New Pc for a family member

[OverClockerNoob]

This is a PC for a family member that I will be donating to them. I wanted to do it as inexpensive as possible unless it will truely be a waste of money (buy the oldest cheapest cpu/processor, and then in a year it won't run the latest office 2012).. So i do want it to be decent enough for a couple of years....

1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
They will use it for school (internet, office applications, adobe acrobat creating pdfs) some small gaming like solitair or the solitaire suite games/mayan ruin temple games that have cards

2. What YOUR budget is. A price range is acceptable as long as it's not more than a 20% spread$300 ish.... if there will be a significant difference that will be needed then maybe 400, but I want to keep it around 300 or cheaper.
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.
Doesn't matter really. I just built myself an IVY bridge and its fast as can be... I do want this to be quick, but if I have to settle with AMD to be cheaper I will. Standard harddrive, not SSD would be preferred. Standard case, nothing to big and if it can be done in a smaller case that would be best for space in their bed room.

5. If YOU intend on using any of YOUR current parts, and if so, what those parts are.
I have the keyboard, mouse, monitor.
*

7. IF YOU plan on overclocking or run the system at default speeds.
No overclocking

8. Resolution
full HD or better

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
possibly in 2-3 weeks...



Thanks in advance for any suggestions..

 

[Ken g6]

You didn't mention if you have a copy of Windows. I assume you don't. In that case, in this price range, you want a pre-built.

This $380 Gateway looks really nice, and fairly small.
If you want really small, you could get an Eee Box.
But for $300 or under, you may want refurbished Intel or refurbished AMD.

 

[bononos]

$300? How about the used forum? Do you have to get the psu/case/harddrive/Windows with that budget as well?

 

[Blain]

Dell

 

[OverClockerNoob]

Sorry forgot to mention I will be using windows 7 (student discount)... the budget is for just hardware, not software...

 

[bononos]

Sorry forgot to mention I will be using windows 7 (student discount)... the budget is for just hardware, not software...

Regardless, $300 is very little not really enough for a build unless you only need cpu+mb+ram+1 other thing. Get a cheap dell or used if your budget is $300-400.

 

[lehtv]

$300 is quite easy for an basic PC when you have peripherals and an OS license. Picking all the cheapest parts but with at least a dual core Intel and a reliable PSU:

CPU Celeron G540 $49
Mobo Asrock H61M-DGS $45
RAM G.Skill 1x4GB 1333 $19
GPU Integrated Intel HD $0
HDD ST500DM003 $60
DVD Samsung DVD-RW $17
PSU Antec Neo Eco 400C $30 AP
Case Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX $22 AP

Total = $242 AP + shipping

Now, this PC would handle the required tasks. But you can spend more - where would it be the best to spend the extra $50? Motherboard, CPU and/or storage. A lot of ways to go about that...

Option 1: better responsiveness without sacrificing storage space
- add SSD Intel 330 60GB $67
Total = $309 AP + shipping

Option 2: better responsiveness and USB 3.0, but less storage space
- upgrade mobo to Asrock B75M-GL +$15 (sata 6gb/s, usb 3.0)
- remove HDD -$60
- add SSD Samsung 830 128GB +$99
= $296 AP + shipping

Option 3: slightly better CPU performance and upgradeability to 6gb/s SSD
- upgrade mobo to Asrock B75M-GL +$15 (sata 6gb/s, usb 3.0)
- upgrade CPU to Pentium G630 +$13 or Pentium G850 +$29
Total = $270-286 AP + shipping

If you need more storage space, upgrade to ST1000DM003 +$15

 

[Charles Kozierok]

For this application, there is no better solution than a used PC, possibly with strategic upgrades applied. It takes a bit of looking around, but is simply the best bang for the buck by far.

You might even be able to get a used PC for free that will suit the needs here.

 

[OverClockerNoob]

wow thanks for the replies...
I built them a computer years ago (2008ish) an AMD 4200+... they currently use XP SP3 and it works, but even surfing the web it studders/hesitates at times. Loading office applications also takes some time. I am thinking of using the same Case and Power supply/dvd rom that they currently have and doing this system.. I might even keep the 80gig hard drive that the current os is on and use that, but i think with windows 7 i want more space...

i3-3225 = 145
astrock b75 = 60
8 gb corsair = 42
500 GB hard drive mentioned= 60

thats $307


I think that will last them another 4 years...

if you have any suggestions let me know...

 

[Ken g6]

I built them a computer years ago (2008ish) an AMD 4200+... they currently use XP SP3 and it works, but even surfing the web it studders/hesitates at times.

OK, are you sure those studders/hesitations are due to the computer, and not the internet connection?

Loading office applications also takes some time.

That's the kind of thing an SSD fixes.

