$600 system build (NO gaming) specs needed

[kindasmart]

A friend needs help spec'ing a system that he needs to build ASAP. I'd like to give him a quick list of parts he can purchase from Microcenter in Tustin,CA (preferred) or Newegg.

Answers to the 10 essential questions:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
1) Basic office apps and web surfing only. NO Gaming, NO audio/video/photo editing.
2) Budget: $600 incl CA TAX/Shipping. Wants a best Bang/quality-for-the-buck system.
3) Location: CA, USA. He will ONLY purchase from Microcenter (Tustin) or Newegg.
4) Parts needed: Case, PSU, Mobo, CPU, Video (onboard fine), 8G RAM, HDD -or- SSD, DVD drive.
5) Reusing: Monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers.
6) OC'ing: No.
7) Monitor res: 24" 1920x1080.
8) Timeframe: ASAP. He can wait a week or so for upcoming sales/deals.
9) Extras: None. Only onboard video, sound, NIC needed.
10) O/S: None needed. Legit Win7 x64 O/S already owned.

Much thanks from the both of us.

 

[Deleted member 88227]

Has he considered doing a prebuilt system?

 

[kindasmart]

Has he considered doing a prebuilt system?

Yeah I asked him about getting a pre-built so he wouldn't have to support it but he wants to build it himself. He would like a SSD if it can be fit into the budget and I doubt you can get a budget Dell/HP for $600 with a SSD? Or can you?

Thanks for the reply.








edit:spelling

 

[Dangman]

So he's not open to Amazon.com then?

His choice of stores is odd considering that he's gonna be charged tax at either of those locations. Amazon.com won't charge him tax. Considering his low budget, Amazon.com should be an option for some of the parts.

 

[kindasmart]

So he's not open to Amazon.com then?

His choice of stores is odd considering that he's gonna be charged tax at either of those locations. Amazon.com won't charge him tax. Considering his low budget, Amazon.com should be an option for some of the parts.

I can double check with him but I think he just wants to go into a store and buy everything in one shot and since it won't be his money the tax isn't a concern.

I'm not up on the current hardware so I decided to ask the experts for a good build spec.

Hell, I recently upgraded my AGP video card. LMAO.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1667835&highlight=century)

 

[Dangman]

I can double check with him but I think he just wants to go into a store and buy everything in one shot and since it won't be his money the tax isn't a concern.

Tax is a concern considering his low budget as that's gonna eat into his budget for parts. Especially considering today's high hard drive prices. California sales tax is about 8.75% give or take. That means there's only $547 left for parts before taxes. Then there's shipping too. If you do buy from Amazon.com, that leaves an extra $50 for more/better parts. And you did say "Wants a best Bang/quality-for-the-buck system."

So if your friend really wants that, he's gonna have to buy from Amazon.com.

If he buys from Amazon.com, he can get this setup:
$113 - Intel Core i3-2120
$90 - Intel BOXDH67BLB3 Intel H67 mATX Motherboard
$38 - Corsair CMV8GX3M2A1333C9 4 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$169 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$80 - Western Digital WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$21 - Sony DVD Burner
$47 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU
$40 - NZXT Source 210 White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
---
Total: $598 shipped if using free super saver shipping.

If he bought the same parts from MC or Newegg, he's looking at $670 to $690 shipped for all of the parts once tax, shipping, and slightly higher prices are factored in. See how much more bang for the buck he's getting if he doesn't have to pay taxes?

 

[K1tty]

Well since he's near a MicroCenter and wants to buy all his parts there how about one of these:

A6 X3 3500 2.1GHz Triple Core Socket FM1 Boxed Processor - $69.99
Gigabyte GA-A75M-UD2H Socket FM1 mATX Motherboard - $74.99
8GB Kingston Ram - $29.99
DVD Burner - $17.99
Corsair CX430 Power Supply (but note this is much cheaper at Newegg if you're willing to order and wait - $54.99 (Looks like there is also a $20 rebate whether you buy from NE or MC)
Xigmatek Asgard II - $39.99 (of course there are other case options - Corsair 300r/400r/500r, Fractal Design case is a pretty good deal at MC as well.
Crucial M4 128GB SSD - $169.99 (Sadly you just missed a really good deal Newegg had on these SSDs.

Total = $457.93 pretax. With money left over you could either up the SSD size to 256GB or add in a large conventional drive.

Other option is to swap out the AMD Fusion processor and motherboard for an Intel i3 2100 and H61 motherboard.

i3 2100 - $99.99
MSI H61 Motherboard - $69.99

This would add around $25. Since this is only going to be used for basic office/web either choice would be fine. The AMD system has better built in graphics capabilities. Whereas the Intel cpu is faster. Also, the Intel platform has a more viable upgrade path if that needs to be taken into consideration.

 

[kindasmart]

$169 - Crucial M4 CT128M4SSD2 2.5" 128GB SSD
$80 - Western Digital WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

Looks good Danny. Thanks for the build. I think he would need either the SSD or the HDD but not both. I can double check with him to be sure if money is more of a concern than system responsiveness.

Edit: The RAM you listed above is 2x4GB and not 4x2GB correct. Thanks?

 

[kindasmart]

Well since he's near a MicroCenter and wants to buy all his parts there how about one of these:


i3 2100 - $99.99
MSI H61 Motherboard - $69.99

Also, the Intel platform has a more viable upgrade path if that needs to be taken into consideration.

I'm thinking he'll go the Intel route but I'll give him both suggestions. And having an optional upgrade path is nice.

Thanks for the suggestions K1tty.

 

[Dangman]

Looks good Danny. Thanks for the build. I think he would need either the SSD or the HDD but not both. I can double check with him to be sure if money is more of a concern than system responsiveness.

Well if he has to buy from Newegg or MC, dropping the HDD from the above build will cover the tax, shipping, and higher costs.

If he can buy from Amazon. he can up the CPU to the Core i5 2400.

Edit: The RAM you listed above is 2x4GB and not 4x2GB correct. Thanks?

Yeah it's 2x4GB. My mistake there