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$200 Build

N

nertil1

Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 11, 2003
Messages
371
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Just surfing the net/office/watching video/hd video
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
no more than $200, yes
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
MI, US
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Motherboard, CPU, Memory, Case, PSU
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitor, dvd drive, hard drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
next few weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Nothing Special
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 32bit


I noticed this article at PCworld for PC under $200 and I was interested in doing something similar for a pc im building for my parents:

Motherboard: Zotac GF6100-F-E $45
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 270 $79
Memory: Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM $16
Case: Broadway Com Corp 1243MA $29.99
PSU: Antec Basiq BP350 350W ATX12V v2.01 $29.99

Please take a look and give me any suggestion.
Thank you!
 
What do you mean by HD video? That could potentially be the deal-breaker as the onboard GPUs on most low-end Intel and AMD processors (Intel Sandy Bridge) and motherboards aren't really good enough for 1080p video.
 
tiraides said:
What do you mean by HD video? That could potentially be the deal-breaker as the onboard GPUs on most low-end Intel and AMD processors (Intel Sandy Bridge) and motherboards aren't really good enough for 1080p video.
Click to expand...

Can't you just use your CPU to play the 1080p video?
 
Yeah that's what I was thinking. I have no issues playing 1080p videos on my E8400 and Intel onboard video.
 
ZodaEX said:
Can't you just use your CPU to play the 1080p video?
Click to expand...

Some of the older onboard GPUs used to freeze up and stutter when playing 1080p video. The onboard GPU in the OP's motherboard selection uses the equivalent to a low-end GeForce 6xxx series GPU, which is several years old now.
 
No, I was just talking mainly regular video but might go to 720p, nothing above that.
 
To use these selections your old hard drive and DVD would have to be SATA not IDE

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359809
http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0359807

Add both to cart and with tax it comes to $116.58, available in store only at the detroit/madison heights location if that is close enough for you. This would shame the AMD on a geforce 6100 but it only has a d-sub 15 pin connection for the monitor

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116399 $78
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138313 $50

These two would add $4 to the budget and still out perform the amd, and gain a DVI port on the mainboard. but you give up 500 MHz and hyperthreading from the I3
 
take advantage of the current 20% dell outlet coupons to get something like this:

Dell Home Outlet has Refurbished Inspiron 620 Desktop PCs starting at $223 with free shipping. Thanks l3536
Click here
Click "Check Prices" under Inspiron 620
Order by price, Low-to-High
Add $279 system to cart, proceed to checkout
At checkout, apply coupon 20% off code S3N5D?HNTT1JLD

Your total will be $279 - 20% off = $223 with free shipping

Sample system specs:
Intel Core i3-2100 3.1GHz
500GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
4GB DDR3
16X DVD +/- RW Drive
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-Bit Operating System DVD
Note, Dell Outlet inventory is dynamic, and specifications and configuration may change without notice
Click to expand...
Source:
http://slickdeals.net/forums/showthread.php?t=3276250
 
nertil1 said:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Just surfing the net/office/watching video/hd video
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
no more than $200, yes
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
MI, US
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Motherboard, CPU, Memory, Case, PSU
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Monitor, dvd drive, hard drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19"
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
next few weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video? etc.
Nothing Special
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Windows 7 32bit


I noticed this article at PCworld for PC under $200 and I was interested in doing something similar for a pc im building for my parents:

Motherboard: Zotac GF6100-F-E $45
CPU: AMD Athlon II X2 270 $79
Memory: Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM $16
Case: Broadway Com Corp 1243MA $29.99
PSU: Antec Basiq BP350 350W ATX12V v2.01 $29.99

Please take a look and give me any suggestion.
Thank you!
Click to expand...

I saw that article and didn't much care for their motherboard choice. Give me a bit and I'll post a build. nVidia chipsets should generally be avoided IMO. You might be able to fit a triple core processor in there too since you already have a hard drive. And get 4GB of RAM.
 
$87 - AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz and Crucial 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$60 - BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$37 - Broadway Com Corp 1244MA-BLACK Glossy black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
Subtotal: $184
Shipping: $8
Total: $192
 
Here's a sandy bridge based option, just under your budget.
You'll need to use a IDE controller addon card if your drives are IDE ($10 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132012)

Sentey Classic Series 1332 Mid Tower SECC .6mm 2xUSB/1 x eSATA/PSU BCP450-OS/ATX-MATX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322041
$44.99

Intel Pentium G850 Sandy Bridge 2.9GHz COMBO
BIOSTAR H61MU3
$149.98 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.726668

Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR3
$10.99 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148221

Discounts:
case discount 15% off with promo code SenteySep15
-$6.75

Subtotal: $205.96
Discounts: -$6.75
Shipping: $0 (all have free shipping)
Total: $199.21
 
tonytnnt said:
$87 - AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana 3.2GHz and Crucial 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$60 - BIOSTAR A880G+ AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
$37 - Broadway Com Corp 1244MA-BLACK Glossy black Steel ATX Mini Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
Subtotal: $184
Shipping: $8
Total: $192
Click to expand...

If you switch to the other sentey case (it's got free shipping) and bundle the board with the ram, you can use the $10 off cpu on the x3 450

case - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811322041
mobo/ram - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.726355
cpu - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886

Subtotal: $196.96
Dicounts:
Case -$6.75 (code: SenteySep15 ends 9/15)
Cpu - $10.00 (coe: EMCKAKJ26 ends 9/7)
Shipping: $0 (all items have free shipping)

$180.21 shipped

----
Since that opens up a few bucks in the budget, let's try to sqeeze a real PSU in there.

Ditch that case and get this one from geeks.com
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid=T6023
$23.99 shipped

You can get a real psu instead of the junk that comes with the case
Like the Corsair 430watt
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026
 
Last edited:
Due to your budget being so low, I can't say that I can recommend something that will have a future in upgrade abilities. However, to get you by now here are my suggestions.

$87.98 - MD Athlon II X2 250 / BIOSTAR N68S3+ AM3
$10.99 - Crucial 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333
$49.99 COOLER MASTER ELITE 335 ATX CASE
$44.99 - Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W PSU

Total: $193.95 plus shipping.

Few things about this build.
-That CPU/Motherboard combo will perform the tasks you request just fine, including watching HD Video.
-Due to only having a 32bit operating system, I am only getting you 2Gb of total memory since the most memory you can use would be somewhere around 3.25 - 3.50 Gb.
-This case will have plenty of cooling available for your system. Plus should you plan to build a new rig, this case should be able to accommodate your needs.
-I recommend this PSU over the other PSU's that come bundled in those case combos. Having a reliable PSU is worth spending the extra money on, because if the PSU goes out it could potentially take out part or or your whole system with it.
 
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