Critique the build. Includes peripherals, minus speakers. Triz, you better chip in. Comes to $930.40.

Parts List
CPU, Intel Core i5-760 Lynnfield 2.8GHz 8MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor BX80605I5760, $209.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115067

Motherboard, GIGABYTE GA-H55-USB3 LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI USB 3.0 ATX Intel Motherboard, $109.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128437&Tpk=GIGABYTE%20GA-H55-USB3%20LGA%201156%20Intel%20H55%20HDMI%20USB%203

Case, LIAN LI PC-A05NB Black Aluminum ATX Mini Tower Computer Case, $89.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112218

Hard Drive, Western Digital Caviar Green WD10EARS 1TB 5400 RPM 64MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5"" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive", $64.99, NewEgg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136490

DVD Burner, ASUS Black 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 24X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM, $18.99,http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

Power Supply, Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply, $44.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029&cm_re=Neo_Eco-_-17-371-029-_-Product

Memory, Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model 996770, $82.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820226095

Monitor, UltraSharp U2211H 55 cm (21.5"") W Monitor UltraSharp U2211H 55 cm (21.5) Monitor", $199.00, http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=320-9271&baynote_bnrank=5&baynote_irrank=0&~ck=baynoteSearch

Keyboard & Mouse, Microsoft Natural Ergonomic Desktop 7000, $99.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109038

SATA Cables, "OKGEAR 10"" SATA 6Gbps Cable, Straight to Straight W/ Metal Latch, Black, Backward Compatible with 3 Gbps and 1.5 Gbps" 2x @ $8.98, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812123159

HDMI Cable, Cables Unlimited - Select HDMI Cable - 6 FEET, $4.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812339005&cm_re=hdmi_cable-_-12-339-005-_-Product

SSD, OCZ Vertex 2 OCZSSD2-2VTXE60G 2.5 60GB SATA II MLC, $119.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227550&cm_re=ocz_vertex_2-_-20-227-550-_-Product

COOLER, COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1, $29.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835103065&cm_re=hyper_212-_-35-103-065-_-Product

MISC, Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound - OEM, $9.99, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835100007

TOTAL $930.40


Notes:
CPU: Intel based as you indicated a preference. Nice i5 Quad Core. I went for the high performer instead of going for the cheapest Intel quadcore.

Mobo: Nice range of features including Gigabit ethernet, integrated sound, HDMI, DVI, DisplayPort, USB3, etc.

RAM: 16GB of RAM which is a ton.

Monitor: Highly praised Dell e-IPS display. Best bang for the buck. Will have a huge impact on your user experience. I would try and find a way to get this if at all possible. TV's do not make good monitors. I'm planning on getting a few of these because they look awesome. 21.5 isn't as big as 24" but still pretty large.

Sound: Integrated 8 channel sound card on mobo. Something I've never taken advantage of but it's there if you need it.

Video: I did not include an addon video card. Integrated video that is well suited for everyday tasks and can handle 1080p video with ease. With integrated video on the mobo, addon video didn't make sense. Mom dosen't play MW2, so I feel comfortable on this one.

Case: Smaller than most ATX cases but spacious enough for a full size mobo. Black aluminum. Will look very nice.

Keyboard and Mouse: These are RF so you would have no issues using these in the living room if I chose to hook the PC up to the TV. Somewhat expensive but top performers. Could also go for this $65 combo deal:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.592017 .
I am a big fan of Microsoft Ergonomic Keyboards/Mice.

Ordinarily I would go for this: ($45)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109031

Or this combo ($35)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823109048

Unfortunately both are out of stock.

Hard Drive: Nice SSD + Your standard 1TB drive, nothing special but spacious.
Optical Drives: Just a standard DVD Burner.

Give me your thoughts!!!

My first thought is, "Who the hell are you?"

My second thought is, "Who the hell is Triz?" I think one of the members around here is named Tristan. Maybe it's a friend or relative.

My third thought is, "Man, I don't know anything about computers anymore."

Heh, so much to chime in on.

1) I dont know what your mom does on the computer, but for most Mom's that pretty overkill.

