Budget PC that isn't crap? Looking to buy.

[KDOG]

So I'm in the market for a simple Windows 8/8.1 machine that isn't total junk. Of course I want the lowest price I can get too. (Who doesn't) . Can be a laptop as well. It can have onboard everything but I wouldn't mind being able to do some upgrading to it later (like graphics and adding memory etc) .
It will pretty much be an internet machine and mild multimedia duties like watching DVDs and music.
I'm rooting around the web of course but I'd like to hear your suggestions. Thanks.

 

[lyssword]

get cheapest 1150 mobo + intel g3220 as a start, would be perfect for your needs. g3220 has onboard graphics good enough for 1080p youtube

 

[ninaholic37]

It will pretty much be an internet machine and mild multimedia duties like watching DVDs and music.
I'm rooting around the web of course but I'd like to hear your suggestions. Thanks.

You can do all that with a Windows 7 or even an XP laptop (which you can also boot into Linux). 1GB of RAM and a Core2Duo or Pentium M should be enough to handle all that quite well. You can find used XP laptops with a DVD player for around $50-80.

 

[pw257008]

an XP machine with 1 GB of RAM, even running Linux, won't be a very enjoyable web experience.

 

[bgt]

get cheapest 1150 mobo + intel g3220 as a start, would be perfect for your needs. g3220 has onboard graphics good enough for 1080p youtube

Absolutely true. The G3220 feels quite fast. For the money.......a real bargain.
I have them coupled with ASRock H81M-HDS mobo's.

 

[KDOG]

So is it still cheaper to build a new PC than buy? Including OS? I have been into the building scene in a LONG time... And I would like to stay with a new machine too.
I'm not even sure what the latest Intel/AMD chipsets are....

Scouring Newegg now....

 

[bgt]

So is it still cheaper to build a new PC than buy? Including OS? I have been into the building scene in a LONG time... And I would like to stay with a new machine too.
I'm not even sure what the latest Intel/AMD chipsets are....

Scouring Newegg now....

It is always better to build your own PC. You will have total control over your quality demands. You won't regret a G3220 setup. This Haswell design feels smooth in a user experience:whiste:

 

[Doppel]

So is it still cheaper to build a new PC than buy? Including OS? I have been into the building scene in a LONG time... And I would like to stay with a new machine too.
I'm not even sure what the latest Intel/AMD chipsets are....

Scouring Newegg now....

I think if you have to pay $100 for the OS the math changes and favors buying a pre-built, since the OS seems a very small percentage of costs for a manufacturer, but you're stuck paying retail.

 

[you2]

I built a linux mini-itx box with g3220, 4gb ram and 120gb ssd for aruond $315; you could build a similar system for around $260 if you chose to wait for sales and use slighlty different component (the case I used was a bit on the high side @ $85 with psu). If you must have windows then the story is a bit different since, as doppel noted, the os will cost a bit if you have to buy it.
-
The above system took about 45 minutes to build; though the one i built previously took a bit longer.
-
Anyways that gives you a price point to compare with retail. If you can go with a slower system; there are a few mini-pc based around bay-trail hitting the market. With regards to performance they will be approx 1/3 the speed of the g3220 (which is about 30% faster than a mobile i3); also I *think* the g3220 is hd4400 and the bay-trail have hd4000 but not sure.

 

[KDOG]

I don't mind building. I know to start out with the good foundation - mobo, CPU, and memory. Don't mind throwing a little from tax return into it as well to get a quality machine but don't wanna go crazy either. I'm thinking of getting a smaller 1080 TV for combo use as monitor and TV. Still chewing on all this...

 

[cbn]

If you don't mind being limited by a low profile video card as the maximum upgrade for graphics, Core i3 pre-built SFF (Sllm) towers are usually on sale anywhere from $300 to $350. (This, of course, includes a Windows 8.1 license).

EDIT: Pentium versions of the same computer above usually go for much less.....around $250 to $300. A good reliable place to look is the Fry's electronics ad.

 

[KDOG]

OK still processing .... what's good p. The AMD side? What's there most current chipset? A88XM-E45? There's an MSI mATX mobo at newegg that looks like a good deal.

