Building computers for a couple co-workers

kciaccio · Nov 23, 2011, 08:44 PM

I am building computers for a couple of co-workers. Nothing too fancy. They don't need a lot of storage and with the price of regular HDD's going through the roof, I'm setting them up with SSD. They will be using dual monitors so I will be using a video card instead of on-board video. They don't game. Mostly be used on surfing multiple sites at once.

I will be building at least 3 maybe 4 of these things.

Is there any good CPU and motherboard bundles out there that you recommend? I usually shop at Newegg, Amazon,Frys and Micro Center but open to other outlets.

Bo$$ · Nov 23, 2011, 08:48 PM

what will they be doing on these machines?
Budget?

lilhasselhoffer · Nov 23, 2011, 08:56 PM

1) As Bo$$ said, we need a pricing range.
2) What do they have? Monitors, OSs, office software. All of these things are often overlooked, but are a huge part of the pricing equation.
3) "Don't ever play games?" A little bit of extra money now might make gaming better in the future should they change their minds.

Blind Recommendations:
Minimum cost: APU set-up with a hybrid crossfire setup for multiple monitor support.
Good performance, medium cost: A core i3 setup has cpu power, but you'll spend money on gpus.
Better performance, higher price: core i5 2500k with gpu.
No pricing cap: i7 3930k can destroy just about anything.

Just as an idea, the cheapest build can be completed 100% for around $600, with the more expensive build topping out at several thousand dollars. This is why we need a price window to give you any really helpful suggestions.

kciaccio · Nov 23, 2011, 08:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo$$

what will they be doing on these machines?
Budget?

Interacting with multiple online streaming video streams and accessing web based data bases. No, it's not porn related, lol

Software is not an issue, I have that covered. They have monitors so just the tower part and $400 range.

kciaccio · Nov 23, 2011, 09:30 PM

I can go either way on AMD or Intel. Proably looking at i3 series if intel.

theoneandonlymrk · Nov 23, 2011, 09:49 PM

im tempted to recommend running away from said work mates as only stress and pc fixin will follow, but you may like that sort of thing in which case i would recommend a cheap AMD FM1 socket motherboard , a 3650 APU( a cpu and gpu in one) a 2gig stick of 10 quid ddr3 1333 and a cheap case without psu and a corsair 450-550 vx value psu a a ssd of choice and your off for low money

id say on budget but the APU could be downspecced and made cheaper all in without much performance loss in use

Kantastic · Nov 23, 2011, 09:54 PM

I don't have time to spec out an entire build for you, but I would recommend paying premium for a reliable SSD. Something like a Crucial M4 or an Intel 320 Series drive would do wonders to reduce headaches and stress down the line.

kciaccio · Nov 23, 2011, 10:17 PM

Great advice from both you guys! I was wondering about both those things. I was scared of what ssd to get because like theoneandonlymrk said, I want to keep my fixing time with them minimal. I have not built a FM1 yet and am interested in that too.

Bo$$ · Nov 23, 2011, 10:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kciaccio

Interacting with multiple online streaming video streams and accessing web based data bases. No, it's not porn related, lol

Software is not an issue, I have that covered. They have monitors so just the tower part and $400 range.

Lol i never implied porn, i meant what they were doing.

Do you have a prefered retailer? i can whip you up a build if you give me your favorate one

Crucial are NOT reliable, intel are.
Ocz have a better track record than crucial

kciaccio · Nov 23, 2011, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo$$

Lol i never implied porn, i meant what they were doing.

Do you have a prefered retailer? i can whip you up a build if you give me your favorate one

Crucial are NOT reliable, intel are.
Ocz have a better track record than crucial

Newegg.

Thanks!

Beertintedgoggles · Nov 23, 2011, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bo$$

Lol i never implied porn, i meant what they were doing.

Do you have a prefered retailer? i can whip you up a build if you give me your favorate one

Crucial are NOT reliable, intel are.
Ocz have a better track record than crucial

I came across the exact opposite when researching SSD's for my new build. From what I gathered at the time, Crucial and Intel were more reliable with Intel having the issue where the drive would show up as only an 8MB drive occasionally. I don't have a problem with OCZ but their drives with the sandforce controllers were just as susceptible to the bsod problems all the other sandforce based drives were seeing.

