Fastest processor I can get for $50?

[zijin_cheng]

Hey guys, my dad wants me to build the best desktop possible for $200 after tax, so about $175 before tax. Also, we live in Canada, so any U.S. deals will have to be online because we can only drive to the border and driving to stores like Microcenter are too far away.

I am looking for the best processor for $50. I saw the Phenom II for $50 at Microcenter, but that is B&M only so not an option for me

 

[Arachnotronic]

Celeron G530.

 

[Maximilian]

Celeron G530.

-^

 

[TJCS]

Assuming you have zero parts on hand, here is my recommendation:

1) Tell your dad to stop being so goddamn cheap. Tell him you can't even buy a dell with $200.

2) Camp craigslist or AT For Sale section for deals. (Depending how valuable your time is, this may already be more than $200).

3) Tell him you will look into it until he tells you $300 is ok.

 

[gevorg]

Nexus 7

 

[I4AT]

What does he plan on doing with it? An E-350 bookshelf setup might be the best choice in that price range. Hope he's comfortable with Linux cause I doubt you'll find a $200 machine with an OS, unless the Lenovo/Dell outlets ship refurbs to Canada. Even then it'll probably be an old Core Duo based machine.

 

[Vesku]

Yes, look for refurbished units.

http://www.newegg.ca/Product/Product...CE&PageSize=20

 

[Zap]

3) Tell him you will look into it until he tells you $300 is ok.

Brilliant!

"Hey son, a month ago I asked about a computer for $200."

"Yeah dad, still looking, ain't finding any at that price."

 

[Anth Seebel]

I vote 2nd hand Q6600.

 

[EliteRetard]

Yar $200 cant get you much, a used 2GHz C2D with XP...but $300 can get you allot.

Several months ago I found this new Dell for $330 after tax/shipping (with a coupon code) for my dad:

Dell Purchase ID: 200-(edit)-216‏

Inspiron Desktop 620
16X DVD +/- RW Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB
1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz , 3 MB Cache)
6 GB DDR3 Memory (1X2G/1X4G), 1333MHz
Dell 2-Button Mouse
Dell USB Entry Keyboard
Microsoft Office Starter
125V Power Cord
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Operating System DVD



Insp 620 MT: 1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis (Included in Price) $0.00 1 $0.00
Subtotal: $303.20
Shipping and Handling: $29.99
Shipping Discount: -$29.99
Sales Tax: $25.47
Total Amount: $328.67

Tell him to bump his budget and keep your eye out. Shouldn't be to hard to find a good i3 system for $300 even in Canada. It should be vastly better than anything at $200.

 

[hans007]

you can MAYBE get a G620 for $50. but yeah other wise celeron G530 or 540

 

[zijin_cheng]

Assuming you have zero parts on hand, here is my recommendation:

1) Tell your dad to stop being so goddamn cheap. Tell him you can't even buy a dell with $200.

2) Camp craigslist or AT For Sale section for deals. (Depending how valuable your time is, this may already be more than $200).

3) Tell him you will look into it until he tells you $300 is ok.

Please, I don't appreciate 1) even if forum rules allow it, and yes, I already found parts that cost a total of $220 after taxes NOT ON SALE but they suck, it was an Athlon X2 I think, so waiting for sale prices I'm sure I can get $20 by IR or MIR.

Nexus 7

Haha I actually did get one, but the screen was way too small (for me ) so I returned it. And its $236 up here in Canada after taxes

Brilliant!

"Hey son, a month ago I asked about a computer for $200."

"Yeah dad, still looking, ain't finding any at that price."

At my local computer store, there is an A4-3400 APU going for $60 regular price, I might get it for him, how does the A4-3400 stack up to the G530? Mostly buried my head in the gaming series of CPUs, and now my overall CPU knowledge is lacking.

Also, another point I forgot to make, reason why I can get the price to $220 is because we don't need Windows 7, my University gives out free copies of Windows 7, so we don't have to buy it.

 

[_Rick_]

At that price your best bet is an E350 on a board, which should be around 80-100 dollars for a decent combination.
That won't blow anyone's socks off, but for example the ASRock E350M1 should enable a cheap build like that.
Not sure how another 110 dollars are going to cover enclosure, PSU, RAM and HDD, but I guess it's not completely impossible.

 

[fralexandr]

g530 vs a4-3400
http://www.anandtech.com/show/5005/holiday-budget-system-buyers-guide/2

ncix has the g540 for under $50
http://ncix.com/products/?sku=63934&vpn=BX80623G540&manufacture=Intel

 

[EliteRetard]

Bench?

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/CPU/2

 

[zijin_cheng]

At that price your best bet is an E350 on a board, which should be around 80-100 dollars for a decent combination.
That won't blow anyone's socks off, but for example the ASRock E350M1 should enable a cheap build like that.
Not sure how another 110 dollars are going to cover enclosure, PSU, RAM and HDD, but I guess it's not completely impossible.

He doesn't use his computer much except for Internet, Word, and some low level programming,

there is a case + 350W PSU (probably crappy) for $30
2GB RAM for $10 (i'll add in another 2GB when its not enough)
$40 for a 60GB SSD (Agility 3)

So yup with that combo it comes up to about $180-190...


And it seems like the Athlon X2 is actually a better choice than the 3300, maybe I will go with a G530, possible to get a $50 1155 mobo?

About the E-350, don't you guys think the G530/Athlon X2 would be a bit faster?

