Ideas Needed For Budget Build

[Gorrillasnot]

I am a glutton for punishment and am taking on a build for a new PC for a friend.
Only need the tower built with no OS or peripherals. I would like to do a i5 if possible and the budget is $450 max including s/h
Purpose of the PC will be everyday stuff with no gaming.

I tried piecing together a system individually and I couldn't get under $450

The best thing I could find is this DIY kit from newegg http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboB...t=Combo.752648

Since this will be an everyday non gaming PC would a i3 be that noticeably slower?

any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

[jpeyton]

i3-2100 $120
H67 Mobo $60
4GB DDR3 $20
DVDRW $20
Case/PSU $60
1TB HDD $60

 

[fourdegrees11]

Is there a reason you want an i5 for a basic non gaming pc? Unless your friend is doing something cpu intensive that's overkill. Here's another option:

Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition 3.2GHz $112

http://www.amazon.com/AMD-HDZ955FBGM...1868772&sr=8-1

ASUS M4N68T-M V2 AM3 NVIDIA Geforce 7025/nForce 630a Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $55

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131669

OCZ 60gb SSD $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820227550

HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive W/ Free 24X DVD Burner - $100

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145299

Corsair Vengeance Blu 8 GB (2X4 GB) PC3-12800 1600mHz DDR3 - $40

http://www.amazon.com/Corsair-Vengea...1869056&sr=1-2

COOLER MASTER Elite 310 RC-310-BKR2-GP Black with blue front panel Steel Body / ABS plastic front bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 420W Power Supply - $50

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119210

$456 Shipped

Having the SSD to run the OS should make things very fast, in addition to still having a very good quad core, and 8gb of ram.

 

[JWade]

i would check out the delloutlet to save some money, here is an Inspiron 620 for $329

•Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz , 3 MB Cache)
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
•Inspiron Desktop 620
•1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
•4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW Drive

(has wireless too)

this one is an xps 8300 and is $439 and has wireless too

•Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 processor (6MB Cache, 2.8GHz)
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
•XPS 8300
•1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
•6 GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz, (2X2G/2X1G)
•16X DVD +/- RW Drive

 

[Meghan54]

Do you live near a MicroCenter or know anyone who does? If you do, you can piece together a nice quad core system for around $250, sans hard drive.

 

[Bman123]

Buy a sandy bridge celeron and call it a day, my g530 is equal to a E7300 CPU and runs internet browsing, Netflix, hulu no problem at all. You can easily build a complete tower for $300. No reason at all to go with anything higher then the new sb celeron if its just a web browser machine.

Low power, quiet with very good performance for super cheap

 

[mrcmtl]

i3-2100 $120
H67 Mobo $60
4GB DDR3 $20
DVDRW $20
Case/PSU $60
1TB HDD $60

I'm afraid that HDD prices aren't that low at the moment...

 

[BD231]

Whatever you do don't get him a i3-2100, dual cores blow.

 

[GoStumpy]

Whatever you do don't get him a i3-2100, dual cores blow.

 

[Bman123]

+1 lol

 

[happy medium]

i3 2100 = phenom II x4 965 when gaming. Plus a good upgrade path for future gaming needs.

 

[Puppies04]

Whatever you do don't get him a i3-2100, dual cores blow.

Lies make baby jesus cry!!

 

[fourdegrees11]

i3 2100 = phenom II x4 965 when gaming. Plus a good upgrade path for future gaming needs.

Hmmm

Purpose of the PC will be everyday stuff with no gaming.


Since this will be an everyday non gaming PC would a i3 be that noticeably slower?

 

[ShadowVVL]

If by everyday stuff you mean web browsing,music,youtub,watching dvds and looking a pics of naked girls then get the i3 or pentium G620.

no point in getting a i5 since the i3 and G620 are already overkill for everyday stuff.

 

[Bman123]

Get the celeron g530, its enough for what you need believe me I got one, its equal to a E7300 and the cheapest listed so far

 

[happy medium]

i3 2100 is more than enough for your needs. Plus a good upgrade path for future needs.

fixed it for ya

 

[formulav8]

Just get a dual core something. Even single core is fine for the basic stuff. For email, web stuff, and even youtube a single core and especially dual core would be just fine. You can get a decent $40 AMD mobo, $50 dual core and even overclock to get even more speed from it. Greedy Intel unfortunately killed overclocking on their low end chips. But the Celeron even at stock can handle your requirements just fine.

Jason

 

[Uppsala9496]

As others have mentioned, go with AMD if you want a non-gaming budget build.
Have a microcenter near you? You can get an X6 with mobo for $149.

 

[Gorrillasnot]

Nope no microcenter near me.

I have decided (I think) to go with an i3 or amd equivalent if the amd would be a better bang for the buck.

Here is my updated newegg wish list http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=17747332

Note: the hard drive comes with a free pc case.

Someone mentioned a $60 h67 motherboard but newegg had none that I could find that cheap so I picked a h61.

anything you would change?

If there is an AMD cpu and motherboard cheaper with similar performance I'd consider that as well.

thanks for any more ideas/help

 

[Uppsala9496]

Your mobo/cpu combo is coming in at $200. You should be able to spend that on AMD parts and do a little better.
ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131657
$80

AMD Phenom II X2 555 Black Edition Callisto 3.2GHz Socket AM3 80W Dual-Core Desktop Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103846
$87.99

Should be able to unlock to 4 cores with no issues. Even if you don't that processor is an overclocking beast. A mild overclock to 3.6 is simple.
An aftermarket cooler is cheap.
COOLER MASTER Hyper TX3 RR-910-HTX3-G1 "Heatpipe Direct Contact" 92mm CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103064
$20

If the case can fit the 212+ that's even better.
You can find it on amazon for $25.

XIGMATEK Gaia SD1283 120mm Long Life Bearing CPU Cooler
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...-35233082-L02D
$5 after rebate.

FWIW I would spend a little less on a HD and get a decent case and psu. BB has the antec 300 on sale for $35.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply
$35 after rebate.

 

[happy medium]

i would check out the delloutlet to save some money, here is an Inspiron 620 for $329

•Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 (3.1GHz , 3 MB Cache)
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
•Inspiron Desktop 620
•1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
•4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHz (2 DIMMs)
•16X DVD +/- RW Drive

(has wireless too)

this one is an xps 8300 and is $439 and has wireless too

•Processor: Intel Core i5-2300 processor (6MB Cache, 2.8GHz)
•Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
•XPS 8300
•1 TB SATA II Hard Drive (7200RPM)
•6 GB DDR3 SDRAM at 1333MHz, (2X2G/2X1G)
•16X DVD +/- RW Drive

These are good options.

 

[Gorrillasnot]

couldn't find a XPS 8300 at that price but did find an Inspiron 620 i5 2310 for $429..would that be a decent deal?