I decided on the Crucial m4 and have had no problems with it yet. There are some issues with the LPM on some Intel chipsets and the drives so if you do go with Crucial then look into either using Microsofts driver or disabling the Link Power Management feature,

theoneandonlymrk · Nov 23, 2011, 11:28 PM

i have an ocz ssd and it does what it says on the box and has worked well on a very very old mobo lol with a special written by ocz mobo bios(not that special but it seemed odd using it)

newtekie1 · Nov 24, 2011, 12:03 AM

Honestly, with a $400 budget, I wouldn't even bother with an SSD. Yes, HDD prices are going through the roof, but they are still miles ahead of SSDs when it comes to $/GB and performance on a budget system isn't going to be that much improved by an SSD.

This is what I would build:

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W ...
ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3....
PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 160...
ZOTAC Zone Edition ZT-50602-20L GeForce GT 520 (Fe...
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB C...
Xigmatek ASGARD II B/B CPC-T45UC-U01 Black / Black...
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 ...

Total comes to $465, so a little over, but a good solid machine with room to improve over time too(why I went with an AM3+ board).

I went with the cheapest Dual-DVI card I could find, you can go cheaper if you only need VGA or HDMI for the second monitor. You could also save some more by going with a cheaper AM3 board if you don't care about upgrade room for the CPU in the future.

kciaccio · Nov 24, 2011, 12:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtekie1

Honestly, with a $400 budget, I wouldn't even bother with an SSD. Yes, HDD prices are going through the roof, but they are still miles ahead of SSDs when it comes to $/GB and performance on a budget system isn't going to be that much improved by an SSD.

This is what I would build:

Ok?

newtekie1 · Nov 24, 2011, 12:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kciaccio

Ok?

Sorry, hit the Post Quick Reply button instead of the Go Advanced button on accident, I edited it to put in the build.

xBruce88x · Nov 24, 2011, 12:26 AM

you should be able to do dual monitors with a lot of the newer motherboards out there that have an igp/gpu on the cpu. might need an adapter for one of the ports depending on the monitors used.

kciaccio · Nov 24, 2011, 12:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xBruce88x

you should be able to do dual monitors with a lot of the newer motherboards out there that have an igp/gpu on the cpu. might need an adapter for one of the ports depending on the monitors used.

I was trying to look up motherboards with that ability. Any links?

kciaccio · Nov 24, 2011, 12:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newtekie1

Honestly, with a $400 budget, I wouldn't even bother with an SSD. Yes, HDD prices are going through the roof, but they are still miles ahead of SSDs when it comes to $/GB and performance on a budget system isn't going to be that much improved by an SSD.

This is what I would build:

AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W ...
ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3....
PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 160...
ZOTAC Zone Edition ZT-50602-20L GeForce GT 520 (Fe...
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB C...
Xigmatek ASGARD II B/B CPC-T45UC-U01 Black / Black...
CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 ...

Total comes to $465, so a little over, but a good solid machine with room to improve over time too(why I went with an AM3+ board).

I went with the cheapest Dual-DVI card I could find, you can go cheaper if you only need VGA or HDMI for the second monitor. You could also save some more by going with a cheaper AM3 board if you don't care about upgrade room for the CPU in the future.

Wow, I like a lot of your ideas, some of it is close to my current rig. The only part I am not a fan on is the Seagate drive. Had bad luck with those. Never thought of that video card, looks very good. I usually went with 5550's but open for a change. Thanks!

xBruce88x · Nov 24, 2011, 12:41 AM

well here's this one if you want to do some gaming, but its a bit over the top for their needs i think (may not?) but would put the build out of your price range. ZOTAC Z68ITX-B-E LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/...

here's an example of a really cheap option. BIOSTAR H61MGC LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel ... or if you want hdmi and dvi... MSI H61M-E33 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Micro AT...

all of which should do fine for their needs. throw in an i3 at 3-3.2ghz, and a case with about a 300w psu. 4gb ram for around $50. for that price range you'd better make sure they don't need much storage at all if you plan to get a SSD. Although HDD are pricy right now, you still get more GB per $.

