well, um... I've got it as a secondary boot... I almost never use it.

reccomend the 8800gt or 3870 if you wanna play Flight sim X.

agree with you there sbeeze the HD3870 or even the PALIT 9600 GT would be a better choice of cards money permitting . Your PS should be bumped up a little if you decide to change to the above cards though . Sounds like you'll have a good system there when your done . Good luck on your new build .

To install a 75 cpu, is incredibly easy,

1. have a good work area, not cluttered and well lit
2. mount motherboard firmly into case, do not leave any stand offs out. secure all screws.
3. the cpu fits in only one way,(if its your first time read the little book)
4. push heatsink clips firmly through motherboard



id also recommend a better card for those games as well.im a fan of nvidia 8800gt, 3870 if u wanna save the 70 bucks or so

My co-worker is really into the Flight Simlator games and regularly buys $2000-$3000 systems for each new version of the game (it's basically all he plays) and has actual plane accessories (center console, turn key ignition and stuff like that) wired to USB and from his reasearch for Flight Sim X on fan forums he found that people were getting better results with ATI cards so he went with a 1900XTX, which he then later upgraded to an HD3870 a few months later in order to get the DirectX 10 capabilities with Vista. It sounds like you are also planning on having DX 10 for this game but from what I've heard from this guy it didn't work well at all. Textures went really screwy and sometimes disappeared all together as well as AA getting disabled or just not working (even though it was set to On) and after checking out his FSX Forum he found a lot of people were having similar issues.

So from what I've heard from him I think the main points are:
1) Lots of memory (which you are already planning for).
2) ATI cards do well for this game (or so he says) so getting an HD3870 instead of a 8800GT may be an ok choice. I should also mention that he factors in compatability quite heavily so there may be more nVidia issues out there that he's heard of... or he's a fan boy so you might want to double check.
3) Worry more about how the system will perform than having DirectX 10 because you will most likely b disabling it anyways.

I wish I could post a photo of this guy playing the game because he also has those VR Goggles with the screens in them and a VR Head Tracking device so that when he turns his head it turns his view in the game as if he's looking around an it really looks hilarious when he has all this stuff on.