PC Build: Budget Compute/Multimedia System

[DSMok1]

I am planning to replace my old Inspiron 6000 laptop with a custom-built budget system. This will be my first build, ever, so I'd like some advice.

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

• Multimedia:
  • Photo storage/editing with Photoshop
  • Home video storage/light editing
  • Streaming video
  • Possible Blu-Ray playing (I have no TV)
• Compute:
  • Complex Excel work with Solver
  • Statistical Analysis using R
  • Light database manipulation (Tableau, possibly Access)
• Gaming:
  • No heavy 3D gaming
  • Europa Universalis/Magna Mundi compute-intensive gaming.

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

• $750ish for the entire package, including monitor, OS, keyboard, etc.
• One of the main reasons I am posting here is to try to peg the best place for me on the value/performance curve.

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

• United States (Maine)

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 Preference

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

• I have no parts

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

• Yes. One recent, sort of similar build is at http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2229905

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

• Probably default speeds

8. What resolution YOU plan on gaming with.

• 1920x1080, but again, no complex 3D gaming.

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?

• Within the next month or 2 (should I wait for anything?)

Okay, here is my initial build:

$135 - Intel Core i3-2105 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics 3000 BX80623I32105

$105 - GIGABYTE GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

$50 - G.SKILL Sniper Low Voltage Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-8GBSR2

$90 - Antec NSK 4482 Black / Silver 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply

$100 - Seagate Barracuda Green ST1500DL003 1.5TB 5900 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$18 - LG 22X Super-Multi DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH22NS90B - OEM

$30 - Rosewill RNX-N250PCe (RNWD-11005) PCI Express 150/300Mbps 2T2R Wireless Adapter

$100 - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM

$240 - Dell UltraSharpTM U2312HM 23" Monitor with LED

TOTAL: $868, plus shipping
​

Obviously, that is a little more than my preferred budget, and that is without even talking about an SSD boot disk, a Blu-Ray player, or a (probably unnecessary) graphics card.

Note the Micro-ATX form factor--I'd like to make this system relatively unobtrusive if possible.

Where should I cut? Or is an SSD so essential that I should go ahead and get one for $100 more, or should that be saved for a future upgrade? Have I forgotten anything? Should I break down and just buy a pre-built system?

 

[jpeyton]

$781.91 plus tax/shipping

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=14756634

Unfortunately that doesn't include your monitor. You picked a great monitor BTW; that Dell IPS panel will be great for photo/video editing.

Fortunately, what the build does include is an SSD (which I think is essential), a larger storage hard drive, and a quad-core Sandy Bridge CPU. It's also an ITX build, so it's about the size of a loaf of bread.

 

[Ken g6]

I'd say an SSD is essential especially if you get a green drive. I'd make a couple modifications to jpeyton's build:

- cheaper RAM ($38)
- Cheaper PSU, Corsair 430W, $17 AR AP today only!!! (Then it goes up $8.)

If you can't afford the 128GB SSD, the next step down is a 64GB.
If you can't afford the i5 processor, the next step down should be an i3-2120.

 

[jpeyton]

- cheaper RAM ($38)

The Corsair memory is actually $10 less after rebate.

- Cheaper PSU, Corsair 430W, $17 AR AP today only!!! (Then it goes up $8.)

I'm conflicted about Corsair "Builder Series" PSUs. The reviews on Newegg are littered with comments about electrical noise, fan noise, and poor quality. They are made by CWT, which Corsair uses for their second-tier units (they have Seasonic make all their high-end stuff). XFX uses Seasonic for all their units.

If you can't afford the 128GB SSD, the next step down is a 64GB.
If you can't afford the i5 processor, the next step down should be an i3-2120.

Agreed.

 

[lehtv]

On jpeyton's build I would definitely change the motherboard and case. Why build mini-ITX? No need for that.

Also I wouldn't be the first to buy a Foxconn motherboard. This would be my choice of H67 mobo: Intel BOXDH67BLB3. It's obviously more expensive than Foxconn, but not expensive for a H67 board. It's microATX form factor, two more RAM slots, two more SATA ports, USB 3.0, and it's not limited to only one PCIe slot. On the Foxconn board you won't be able to use a discrete graphics card in addition to your wireless network controller; this obviously is bad for future expandability.

You won't need a Z68 motherboard, its main advantage is overclocking but that only applies to K-series CPUs.