Ev1LrYu · Nov 24, 2011, 12:54 AM

Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK all mobos with IGP are capable of dual display provided they have 2 outputs (from my past experiences with AMD-based IGPs, most common would be DVI+VGA ). I would go with an FM1 route in this case.

theJesus · Nov 24, 2011, 01:01 AM

Micro Center has really good CPU/MB combos. I just saved $100 vs NewEgg by going there for my 2500K and P8Z68-V

Check out their catalogs http://www.microcenter.com/specials/catalogs/index.html

xBruce88x · Nov 24, 2011, 01:02 AM

here's a build i worked up for ya... i'll let you decide hard drive lol

you should be able to do dual monitors on that. Here's a link to the manual for the board just in case. http://www.msi.com/service/download/manual-16010.html

edit: on a side note... the copy to clipboard link with the TPU uploader doesn't seem to work with Google Chrome

theJesus · Nov 24, 2011, 01:04 AM

Fix your img URL buddy

xBruce88x · Nov 24, 2011, 01:06 AM

It's fixed... the techpowerup.org image upload site doesn't seem to be 100% compatible with Chrome

brandonwh64 · Nov 24, 2011, 01:15 AM

I have a simular setup as my cruncher (see specs <<<) it works very well for crunching and all other tasks, It even plays BF3 on medium at VERY good FPS!

Nov 23, 2011, 08:44 PM	#1
kciaccio Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 314 (0.21/day) Thanks: 59 Thanked 51 Times in 43 Posts System Specs	Building computers for a couple co-workers I am building computers for a couple of co-workers. Nothing too fancy. They don't need a lot of storage and with the price of regular HDD's going through the roof, I'm setting them up with SSD. They will be using dual monitors so I will be using a video card instead of on-board video. They don't game. Mostly be used on surfing multiple sites at once. I will be building at least 3 maybe 4 of these things. Is there any good CPU and motherboard bundles out there that you recommend? I usually shop at Newegg, Amazon,Frys and Micro Center but open to other outlets. __________________ CPU-Z validation sig pics temporarily blocked

Processor:	QuadCore Intel Core i7-2600K, 4433 MHz (43 x 103)
Motherboard:	Asus P8Z68 DELUXE GEN 3
Cooling:	Corsair H60
Memory:	8 gigs DDR3 Corsair Vengeance 1600
Video Card:	POWER COLOR HD6870 EYEFINITY 6 EDITION 2GB
Hard Disk:	KINGSTON HYPER X 120G SSD
Optical Drive:	ATAPI iHAS224
CRT/LCD Model:	Quad set of Acer X193X's AND 2 Dell P2210 - 22"
Case:	Silverstone Raven 2 WHITE LIMITED EDITION
PSU:	NZXT HALE 750
Software:	Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit

Nov 23, 2011, 08:48 PM	#2
Bo$$ Join Date: May 2009 Location: London, UK Posts: 3,666 (2.49/day) Thanks: 444 Thanked 770 Times in 679 Posts System Specs	what will they be doing on these machines? Budget? __________________ Live in the UK? Join the UK TPU Group! Caution! This is Sparta! Im Looking For... Im Selling

System Name:	Storm \| Server
Processor:	Intel i5 2500k \| Dual Xeon E5320 1.86GHZ
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z68X-UD4 \| HP XW6400
Cooling:	GeLID Tranquilo \| Custom Water
Memory:	Corsair Vengence 2x4GB RED 1600MHZ\| FBDIMM 4gb 667mhz
Video Card:	Gigabyte GTX 570 WindforceX3 OC \| 2x MSI Twin Frozr III 6950
Hard Disk:	2x WD5001AALS RAID 0 \| Western Digital 500GB Caviar Blue
Optical Drive:	22x Samsung DVD +/-RW/W \| 20x LG DVD +/-RW/W
CRT/LCD Model:	Asus VE276Q
Case:	NZXT M59 \| CM 690 II
Sound Card:	Creative Audigy 2 w/Otone Stilo 5.1 and Creative Fatal1ty headset
PSU:	ThermalTake Toughpower 850w \| Cheiftec A135 850w
Software:	Windows 7 SP1 X64 \| Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1

