build a web browser PC $261, budget gamer $387

[VirtualLarry]

Celeron E3300 $39.99 Microcenter http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0327583
GA-G31M-ES2L $49.99 + $2.99 Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128357
Crucial 2GB DDR2-800 DIMM $45.99 Microcenter http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0285254
Case, 400W PSU, mouse, keyboard, speakers, $50 ewiz.com http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...r-Black-Silver
Sony 24X DVD burner $22 Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118030
WD Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7,200RPM SATA $49.99 Microcenter http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0252592


Total $261

BFG 9800GT low-power $79.99 Newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814143186
additional 2GB DIMM $45.99


Total $387

Unsure of whether or not the 400W PSU has SATA power plugs on it, it might not. The video card does NOT require a 6-pin PCI-E.

Edit: The choice of cases didn't come out right (forum bug)
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...r-Black-Silver
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=...r-Black-Silver

 

[jjmIII]

Not bad! Good prices all around.

 

[totalnoob]

No Microcenter in 95% of the country.

Fail.


----------------------------
YHPM

Common Courtesy
Anandtech Moderator

 

[pkp413]

At this price you are much much better off buying a $299 special deals at store where PC comes with Win 7 (unless you want a Linux box)

 

[LOUISSSSS]

i built a low priced system a month ago, i just couldn't resist the AMD x4 quad 620 for $99 (more discount with combos) and AMD's 785G chipset which is amazing for integrated graphics an supports a video card upgrade down the line. i did end up spending $600-700 for my system though (see below for specs) and i love every second of it. i know that if i built a $300-400 complete system i wouldn't be happy with: the aesthetics & the performance. shopping for deals such as newegg's combos and shell shockers are what you need to do when building a low priced system.

Specs of New HTPC/low priced system:
GB 785G mATX mb
AMD x4 620
2x2gb G.Skill
2x1TB WD Black
OCZ Modxstream 600
LG Sata DVD Burner
Antec MiniP180

______


i ended up adding these for the following reason
-Noctua D14 ($72) - employee discount at tiger direct
-Intel x25-M 80gb ($210) - was too used to Raptors, and HDDs are the biggest bottleneck in any system
-Gigabyte 5770 ($135) - wanted to game on my SONY XBR5, best bang/buck on the market for video cards

 

[VirtualLarry]

At this price you are much much better off buying a $299 special deals at store where PC comes with Win 7 (unless you want a Linux box)

I see what you mean. See what $300 will get you at Microcenter: http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0332780

2.8Ghz AMD dual-core, 3GB RAM, 500GB HD, Win7 HP 64-bit. It's a refurb, at that price, but it seems like a good value.

 

[Pardus]

Here's my choices:

COOLER MASTER Elite 360 RC-360-KKN1-GP Black Steel / Plastic ATX Mini Tower Computer Case: $29.99 pickup or $49.98 at newegg

Intel Celeron E3300 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor: $39.99 pickup or $51.99 newegg

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply: $45.98 newegg

ECS NSG210C-512QS-H GeForce 210 512MB 64-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card: $41.97 newegg

G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 (PC2 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-8500CL5D-2GBPK: $62 newegg

 

[Macgyversite]

Its a good system but there are plenty of options available out there.

Here is a decent place to buy a customizable system of tolerable quality and little coinage.

http://www.pcpartsohio.com/systemDetail.aspx?system_id=46&

 

[angminas]

Honest question, OP- with an e3300 and a 9800gt, would the extra 2GB really make much of a difference? I'd think any game that uses more than 2GB would be running at settings that cpu and gpu couldn't handle. Course, I only use XP...whaddya think?

 

[VirtualLarry]

Honest question, OP- with an e3300 and a 9800gt, would the extra 2GB really make much of a difference? I'd think any game that uses more than 2GB would be running at settings that cpu and gpu couldn't handle. Course, I only use XP...whaddya think?

Honestly, I don't know. I built a rig for my friend, with an IP35-E, an E5200 @ 3.625Ghz, and an overclocked 9600GSO (96SP model). It plays games fairly well at 1920x1200. He mainly plays MMORPGs, not FPSs though. Adding 2GB of RAM (4GB total), didn't seem to affect gameplay all that much, but it makes zoning in much faster. Once you load a level, windows caches that data in RAM if you have free RAM, meaning next time you return to that zone, it loads it directly from RAM again, rather than from disk.

But I'm pretty certain that outside of certain games, like SupCom, you could get along fine with only 2GB of RAM in XP.

If you are running Vista or Win7, though, definately get 4GB, the OS alone eats about 1.5GB.

 

[Modelworks]

If I wanted just a cheap pc for web, email, non gaming usage I would get something like this. $189

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...1W-R&cat=SYS89.

Color: White (peripherals are black/white)
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic SP1 pre-installed w/CoA
AMD Athlon 2650e 1.6 GHz processor
2 GB DDR2 RAM
160 GB hard drive
DVD±RW DL drive with Labelflash technology
NVIDIA GeForce 6150SE graphics
Embedded high definition audio with 5.1 channel surround sound support
56K modem
Integrated 10/100/1000 Gigabit Ethernet
Multi-in-one card reader
Includes matching mouse, keyboard and speakers

It is really hard to beat OEM refurbs on price.

 

[bamacre]

It is really hard to beat OEM refurbs on price.