 

[Cerb]

Buying a whole used computer is basically the only way to make that work, unless you are using Linux, which is not something you've mentioned. Assuming Windows, that $220 parts selection will quickly become $310-320, once you want it to run the OS.

Here is an example of a decent used computer, with Vista Business. The ones they get with 7, or reload w/ 7, sell out faster than Vista ones.

About the E-350, don't you guys think the G530/Athlon X2 would be a bit faster?

G530: YES.
A64 X2: depends on speed and task, but I'd err on the side of the X2 being faster.

 

[guskline]

Brilliant!

"Hey son, a month ago I asked about a computer for $200."

"Yeah dad, still looking, ain't finding any at that price."

Agreed. :sneaky:

 

[fralexandr]

http://ncix.com/products/?sku=71312&vpn=H61M-HVS&manufacture=ASRock
close to $50

the g530 will be significantly faster than the e-350
the e-350 will still browse and do generic office stuff smoothly enough unless you start going crazy with the tabs and don't have adblock (those flash ads are a bitch)

 

[StrangerGuy]

Yar $200 cant get you much, a used 2GHz C2D with XP...but $300 can get you allot.

Several months ago I found this new Dell for $330 after tax/shipping (with a coupon code) for my dad:

Dell Purchase ID: 200-(edit)-216‏

Inspiron Desktop 620
16X DVD +/- RW Drive
AMD Radeon HD 6450 1GB
1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz , 3 MB Cache)
6 GB DDR3 Memory (1X2G/1X4G), 1333MHz
Dell 2-Button Mouse
Dell USB Entry Keyboard
Microsoft Office Starter
125V Power Cord
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Operating System DVD



Insp 620 MT: 1 Yr Ltd Hardware Warranty, In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis (Included in Price) $0.00 1 $0.00
Subtotal: $303.20
Shipping and Handling: $29.99
Shipping Discount: -$29.99
Sales Tax: $25.47
Total Amount: $328.67

Tell him to bump his budget and keep your eye out. Shouldn't be to hard to find a good i3 system for $300 even in Canada. It should be vastly better than anything at $200.

omgDell, that is a killer deal at $300. Even better if the 6450 can be taken out to reduce the price so one can put in an aftermarket 7750. That will be like the most bang of the buck gaming system ever.

 

[frozentundra123456]

Agreed. :sneaky:

I would also be very reluctant to cheap out that much. After all, a computer should last several years if you build or buy a decent system. 200.00 is really scraping the bottom of the barrel. If you put another 100.00 into the system and it lasted 3 years, that is less than 3.00 per month. Seems like it would be easy to put that into it in order to have a nicer system that will be faster and more future proof.

 

[Durvelle27]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103886

 

[zijin_cheng]

Buying a whole used computer is basically the only way to make that work, unless you are using Linux, which is not something you've mentioned. Assuming Windows, that $220 parts selection will quickly become $310-320, once you want it to run the OS.

Here is an example of a decent used computer, with Vista Business. The ones they get with 7, or reload w/ 7, sell out faster than Vista ones.

G530: YES.
A64 X2: depends on speed and task, but I'd err on the side of the X2 being faster.

I actually posted a few posts before this I don't need to buy windows 7 because my university gives out free copies

Let's me post on my dads situation for clarifiaction.

He doesn't game at all, except for Galaxian. This is the first time he's upgrading a computer in 6 years, and he wont be upgrading for probably another 6, so don't worry about upgrade paths.

I know the mentality here, which is the same as mine, bump up the price a tad and get vastly better specs, which is what i did for my video card, got a 7850, but since my dad wont be doing anything stressful on his computer, even if of saves $30 and the computer u get is vastly crappier, do it. They philosophy is, get the price as low as possible at all costs. But again there's a limit to that, which is anything C2D first gen or lower don't, because its not worth it.

 

[JAG87]

I would get a refurb like Cerb suggested for <$150, slap in another 2GB of ram (you can get it for cheap or even free sometimes), slap in a 60GB SSD in it for the OS, and call it a day.

If you want to go DYI, the best CPU would be a used Q6600, but trust me it will end up costing you more than $200 between case, psu, ram, mobo (you'd have to get one with integrated video), and it's far more trouble than it's worth.

Also as a side note, if you know anybody that works for a large company, you may want to ask them to ask their IT dept. what they are doing with old machines after a refresh, as many times we will call IT recycling companies to collect old machines as garbage (as long as they are not leased machines). I can tell you that we have been getting rid of Dell GX620s, and soon we will get rid of 745s, which are excellent machines for what you need. If you have a friend in a large company that knows IT, or even better who is in IT, they can probably get you a decent machine for free, if they get to it before the recycling company comes by once every quarter.

 

[frozentundra123456]

I actually posted a few posts before this I don't need to buy windows 7 because my university gives out free copies

Let's me post on my dads situation for clarifiaction.

He doesn't game at all, except for Galaxian. This is the first time he's upgrading a computer in 6 years, and he wont be upgrading for probably another 6, so don't worry about upgrade paths.

I know the mentality here, which is the same as mine, bump up the price a tad and get vastly better specs, which is what i did for my video card, got a 7850, but since my dad wont be doing anything stressful on his computer, even if of saves $30 and the computer u get is vastly crappier, do it. They philosophy is, get the price as low as possible at all costs. But again there's a limit to that, which is anything C2D first gen or lower don't, because its not worth it.

If he plans to not upgrade for another 6 years, all the more reason to spend an extra 100.00 or so and get a much faster system. I just dont understand the mentality of being so absolutely price minimizing on a computer, considering all the other things we spend money on, but hey, it is his decision.