PC build suggestions

[jollyFE]

Need some ideas for a PC build.  It's for my oldest ( who starts college in the fall), he wants a desktop and is dead set against a laptop.  I would like to have it come in below $1000.00 if possible.  There's no doubt in my mind that this would have to be able to be a gamer build.  He's always playing Wow, LoL and WoT with his friends.  I was thinking at least an I5 (preferably an I7) for some longevity on this machine.  I haven't built an intel before(only AMD).  I have always been an nvidia guy so I really don't know much about the ati cards.

He is going to be majoring in Aerospace Engineering.

Anyways, the last time I built a pc was back in 08 so I haven't really been keeping up with the latest and greatest.

Thanks in advance.

[cattb]

I built last year and went Intel..before i USED amd , before that I used Intel
I personally didn't like the way I read about AMD peformance and the way they went with thier product.(my personal opinion and I am not a fanboy of either)
I built a
Intel 3570k unlocked
Gigabyte motherboard
Ati 6950 2gb
Patriot memory
I have had good luck with gigabyte and I was close to a ASUS but I liked the features on the board I bought more for the price range
 
ATI vs Nvidia have used them both, but at this time I went with the 6950..
The memory, I went with 2133 incase I want to overclock and get wild someday, but its not needed, 1600 of some good lower lantency lifetime memory would be fine.  8GB should be plenty unless the PC is going to be used with some type of software that could use more RAM.

Micro center had some good deals when I bought my CPU and motherboard, much better then newegg. Microcenter would be worth checking out if youhave one close enough and a person can check thier online add at thier websight.

You can build yourself a fast puter for under a 1000

[guncrasher]

when you buy the mobo look real good at the combo's that they offer with either cpu or ram.  same for ps.  you can save an extra 15 or 20 bucks.  also compare prizes with amazon as amazon had free shipping if you spend over 25 bucks.


semp

[dhaus]

I think Intel is coming out with new chips this quarter.  The word on current chips is the i5 is plenty for gaming.  Will an aerospace engineer need the hyperthreading from an i7?  I don't know.  His department at the university should have specifications for computing that he will need - including software.  The university probably has a computer store that has good deals on reccomended builds.  You might build one cheaper,  but you can at least see what the specs they are recommending. 

[BaldEagl]

K series I5 Ivy Bridge, suitable mobo, DDR3 1600+ RAM, $250-350 6 series Nvidia card or ATI equivalent... boom!

[katanaso]

K series I5 Ivy Bridge, suitable mobo, DDR3 1600+ RAM, $250-350 6 series Nvidia card or ATI equivalent... boom!

Yep.

Also 2 more things:  HDD(s) and DVD Burner

You can easily build a screaming PC for under $1K nowadays.

[Debrody]

K series I5 Ivy Bridge, suitable mobo, 8GB DDR3 1600 RAM, $250-350 6 series Nvidia card or ATI equivalent, 600W Seasonic PSU, HDD, el cheapo DVD... boom!

Fixed some stuff, but pretty much what you said. A fine, balanced machine just under 1000$

[Denniss]

Memory: not slower than 1600 but get sticks operating at standard voltag and without the fancy heatsinks.
Many use at least an 128GB SSD for OS and some preferred games with a 2TB drive for Data storage
PSU: get a quality one with 80+ Silver Minimum, 500-700W depending on Graphics card

[jollyFE]

thanks for the ideas folks

[dhaus]

Just built in January: i5 3750k with asrock xtreme4 MB. ($90 off newegg price instore at microcenter); 8gb corsair vengeance 1600 low profile memory; xfx 7870 2gb video card; 1tb hardrive; seasonic 620w modular power supply; asus Dvd burner; coolermaster 212+ Cpu cooler; HAF 912 case; and win7 os.  I added some case fans and had a dell monitor.  Total (without monitor) was about 900-950 when I bought.  The key was in store price in micro center for Cpu/Mb combo.  Oh, really love the computer!  

[MADe]

Of course it all depends on how the puter is to be used. A gaming computer will have different requirements than a work computer yes?

