Budget Build $300?

[wjgollatz]

I am looking to build a new system, Win 7, in USA. I just had either a drive or hardware failure, or both, and its time to get a new system anyway.

This is system is for work processing, quickbooks, some photograph processing, internet use. No gaming.

I would like a ATX form factor, so there is room to expand or upgrade if I decide to do that. It will probably go into an Antec 300 case. I have one now, and I like it, because I plan to set up separate hard drives. I had/have 4 Gb RAM, but I will want to increase that.

I built my previous system on a guidleine for budget builds from Anantech, but that sticky is no longer available.

I can probably find my own hardware, but what sort of chips and chip forms should I be looking for? Or any other suggestions.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

For $300? You're probably looking at either a Pentium or lower-end AMD system. I'd avoid the E-series CPUs from AMD, and the Atom-based "Celeron" CPUs, since they're essentially based on cell phone CPUs. *blech*.

For more detailed feedback, please answer the questions in the sticky so we know what you're working with:

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=80121

 

[wjgollatz]

1. word processing, quickbooks, some photograph processing, internet use, graphics applications limited to Corel Draw, powerpoint and publisher type software. No gaming
2. $300-$375
3. USA parts (prefer newegg)
4. N/A
5. No brand preference. Prefer quieter running PSU, and graphics cards.
6. Will not use current parts, except to install currently owned Win7 into new system is legal and possible.
7. Will no overclock.
8. 1680 x 1050, will need DVI output to monitor.
9. IMMEDIATELY plan to build it.

would like the ability to upgrade the system for gaming if I choose, for instance, the CPU, memory, and gpu, but not necessary.

 

[denis280]

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/ComboBu...=Combo.1241774

 

[Blain]

Lenovo H415 @ $227 shipped

A6-3650
6GB PC3-12800 DDR3
1TB, 7200RPM
DVD burner
Windows 8 Standard 64
1 Year Standard Depot Warranty

 

[Charlie98]

I just built a Pentium G3220-powered general purpose build for my inlaws, I came in at $400. I decided to build over just buying a prebuilt because I wanted full control over what was going into it but, seriously, it was a wash. Many of those components I waited to buy on sale, building up parts over a 4-month period.

 

[mfenn]

1. word processing, quickbooks, some photograph processing, internet use, graphics applications limited to Corel Draw, powerpoint and publisher type software. No gaming
2. $300-$375
3. USA parts (prefer newegg)
4. N/A
5. No brand preference. Prefer quieter running PSU, and graphics cards.
6. Will not use current parts, except to install currently owned Win7 into new system is legal and possible.
7. Will no overclock.
8. 1680 x 1050, will need DVI output to monitor.
9. IMMEDIATELY plan to build it.

would like the ability to upgrade the system for gaming if I choose, for instance, the CPU, memory, and gpu, but not necessary.

What sort of Windows 7 license do you have? If it's an OEM one, you'll want to treat this as a repair of the old PC rather than a new PC. Actually, why aren't you reusing parts from your old one? An Antec 300 is a perfectly good case, and every bit helps with a budget this tight.

 

[wjgollatz]

I have an OEM.

The old PC had a motherboard failure. I am 90% sure it is the SATA controller. I had 4 ports originally, and one went toast, and other behaved sporadically, but was connected to a rarely used DVD rom/burner (which also went bad as the eject mechanism only works 10% of the time). During startup, the bios detects no drives at all. I now prefer the USB 3.0 drives. The newer Antec case has USB 3.0 hardware. I could just use the rear of a new motherboard. You are right, I should use it.

For some reason, I thought my last build was $350. I turned out to be $560 including the case. So that is my goal now. I have been having some trouble using a backup computer (2005 era laptop) to get on the internet and surf and see what my order with Newegg was. It was a decent system in early 2009. I and had to slim down some browsers to get through mutltitabbing (actually, install Chrome finally).

I could reuse the power supply, but I am concerned about an almost 5 year old power supply.

But the case should re reused.

 

[wjgollatz]

Previously, I posted hoping for a $300 build, knowing it would boost to at least $350, because I mistakenly thought the previous system I built in 2009 was $350. When in fact it was closer to $550. I am not impressed with the $300 builds because it seems to be on the way low end, where I would like to build near the low end.

This is a system I came up with. Any suggestions? I may cancel some parts, because I may end up reusing my case. And power supply.

How many years will a non-gaming power supply last? I currently have a almost 5 year old Antec earthwatts EA430 430W.

I think I may have underestimated the integrated graphics on the cpu. Since I am not gaming, should I drop the graphics card?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2bbGx
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2bbGx/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2bbGx/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD A8-3850 2.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($89.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-A75-UD4H ATX FM1 Motherboard ($63.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6450 1GB Video Card ($36.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Two ATX Mid Tower Case ($54.00 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($48.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $495.40
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-29 19:02 EST-0500)

view online at http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2bbGx

My only concern at this point would be running two extra drives on the power supply. Right now, maxed out power, system is 226 watts inside the selected psu's 311 available (82%) with one drive. I dont ever forsee using three drives and the gpu and cpu at max. Only during startup though.



