Mom's computer

[legolizard]

Hi guys, I am planning on a computer build for my mother whose current Core 2 Solo isn't holding up anymore. I want this to be a very aestetically pleasing build, even though it won't be the best ULTRA RAMPAGE $5000 GAMING BUILD—lawl. Albiet, most of the things she has are incredibly outdated and I need to buy pretty much everything, including a monitor and a new router.

Case: Cubitek Mini Cube

I like this case a lot, and I think it is the perfect size for what I want to do; I am unsure if the cooler I will list later will fit in the bottom 120mm mount, though.

Motherboard: Asus P8Z77-I Deluxe

I know that Z77 is overkill for this build and that I should go with H77. Yet, I went with Z77 because I really liked the quality on the VRMs compared to those on this motherboard's H77 equivalent, and because this motherboard has much better I/O (HDMI, Displayport, and DVI).

CPU: i3 3225

I went with this CPU because it is the only i3 with HD 4000 graphics; if you ask me, I think ALL of them should, but whatever. I don't think that she'll need an i5, but maybe I am wrong. I doubt that having 30 tabs open will utilize 4 cores, but I've never tested it. She does have a lot of tabs open, though, so take that however you will.

Cooler: Thermaltake Water 2.0 Extreme

I know I went overkill for this, but I want quiet—really quiet. I might even be able to run this passively, but I'm not sure.

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB

Just run-of-the-mill stuff. Nothing fancy here.

Power supply: Seasonic X Series 400w FL2 80+ Platinum power supply

I think this is the perfect PSU for what I need; quality, zero noise, and good wattage for this build.

Storage: 256GB Samsung 840 Pro SSD and 1TB WD Black HDD

I went with these drives because they both had a five year warranty, which I thought was pretty awesome.

I don't know what monitpr would be good, but I know I want to run a dual monitor setup; full HD is a must, though. I have about $500 left (if I go with the above parts) for monitors, so no HD+. =(

I should also note that I plan on purchasing some MDPC-X cable sleeving, 18 AWG cables, and PSU plugs for all the wiring.

Any help or comments would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

[Pesle]

You cant run dual screen very well on a Intel Hd4000, if not at all (CPU's built in GPU) so maybe a low range graphics (one with fan, trust me). Maybe a Nvidia gt 640. Just a suggestion.

[TechNerd181]

Hey there, hope I can help.

First things first, I don't know much about that case, but being a cube just make sure it's big enough to fit your things inside, obviously :P. CPU is good, depending on your Internet you shouldn't need a Quad Core for Internet browsing. You also don't need a Z77 Board, like at all. As I've said a couple times today, B75 are your basic boards and don't allow overclocking, which seems perfect for what your mother will be doing. Getting a Z77 Board will just be wasted extra money which could go towards your 2 monitors. But if for some reason you really do wan't a Z77 board, go with an ASRock.

... If there's anything you don't need, it's certainly that water cooler. Spending that amount of money on a watercooler for that build is just ridiculous and more money wasted. I don't even watercool my i5-3570k/GTX 680 and everything runs fine. I know you wan't it to be a quiet PC, but a standard Intel Heatsink doesn't make that much noise. RAM is ok considering she won't be really doing anything. Although Seasonic are pretty good, you don't need 80+ Platinum.. Depending on how much that PSU is, I shouldn't worry considering it's only mediocre. But you could go with a Corsair CX 500W. I'd recommend an Intel 330 Series SSD. Perfect for everyday normal use. Intel's reliability, as well as decent performance. WD/Seagate doesn't matter.

As for monitors. You can pick up two Asus 23" Full HD LED IPS Monitors for around $500.

[Pesle]

Wow $500 for 2 23" IPS, thank goodness I live in Australia

[TechNerd181]

Wow $500 for 2 23" IPS' date=' thank goodness I live in Australia[/quote']Well.. I can't guarantee that, I'm British and was just going of Google conversion, as USD/CAD/AUD conversions are relatively the same. But that monitor I mentioned over here in Britain is only £140 which is around $200 Australian Dollars. So by simple logic you should be able to pick them up for around the same price.. I can't see them being more than $250 each.

