$400 build.

[sneekypeet]

Ok, long story short here. My bro-in-law wants a new PC, as his antiquated P4 with 1GB of memory isnt cutting it anymore. I offered to upgrade it a bit, but he says if he is going to spend money he wants something newer.

I need the essentials only:
Mobo (can have IGP)
CPU
Ram
PSU
Hard drive

Uses:
Paying bills online
Emails
Fantasy football
NO GAMING

So lets see what you can come up with. Keep in mind this is something I may have to maintain, so please no poorly rated parts

Thanks in advance for your time and effort

 

[ap4lifetn]

are you close to a microcenter? they have great deals on AMD cpus with motherboard combos

I priced out a Athlon X4 3.0GHz with a 785 mATX mobo for a little over $300, not including $40 worth of rebates
the rest is as follows:
4GB DDR3 RAM
500GB Samsung HD
400W OCZ stealthxstream II
Xigmatek Asgard II

been deciding whether to bite on this or not as an additional rig

 

[mlee49]

G31/35 775 motherboard~$70
4GB DDR2 800MHz ram~$60
E7200 cpu ~$100(new)
450W Powersupply~$40
500GB HDD~$50
Total: $320

Total should be well under $400 if you buy some items used.

Upgradeable room, motherboard to a P45 mATX board with 1 PCIE slot. An ATi 4770 or 5430 would be a cheap vga alternative as well.

 

[sneekypeet]

are you close to a microcenter? they have great deals on AMD cpus with motherboard combos

I priced out a Athlon X4 3.0GHz with a 785 mATX mobo for a little over $300, not including $40 worth of rebates
the rest is as follows:
4GB DDR3 RAM
500GB Samsung HD
400W OCZ stealthxstream II
Xigmatek Asgard II

been deciding whether to bite on this or not as an additional rig

I wish Best we have here is Best Buy

G31/35 775 motherboard~$70
4GB DDR2 800MHz ram~$60
E7200 cpu ~$100(new)
450W Powersupply~$40
500GB HDD~$50
Total: $320

Total should be well under $400 if you buy some items used.

Upgradeable room, motherboard to a P45 mATX board with 1 PCIE slot. An ATi 4770 or 5430 would be a cheap vga alternative as well.

Thats attractive Wondering if I should look into 1156 with a dual though if I go Intel. Oh the choices.

Keep 'em coming please

 

[JATownes]

Try this Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...

Seems like a good combo for just $260.

 

[sneekypeet]

Try this Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...

Seems like a good combo for just $260.

I cant argue that is a good deal for the price. Dont be afraid to get closer to the $400. This PC needs to last. The one its replacing is over 4 years old.

Even though its grossly overpowered, a generic PSU scares me.

 

[mlee49]

Thats attractive Wondering if I should look into 1156 with a dual though if I go Intel. Oh the choices.

Keep 'em coming please

Ok, heres an 1156 build:

i5 650 $185
Gigabyte H55 $80
4GB DDR3 1600(cas 8) $65
450W PSU w/4650 ~$80(with $25 MIR)
500GB HDD~$50

total: $460 BUT $25 MIR and you can tell him it will last him at least 5 years no problems.

 

[newtekie1]

Once You Know, You Newegg

$305.

Ok, heres an 1156 build:

i5 650 $185
Gigabyte H55 $80
4GB DDR3 1600(cas 8) $65
450W PSU w/4650 ~$80(with $25 MIR)
500GB HDD~$50

total: $460 BUT $25 MIR and you can tell him it will last him at least 5 years no problems.

Just save the $60 by going with the i3 550 for $114. It is the same processor, minus turbo, which won't really make a difference in the applications he's looking at.

 

[sneekypeet]

Ok, heres an 1156 build:

i5 650 $185
Gigabyte H55 $80
4GB DDR3 1600(cas 8) $65
450W PSU w/4650 ~$80(with $25 MIR)
500GB HDD~$50

total: $460 BUT $25 MIR and you can tell him it will last him at least 5 years no problems.

Once You Know, You Newegg

$305.

ohhh those two are nice. I think I can get away with $450-ish, but I will get with him to clear it all. I knew there was a reason I asked here instead of doing this all by myself and failing

Good call with the edit NT

 

[mlee49]

Meh, theres ways of trimming that build. Cheaper ram, used HDD, lesser PSU... anyway you shape it it's still a heck of alot better than the P4.