1. word processing, quickbooks, some photograph processing, internet use, graphics applications limited to Corel Draw, powerpoint and publisher type software. No gaming. If I decide to game, I would add a cooler, replace GPU at minimum.
2. $500
3. USA parts (prefer newegg)
4. N/A
5. No brand preference. Prefer quieter running PSU, and graphics cards.
6. Will not use current parts, except possibly case and power supply
7. Will not overclock.
8. 1680 x 1050, will need DVI output to monitor.
9. IMMEDIATELY plan to build it.

I like the Antec 300 case. And ATX size motherboards. Extra room to build. There will be at least the dvd drive, main drive, torrent drive (high read/write can cause drives to fail more often), and a back-up drive. I may be doing a video/image editing project in the future and I would need a blue-ray drive, and maybe another slot. One thing I have been wanting o do is to use pc for more music, so I might be also getting some sort of front panel control system if they still exist.

Duplicate thread merged in here.

mfenn
General Hardware Moderator

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Drop the GPU. no need for it.

 

[Torn Mind]

Earthwatts from 5 years ago are good units, as those Earthwatts were Seasonic-made. I bought a used 500W one off Ebay to power the budget rig in my sig+a 7850 and it still is going strong.

The 6450 is entirely redundant since even the A8-3850's graphics(which has a Radeon cores on it) is better than it, with the IGP having 320 stream processors compared to the 6450's 160 stream processors. For 1080p video playback, any modern IGP will have sufficient power to handle it.

226 watts is quite an overestimate. You need to stress the GPU and CPU HARD to even reach that, if it is even possible on just CPU+IGP+HDD.

I say reuse the case. If you're satisfied with what you have, no need to upgrade it. Any case should be able to handle a CPU+IGP setup no problem.

By reusing the case, not buying a new PSU, and not buying the GPU, you have plenty of spare funds for an SSD; you save about $150. An SSD would be good to add to the rig along with the Blue HDD. Navigating the OS environment will never be the same after you get an SSD.

 

[nsafreak]

You're using the dead FM1 socket instead of the newer FM2+ socket which is a big no-no and you don't need a GPU since the APU has one built in. That being said here's a better build if you're going the integrated graphics route:

CPU: AMD A10-5800K $99.99 (combo deal with motherboard on newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M $74.99
RAM: G.Skill Ripjaws DDR3-1600 8GB $49.99
HDD: Western Digital Blue 1TB $54.99
DVD: Asus DVD +/- RW $18.99
PSU: Corsair CX 500 $45.99
Case: Antec 302 $64.99
OS: Windows 7 Home Premium OEM $79.99

Total price: $496.92 (all prices from newegg & do not include shipping & handling)

 

[Blain]

Previously, I posted hoping for a $300 build, knowing it would boost to at least $350, because I mistakenly thought the previous system I built in 2009 was $350. When in fact it was closer to $550. I am not impressed with the $300 builds because it seems to be on the way low end, where I would like to build near the low end.

$500 build mistakes?

Not pouncing on that $227 Lenovo
At $550 you are doubling the cost but not doubling the performance vs that Lenovo pre-built system.

 

[wjgollatz]

I am still looking at the Lenovo.

 

[mfenn]

You're using the dead FM1 socket instead of the newer FM2+ socket which is a big no-no

I don't agree with this given the OP's circumstances. When you're talking about a 5 year upgrade cycle, all sockets are dead sockets.

I like the Llano here because it has 4 real cores (INT+FPU) rather than the 4 INT + 2 FPU of the Trinity. The Trinity does have a higher clockspeed, so you could go either way, but it is wrong to automatically dismiss the Llano just because it is FM1.

 

[mfenn]

Earthwatts from 5 years ago are good units, as those Earthwatts were Seasonic-made. I bought a used 500W one off Ebay to power the budget rig in my sig+a 7850 and it still is going strong.

The 6450 is entirely redundant since even the A8-3850's graphics(which has a Radeon cores on it) is better than it, with the IGP having 320 stream processors compared to the 6450's 160 stream processors. For 1080p video playback, any modern IGP will have sufficient power to handle it.

226 watts is quite an overestimate. You need to stress the GPU and CPU HARD to even reach that, if it is even possible on just CPU+IGP+HDD.

I say reuse the case. If you're satisfied with what you have, no need to upgrade it. Any case should be able to handle a CPU+IGP setup no problem.

By reusing the case, not buying a new PSU, and not buying the GPU, you have plenty of spare funds for an SSD; you save about $150. An SSD would be good to add to the rig along with the Blue HDD. Navigating the OS environment will never be the same after you get an SSD.

Agree with this. The Seagate 600 series 240GB is still $130 throughout this weekend. Needless to say, that's an excellent deal and will provide more of a performance boost than a slight tweak in processor.

 

[Blain]

I am still looking at the Lenovo.

The desktop linked from the Lenovo Outlet site is long gone.
I've found that if a configuration is listed there at a good price, they don't last long.
I missed out on one that didn't last 24hrs. I'm not a gamer, so the price was nice.

K450
i5-4430
GeForce GT630M
8GB DDR3
1TB 7200 HD
DVD burner
Windows 8 64bit
KB & mouse

@ $402.22 shipped