New Build for general compute stuff

[tigersty1e]

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.

I'm looking for a low power system. I was using an E6320, Gigabyte P35-DS3L, HD6450 (all on stock and undervolted a bit). This was pulling ~77-100 watts from the wall. I'm giving this away, so I'm looking for a similar system. I need at least the power of the E6320, so Intel atom systems are a no.

The tasks I need are not demanding at all. Internet surfing, MSN Messenger chat, random 1-2 page word documents, youtube, possibly hd movies. This is going to my parents, so I want to give them some overhead in power too. The power of an E6320 would suffice.

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread

Less than $600.

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

California, 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.

No brand preference.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.

I have a Corsair H50 cooler.

6. IF YOU have searched and/or read similar threads.

Looked around and there is lots of flexibility on the low-end, so I'm interested what people say.

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

No overclocking. Possibly undervolting if applicable. Not necessary though.

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

No gaming.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

Need it up and running in 1-2 months, so can buy parts as they come for sale. Since my needs are very general and non-demanding I was originally going to go with a:

AMD Sempron 130 Sargas 2.6GHz Socket AM3
AM3 880G motherboard

I could pick this combo up for less than $100, but since it's fairly old, I think there are better performers for the same tdp.

 

[lehtv]

In general, I'd go with

H67 chipset motherboard ($80)
Pentium G620 to G850 for the CPU ($70-90)
2x2GB DDR3 1333 1.5V RAM ($25) or 2x4GB if on sale
64GB SSD ($100) (+ HDD if needed)
Cheapo case, possibly microATX ($30-40)
Corsair CX430 V2 ($45 -rebate)
DVD drive ($20)

Leaves over $200 for the peripherals which is more than enough.

 

[tigersty1e]

Is there any cpu/motherboard combo that is cheaper?

 

[pcsavvy]

Have you thought about a LLano based system?
You can get a dual core for around $60-70 with integrated graphics and motherboard for $70-80. Just need to add memory, hd, psu, case and monitor and you're good to go.
Some examples:

A4-3400 Dual Core CPU:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103955

or A6-3500 Triple Core CPU: (for $20 more)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103951

A55 m/b:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813138336

or A75 m/b:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157261

 

[Ken g6]

Cheaper CPU: G530, ~$50
The E6320 was <2GHz, so the speed here won't hurt. But note that, as compared to Llano, all Intel processors may cause barely-noticeable jumpiness when playing movies.

Cheaper mobo: Gigabyte GA-H61M-DS2, $50 when it's back in stock.
You didn't mention hooking this to a TV; if you want to do that you should pay a little more for a mobo with HDMI out.

(Links above are to Amazon to help prevent Newegg sales taxes.)

As you're so concerned with power use, you might want low-voltage RAM.

 

[lehtv]

Have you thought about a LLano based system?

Pentium would be easily faster than A4, and there's no difference in price between A55 and H61, or A75 and H67.

With the cheaper mobo suggested by ken g6, you'd lose out on Sata 6gb/s which is needed for optimal performance on the Crucial M4 SSD.

 

[mfenn]

Cheaper CPU: G530, ~$50
The E6320 was <2GHz, so the speed here won't hurt. But note that, as compared to Llano, all Intel processors may cause barely-noticeable jumpiness when playing movies.

Only if they are a 23.976 FPS encode playing on a 23.967 Hz display, neither of which the OP probably does much of.

 

[mfenn]

In general, I'd go with

H67 chipset motherboard ($80)
Pentium G620 to G850 for the CPU ($70-90)
2x2GB DDR3 1333 1.5V RAM ($25) or 2x4GB if on sale
64GB SSD ($100) (+ HDD if needed)
Cheapo case, possibly microATX ($30-40)
Corsair CX430 V2 ($45 -rebate)
DVD drive ($20)

Leaves over $200 for the peripherals which is more than enough.

Looks good to me.

OP, you're only going to save $20 at most on a reasonable CPU, but if that sounds appealing to you, then jump on the Celeron G530.

 

[T_Yamamoto]

or you could get that 300 dollars dell refurb...