Building PC for my dad

fschris

Member
Jan 18, 2011
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0
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The only thing I am looking for is a smooth Web experience. he does not game. He may watch some streaming Netflix. He does not want a laptop I even tried to talk him into it. Going to build him a solid PC with solid parts. Rather than buy a POS dell.

What do you think of this:

"Intel Core i3-3220 Ivy Bridge 3.3GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 2500 " 119 at new egg.

I will pair this with a ASUS z77 Mobo
ASUS P8Z77-M LGA 1155 Intel Z77

Thoughts?
 

owensdj

Golden Member
Jul 14, 2000
1,711
6
81
That looks like a good start. Remember to use a quality power supply. Maybe something like a SeaSonic S12II 430B 430W. 430W is probably more than the system really needs, but it's good to have the extra headroom for capacitor aging over time.

I wouldn't go any lower than an 8GB(2x4GB) dual channel memory kit, given today's prices.
 

fschris

Member
Jan 18, 2011
79
0
61
cool... thanks for tip on PS. I know the ones in off the shelf pc are complete garbage
 

Cerb

Elite Member
Aug 26, 2000
17,484
33
86
That mobo is expensive. What kind of video connections do you need or want?

Here are several boards that don't cost too much, to consider. Note that I did not take the time to check their CPU lists, in case you find that any don't support IB, and stick with your IB i3 CPU :).
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157326
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157236
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157303 <- lehtv's selected board
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138357
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813130655
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131842

And, here are some nice cases for not too much...but not cheap, either.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811352011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811112354
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811163186
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129018

On the off chance you want something big and roomy, Corsair's 300R is nice, but I'm not sure that's remotely justified for run of the mill web box.

Edit: were I doing it, I would get the stubby Silverstone, a board with USB 3.0 mobo headers (such as the ASRock H77M), and then install a 3.5" card reader in the top 5.25" slot (the case includes a 3.5" adapter and plate).

Finally, whether even an i3 is worth it should, IMO, depend on what you think will be done when the PC is retired. If you commonly re-purpose old PCs, an i3 now might be worth it in several years. If not, nobody will notice the difference with a Pentium.
 
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Zap

Elite Member
Oct 13, 1999
22,377
7
81
Here is my attempt at a pure web browsing machine.

Pentium G2120 Ivy Bridge dual core CPU $100
Low power draw with decent performance. What more does a web browsing machine need? Alternately go for older lower end Sandy Bridge chips starting around $64

stock cooler $FREE
Enable a silent fan profile in BIOS.

H77 chipset ITX mobo $100
USB 3.0 and SATA 6G for a fully modern experience. Alternately go for lower end motherboards starting around $57 but without USB 3.0 or SATA 6G.

8GB RAM $33
I don't think web browsing would get any better with faster or more RAM. Heck, can probably even drop down to 4GB for around $19.

Plextor M5S 128GB SSD $100
SSD deals change on a daily basis, so whatever is good and at a good price. Can even drop down to 64GB for $60 or less since that should be more than enough for web browsing. My mom's system uses an Intel/Kingston 40GB for Windows 7 and pure web browsing, and it still has a lot of free space even with an email client and a bunch of photos.

Antec ISK 110 VESA with power supply $74
Ah yes. My recent favorite recommendation. If you don't need to install a graphics card (or any other card), don't need much storage space and don't need to use an optical drive on a regular basis, then why not such a case?

$407 + OS for specified list

Alternately, with Pentium G620 CPU, cheap H61 ITX motherboard, 4GB RAM and 64GB SSD.

$274 + OS

Even that $274 setup will browse web pages like a champ.