Opinions on $450 Non-gaming build

[thegenix]

Hey all. Trying to do a build for my brother. He has a budget of $450 before MIR and after shipping. He is not a gamer. He wants the computer mostly for surfing the web and streaming movies but needs to ability to use it for video editing.

This is what I have at PCPartPicker but it is over budget. I also want to make sure I'm getting a good bang for the buck. The motherboard and CPU prices are from the Microcenter bundle. I'm not attached to any of the parts.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD FX-6350 3.9GHz 6-Core Processor ($92.98)
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($72.00)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($73.73 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($51.30 @ Directron)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 2GB Video Card ($101.63 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 Elite (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($47.06 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($50.99 @ Directron)
Total: $489.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-16 07:32 EST-0500

 

[dave_the_nerd]

No.

If you're not gaming, get a CPU with integrated graphics. You could get a Haswell i5 for the same prices as the CPU/GPU there (~$200) and it would absolute crush the FX.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1281?vs=1198

Or you could get an i3, which would still be competitive, but would use even less power and probably free up enough funds to get an SSD.

http://www.anandtech.com/bench/product/1281?vs=1192

An SSD will make a bigger difference in general usability than anything else, frankly.

Also, dual channel RAM is better.

i5 rig w/o SSD: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/TmXtRB

i3 rig w/ SSD: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KBXtRB

 

[dave_the_nerd]

And before anybody jumps down my throat, I know that GPUs can be used for video editing: I am making a couple assumptions.

1) Video editing will be light use only, not using full Adobe Premier, etc. (Assuming because of limited budget.) In other words, he won't be editing enough video often enough to be annoyed that it's not as fast as possible.
2) The beefier general purpose CPU will be more useful more often than a GPU which only spools up when doing certain tasks in video editing software.
3) Also assuming that CUDA/OpenCL encoding is still not quite as good quality as ffmpeg running on the main CPU.

 

[Ken g6]

I found a way to get both an i5 and a (128GB) SSD in there:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: *Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: *G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Transcend SSD370 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: *Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $451.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-16 13:20 EST-0500

 

[thegenix]

Thanks guys!

I have been out of the hardware game for a while and just recently trying to get back into it. The onboard graphics idea is great. Not sure why I overlooked that.

 

[weez82]

Do you know how often he does video editing and what program he uses?

EDIT: Also, does that $450 include OS and Peripherals?

 

[thegenix]

Do you know how often he does video editing and what program he uses?

EDIT: Also, does that $450 include OS and Peripherals?

Already has a monitor, mouse, keyboard and OS.

I believe he uses Adobe Premier. He doesn't use it that often but wants the option if the need arises.

 

[piasabird]

Do you really want a motherboard with no HDMI?

 

[thegenix]

Do you really want a motherboard with no HDMI?

If you were referring to my original build, I was relying on the GPU for HDMI out. Since I decided to just go with onboard graphics, I am going to have to find a motherboard that has the capability.

First I need to decide if I should go with a i3/i5 or an AMD.

 

[Yuriman]

Spending a bit more on a board that has a nice integrated WiFi module might be worthwhile.

+1 for i3 or i5 build

For general desktop use an i3 is plenty of CPU and then some, but you might feel its limitations next to a quad core or higher in encoding. I'd probably go with something like this:

-Core i3 4150/60
-ASRock H97 ITX
-240GB SSD
-1TB HDD
-Small ITX case, either with its own micro power supply, or probably the Antec 380 in my sig
8GB DDR3 1600/1866 low voltage (1.25v or 1.35v)

There is little reason to build a midtower if it's mostly going to be empty. An argument could be made for mATX as it's often a bit cheaper than ITX, but what do people even use 5 1/4" bays for anymore?

 

[Charlie98]

First I need to decide if I should go with a i3/i5 or an AMD.

I think Ken pretty much pegged it with his build, you get everything... an i5, an SSD, 8GB RAM and a decent case to put it all in. You could spend all night trying to find parts to save a $1 here or there, but why?

 

[mfenn]

Do you really want a motherboard with no HDMI?

The board that Ken linked has DVI, which uses the same video signalling as HDMI, and can be converted with a simple pin adapter or cable like this one. Of course, the OP's brother's monitor may already have a DVI port.

 

[Murloc]

In addition to general purpose software, I also install games and do fine with a 128GB SSD so I think Ken's build is spot on.
I don't think it's worth degrading the other parts just for a 250GB SSD, considering that it's the latency that creates the big difference between it and an HDD.