Nov 23, 2011, 08:56 PM	#3
lilhasselhoffer Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: East Coast, USA Posts: 1,152 (1.48/day) Thanks: 107 Thanked 655 Times in 381 Posts System Specs	1) As Bo$$ said, we need a pricing range. 2) What do they have? Monitors, OSs, office software. All of these things are often overlooked, but are a huge part of the pricing equation. 3) "Don't ever play games?" A little bit of extra money now might make gaming better in the future should they change their minds. Blind Recommendations: Minimum cost: APU set-up with a hybrid crossfire setup for multiple monitor support. Good performance, medium cost: A core i3 setup has cpu power, but you'll spend money on gpus. Better performance, higher price: core i5 2500k with gpu. No pricing cap: i7 3930k can destroy just about anything. Just as an idea, the cheapest build can be completed 100% for around $600, with the more expensive build topping out at several thousand dollars. This is why we need a price window to give you any really helpful suggestions. __________________ You haven't seen anything until you've seen this. pokes computer Wow! I didn't know the blue screen of death could get a blue screen of death.

Processor:	i7 3930k
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-X79-UD5
Cooling:	H100
Memory:	32 GB DDR3 1600
Video Card:	XFX 6950 (shader unlocked)
Hard Disk:	Too many
Optical Drive:	BD burner, DVD burner
CRT/LCD Model:	Use a TV
Case:	NZXT Phantom
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	1000 watt

Nov 23, 2011, 09:30 PM	#5
kciaccio Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 314 (0.21/day) Thanks: 59 Thanked 51 Times in 43 Posts System Specs	I can go either way on AMD or Intel. Proably looking at i3 series if intel. __________________ CPU-Z validation sig pics temporarily blocked

Nov 23, 2011, 09:49 PM	#6
theoneandonlymrk Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: republic of mancunia UK Posts: 2,204 (1.89/day) Thanks: 845 Thanked 362 Times in 302 Posts System Specs	im tempted to recommend running away from said work mates as only stress and pc fixin will follow, but you may like that sort of thing in which case i would recommend a cheap AMD FM1 socket motherboard , a 3650 APU( a cpu and gpu in one) a 2gig stick of 10 quid ddr3 1333 and a cheap case without psu and a corsair 450-550 vx value psu a a ssd of choice and your off for low money id say on budget but the APU could be downspecced and made cheaper all in without much performance loss in use __________________ Last edited by theoneandonlymrk; Nov 23, 2011 at 10:06 PM.

System Name:	Quad GT V evo / eeaaagle
Processor:	FX8350 @ 4.9 / PII 960T 3.6
Motherboard:	Asus Crosshair V formula/ asus 970A-DS3
Cooling:	240+320 rad, cpu,5870,5850,NB/Vrm blocks all EK /Hyper212 TT mod'd
Memory:	2x4Gig Mushkin blackline 2133 @2133 cas10/ ocz flex2 2x2Gb
Video Card:	5870+5850 960Gpu 1200mem gtx460x2(physx)/ nVidia GTs240
Hard Disk:	2xsamsung 840(std), WD 1Tb+2Tb grn/ Revox2 120Gig ,2xWD 250's raid 0
Optical Drive:	pioneer dvd writer/ pioneer dvd writer
CRT/LCD Model:	HannsG 23" sony bravia 32", hd ready projector (footy)/headless(24/7) + sony tv
Case:	Custom(modded) thermaltake Kandalf / random black rubbish
Sound Card:	Xfi creative 7.1 on board / low fi realtek onboard
PSU:	corsair 1200AX / modded corsair 850TX
Software:	Win8 Pro.win7 Ultimate x64 licensed
Benchmarks:	13.62K best overall sandra so far, Unigine 2500 @1680x1050 default, 3dmark11 8534 3dmark firestrike

Nov 23, 2011, 09:54 PM	#7
Kantastic Join Date: May 2009 Location: The Big Apple Posts: 4,976 (3.39/day) Thanks: 1,252 Thanked 930 Times in 739 Posts System Specs	I don't have time to spec out an entire build for you, but I would recommend paying premium for a reliable SSD. Something like a Crucial M4 or an Intel 320 Series drive would do wonders to reduce headaches and stress down the line. __________________ Heatware

System Name:	Silencio
Processor:	Intel Core i3-3225
Motherboard:	Gigabyte GA-Z77N-WIFI
Cooling:	Corsair A70 (Passive)
Memory:	Samsung 8GB MV-3V4G3D/US
Video Card:	MSI GTX 650 1GB + Arctic Cooling Accelero S1 Plus (Passive)
Hard Disk:	OCZ Agility 4 128GB
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell UltraSharp U2312HM
Case:	BitFenix Prodigy (Arctic White)
PSU:	FSP Zen 400 (Fanless)
Software:	OS X 10.8.2 Mountain Lion

