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3 build recommendations

B

BlueBeard

n00b
Joined
Dec 16, 2012
Messages
7
Looking for recommendations for 3 builds for the family. These will replace 6+ year old systems.

PC #1 = myself
PC #2 = wife
PC #3 = mom

Would like to keep the MB, case and possibly PSU alike across all 3 builds and have the remaining components tailored a bit more to each PC's use. Am willing to go slightly overkill on any one PC to keep MB the same throughout.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc

PC #1: Web browsing, basic office related tasks, might like to get back into gaming at some point down the road. (next 3 to 6 months)

PC #2: Heavy office tasks, web browsing.

PC #3: Mostly web browsing.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?

$2000.00 tax and shipping included. (total for all builds together)

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.

Port Huron, Michigan.

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.

PC #1: Case, PSU, MB, CPU, RAM, Harddrive (1TB), DVD burner. GPU unsure.

PC #2: Case, PSU, MB, CPU, RAM, Harddrive (1TB), DVD burner. GPU don't think so as long as MB can support dual monitor

PC #3: Case, PSU, MB, CPU, RAM, Harddrive (500GB), DVD burner.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.

PC #1: Dual Samsung 2433BW monitors, USB keyboard / Mouse.

PC #2: Dual Samsung 2433BW monitors, USB keyboard / Mouse.

PC #3: LCD monitor, USB keyboard / Mouse.

6) Will you be overclocking?

PC #1: No.

PC #2: No.

PC #3: No.

7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?

PC #1: 24" 1920 x 1200 (dual)

PC #2: 24" 1920 x 1200 (dual)

PC #3: 19" 1920 x 1200 (single)

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?

Before the end of the week.

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.

PC #1: Onboard audio, Onboard video as temporary option?

PC #2: Onboard audio, Onboard video as main GPU.

PC #3: Onboard audio, Onboard video as main GPU.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?

PC #1: Need OS.

PC #2: Need OS.

PC #3: Need OS.

Windows 7 Pro 64 Bit. Already have legitimately purchased copies compliments of Mom.



Thank you in advance.
 
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You might want actually fill out the answers in the questionnaire. Replace the "***" with your answers.
 
How far are you from this Microcenter location?:
http://microcenter.com/site/stores/madison-heights.aspx

Also, you may have to go prebuilt for the last two systems since those are A) not exactly heavy usage scenarios and B) both require an OS which will eat up a good chunk of the budget.The only reason why you would go DIY with PC 1 is because there's a possibility of gaming. Speaking of which, do you have any timeframe as to when you'll start playing games?
 
That Microcenter is probably a good hour and a half away but I'd be willing to make the drive if it's in my best interest.

Understand about the light usage scenarios but could you humor me?

Also, regarding the OS, Think that may be taken care of by Mom already. Original post updated to reflect that.

Gaming timeframe maybe 3-6 months.
 
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Just to be clear: Your mom has actually bought three copies of Windows 7?

Also, you didn't answer my timeframe question.
 
Also, what's the storage needs for all the PCs? i.e does your wife need like 500GB of storage whereas your mom would be fine with 128GB of storage? etc.
 
The wife and I always seem to run low on storage, photos, videos, etc. Think 1TB would do for us.

Mom could likely get by with much less.
 
PC 1:
$189 - Intel Core i5-3470 CPU
$73 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$52 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$189 - Crucial M4 256GB SSD
$71 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$55 - XFX Core Edition PRO550W 550W PSU
$55 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
----
Total: $702 shipped

PC 2 and 3:
$121 - Intel Core i3-3220 CPU
$73 - Gigabyte GA-B75M-D3H Intel B75 mATX Motherboard
$52 - Corsair CMV8GX3M1A1333C9 8GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$116 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$71 - Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$18 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$55 - XFX Core Edition PRO550W 550W PSU
$55 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
-----
Total: $561 shipped


-----
Total for all three PCs: $1824 shipped.

Honestly that 550W PSU is pure overkill for PC 2 and 3 but it's a fantastic deal for a solid PSU. In fact, I'd highly recommend ordering the three XFX PSus right now as it may not be available at that price at the end of the week.

I included a SSD in each build since that'll make the largest noticeable performance difference in a PC. Just keep the OS and some apps on the SSD and the rest of the data on the HDD.
 
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Thank you for the recommendations! Will review and ask any questions I might have as soon as I get home from work.
 
No GPU for the potential gaming machine (or did I miss where he said he didn't want one)? Radeon 7850 might be a nice option for the last bit of cash you've got in the budget. If you want to cut a bit more you could drop the 256GB SSD to another 128GB potentially.
 
OrangeWolf said:
No GPU for the potential gaming machine (or did I miss where he said he didn't want one)? Radeon 7850 might be a nice option for the last bit of cash you've got in the budget. If you want to cut a bit more you could drop the 256GB SSD to another 128GB potentially.
Click to expand...

He's not planning on gaming for another 3-6 months. As such, I don't see a reason why he should buy a dedicated GPU when he won't be taking advantage of it. Especially considering that there might be better GPU deals 3-6 months from now.
 
After reviewing everything I went with your recommendations.

Yes, best for me to hold off on the GPU for now, too. For all I know that 3-6 month timeframe always has the chance to end up being extended as sometimes happens when work, family, life get in the way.

Thank you very much for your assistance.
 
As cheap as RAM is and since you still have room from your $2k budget, I would go with more on the gaming rig. 16GB should be more, then more than plenty. I have 16GB and rarely use 7GB total, but a year and a half ago I had 8GB and used 4GB total. (With 4GB being used for a RAMDisk drive)

Point is.
It's cheap.
Better to have too much RAM than not enough when the time comes.
 
Skillz said:
Point is.
It's cheap.
Better to have too much RAM than not enough when the time comes.
Click to expand...

I agree, but with a caveat: Get the second 8GB DIMM for only your machine. Your wife and mother don't need more than 8GB of RAM.
 
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