Build Suggestions

[ClockerXP]

7 year old system just died so time to refresh it. It will be used mostly for web browsing and playing flash games in the brower but with some mild gaming thrown in once in a while. Nothing heavy on the gaming. If he wants some serious gaming he will get a graphics card later but no time for it now. I have created two parts lists, one Intel Based and one AMD based and would like your feedback. Are the AMD based systems any less reliable? Any thoughts on the builds and would you change anything? Case is a re-used Antec 3700AMB.

Looking for good bang for the buck with very good quality/reliability.

Thanks,
ClockerXP

Intel Build

AMD Build


What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing. Light gaming.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
<$600 (No tax at Amazon).
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
USA
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.
Only need CPU / RAM / Motherboard / Optical Drive / SSD / HDD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
ANTEC 3700AMB http://www.silentpcreview.com/article76-page1.html
6) Will you be overclocking?
NO
7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
22" 1680x1050
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? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? eSATA? Onboard video (as a backup or main GPU)? UEFI? etc.
Onboard video, USB 3.0 onboard
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes. Win7 Home Premium (64-bit)

 

[Dangman]

AMD based systems are not any less reliable than Intel systems. However, whether or not they're a good buy really depends on your future plans. So here's the deal: The AMD setup has the faster onboard GPU and therefore will be better for gaming than the slower Intel's onboard GPU. However, the Intel CPU is faster than the AMD setup once you add in a video card since the Intel CPU is faster clock for clock than the AMD APU's CPU section. In other words, if you have ZERO plans to upgrade the GPU, the AMD setup is the better choice. If there's a chance that you will add in a video card later on, you're better off with Intel. If you do add in a video card to the AMD setup, you pretty much nullify that AMD's main (hell, possibly only) advantage over the Intel: faster onboard GPU.

For both setups however, they can be improved:

While that Seasonic PSU is a good PSU, it's not a good buy since you can get the higher quality, newer, and more efficient Seasonic 360W for $5 more:
$60 - Seasonic G Series SSR-360GP 360W PSU

No, there's no real loss of usable power since both PSUs have the same 30A on the +12V rail.

I highly recommend getting a newer case since that case is pretty much outdated by today's standards due to the limited cooling and space it has. I recommend the following cases:
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite Black ATX Case
$50 - NZXT Source 210 Elite White with Black Front Trim ATX Case
$55 - Corsair Carbide Series 200R Windowed ATX Case
$63 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black ATX Case
$70 - Corsair Graphite Series 230T Black w/ Window ATX Case

 

[ClockerXP]

Thanks for the PSU suggestion. The case meets all requirements and they like it so I think we'll keep it.

 

[ClockerXP]

I could actually recycle a Radeon 5770 into this build. How would that compare to the current integrated graphics on these solutions?

 

[ClockerXP]

After looking at this build some more, I think I will just keep it as it is. It's only 5 years old. I will recommend a PSU refresh, new storage subsystem and maybe some more RAM.

Link to breakdown:

http://imgur.com/ey7ykhB

Otherwise, it really just needs a fresh Windows install. The daughter installed some stuff that really hosed the system bad.

 

[Scatcats22]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 3.3GHz Quad-Core Processor ($194.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H97 Anniversary ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($64.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: Patriot Viper 3 Low Profile Blue 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 256GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($109.97 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($53.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($29.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $566.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-10-29 19:45 EDT-0400