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Please help me build a PC for my aunt

ibex333

ibex333

Diamond Member
1. What YOUR PC will be used for. That means what types of tasks you'll be performing.
She only uses this to play solitaire and watch netflix, and streaming news and popular show episodes online, checks email, and browses the internet.
The only thing which in very important is 1080p support and smooth video playback.



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

Like $400 but I am trying to keep this as cheap as possible. Remember CHEAP, over speed/performance is what I need as long as I will meet the usage requirements. (read above)

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.

No brand preference, but I am stuck with Intel at this point

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

Yes, I already have a bunch of parts. I have a screen, mouse/kb, Windows, Hard Drive, and I already bought this barebones kit . Yes, I know the PSU is garbage and not much space for adding stuff, but she doesn't need any of it, and she wants here PC to be very small.

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

Nah, no OCing for her. (But out of curiosity, does this mobo I picked support OCing?)

8. What resolution will you be using?

1080p

9. WHEN do you plan to build it?
Note that it is usually not cost or time effective to choose your build more than a month before you actually plan to be using it.

Now. Newegg ships in 2-3 days to me so as soon as package arrives.

X. Do you need to purchase any software to go with the system, such as Windows or Blu Ray playback software?

No. I already have everything.



So basically in the end, all I need is CPU, DVD Drive and RAM, but I have some very important questions.

1)Does the mobo I picked support integrated graphics in a CPU? If so, just how much of a CPU is enough? Should I go with i3 or can I go lower/cheaper? Same for RAM. Just how much would be enough for her without being overkill?

Will this mobo take any regular DVD Drive? She's not gonna watch blu-ray.


Thanks very much
 
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Since the details of that barebones motherboard kit say "Support CPU TDP not over 65W", your choices are pretty-much made for you.

I would just grab a cheap SB Celeron G530 chip, and call it a day. Get a pair (2x4GB) of those Samsung 30nm RAM (they are physically tiny sticks too, easy to fit into a small case like that.) I remember seeing a thread in the Hot Deals forum for a 2x4GB kit for $40 or so.

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2262836
 
mfenn said:
I wouldn't bother with a custom build here. Return the barebones kit, get this Dell Outlet Vostro for $329, and keep the parts for a future build.
Click to expand...

The link doesn't show anything. I was looking for a dell for her, but I couldn't find anything below $500. And even those PCs had a celeron inside.. A complete ripoff for the money.

If you could give me a working link, I'd definitely consider, but remember that it's $329 + taxes and shipping, and it cost me about $300 shipped with no taxes to order all the parts for her. If I was charging her for labor, she might as well get a Dell, but I'm not gonna charge auntie, she'll owe me one instead. ; )
 
ibex333 said:
So basically in the end, all I need is CPU, DVD Drive and RAM, but I have some very important questions.

1)Does the mobo I picked support integrated graphics in a CPU? If so, just how much of a CPU is enough? Should I go with i3 or can I go lower/cheaper? Same for RAM. Just how much would be enough for her without being overkill?

Will this mobo take any regular DVD Drive? She's not gonna watch blu-ray.
Click to expand...

Yes, normal $15-20 SATA DVD drive will work fine.

Any 1.5v dual channel DDR3 RAM kit should work fine. Can pick up a cheap 4GB kit for around $22 regular priced.

Mobo does not support overclocking. Yes it supports the integrated graphics of the CPU. At minimum go for the Celeron G530, but really any dual core socket 1155 CPU will work fine. I personally would stick with the dual core Celeron, or the Pentium Dual Core (G620,G630,etc.).

If the PSU in that Foxconn is the same as what they use in their other slim barebones, it isn't necessarily that crappy of a PSU for running a dual core CPU with integrated graphics, and can probably get almost but not quite within spitting distance of the wattage on the label. 😛 Major problems are that it is noisy for the wattage, and the efficiency is probably low. I've heard that the noise is from the fan grill, because I recall reading about one person that cut out the PSU fan grill and the noise levels went down significantly. In any case, it is a standard TFX size PSU so replacements are available if it dies, including some excellent units by Seasonic and decent ones by FSP. Heck, Seasonic even has an 80Plus Gold 350W modular TFX PSU somewhere in that list!!!
 
ibex333 said:
The link doesn't show anything. I was looking for a dell for her, but I couldn't find anything below $500. And even those PCs had a celeron inside.. A complete ripoff for the money.

If you could give me a working link, I'd definitely consider, but remember that it's $329 + taxes and shipping, and it cost me about $300 shipped with no taxes to order all the parts for her. If I was charging her for labor, she might as well get a Dell, but I'm not gonna charge auntie, she'll owe me one instead. ; )
Click to expand...

Sorry, Dell Outlet links expire quickly. Basically just go to www.dell.com/outlet, choose Desktops -> Business. Pick any machine to view stock, but then on the left side of the page, tick the boxes for Vostro and Optiplex. Sort by price and pick the cheapest reasonable looking one.
 
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