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$500 build advice

P

paco

Gawd
Joined
Feb 3, 2003
Messages
952
1) What will you be doing with this PC? light gaming, Photoshop, Lightroom
2) What's your budget? $500 including shipping
3) Which country do you live in? Janesville, WI US
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU/Heatsink, Graphics card, DDR3 RAM, Motherboard, Case
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Will be reusing HDD's, DVD drives, PSU (Corsair HX620)
6) Will you be overclocking? Nope
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it? 24", I think. Don't recall resolution
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC? Now
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? 4 RAM slots, 2 PCI slots, 4 SATA (any speed). Upgradeable on CPU end and graphics.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? Need Windows 7 64bit, only have XP now

Not sure what my friend has got me doing here. I really wish she had more money than this. But frankly, she can't even afford this.

If it can fit in a Lian Li PC-61b case, then I can save money on that. But that's hard pressed to fit most big graphics cards and hard drives.
 
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Well, I think most mid range video cards will fit in the case you listed. I looked at Radeon 6850's, and Geforce GTX 560 (non-Ti), and the 560's seemed a little shorter. With that, you could pretty easily build a Core i3 2100, 8GB ram, mobo, and good video card for $400 including shipping.

Edit: This is all from Newegg.com. You could save a little by going with a Sandy Bridge Pentium, like $10.
 
Please answer the stickied "ANSWER THESE QUESTIONS FIRST!" so that we can help you better.
 
2500K + Stock Heatsink
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
HIS H685FN1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB

After rebate : 529.98

I personally think, the best bang for the buck vs. a i3

Youll be happy with this set up and you can reuse your case,
 
Slufa111 said:
2500K + Stock Heatsink
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
HIS H685FN1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB

After rebate : 529.98

I personally think, the best bang for the buck vs. a i3

Youll be happy with this set up and you can reuse your case,
Click to expand...

I'm sure she would be happy with this build. But a new case is needed. The old one is too big for them, has a busted door, and some other busted plastics. Plus you don't have Windows 7 included in that price. I'm hoping to get around that cost though.
 
Prelim build:
$110 - Core i3 2100 ($15 off w/ promo code EMCNHJC32, ends 2/20)
$206 - Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 Intel Z68 mATX Motherboard + Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM Combo
$37 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$83 - eVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
---
Total: $486 shipped.

Notes:
- Buy that CPU TODAY!

Slufa111 said:
2500K + Stock Heatsink
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
HIS H685FN1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB

After rebate : 529.98

I personally think, the best bang for the buck vs. a i3

Youll be happy with this set up and you can reuse your case,
Click to expand...
IMO, not a good setup at all due to the poor motherboard and slightly overpriced video card: If you're gonna go low-end anyway on the video card, the HIS HD 6870 is only $15 more.
 
Danny Bui said:
Prelim build:
$110 - Core i3 2100 ($15 off w/ promo code EMCNHJC32, ends 2/20)
$206 - Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 Intel Z68 mATX Motherboard + Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64bit OEM Combo
$37 - G.Skill Value Series F3-10600CL9D-8GBNT 2 x 4GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$83 - eVGA 01G-P3-1441-KR GeForce GT 440 1GB PCI-E Video Card
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
---
Total: $486 shipped.

Notes:
- Buy that CPU TODAY!


IMO, not a good setup at all due to the poor motherboard and slightly overpriced video card: If you're gonna go low-end anyway on the video card, the HIS HD 6870 is only $15 more.
Click to expand...

Why do you say that is a bad motherboard? If one doesn't need the Win 7 or mATX form factor is the Gigabyte motherboard you posted that much better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495 vs http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
 
paco said:
I'm sure she would be happy with this build. But a new case is needed. The old one is too big for them, has a busted door, and some other busted plastics. Plus you don't have Windows 7 included in that price. I'm hoping to get around that cost though.
Click to expand...

If you have any woodworking ability at all, you can make a slab of planed wood your benching station.
 
bausch said:
Why do you say that is a bad motherboard? If one doesn't need the Win 7 or mATX form factor is the Gigabyte motherboard you posted that much better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495 vs http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
Click to expand...

The problem is that the ASRock has not been reviewed well by those in charge of lab testing here at the [H]ardOCP. If the ASRock Z68 Extreme4/Gen3 is labeled a "big steaming bowl of disappointment" at the [H]ardOCP, the Extreme3 is no better. Plus, ASRock's motherboards all have relatively short warranties and are overpriced for products that have such short warranties. Worst of all, ASRock's Z68 motherboards suffer from more erratic quality control than most other brands.
 
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bausch said:
Why do you say that is a bad motherboard? If one doesn't need the Win 7 or mATX form factor is the Gigabyte motherboard you posted that much better?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128495 vs http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157271
Click to expand...

Pretty much what E4g1e said: If the higher-end ASRock Z68 Extreme4/Gen3 was of poor quality as said by HardOCP, that does not bode well for the lower-end ASRock Z68 Extreme3/Gen3. Gigabyte has a fairly solid track record when it comes to motherboards and a longer warranty. Hence why I'd rather go with and recommend the Gigabyte GA-Z68MA-D2H-B3 mobo over that AsRock. At the $130 shipped price point of that AsRock motherboard, there are quite a few other Z68 options like the Asus P8Z68-V LX and LX series and the Gigabyte GA-Z68A-D3H-B3 and GA-Z68XP-UD3 motherboards.
 
2500K + Stock Heatsink
ASRock Z68 Extreme3 Gen3 LGA 1155 Intel Z68
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
HIS H685FN1GD Radeon HD 6850 1GB
Click to expand...

this. btw the asrock z68 extreme 4 is a beast.
 
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