 

[Yuriman]

My recommendation:

Core i3 4160 - $120
ASRock H97M-ITX/ac - $80
Crucial Ballistix 1x8GB low voltage DDR3 - $68
Crucial MX100 256GB SSD - $105
Antec ISK 110 Case + PSU - $85

Total: $457

Swap out the 256GB SSD for a 128 if you'd like to have a large conventional storage drive within your budget, or exceed it a little and just add the drive.

This build is something like 1/16 the size of a normal desktop, a fraction of the power draw, has oodles of ports and connections (including both HDMI and DVI), room for another 8GB of RAM later, and solid Realtek n + ac Wifi.

If you'd like to leave room to add 3.5" drives and a video card later on, use this case and this power supply, which even comes out $5 cheaper, while still being 1/5 the size of a normal midtower. That's essentially the build I made for my wife.

 

[weez82]

I found a way to get both an i5 and a (128GB) SSD in there:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: *Intel Core i5-4440 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor ($174.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: *Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.49 @ Newegg)
Memory: *G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($57.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: *Transcend SSD370 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($59.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: *Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: *Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($34.88 @ OutletPC)
Total: $451.22
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-02-16 13:20 EST-0500

Best one posted so far. i5, ssd, and hdd. Very nice

 

[Burpo]

And for $5 more, you can get the i5-4460..
http://www.superbiiz.com/detail.php?...qKgaAjjS8P8HAQ

 

[thegenix]

I think Ken pretty much pegged it with his build, you get everything... an i5, an SSD, 8GB RAM and a decent case to put it all in. You could spend all night trying to find parts to save a $1 here or there, but why?

The board that Ken linked has DVI, which uses the same video signalling as HDMI, and can be converted with a simple pin adapter or cable like this one. Of course, the OP's brother's monitor may already have a DVI port.

I'm leaning towards Ken's build. Has pretty much everything I need. I didn't realize you don't lose any video quality going from DVI to HDMI. I was hoping to have an HDMI output but this should work.

 

[Ken g6]

If you really want HDMI, that's only $3 more.

 

[inachu]

It almost does not matter anymore if you want a pc for study or gaming anymore because most programmers even for Office 2010 or 2013 build programs with such heavy laden graphics to make them pretty that you will need a gaming video card to process multiple documents and web browsers and such.

He could be totally 100% hate gaming to the ends of the earth but It would be insulting to get a i3 with some minimal boost to the graphics card.

 

[thegenix]

If you really want HDMI, that's only $3 more.

Ken thank you so much for the help. Do you think the DDR3-1600 support being the highest will cause any problems in the future?

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Ken thank you so much for the help. Do you think the DDR3-1600 support being the highest will cause any problems in the future?

It's pretty much irrelevant. There are theoretical benefits to faster RAM, and it is possible to be memory-bottlenecked - especially if you're trying to game with onboard graphics. But in >98% of use cases, the difference between DDR3-1600 and DDR3-2400 is basically nil.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

It almost does not matter anymore if you want a pc for study or gaming anymore because most programmers even for Office 2010 or 2013 build programs with such heavy laden graphics to make them pretty that you will need a gaming video card to process multiple documents and web browsers and such.

He could be totally 100% hate gaming to the ends of the earth but It would be insulting to get a i3 with some minimal boost to the graphics card.

This is pretty much wrong. :\

 

[VirtualLarry]

This is pretty much wrong. :\

Agreed, mostly. Going by the WEI, you almost do need a "Gaming" video card, to get a decent "Windows Aero" score. Strangely, many chipset IGPs and APUs, score higher in "Gaming graphics", than they do for "Windows Aero".

 

[escrow4]

It almost does not matter anymore if you want a pc for study or gaming anymore because most programmers even for Office 2010 or 2013 build programs with such heavy laden graphics to make them pretty that you will need a gaming video card to process multiple documents and web browsers and such.

He could be totally 100% hate gaming to the ends of the earth but It would be insulting to get a i3 with some minimal boost to the graphics card.

Eh? Intel HD graphics are enough for any basic non gaming task. HD 4600 can accelerate x265. And support for 4K.

 

[mfenn]

This is pretty much wrong. :\

Agree. The GPU hardware needed to do the compositing and simple effects that you see in typical desktop environments is trivial. You're talking about literally 100's of polys and extremely simple shaders.