Yeah, that's true...

 

[killster1]

i agree with refurb i see tiger direct and buy.com with outstanding refurb prices (i would choose diff mobo always) , but have few questions. Why would you buy motherboard with 2 ram slots (does dual channel matter these days?)? Why buy 40$ g31 seems like every frys combo comes with a motherboard just like this one,

I personally prefer the buy.com elite coolermaster cases very cheap (window cool colors and 120mm front and back fan) also Free shipping (mine came next day was shocked) Not sure how a 9800gt pars against a 4850 but used ones are going for like 75 now days, last of all the power supply, doest everyone in world say dont use a no name power supply no matter what computer it is and to make that the best part of your computer?

oh check out the cooling the case has.

Cooling System: 1x 80mm Rear Fan (Optional); 1x 80mm Side Fan (Optional); Side

so no front fan option! no rear fan no side fan just optional wonder if the psu has a fan this is going to be a quiet setup! (unless you choose to buy 80mm fans)

 

[Pardus]

bamacre, not bad--
dell generic 6gig ram, $130
cpu is $65,
burner, $17
hd, $60
dell generic mb, $25

you could build that for the same price, but the ram would have to come down some. you will prob want to replace there ps and get a good gpu.

 

[bamacre]

There is no such thing as "Dell generic ram."

It's not what you'd want for overclocking, and the PSU isn't good for a gamer, but you can't beat the price, and that's the point.

 

[VirtualLarry]

oh check out the cooling the case has.

Cooling System: 1x 80mm Rear Fan (Optional); 1x 80mm Side Fan (Optional); Side

so no front fan option!

That's not unusual. Very few cases have front fans, or spots for one. Antec 300, RaidMax Tornado, Chieftec Dragon, are the few exceptions. Well, and the larger "gaming" cases too.

 

[sgrinavi]

Its a good system but there are plenty of options available out there.

Here is a decent place to buy a customizable system of tolerable quality and little coinage.

http://www.pcpartsohio.com/systemDetail.aspx?system_id=46&

Wow, amazing prices. Even an E7300 system would be under $300. Looks like reasonable shipping to boot.

 

[VirtualLarry]

Wow, amazing prices. Even an E7300 system would be under $300. Looks like reasonable shipping to boot.

I didn't think so. An AMD X2 5000, 2GB DDR2, 320GB HD, 16X DVD burner, Vista Home Premium, restore DVD, 400W PSU, and a 1-year warranty is $417 or so. Not really a bargain. My deal is arguably better.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If I wanted just a cheap pc for web, email, non gaming usage I would get something like this. $189

http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?inv...1W-R&cat=SYS89.


It is really hard to beat OEM refurbs on price.

I got the ET1810 model at TigerDirect for $190 too, except that it was new, not refurb. And it's a 1.6Ghz C2D single-core, not an AMD 1.6Ghz single-core.

 

[killster1]

I got the ET1810 model at TigerDirect for $190 too, except that it was new, not refurb. And it's a 1.6Ghz C2D single-core, not an AMD 1.6Ghz single-core.

1.6 ghz c2d single-core hehe i thought c2d = core 2 duo, not core 1 solo c1s funny tho either way, to bad no microcenter never even seen one in real life just heard the great deals but have been to frys ;/

 

[mikeford]

Could be worse, I have two Fry's and Micro Center within 20 min, but can't make up my mind what to get.

 

[Lanyap]

bamacre, not bad--
dell generic 6gig ram, $130
cpu is $65,
burner, $17
hd, $60
dell generic mb, $25

you could build that for the same price, but the ram would have to come down some. you will prob want to replace there ps and get a good gpu.

If you are going to compare at least put everything in the list. You forgot a few things and some of the items you listed are a little more unless you wait around for a deal on them.

dell generic 6gig ram, $130 > $150 (2G x 3 of quality name brand DDR2 RAM)
cpu is $65
burner, $17 > $25 (This is the normal price for a DVD burner)
hd, $60
dell generic mb, $25 > $40 (Dell uses name brand manufacturers)

Case + $25 (Dell case is a little flimsy so I kept this at a cheap price)
PSU + $25 (Dell PSUs are low wattage but normally high quality)
Windows 7 Home Premium OEM + $100
One year warranty from one company.
No need to test.

Total = $490

BTW, I picked up a similar 546 with Vista and not as much RAM a few weeks ago for $229 + tax.

Inspiron Desktop 546 MiniTower Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic 1 $229.00
Certified Refurbished
Optical 2-Button Mouse
USB Keyboard
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
320 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
Processor: AMD Athlon II X2 240 (2.8GHz, 2MB)
Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
Microsoft Works 9.0
Dell 1525 Wireless-N PCIe Card
1 Yr Limited Hardware Warranty, In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis
Subtotal: $229.00
Shipping and Handling: $29.99
Shipping Discount: -$29.99
Sales tax: $18.32
Total Amount: $247.32

 

[killster1]

Could be worse, I have two Fry's and Micro Center within 20 min, but can't make up my mind what to get.

really thats worse? i just buy used e5200 for 40 bux if i want budget cpu enough people live near and change their mind on the forums that it helps out, i just dont get the option of a 10$ motherboard with 2 ram slots and cramped layout (id prob just throw it to the hardware pile anyway)