You stated it was for school work, so you want reliability over all else, so that he does not lose his homework.
With that in mind you want spin drives, possibly in a RAID 1 setup. ????? This would back up all his work and help with any failures forcing downtime. I use SSD's now, game puter, but I have had good luck with Western Digital HDD's. At least have a 2nd HD to act as a storage drive so that if OS drive gets bunged his work is covered.
I would suggest a w7 64 bit system so you could give him a lot of ram. 1366MHz or higher ram a must. Minimum 8 GB's. I have had good performance out of Kingston ram. Several kinds, no failures.
Choose a mobo with onboard sound and Ethernet capabilities. PCI-e 3, USB 3, SATA 6GB/s. I use Gigabyte UD mobos . 2 boards never a mobo issue. Make sure you get latest bios installed before you install OS. See QVL for listed ram.
Choose a high end vid card. He is liable to be doing some technical drawing. So a card with a lot of ram and speed a must.
Choose a 3 GHz or higher cpu. Lets face it, faster is better. I use Intel. Never had a cpu failure and I OC.
Get a good case with plenty of airflow. I use the CoolerMaster HAF 932. Its a huge case but its all metal and breathes well. And it can be used in the future for new builds. Lots of room, ez to work with.
Minimum 750W power supply. Better to have too much than not enough. Again I use CoolerMaster in 2 machines, no failures, more than 4 years now.
You might also consider a UPS. Depending on where he is living, dorm, frat house, might just help protect the loss of the machine due to power failures. A battery backup would help him save current work if the power crashes while he is working homework, as well as condition the power so machine gets what it needs. Can be cost prohibitive.????? I use CyberPower UPS's.
The monitor, get as big as you dare. Could help with technical drawings, easier to see.
For cost, I use MS KB's and mouse, cheaper than dirt. Spend it on the vid card and mobo, IMO.
Finally, check out Newegg. My last build, I ended up buying the majority of hardware thier. Free shipping, depending, and great prices. Added bonus, you will then get all kinds of promotional offers for future. Still, shop around 1st, I just found Newegg to be worth it.
S

[Bizman]

Very good summary, MADe. I'd like to comment a couple of lines, though:

Reliability is desirable, but I've seen both disks in a raid1 array fail beyond recognize, the owner being a young engineer who should have some kind of a technical mindset. An external hard disk, unplugged when not in use, is IMO among the best device in duplicating valuable works. For maximum security, another external containing triplicates and stored in a totally different location is a cost effective solution. Burning copies to optical disks can also do. Even a full backup of a working system is an easy task to do every now and then to minimize the downtime in case of a hard disk failure. The level of security is a matter of personal preferences. - I once read about an editor who had optical backups stored in a warehouse where he had rented some space. Stacks of bulk tubes of cd's and dvd's carefully labeled, periodically tested and reburned, containing all of his career as a pioneering Internet publisher.

A too powerful power supply can cause problems. The extra power has to do something according to the law of conservation of energy. 750W used to be a minimum for a couple of years ago, but today an 80+ 550W might be better. Today's components draw less juice than those of yesteryear. E.G. Intel Core2Quad processors max TDP could be as much as 105W, whereas the before mentioned highly popular i5-3750k only draws 77W. Similar development has been seen in video cards.

[Debrody]

Im sceptical on the 750W PSU as well.
Lets count a bit:
-intel CPU, 75W on paper, lets say, 125W for safety (OC, etc)
-Ati 7900 series video card (theese consumpt the most nowadays): 225W, let it be 275.
-mobo, ram, hdd, ssd, etc etc, surely less than 100W. Thats 500W with large OCing margins. 750W is for the 2-way SLI/Crossfire systems pulled like crazy.
A quality 550W should be (as always been) enough for every rationally built system.

[MrRiplEy[H]]

The problem with raid 1 is that it only protects against a sudden disastrous hardware failure, that's when the other disk is left intact. It does not protect for non-sudden failure where data is starting to corrupt. The corrupt data will be written on both drives just as corrupt.

[guncrasher]

no need for raid, unless you have data that must be backed up. then again a flash drive will be more than enough for 90% of the people.  or you can also use a cd for back up.  all my songs (800 Beatles songs  )  are backed up in 20 cd's and that's because 4 times is better than 1.  my daughter's birthday pics are b/u in a flash stick.  hey priorities here.

j/k my granddaughter's pics are b/u more than the pentagon b/u their own servers.  but I still only have 2 hd and not in any raid.


semp