Budget build help....

J

jbmx4life

2[H]4U
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Oct 14, 2004
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Well it has been a long time since I have tried to keep up on the latest and greatest.... but I am not even looking for that here. My dad called me up this morning and wants me to build a new computer for his g/f. Right now she is running something OLD (P3 1Ghz) and he just gets frustrated with it on the weekends when he is there. Now I will answer the following questions and would like to see what kind of help I can get since I am so far behind on what is what now days:

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, online college classes, basic online games, online videos

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
~$500 that includes shipping (cheaper the better)

3) Where do you live?
Wisconsin

4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Lets go for a complete build and see what happens. The only things that MIGHT be reused are the Hard drives and cd/dvd drives.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
*Listed above* Drives are IDE flavor (rock on old sk00l)

6) Will you be overclocking?
NO

7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
19" widescreen

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

9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Just basics.... I am guessing that on-board video would be just fine but if there is a mobo/video combo for a bit more that would be better, I would consider it

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
YES
 
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I would be remiss if I didn't attempt to show you a special on a pre-built Dell system first. Here are two Dell specials courtesy of GotApex.com:

DEAL FOR $185 OFF THE INSPIRON 530 DESKTOP AT DELL HOME Get $185 off an Inspiron 530 desktop with Intel Core 2 Quad Processor, making it $449. The Home & Home Office site and offers contained herein valid only for end users and not for resellers and/or online auctions. Offers subject to change, not combinable with all other offers. Taxes, shipping, handling and other fees apply. U.S. Dell Home and Home Office new purchases only. Purchase limit of 5 systems per order, but coupon discount applies to only 1 system per cart. Limit of 5 systems per customer please. Dell reserves the right to cancel orders arising from pricing or other errors. This expires 4/30/09 at 5:55am CST.

DEAL FOR A COMPLETE DESKTOP PACKAGE WITH 17-INCH MONITOR FOR UNDER $500 AT DELL HOME Get a complete desktop package, including a 17-inch monitor, for less than $500. No code needed. Discount automatic through this link. The Home & Home Office site and offers contained herein valid only for end users and not for resellers and/or online auctions. Offers subject to change, not combinable with all other offers. Taxes, shipping, handling and other fees apply. U.S. Dell Home and Home Office new purchases only. Purchase limit of 5 systems per order, but coupon discount applies to only 1 system per cart. Limit of 5 systems per customer please. Dell reserves the right to cancel orders arising from pricing or other errors. This expires 4/30/09 at 5:59am CST.
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If you want a build you could assemble yourself (for simplicity's sake, all parts are from NewEgg):

$80 - Antec NSK4480B ATX mid-tower case with Antec Earthwatts EA380 380W PSU
$75 - Asus M3A78-CM microATX motherboard
$56 - AMD Athlon X2 4850e dual-core processor (free shipping)
$40 - A-DATA 2x2GB DDR2 800 dual channel kit (free shipping)
$60 - Samsung HD642JJ 640GB SATA HDD (free shipping, optional)
$25 - Samsung SH-S223F SATA DVD burner (free shipping, optional)
=====
$251 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)
+ $85 - Cost of optional HDD and optical drive
=====
$336 - Estimated total (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

Shipping is estimated to be around $25 for the case/PSU bundle and $10 for the motherboard, but it could be more or even less. This build is one of many you could go with; I focused on building a simple yet effective build for your dad's immediate needs. As a long-term solution, you may want to consider building around the recently released Phenom II platform, as you could fit a processor and motherboard in with your budget.

As an aside, most of today's motherboards only have one ATA/IDE port that only supports two devices.
 
Thanks for your help and suggestions..... I greatly appreciate them.

Got any suggestions on the Intel side? Just mobo and cpu...

Anyone else wanna try at this?? Just want more options to try...
 
Intel's sub-$100 microATX boards aren't as robust as AMD's boards, so we normally recommend something like the Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L along with a cheap video card (like, for example, the Sapphire HD3450). For the processor, you could go with something like the E5200 (or, depending on how much you're willing to spend, something better, like the E7400). You could leave everything else the same, as the NSK4480 case is designed to handle ATX motherboards.
 
Take a look at Dell Outlet. They frequently have really good deals on computers which are new (Previously Ordered New).
 
tiraides said:
Intel's sub-$100 microATX boards aren't as robust as AMD's boards, so we normally recommend something like the Gigabyte GA-EP43-UD3L along with a cheap video card (like, for example, the Sapphire HD3450). For the processor, you could go with something like the E5200 (or, depending on how much you're willing to spend, something better, like the E7400). You could leave everything else the same, as the NSK4480 case is designed to handle ATX motherboards.
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Why not just suggest the gigabyte board, and the e5200? Throw down a 350X8.5 multi and get a almost 3.0g dualcore proc? Cheep and effective.
 
if he is not overclocking x2 7750 is better choice than e5200... Just a 780G board and he is set.
 
But to clarify, I wasn't recommending parts for raw performance. The AMD build that I designed earlier was more of a bang-for-your-buck build that was designed more to keep costs low than to speed through web pages and Word documents.

I mean, I could have recommended, say, the Foxconn G31AX-K to be paired with the E5200 as a low-cost option, but even that ATX board would be woefully inadequate compared to a $60 microATX board for an AMD processor. And most of the onboard AMD 7xx-series GPUs are capable of playing HD video whereas most of the Intel-based solutions can't.
 