Here's a good microATX case: Fractal Design Core 1000 $40

The black corsair RAM is 1.65V though, you want 1.5V memory. Not sure if jpeyton just didn't notice that. G.Skill Value 8GB 1333 $37. The XFX 450W power supply is only $30 AR on ncix but available in 1-2 weeks. This is also a good choice: Antec Neo Eco 400C $40

 

[DSMok1]

Those builds are a little expensive for me... I was hoping to get it cheaper than what I currently had listed!

Since I am not getting a graphics card, should I be concerned with HD 3000 vs. HD 2000 graphics?

I was leaning toward a z68 motherboard in order to implement Intel Smart Response when or if I get an SSD.

 

[jpeyton]

Those builds are a little expensive for me... I was hoping to get it cheaper than what I currently had listed!

Here you go.

The fact of the matter is, Dell can sell you a desktop with the exact same performance as your original build for $200 less.

i3-2120
8GB Memory
1TB
DVDRW
Wireless LAN
Windows 7 x64
Keyboard/Mouse

Since I am not getting a graphics card, should I be concerned with HD 3000 vs. HD 2000 graphics?

Since you're not gaming, nope.

I was leaning toward a z68 motherboard in order to implement Intel Smart Response when or if I get an SSD.

Skip Intel SRT altogether and get a larger SSD for your boot drive; you'll get better performance.

 

[DSMok1]

What are the advantages and disadvantage from going with a pre-built system? I'm wary of build quality/component quality.

My Dell laptop has had just about every part but the Mobo/processor replaced in the 6 years I've had it. Fortunately, I bought the long warranty, but...

 

[jpeyton]

What are the advantages and disadvantage from going with a pre-built system? I'm wary of build quality/component quality.

Advantages:

Component quality is fine. I have a Dell Studio quad-core desktop for my parents, and it works without issues. I have a couple of Asus desktops as well; slightly higher quality than Dell.

My Dell laptop has had just about every part but the Mobo/processor replaced in the 6 years I've had it. Fortunately, I bought the long warranty, but...

Laptops are a different beast than desktops. Everyone has anecdotal experiences; I've personally sworn off HP laptops because I've had every single one I've owned fail catastrophically (usually motherboard or GPU related).

 

[mfenn]

What are the advantages and disadvantage from going with a pre-built system? I'm wary of build quality/component quality.

My Dell laptop has had just about every part but the Mobo/processor replaced in the 6 years I've had it. Fortunately, I bought the long warranty, but...

Component quality is not spectacular, but it is sufficient to get the job done. A prebuilt system is really they way to go if you want quiet, unobtrusive, and cheap. Dell spends millions and millions of dollars in R&D, which produces some very highly-optimized case and cooling designs.

Once you figure in the fact that you also need a Windows license, which is basically free with a prebuilt but would cost a significant portion of your custom-build budget, it's a no-brainer IMHO.

 

[Charlie98]

You can also take a look at Dell Outlet and maybe catch a good deal there...

I was torn between getting another Dell prebuilt and modding it for gaming, but decided to build my own instead ($1000 budget) in the end it turned out pretty good, but I wouldn't hesitate to buy a Dell prebuilt (especially now that I know more about what goes into a computer...)

I'm also still using the onboard GPU (Intel 3000HD) and it works very well, even for gaming (MW2) not to say it doesn't gag sometimes, but it really works well for what it is.

I also don't think an SSD is essential, especially for a budget build. A 'budget build' by necessity must exclude some things. Get a big HDD, make a 130 or 260GB partition and put your OS and programs on it, then you can clone it over to an SSD later when you get one.

I still have and use my Inspiron 6000... It's been solid as a rock (a slow moving rock, mind you...) in the 7 years I've had it. I just rebuilt it, replacing the CPU, HDD and memory... now it's a much faster rock.

 

[DSMok1]

Okay, I bought the first component for my new build:

$130 (Shell Shocker): SanDisk Extreme SDSSDX-120G-G25 2.5" 120GB SATA III Internal Solid State Drive (SSD)

Based on reviews and specs, that should have the same performance as the 120GB Vertex 3 Max IOPS.

That will be a "big enough" hard drive for now; when HDD storage prices fall more I will add low-cost, high-capacity storage.

Now I'll work on adding more components as they come on sale.

Question: Is it reasonable to buy my e-IPS monitor off of the Dell Outlet? Or should I pay $50-$70 more and get the 3 year warranty?

 

[mfenn]

Pretty good deal on the SSD. Sandforce wouldn't be my first choice from a reliability point of view, but it will probably be OK.

As for the monitor, it's up to how much risk you are willing to tolerate. The outlet monitor will work the same as the new one, but there is always the chance that it will die and you're stuck having to shell out for a new one.