Nov 23, 2011, 10:17 PM	#8
kciaccio Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 314 (0.21/day) Thanks: 59 Thanked 51 Times in 43 Posts System Specs	Great advice from both you guys! I was wondering about both those things. I was scared of what ssd to get because like theoneandonlymrk said, I want to keep my fixing time with them minimal. I have not built a FM1 yet and am interested in that too. __________________ CPU-Z validation sig pics temporarily blocked

Processor:	2500K @ 4.5GHz 1.28V
Motherboard:	ASUS P8P67 Deluxe
Cooling:	Corsair A70
Memory:	8GB (2x4GB) Corsair Vengeance 1600 9-9-9-24 1T
Video Card:	eVGA GTX 470 & GTX275 Co-op PhysX (has a GTS250 onboard)
Hard Disk:	Crucial m4 128GB + Seagate RAID 1 (1TB x 2)
Optical Drive:	Cheap and black DVD RW
CRT/LCD Model:	Dell 19" 1280x1024 nothing special
Case:	Antec 300
Sound Card:	Onboard
PSU:	PC Power & Cooling 750W
Software:	Windows 7 64bit Pro

Nov 23, 2011, 11:28 PM	#12
theoneandonlymrk Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: republic of mancunia UK Posts: 2,204 (1.89/day) Thanks: 845 Thanked 362 Times in 302 Posts System Specs	i have an ocz ssd and it does what it says on the box and has worked well on a very very old mobo lol with a special written by ocz mobo bios(not that special but it seemed odd using it) __________________

Nov 24, 2011, 12:03 AM	#13
newtekie1 Semi-Retired Folder Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Indiana Posts: 17,741 (6.49/day) Thanks: 780 Thanked 5,113 Times in 3,704 Posts System Specs	Honestly, with a $400 budget, I wouldn't even bother with an SSD. Yes, HDD prices are going through the roof, but they are still miles ahead of SSDs when it comes to $/GB and performance on a budget system isn't going to be that much improved by an SSD. This is what I would build: AMD Athlon II X4 640 Propus 3.0GHz Socket AM3 95W ... ASRock 970 EXTREME3 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.... PNY XLR8 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 160... ZOTAC Zone Edition ZT-50602-20L GeForce GT 520 (Fe... Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB C... Xigmatek ASGARD II B/B CPC-T45UC-U01 Black / Black... CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 430W ATX12V v2.3 ... Total comes to $465, so a little over, but a good solid machine with room to improve over time too(why I went with an AM3+ board). I went with the cheapest Dual-DVI card I could find, you can go cheaper if you only need VGA or HDMI for the second monitor. You could also save some more by going with a cheaper AM3 board if you don't care about upgrade room for the CPU in the future. __________________ Rig1: System Specs. Rig2: A8-5600K@4.4GHz / AsRock FM2A75 Pro4 / 8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 9-9-9-24 / HD7560D / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB WD Green + 3x3TB WD RED in RAID5 Rig3: Athlon X2 4200+ / M4A79 Deluxe / 4GB G.Skill Pi DDR2-800 4-4-4-12 / GT430 / Sony DVD-Burner / 500GB WD Rig4: Phenom II x6 1605T @ 3.6GHz / Asus M5A99X Evo / 8GB PNY DDR3-1600 9-9-9 / GTX470 & GTX470 / Samsung DVD-Burner / 1.5TB Seagate Last edited by newtekie1; Nov 24, 2011 at 12:16 AM.