 

[lyssword]

The only thing I can think of is athlon x4 750k, which is better than 3220 in multithreaded, but at 80 is more expensive and it has no onboard graphics.
If you are really set on super-budget gaming, a6 6400k ($65 on newegg) will offer much better (2x fps maybe) gaming performance on integrated graphics than g3220, but in everything else a6 6400k processor will be around 70-75% speed of g3220.

 

[KDOG]

Well I put this together at newegg:

MSI A88XM-E45 FM2+/FM2 matx mobo

G.Skill Ares 8gb (2x4gb) DDR3 2133 memory

AMD A8-5500 3.2ghz Trinity quad core APU w Radeon 7560D

Win 8.1 64 bit OEM

LG Bluray burner 4mb cache

Crucial M500 120gb SSD

Total before tax and shipping - $486.94

I have a case with a good 350 Antec ps. I may need a wireless network adapter depending on where we want to put it in the house. I still have my good ol' Dell 20" widescreen that I've had for years but is still truckin along. This will get the PC functional. Still rubbing the chin, drumming the fingers and scratchin the head though.

 

[lyssword]

why not AMD A8-5600K?

 

[KDOG]

Hmmm good point...updated. I think the lower power consumption for roughly the same speed appealed to me.

 

[lyssword]

ok makes sense

 

[KDOG]

Heck, the A10 - 5800K 3.8/4.2ghz w/7660D for $129 looks decent.....but I see I'm tempting myself into higher and higher speeds.

 

[lyssword]

Yeah, never considered IGP for gaming setup, so I was talking about absolute cheapest $60 cpu, where haswel pentium wins. But yeah, A10-5800k is a strong contender vs i3 at that price point, which is same price but without the nice IGP.

 

[KDOG]

It won't be a super gaming setup, more of a all around use, multimedia - bluray playback machine.

 

[lyssword]

Well, I mentioned that if you do NO gaming at ALL, you will not notice any difference with g3220 (maybe step up to this http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listi...&condition=new ) and a10.
And also using much less power too. However, if you are using professional apps/editing, the 2 extra cores will help.
Any gaming at all, and you can ignore my recommendation.

 

[KDOG]

Well well well. Stopped by my dads to pick up the case and power supply because that's where its been for the last couple of years. To my surprise the whole computer was still all together. An ol' Jetway AM2 mono with a Phenom II CPU, running at 3.1ghz . May be overclocked, not sure. And 2x2GB of OCZ "Urban Elite" PC 12800 DDR3 memory. Has a Radeon HD 4670 card in it. Haven't looked at the HDD. But that doesn't really matter. I only wanted to get the case and Antec 500w earthwatts PS as a base to start. My dad - who is a bigger computer geek than me -gave me a 120g sata III SSD and 150 gb 10k regular hdd. Cool. Gives me a decent start though. I can use the ssd for the os and the other for mass storage. Maybe who knows. Don't think I can use the memory on a new mobo though, not enough anyway. More thinking.....

 

[shortylickens]

If you just wanna get on the internet and watch movies, I think you could get by on Linux and cheap hardware.

If you insist on Windows 8 then I'd have to recommend an eMachine.

 

[KDOG]

Lol.

But in all seriousness, the more I look at the memory it looks like it would be fine on a newer mobo. Has 8-8-8 timings too. I'm wondering if I could add more later but I'm still foggy on whether or not if I can use different memory modules in the other two slots as long as they are the same too? If so, Ill just get myself the new mobo, CPU and win 8.1.

(I'm seeing alot of people sticking with win7, is there a reason for that?)

EDIT: This is the memory that I have:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820227324

I notice its 1.9v but I see these other newer memory modules running at 1.3-1.65v. I don't see on the mobo product page the Max memory voltage supported. Would there be an issue there? Don't wanna damage anything. Thank you all for your help.

 

[you2]

You might want to skip on the 150gb 10k drive; it's probably a raptor; they had faster seek time than other drives and were good for small files (nothing like an ssd but better than traditional disks at the time). The problem is that compred to newer 1tb and 2tb drive they lack the bit density so they are a bit slow for large files (media, games) and such. Well at the very least you should test it before committing to it. Just don't underestimate bit denstiy of newer drives when it comes to transfer of large objects.