2) Most 1156 socket boards with onboard video require the CPU to have an integrated GPU. Unfortunately the highend 1156 socket i5/i7 quad's dont have an integrated GPU. So you will either have to purchase a cheap pci-e card OR downgrade the processor to a dual core. (i5-6xx, i5-5xx, i5-4xx, i3)

Normally I would say wait for Sandy Bridge motherboard situation to sort itself out, and go 1155 i5-2500K, but Intel really made a mess of things. I would want to wish that headache on anyone right now. If you can wait a month or two, look into that.

3) Everyone will say 16gb is overkill. My 12gb is overkill. 8gb is more than enough for 99% of power users. Your mom probably would be fine with 4gb. That said, ram's cheap do what you want

4) The parts look pretty good. All high quality brand names where it counts.

16gb jesus christ, you are putting 16 gigs on but not a dedicated video card.
Also, she doesn't need a quad core.
But, you appear to be loaded so I guess money isn't an issue.

Whats wrong with the stock HSF? She going to overclock it?

most moms would probably be fine with a $500 or less computer from [insert retail chain here]

Well, I'm Steven's aforementioned Tristan; however, I'm in no way, shape, or form 'Triz.' I have no clue who this person is.

'Triz' means EAH_TRISCUIT.

Yeah, seconded.

Hyper 212 on a mom-puter? Really? When people are even getting respectable overclocks on the stock cooler?

Can't say I understand the 5400 RPM hard drive in a desktop either, but that's not so bad.

By the time this gets sorted out you might as well wait for Sandy Bridge-EN.

This wasnt buggin me at the time but now that you mention it...

An SSD + Storage drive is a good performance setup for a power user, but for a more typical user its a bad idea. Unless your mom knows to use the storage drive for mp3, videos, games, ect - She will end up filling the SSD. Apps will refuse to install due to free space issues, and performance will suffer.

You would probably be better off just getting a 1tb Western Digital Black.

Thanks for the input guys. Triscuit, are you saying that the integrated video on the board won't work with the quad-core? If this is the case, what video card (ATI/AMD preference) would you recommend for under $100.

Ugh, just realized there is no video chipset on this mobo. Durrr...

Looking at the Radeon 4670 for $100:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814139052&cm_re=Radeon_HD_4670-_-14-139-052-_-Product

Actually, the 5770 HD is $100 with MIR.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338&cm_re=Radeon_HD_5770-_-14-161-338-_-Product

Okay, went with the 5770 and changed that 5400RPM drive to another 7200RPM 1TB.

I wanted the cooler because that case isn't very big and I was worried about issues with airflow with all these components in there (2HD's, big GFX card, lots of RAM).

The stock heatsink is absolutely enough. It's engineered specifically to work in any normal case. Also, people are WAY too paranoid about CPU temperatures. The safe operating range is way beyond what most people are comfortable with -- it's fine. Modern CPUs also have built in temperature monitoring and will shut themselves off to prevent damage.

Why are you spending so much on a mom-puter? Does she routinely play Crysis, transcode blu-rays, and make 3D animations?

can you give me that computer, and you mom can have my current one?

His mom is gonna whoop our a$$e$ at MW:2.

And even if what Emon said weren't true, if you're that worried about the air temperature inside the case you should be looking at ways to remove the hot air, not make it even hotter.

I just read the good reviews on the 212 and didn't know anything about the stock cooler. The 212 is cheap too... I might try overclocking the i5 now that you mention it. I've never done an OC before so it will be a learning experience.



Excellent point raised here. Fortionately, Dad is tech savvy enough to figure out where to install stuff.

Thanks for all the input so far! For the record, I opted for only 8GB and no SSD to begin with but Dad wanted to spend a bit more for supreme performance.

I just want to echo this,

I stuck my mum and dad with some low end Core2Duo, 4gb RAM, 250gb HD and a ATI 4370 a few years back, it's still running like a peach with Win7 recently put on it.

Unless your parents plan to seriously game and encode stuff, the spec you are looking at is WAY overkill.

You could say you are future proofing, but you won't be stressing this system for a good 3-4 years (if that) and in the meantime have x3 the electricity bill.

I'm using a i7 930, 6gb RAM, 500gb HD, ATI 4890, running a linux virtualbox doing simulations, while gaming on the other screen(s) and/or watching a HD movie, even then I'm pushed if I'm using more than 3-4 cores at more than 60%.

is this PC reaalllllly just for your mom??? hmmm???