 

[ASRockIQ]

here ya go...

 

[sneekypeet]

Meh, theres ways of trimming that build. Cheaper ram, used HDD, lesser PSU... anyway you shape it it's still a heck of alot better than the P4.

Not really looking to go used. I want RMA-able hardware as this isn't something I really want to see too often. He does fairly well with his PC, and he doesn't get too much in the way of virus' or malware, so I shouldn't have to see it that much, but I don't want to come out of packet to help fix things of they flake out either.

I like the 1156 build, but mainly that I honestly don't know much about AMD anymore. Seeing their procs is like useless as I don't know what they are capable of anyways. Time to do some Googling and see what AMD is capable of with the low end to mid range chips.

@ asrock...the 760G thats pretty old as far as AMD chipsets, yeah?

 

[ChewyBrownSuga]

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor

GIGABYTE AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Motherboard (

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

all for around $402.01, and if he can spare an extra $50 for a psu he can have one killer build

 

[sneekypeet]

Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...

AMD Phenom II X6 1055T 2.8GHz Socket AM3 125W Six-Core Desktop Processor

GIGABYTE AM3 AMD 890GX HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX Motherboard (

OCZ Platinum 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory

Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive

all for around $402.01, and if he can spare an extra $50 for a psu he can have one killer build

I have a couple newer ones around the house (PSUs). So either this or Mlees 1156 build are looking to be tops of the list so far.

 

[ASRockIQ]

@peet, yeah but he wouldn't really need anything better

 

[sneekypeet]

@peet, yeah but he wouldn't really need anything better

I was just thinking about driver updates/support for the chipset.

 

[ASRockIQ]

I was just thinking about driver updates/support for the chipset.

ok i got ya there

ok switch with this and you should be good with my build of choice

Link

 

[sneekypeet]

ok i got ya there

ok switch with this and you should be good with my build of choice

Link

when I click the link I get:
Search Results
We apologize for the inconvenience, but the item you are looking for has been deactivated. Here are some similar products that you may wish to consider:

 

[Magikherbs]

Hia Sneeky !

For a little more you can get something with an Amd 850 southbridge. USB3 and SATA3 are future proof and you'll have a better chance at unlocking a cpu.
Do you know how to tell a Propus from a Deneb ?

 

[sneekypeet]

Hia Sneeky !

For a little more you can get something with an Amd 850 southbridge. USB3 and SATA3 are future proof and you'll have a better chance at unlocking a cpu.
Do you know how to tell a Propus from a Deneb ?

While thats a good way to go for me who is looking to tweak and gain free stuff, I think for this build I would be better off leaving things stock as to not incur an oddities that might show up over the long term

 

[Magikherbs]

While thats a good way to go for me who is looking to tweak and gain free stuff, I think for this build I would be better off leaving things stock as to not incur an oddities that might show up over the long term

It leaves your options open in case his needs change. Some of the Amd chipsets have added sideport memory for the onboard Gpu, btw...

 

[Zen_]

Holy crap, a hexa core for email?

If someone was going to be banging on my door for support I'd just want to be something simple with good quality components.

2.8 GHz Sempron
Asus 880G Micro-ATX
4GB memory
320GB Samsung F4
Asus optical disk
Rosewill Micro-ATX case
300w SeaSonic 80+ PSU
800RPM Scythe S-Flex case fan
Windows 7 Home

I think that would be a very decent basic computer.

 

[n-ster]

A hexacore would definitively be overkill, but definitively AWESOME lol.

I'd suggest the hexacore just because it is so much more worth it, the resell value will kick the lga 1156 ASS and I love overkill. did I mention that it would totally be kick ass? Also, if he keeps his comp 10 years, who knows what he could get in to, or if he gives it to his son or something.

Also upgradability would be very easy and good, and maintenance shouldn't be anymore more than the i3

 

[Trigger911]

Some nice work here... heres one i did months ago looked nice when it was done I did change the fans tho ...... Newegg.com Account Login Page I notice people are like patriots they like shiney things

 

[sneekypeet]

Link doesn't seem to be public trigger