Good luck with your build :)

[legolizard]

I really like the case, but it is really hard to find. Maybe someone could shine some light as to were I can get my hands on one? I don't like the Lian-Li design with the PSU over the motherboard. I just irks me, yet I think the Bitfenix prodigy is too big for M-ITX. Sadness.

Regarding the Z77 motherboard, I went with this motherboard because the rear I/O is vastly superior to the I/O of the H77 model; however, if HD 4000 graphics can't handle dual monitor then I would go with the H77 model and buy a low end HD 7750; maybe even passively cooled, too. I thought that the HD 4000 graphics could support 3 monitors, though? Obviously, it wouldn't play any game well, but it would work, right? The PSU isn't that expensive so I might as well go with it.

I haven't looked at the specs for the 330, but I guess that'll be good; it would also fit the aesthetics of the build better, since all Intel SSDs are silver. =P The problem, though, is that I have had a lot of problems with SandForce in the past, and Intel only have a three year warranty on that SSD; I understand that it is lower end SSD, though.

[TechNerd181]

Oh Christ no, I can't speak from experience but I'd be surprised if HD 4000 Graphics would support 2 Monitors. I'd like to think that Intel's built-in graphics could handle 1080p playback, but I'd be very surprised if it could handle multi-monitor setups. I'd rather have a crappy GPU than rely on built-in Graphics. If you/she had enough, you could go with something like a standard GTX 650 or a Radeon 7770, or even a GTX 650Ti. I don't know much for AMD GPU's, but a 650Ti can handle 3 Monitor setups. And I'm assuming a 650 would be able to handle at least 2 Monitors. And I'd personally rather a 2GB EVGA 650/650Ti.

As far as SSD's go you can't really go wrong with Intel. Reliable and perform well, and for what you're wanting to spend it'd be great. And realistically.. 3 Years is a long long time.

[legolizard]

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-031023.htm

http://www.intel.com/support/graphics/sb/CS-031026.htm

I am pretty sure it will work; obviously though, a 650 Ti would be awesome and would run three 2560x1440 monitors without a problem (but I can't do that); honestly, I don't think HD 4000 graphics could handle that resolution. =/ I also like the size of the 650 Ti, but for multi-monitor Eyefinity is a much better solution than nVidia Surround; what is the Radeon equivalent of the 650Ti? I would assume the 7850 . . .

[neon_bowser]

If you want silent I'd go Noctua on the cooler. Liquid cooling is far beyond unnecessary for that processor. And a GT 440 is a pretty ideal low end card, I use them for almost all my cheap gaming builds.

[TechNerd181]

I can't say 100% But I wouldn't change it, I'd be so surprised if Integrated Intel Graphics ran dual-monitors I'd drink my own wee (In before Bear Grylls Jokes.. :P) But yeah.

One thing I forgot to mention is that you won't need that Thermaltake cooler, if you really do wan't something, go with a Hyper 212 Evo. But even that wouldn't be needed. But all in all, it's up to you. Personally I prefer NVIDIA's PhysX/3D Vision, but the nearest thing to a 2GB EVGA GTX 650 Ti, costing £130 is a 1GB Radeon 7870 costing £126-145.

[legolizard]

It even says on the Intel ARK that the the i3 can support three monitors, so I don't think that's in much dispute. Well, even the GT 640 is a huge leap from the integrated graphics, though. That or the HD 7750 would be awesome with the i3 3240; and, like I said before, if I go with a discrete graphics card I would also go with the H77 board; did you know that the Asus P8H77-I has 5K capacitors? That's just sweet.

I actually have some NF-F12s around my house in a previous build; I'm going to paint the edges silver and blades black. I don't mind putting in the effort for something that looks nice; I also think I'll go with the Prodigy simply because I just can't find the Cubitek case. =( It won't be hard to put a window either, which is really nice.

Can PhysX be used in browser hardware acceleration?