Processor:	Intel Core i7 875K@4.0GHz(200x20)
Motherboard:	eVGA P55 FTW 200
Cooling:	Thermalright Ultra-120 Extreme w/ Corsair SP120 High Performance Edition
Memory:	8GB Corsair DDR3-1600 7-7-7-20
Video Card:	ASUS GTX 670 4GB DirectCU II @ 1015/3600
Hard Disk:	1TB Seagate 7200.12(OS), 3x 1.5TB Seagate 7200.11 in RAID 5
Optical Drive:	Lite-On Blu-Ray Combo Drive IHES108
CRT/LCD Model:	HP 25" 2509m 1080p LCD
Case:	Lian-Li Lancool Metal Boned K7 w/ Windowed Side Panel
Sound Card:	Onboard is good enough for me
PSU:	Corsair HX850
Software:	Windows 7 x64 Professional

Nov 24, 2011, 12:26 AM	#16
xBruce88x Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winder, GA, USA Posts: 2,216 (1.71/day) Thanks: 652 Thanked 504 Times in 399 Posts System Specs	you should be able to do dual monitors with a lot of the newer motherboards out there that have an igp/gpu on the cpu. might need an adapter for one of the ports depending on the monitors used. __________________

System Name:	Phenom-inal / IBM T43 2668-45U
Processor:	Phenom II X4 920 OC 3.2ghz / Pentium M 735 1.7Ghz
Motherboard:	ECS IC780M-A V2.0 / T43
Cooling:	7 80mm and 1 92mm case fan, Contac 30 / Stock
Memory:	Super Talent DDR2-800 2x 2GB + G.Skill 2x1GB DDR2 533 / 2x 1GB Samsung DDR2 533
Video Card:	ASUA DirectCU II HD 7850 2GB / ATI X300 64MB
Hard Disk:	500GB Hitachi 16mb 7200RPM, 1x 250GB seagate 2.5in 5400, 160GB IDE / 40GB
Optical Drive:	DVD/CD-RW combo 16x/48x Sony / DVD-ROM CD-R/RW combo
CRT/LCD Model:	ViewSonic @1280x1024 / 14.1in 1024x768
Case:	Unknown but cool / IBM Thinkpad T43
Sound Card:	Klipsch ProMedia 2.1 THX 200W and RT ALC662 / SoundMax via Intel
PSU:	CX500 / 6cell battery - 125w brick
Software:	Windows 7 Pro x64 / XP Pro SP3
Benchmarks:	The IBM can handle Farcry with Med/High settings

Nov 24, 2011, 12:41 AM	#19
xBruce88x Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winder, GA, USA Posts: 2,216 (1.71/day) Thanks: 652 Thanked 504 Times in 399 Posts System Specs	well here's this one if you want to do some gaming, but its a bit over the top for their needs i think (may not?) but would put the build out of your price range. ZOTAC Z68ITX-B-E LGA 1155 Intel Z68 HDMI SATA 6Gb/... here's an example of a really cheap option. BIOSTAR H61MGC LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel ... or if you want hdmi and dvi... MSI H61M-E33 (B3) LGA 1155 Intel H61 HDMI Micro AT... all of which should do fine for their needs. throw in an i3 at 3-3.2ghz, and a case with about a 300w psu. 4gb ram for around $50. for that price range you'd better make sure they don't need much storage at all if you plan to get a SSD. Although HDD are pricy right now, you still get more GB per $. __________________

Nov 24, 2011, 12:54 AM	#20
Ev1LrYu Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Philippines! :D Posts: 164 (0.18/day) Thanks: 158 Thanked 22 Times in 20 Posts System Specs	Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but AFAIK all mobos with IGP are capable of dual display provided they have 2 outputs (from my past experiences with AMD-based IGPs, most common would be DVI+VGA ). I would go with an FM1 route in this case. __________________ There is no need to purchase overpriced cables because they are gold tipped, blessed by the Pope and waved over an active volcano for good luck. - Kreij Lol, trading 1 core for L3 is almost like losing your manhood so that you can have an extra large finger to please Mrs. While the extra large finger is awesome, but losing your manhood is a big price to pay. - Fourstaff

System Name:	Noobie XTXx \|\| Portalet Crap Machine
Processor:	i5 2500K @ 4.5, 1.345V \|\| i7 2640QM
Motherboard:	ASUS P8P67 PRO \|\| Dell
Cooling:	CM Hyper 212+ \|\| Stock
Memory:	2 x 2gb GSkill DDR3 9-9-9-24 \|\| 8GB DDR3
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Optical Drive:	Samsung DVD-RW \|\| Stock DVDRW
CRT/LCD Model:	LG W2253TQ \|\| Crappy 1366*768 15"
Case:	CM 690 PURE Black
Sound Card:	On Board
PSU:	ThermalTake Toughpower XT 775w
Software:	Win 7 64bit

