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Low-end non-gaming PC help

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interchange

Diamond Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
I'll be doing generally web browsing. I'll also be doing some programming in NetBeans IDE. Also will be doing some office work, but not a whole lot and don't need genuine office. Will be using citrix to remote to different work sites, which can be a memory hog. I don't do any gaming any more, so on-board video should more than suffice.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
All-in budget is $500 including OS & monitor

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA
Friday/Saturday are also no-tax day so in-store deals @ Microcenter would be great; also will do things on-line as needed. No urgency to get everything together.

4. N/A

5. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Nope. Not a fanboy here.

6. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I have an optical drive + mouse/keyboard. I have a monitor but will be looking to upgrade this. Possibly use it as 2nd monitor.

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
Doesn't matter to me. If there's a setup that's overclock oriented and saves me $ for same performance, I'm game.

8. What resolution, not monitor size, will you be using?
Don't have a monitor so it doesn't really matter. Whatever native resolution on a 20" range LCD is fine.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Within the next couple of weeks. Again, end of week would be a good time for me to pick up local deals -- no sales tax.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?
Yeah. I need an OS. Probably windows 7, but if anyone wants to convince me to try 8.1 I'm listening.
 
You're more than likely looking at a prebuilt something or other from Dell Outlet. I'll scrounge something up as a build, but it is going to be a little tight...

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/trPZ99
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/trPZ99/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.27 @ TigerDirect)
Monitor: Acer S220HQLAbd 21.5" Monitor ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $523.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-30 08:27 EDT-0400

Just a hair over budget. You might be able to get the CPU/MB at Microcenter for $99 I hear (probably not that board), which would get you under $500.

If you throw in another hundred you could stand to up the storage drive to 2 or 3 TB relatively cheaply, and maybe replace your keyboard and mouse.

EDIT: I went with a 1920x1080 monitor because resolution helps you do a LOT of things. It's a lot easier to work in a larger space than it is a smaller one.
 
Last edited:
As for Windows...

Windows 7 goes end of support in 2020. Windows 8 in 2023.

If you don't like the metro interface, there are ways to get around it. I use it at work and it's taken a little time, but I like it overall. I still use 7 at home as it is just fine, but if buying now I'd have a very hard time plunking down any money on an older operating system. Both are very reliable, it's just a matter of difference in interface for most people, and to me, once you get used to what Win8 does, it's great.
 
mvbighead said:
You're more than likely looking at a prebuilt something or other from Dell Outlet.
Click to expand...

I've built two $400-500 general purpose PC in the past 6 months and they both came in around what a comparable Dell would cost. OP, you biggest disadvantage is you need both an OS and a new monitor... which means a $400 PC with a $100 monitor (or thereabouts.) If you don't mind building your own PC, MV's build is on the right track...
 
mvbighead said:
You're more than likely looking at a prebuilt something or other from Dell Outlet. I'll scrounge something up as a build, but it is going to be a little tight...

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/trPZ99
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/trPZ99/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI B85M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team Vulcan 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($68.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Plextor M5S Series 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Constellation ES 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($50.00 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($97.27 @ TigerDirect)
Monitor: Acer S220HQLAbd 21.5" Monitor ($104.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $523.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-30 08:27 EDT-0400

Just a hair over budget. You might be able to get the CPU/MB at Microcenter for $99 I hear (probably not that board), which would get you under $500.

If you throw in another hundred you could stand to up the storage drive to 2 or 3 TB relatively cheaply, and maybe replace your keyboard and mouse.

EDIT: I went with a 1920x1080 monitor because resolution helps you do a LOT of things. It's a lot easier to work in a larger space than it is a smaller one.
Click to expand...

Why are you suggesting the unlocked Pentium? There's no reason to get it.
 
Techhog said:
Why are you suggesting the unlocked Pentium? There's no reason to get it.
Click to expand...

Because there is no reason not to get it:
http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/19...e_G3258_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_G3420.html

It's priced the same as the G3420. All in all, in gives the OP flexibility in the future should they decide they want to OC.

Granted, I may not have picked an optimal board for that, but nonetheless, the CPU fit the pricepoint and appeared to meet or exceed the feature set of the other option at CPU.
 
monkeydelmagico said:
Lenovo pre-built quad core for $300 after promo code "USPH5053717"
The HD4000 onboard graphics and Win8 seal the deal IMHO

Add an Acer 24" for $120.- using promo code "monitors" and your good to go.

If you want to build your own check out Ken's thread and just skip the GPU leaving room for a screen: http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2389797
Click to expand...

Not sure that is entirely a sealed deal:

http://cpuboss.com/cpus/Intel-Pentium-J2850-vs-Intel-Pentium-G3420

While it is a Quad, it is a very low powered quad. And should the CPU be terribad for the OP, he has to replace the whole gamut to make a change.

Definitely a good deal on that system, but it has no SSD and what appears to be an inferior CPU.
 
mvbighead said:
No OS or monitor, so that'd be way outside OP's budget when you add those two items.

I was wondering how you fit an I5... and I didn't figure it was really possible given the smaller budget.
Click to expand...

Well, yeah, but:

1) I'm assuming his existing monitor is okay.

2) If he's a developer, there's a very good chance he can finagle MSDN or work-at-home volume licensing access, which means Windows licenses for $0->$20, depending.
 
Thanks for the help thus far!

To clarify a few things:
#1 I do need a monitor upgrade (as stated in original post)
#2 thx for triggering something. I'm not a developer, just a hobbyist, but I think I can get an OS + office on the cheap as University faculty, which I hadn't thought of. That might open up say $50 to add to the build
#3 as I don't do any gaming nor collect movies, music, etc. I really don't need much in the way of hard drive space. A 120GB SSD should be more than enough, and actually I didn't think SSD would be in the budget. Unfortunately looks like the plextor went back up in price

RE: the P G3258 vs i5 discussion...this is where I fall short as I don't know what would make most sense for me. If I'm not doing any gaming, would overclocking (gently with stock cooler) the G3258 actually be a better way to go? Also, I would need help picking the right motherboard given the overclocking requirement and budget. FYI I can get it for $59 at microcenter, saving $10. I'm also probably going to go with the $120 24" monitor suggestion.
 
If you have microcenter nearby use it. The CPU/mobo combo's are nearly impossible to beat. It allows you to step up to a nice i3 cpu with HD4600 graphics.

CPU and Motherboard: i3-4360 with a Gigabyte GA-H81 is around $150 after rebate at microcenter

Memory: IBM 4gb $29.- if you can pad your order to $35.- otherwise a 4gb stick of kingston is $42.- at microcenter

Storage: Patriot 240gb $99.- AR

Case: Fractal core 1000 $20.- AR Kind of a big case for your build but it's cheap and good.

Power Supply: EVGA 430w $15.- AR

Operating System: Cheap using university discount

Monitor: Acer 24" for $120.- using promo code "monitors"

Total: Around $440 before operating system

Unfortunately some of these deals are only good through the end of the day. Rebates can be a hassle.
 
Assuming your deal for the OS is around $20 (I think faculty university pricing should be something like that, maybe less). This would cover all the bases:

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fXb7GX
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/fXb7GX/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor ($117.00 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: PNY Optima 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($69.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: PNY Optima 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G246HLAbd 60Hz 24.0" Monitor ($119.70 @ Newegg)
Total: $483.65
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-07-31 10:36 EDT-0400

Substitute the MicroCenter bundle and the Monitor of preference, and it may come out a little cheaper.
 
I'd guess that a PC like that will be faster than anything prebuilt in that price range. What makes it even nicer is that you know none of it is proprietary and it is fully upgradeable.
 
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