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Need help putting a new system together (under $700-800)

Z

zuffy

Senior member
Trying to put a system together for my brother in law. He said the budget is $700-800, including the monitor. He wants something small so I assume micro ATX should be good. Will play some games but nothing major. Definitely a Sandy Bridge processor. As for motherboard, power supply, video card, monitor, etc., too many to pick from so need help with recommendation.

He's in no hurry so I will definitely checkout Newegg's Shell Shocker and deals for any bundle deals. Will give him my 300GB Velociraptor drive for the OS or maybe one of my Intel SSD.
 
Does it have to be a sandy bridge processor? Given that you are looking at a mATX system, light gaming I think you would be better off with a llano based system. Be a lot easier to come close or even under your budget.

For a monitor I'll recommend a Dell Ultrasharp e-IPS monitor. They have a 21.5, 23, 24 available and usually one or more of them are on sale.
 
I would head to the General hardware section, they could definitely hook you up. You can almost certainly put something together within that budget, especially if gaming isn't a huge concern.
 
ctk1981 said:
Does it have to be a sandy bridge processor? Given that you are looking at a mATX system, light gaming I think you would be better off with a llano based system. Be a lot easier to come close or even under your budget.

For a monitor I'll recommend a Dell Ultrasharp e-IPS monitor. They have a 21.5, 23, 24 available and usually one or more of them are on sale.
Click to expand...

Just trying to future proof a bit with the processor. The worse start of a new system is a CPU that just meet today's need but not for tomorrow. As for the monitor, I spoke with him today. I mention the Dell Ultrasharp but the 24" is close to $400. I know the 23" is in the $250 range but prefer the extra inch. I will get him a TN panel.
 
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
Internet surfing and lite gaming

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread
$700-800 including monitor

3. What country YOU will be buying YOUR parts from.
USA

4. IF YOU have a brand preference. That means, are you an Intel-Fanboy, AMD-Fanboy, ATI-Fanboy, nVidia-Fanboy, Seagate-Fanboy, WD-Fanboy, etc.
Intel processor only and prefer Nvidia video card

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
300GB Velociraptor for OS and possible an Intel SSD for OS.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.
No

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
default speed

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.
No idea since it's for my brother-in-law. Since gaming is lite, I would assume it's not a priority on the highest quality

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Probably 1-2 months

10. Don't ask for a build configuration critique or rating if you are thin skinned.
All suggestions are welcome
 
It would be best to ask these types of questions about a week before you actually buy, because stuff can change in 2 months, plus prices can change considerably due to sales. Otherwise, here's one possible build overview. Items where I did not list specific brand/model means you can just buy anything that's cheap, as they are mostly the same. Thus, the dollar amount would be the amount you can expect to budget.

Intel Core i3-2100 $120
H67 chipset mATX motherboard $80 (choose anything with USB 3.0)
stock cooler
DDR3 4GB RAM $20 or 8GB RAM $35
DVD writer $20
system drive you already have
GeForce GTX 560 ~$160 after rebate (or GTX 560 Ti ~$200 after rebate)
mATX case $50 (Rosewill Ranger-M, Cooler Master Elite 341, Fractal Design Core 1000)
XFX Core Edition 550W PSU $60 after rebate (or Antec Neo Eco, or any other 450-550W decent quality PSU)
22-24" 1080p monitor $150
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit $100

Do you live near a Micro Center? If so, you can save a substantial amount on the CPU+mobo.
 
Thanks Zap. I mention 1-2 months because I might order the parts whenever there is a deal. No Micro Center nearyby. Newegg will be the primary place for the parts.

Is it worth getting a Z68 motherboard over the H67?
 
Ordered 1 component so far, a Dell Ultrasharp U2412M for $325 with tax. Was going to get a TN panel but just saw this sweet deal. Brother-in-law did prioritize on the monitor since he and his kids will be looking at it everyday. Just will have to cheapen the other components.
 
so, 475 dollars max left in budget.

and im looking at a cheap 19 inch for 5 years now.
why does it even matter?!

well cheaping parts.

would go with prebuilt
 
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zuffy said:
Ordered 1 component so far, a Dell Ultrasharp U2412M for $325 with tax. Was going to get a TN panel but just saw this sweet deal. Brother-in-law did prioritize on the monitor since he and his kids will be looking at it everyday. Just will have to cheapen the other components.
Click to expand...

Does the budget include the cost of a Windows license? If so, you're talking $375 for the actual parts. That doesn't get you much at all in the way of a gaming machine. Can you describe "lite" gaming in a little more detail? Are we talking Flash games and Minecraft or quote-unquote real PC games?
 
License will be taken care of with my Technet subscription. For his kids, it will be mostly Be flash games but his little brother might play some PC games.
 
T_Yamamoto said:
so, 475 dollars max left in budget.

and im looking at a cheap 19 inch for 5 years now.
why does it even matter?!

well cheaping parts.

would go with prebuilt
Click to expand...

Never under estimate a good monitor considering how many people look at it for hours everyday. Did the prebuilt for awhile. When the power supply or system board goes bad, you are F'ed. Been thru it many times from Dell.
 
zuffy said:
License will be taken care of with my Technet subscription. For his kids, it will be mostly Be flash games but his little brother might play some PC games.
Click to expand...

OK $475 sans OS license is quite doable:
Pentium G620 $70
ASRock H67M $80
Patriot DDR3 1600 8GB $38
XFX 6770 $95 AR
7K1000.D 750GB $100
Lite-On DVD Burner $20
Corsair 430CX $35 AR
Fractal Core 1000 $40
Total: $478 AR

If you decide to give him the VR, it may very well turn out that 300GB is enough storage. In that case, you have $100 more to play with. I can see upgrading the processor to an i5 2400.
 
He will definitely get the Velociraptor. No more Celeron cpu. The last one I bought which was a duo core is a bit slow with the smaller internal cache. Thinking of getting the Rosewill Ranger case that Zap recommended and shipping is cheaper than the Fractal.
 
Totally forgot I have a GTX 275 but don't think it will fit a micro ATX case. Also, have an old GTS 8800. Maybe I should just sell them.
 
what games too?... the HD3000/HD2000 on the intel chip isn't a slouch either, can do Valve's Source gaming, MW3 (at like medium/low settings)...
 
zuffy said:
No more Celeron cpu. The last one I bought which was a duo core is a bit slow with the smaller internal cache.
Click to expand...

Because Sandy Bridge CPUs are so great, the latest Sandy Bridge based Celeron is a very acceptable CPU except for the single core version. The dual core Celeron G530 runs $52 at Newegg (or $40 at Micro Center). This CPU will run circles around any socket 775 Celeron.

EDIT: Here's a review of the Celeron G540 (couple MHz faster than G530). The G540 beats dual core Athlon II in everything.

zuffy said:
Totally forgot I have a GTX 275 but don't think it will fit a micro ATX case.
Click to expand...

A GTX 275 can fit all three of the mATX cases I listed.
 
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I measured the EVGA GTX 275. It's 10.5". If can can reuse the GTX 275, I think I will spend the money for a faster Sandy Bridge processor. This way, it will meet today's and tomorrow's need.
 
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