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Would a 780G mobo be better than the 780V with around the same price point? Is the AM2+ CPU any better than the regular AM2?

Just trying to weigh my options here yet. Any other build ideas would still be great too. I have really been out of the loop as of lately especially with the AMD side.

Thanks for any and all help.
 
jbmx4life said:
Would a 780G mobo be better than the 780V with around the same price point? Is the AM2+ CPU any better than the regular AM2?

Just trying to weigh my options here yet. Any other build ideas would still be great too. I have really been out of the loop as of lately especially with the AMD side.

Thanks for any and all help.
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The 780G is better than the 780V chipset in terms of onboard video capability. the 780G chipset will be able to offload the decoding of HD content if the OS is setup properly but the 780V cannot. That's the major difference.

The X2 7750 is significantly faster than the X2 4850e but it uses twice as much power to do so.
 
Power difference between either would buy a few McD meals at the end of the year. Full CPU load, esp constant load is a hard thing to achieve. You're much better off running a more powerful 7750.

From Fud
amd_7750_power.gif
 
I am currently using a 7750 and Gigabyte 780G-UD3H board. CPU down clocks to 1.4 GHz @ 1.05v, once CPU load is below 25%
 
Is the Biostar board that I linked to a good board or is there something else that I should look at in the comparative price range? I think that I am pretty much set on everything else...


EDIT:
THIS one better for a few dollars more??
 
If I had to choose between Asus and Biostar, I'd go with an Asus.
 
lowteckh said:
Get a Gigabyte. The HD3200 of those boards will overclock to crazy heights (up to or over 900MHz on the core). They've also gone through a ton of revisions (and a ton of renaming as an unfortunate result) so they know what's going on.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128379
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Not really looking for the overclocking performance aspect of things, more of the stability side than anything. I want something that is going to be reliable and last for a number of years as I know my dad won't be buying another computer in the near future. Just remember, this is going to be an upgrade from a P3 1Ghz..... that should tell you how long it needs to last ;)
 
At stock speeds, most of the motherboards recommended here will last a while. Gigabyte and Asus has generally good CS in case anything goes wrong, and Foxconn isn't a slouch in that department either.

Keep in mind that even the cheapest processor recommended here (which is a dual-core) will outperform that P3 in everyday tasks.
 
Gigabyte 780G boards are probably the most popular of the 780G boards out there, wouldn't be mentioning it if it was a POS. Just because it can be overclocked doesn't mean you need to, but the option is there and the massive headroom it has shows just how well built it is. And like I've said, the Gigabytes have gone through tons of revisions, from the old MA78GM-S2H to whatever it's been replaced with.

There are few boards at stock speed that are "unstable". OEMs like Dell can/will last a long time, self-picked parts are no different. The statement of "need stable board" kind of bothers me (every time it's mentioned, not directed at anyone particular) cuz' we don't recommend "unstable" boards to begin with. It's not like there's an unstable board category out there, built primarily for a week long of use. Even the hated ECS' will last a long time if left untinkered.

And the 2 cores will last for a long while until they decide Word requires a Quad to run. Slow computers are usually PEBKAC who install everything, download everything and never maintain their systems.
 
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OK, here is the final build sheet:

Antec NSK4480B Black 0.8mm cold-rolled steel construction ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 380W Power Supply - Retail
GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-US2H AM2+/AM2 AMD 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
AMD Athlon 64 X2 7750 Kuma 2.7GHz Socket AM2+ 95W Dual-Core black edition Processor Model AD775ZWCGHBOX - Retail
A-DATA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model ADQVE1B16K - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
SAMSUNG 22X DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-S223F - OEM

Total = $334.94 + $26.58 (shipping) = $361.52

The only thing that I would have a question about would be the hard drive. I know that the better $/GB ratio is in the bigger drives but I consulted with my dad and he doesn't feel the need for something that big. I have seen that some people aren't getting the single platter 320GB drives with the one that I selected, so any other suggestions are welcome.
 
If your dad doesn't want a large capacity hard drive, then don't give him one. The two-platter WD3200AAKS drive isn't a bad drive at all, but there is a noticeable performance difference between it and the one-platter model.

The build looks fine, but as an insurance measure, you may want to purchase an additional case fan. The NSK4480 case supports two 120mm fans, but it only comes with one.
 
tiraides said:
The build looks fine, but as an insurance measure, you may want to purchase an additional case fan. The NSK4480 case supports two 120mm fans, but it only comes with one.
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The NKS4480 only supports one 120mm fan. The front fan is an 80mm fan.
 
Its surprising to see people still getting the older revision since the single platter drive was released about a year ago. :( Anyhow, you can either take the risk, since system doesn't sound too demanding, or move up to the 640GB when its on sale for $60 (comes around once a month or so).
 
Once you get the drive how do you tell which one it is?? I guess I really shouldn't worry about it too much since there will be no real demand for absolute speed with this computer but I am just curious now.
 
jbmx4life said:
Once you get the drive how do you tell which one it is?? I guess I really shouldn't worry about it too much since there will be no real demand for absolute speed with this computer but I am just curious now.
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IIRC, it'll be on the label... WD3200AAKS-00B3A0... the B3 was the designation about a year ago, lol. I'm not sure if its changed. You can also run a test on it, and if you get ~90MB/s avg transfer speed, its the single platter.
 
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