I am thinking of using the same Case

Probably good.

and Power supply/dvd rom

DVD would work if it's SATA. You should give us more PSU details, like brand and age.

i3-3225 = 145

This is overkill. A G620 is much faster than their current CPU, and half the issues you encountered were not CPU-related. Celeron/Pentium HD graphics will be just as good as HD4000 unless they're playing games that generate 3D landscapes which can be moved through in real time. (In other words, Solitaire isn't what we meant by "gaming".)

I would suggest taking Lehtv's build, upgrading to the B75 if you want, and then adding a Corsair Accelerator caching SSD for $45AR. Even if you don't re-use anything, that should be very close to $300.

 

[lehtv]

If you can reuse the PSU, case and dvd-rw, that's great. But that frees up so much cash that you really, really should buy an SSD. Along with the CPU, an SSD is the most important thing when it comes to system responsiveness and speed. And in this case I'd argue that the old hard disk is holding back the system more than the old CPU.

For the uses you describe, you don't need a four-thread CPU. You can already double the performance with a Sandy Bridge Pentium. You also don't need 8GB of RAM, 4GB is ok with the paging file on the SSD.

You can easily upgrade the CPU to a used i5 later, and you can always just add another memory module when the need arises.

CPU Pentium G630 $62 or Pentium G850 $78
Mobo Asrock B75M-GL $60 (sata 6gb/s, usb 3.0)
RAM G.Skill 1x4GB 1333 $19
GPU Integrated $0
SSD Samsung 830 128GB $99 or Intel 330 180GB $150
DVD Reuse $0 (good as long as it's SATA and not IDE)
PSU Reuse $0 (what model is it?)
Case Reuse $0 (what model is it?)

= $240 to $307 + shipping

 

[Charles Kozierok]

I guess I'm confused about the priorities here. Is the goal good performance, bang-for-the-buck, or low cost? I can understand wanting to build the machine, I do it myself. But it's really not the most cost-effective option.

And lehtv, what does a donated PC that's going to be used for light office tasks and Solitaire need an SSD for?

 

[lehtv]

It doesn't need an SSD. But it makes using the PC very responsive. I only included it because it fits the budget, but if the OP doesn't want to spend more than $200 or so, it's ok not to buy an SSD.

 

[mfenn]

I'd recommend getting a machine with Windows already installed. That'll avoid the EULA violations inherent in redistributing a student Windows license.

There are currently Inspiron 660s's available on the Dell Outlet with G620's, 4GB of RAM and 500GB drives.

 

[OverClockerNoob]

The goal was basically build the baddest PC for 300 ish. I put the basic things they would do. I understand solitaire takes almost nothing to run, but some of the more advanced versions are pretty graphic intensive with the backgrounds. I wanted something that would last them a while and be able to handle any software upgrades for the next couple of years. One thing I didn't mention is this family member likes to take pictures and would like to use basic photoshop enhancements/photo editing software, not massive macros, but basic. I don't usually build PC's just for the fun of it. I build them when I need to or when one becomes way to slow, however I can't afford to build a new 300-400 pc year after year to give away, so if I can spend a couple more dollars now and get a better processor/(your advice SSD), I will in order to hopefully make the pc usable in future updates.

I will definitely take the advice above though. I didn't really want to do an SSD but since they are alot cheaper.....lol.. my samsung 830 256 was almost 300... I will definitely look into getting one for them.... and more for me..

***How would installing windows 7/office on the machine violate EULA license when its for the person who is going to buy/use it????

 

[mfenn]

***How would installing windows 7/office on the machine violate EULA license when its for the person who is going to buy/use it????

It sounded to me like you were going to buy a Windows student license and then give it to them with the PC. If that is not the case, carry on.

 

[bononos]

$300 is quite easy for an basic PC when you have peripherals and an OS license. Picking all the cheapest parts but with at least a dual core Intel and a reliable PSU:

CPU Celeron G540 $49
Mobo Asrock H61M-DGS $45
RAM G.Skill 1x4GB 1333 $19
GPU Integrated Intel HD $0
HDD ST500DM003 $60
DVD Samsung DVD-RW $17
PSU Antec Neo Eco 400C $30 AP
Case Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX $22 AP

Total = $242 AP + shipping
...........

Thats a good setup for under $300, I misread the 'gaming' part where the games would actually be things like solitaire.

 

[Blain]

Just for clarification...

Microsoft Qualified Educational User academic discount eligibility

 

[OverClockerNoob]

I wanted to thank everyone who contributed to this post. I sucessfully updated the computer and it is very quick. Word/Excel/ office in general opens programs within a blink . And boots up withing approx 10 seconds to full desktop/antivirus loaded/everything etc.

I ended up getting
CPU- Intel G860 90
Asrock MB- 60
Samsung SSD - 100
Kingston value ram-40
Blu ray burner - 55

total with shipping/etc was like $352 only cuz i splurged to get the burner for backup...also the current dvdrom in the older pc was from 2005 ish and had problems reading disks so I'm glad I did it.

Well one more family member happy..and again thanks for your input.

 

[mfenn]

:thumbsup: Glad they're happy and you're happy!