Nov 24, 2011, 01:01 AM	#21
theJesus Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 3,116 (1.77/day) Thanks: 2,301 Thanked 865 Times in 612 Posts System Specs	Micro Center has really good CPU/MB combos. I just saved $100 vs NewEgg by going there for my 2500K and P8Z68-V Check out their catalogs http://www.microcenter.com/specials/catalogs/index.html __________________ HEAT “congratulations! you have successfully been inflicted with tpuitis! symptons include: prolonged computer usage, urge to make tpu your homepage, posting at rapid posts-per-day ratios (also known as post whoring), and the urge to waste lots of money on high end computer hardware that you dont need!” -panchoman “Modding to me is something best shared with others.... Kind of like a fine wine, but without the drunk driving arrest and hangovers.” -MKmods “i'm going to punch you in the face now Jesus..” -BumbleBee

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Processor:	Intel Core i5 2500-K @ 4.6ghz
Motherboard:	ASUS P8Z68-V
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Video Card:	EVGA GTX 560 Ti SuperClocked 950/1900/2100 core/shader/mem
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Optical Drive:	Sony Optiarc AD-7240S-0B
CRT/LCD Model:	Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX @2048x1152
Case:	Antec P280
Sound Card:	HRT MusicStreamer II+
PSU:	SeaSonic X650 Gold
Software:	Win7 Ultimate x64

Nov 24, 2011, 01:02 AM	#22
xBruce88x Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winder, GA, USA Posts: 2,216 (1.71/day) Thanks: 652 Thanked 504 Times in 399 Posts System Specs	here's a build i worked up for ya... i'll let you decide hard drive lol you should be able to do dual monitors on that. Here's a link to the manual for the board just in case. http://www.msi.com/service/download/manual-16010.html edit: on a side note... the copy to clipboard link with the TPU uploader doesn't seem to work with Google Chrome __________________

Nov 24, 2011, 01:04 AM	#23
theJesus Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 3,116 (1.77/day) Thanks: 2,301 Thanked 865 Times in 612 Posts System Specs	Fix your img URL buddy __________________ HEAT “congratulations! you have successfully been inflicted with tpuitis! symptons include: prolonged computer usage, urge to make tpu your homepage, posting at rapid posts-per-day ratios (also known as post whoring), and the urge to waste lots of money on high end computer hardware that you dont need!” -panchoman “Modding to me is something best shared with others.... Kind of like a fine wine, but without the drunk driving arrest and hangovers.” -MKmods “i'm going to punch you in the face now Jesus..” -BumbleBee

Nov 24, 2011, 01:06 AM	#24
xBruce88x Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Winder, GA, USA Posts: 2,216 (1.71/day) Thanks: 652 Thanked 504 Times in 399 Posts System Specs	It's fixed... the techpowerup.org image upload site doesn't seem to be 100% compatible with Chrome __________________

Nov 24, 2011, 01:15 AM	#25
brandonwh64 Addicted to Bacon and StarCrunches!!! Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Chatsworth, GA Posts: 13,560 (10.04/day) Thanks: 2,138 Thanked 5,338 Times in 3,695 Posts System Specs	I have a simular setup as my cruncher (see specs <<<) it works very well for crunching and all other tasks, It even plays BF3 on medium at VERY good FPS! __________________ Cruncher's: All GPU's GPU's: 7970 3GB Unlocked = 8 Threads 5770 1GB OCed = 2 Threads

System Name:	The StarCrunch Defender!
Processor:	I7 2600K @ 4.5ghz 1.32V
Motherboard:	Gigabyte Z68X-UD3H-B3
Cooling:	Corsair A70 Push/Pull
Memory:	G-Skill Ripjaws 2x4GB DDR3 1866mhz
Video Card:	Gigabyte 7970 3GB Reference Card at boost clocks
Hard Disk:	2x 500GB WD Blue Raid 0 / 1TB WD Black
Optical Drive:	Samsung DVD/R/RW SATA
CRT/LCD Model:	ViewSonic VG2227wm 1080P
Case:	NZXT Tempest 410 Elite
Sound Card:	Onboard Realtek (Azalia)
PSU:	Corsair 750TX
Software:	Windows 7 Home X64

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