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Computer upgrade sub $500

  • Thread starter Deleted member 88227
  • Start date
D

Deleted member 88227

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1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, paper typing, school related work
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
No more than $500
3) Where do you live?
South Mississippi (Newegg is where I intend to order everything)
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.
case, psu, cpu, motherboard, ram, dvd drive, possibly video card and hard drive
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Will be using the keyboard, mouse and monitor (old 17" 3:4 model thats like 1280x768 or something) possibly an ATI Radeon x300se and WD 250GB hard drive
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
I think it's a 17" 1280x768 monitor, but I'm not 100% sure. It's nothing that the ATI Radeon x300se that was on the old system couldn't handle.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This week or next
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? USB 3.0? SATA 6Gb/s? etc.
Do not need any features on the motherboard, but I would like some USB ports on the front of the case for peripherals (usb phone charger, ipod, etc...)
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
No I do not.


My friend Mom's computer went out on her, so I'm gonna build a replacement for them. I estimated that it shouldn't cost more than $500, so anything less would be great. I don't suspect it should cost too much, she doesn't really do much with the computer.
 
Considering the usage scenario and the lack of OS, I think you're better off with just a prebuilt PC. I recommend getting this PC:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...F&cid=7420&lid=197374&acd=10466193-268435-999

Specs:
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Intel® Pentium Dual-Core® E5800 w/VT (3.2GHZ, 2MB L2, 800FSB)
Microsoft Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word and Excel with ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
3GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB
Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive
320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500
Dell 18.5 inch Widescreen E1910H Flat Panel Dipsplay
Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, 15-months - A $39 Value!

All of that for $377 shipped.

There's no way anybody here will be able to beat that deal with a DIY PC.
 
Danny Bui said:
Considering the usage scenario and the lack of OS, I think you're better off with just a prebuilt PC. I recommend getting this PC:
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...F&cid=7420&lid=197374&acd=10466193-268435-999

Specs:
Genuine Windows® 7 Home Premium, 64bit
Intel® Pentium Dual-Core® E5800 w/VT (3.2GHZ, 2MB L2, 800FSB)
Microsoft Office Starter: reduced-functionality Word and Excel with ads. No PowerPoint or Outlook
1 Year Basic Limited Warranty and 1 Year NBD On-Site Service
3GB DDR3 SDRAM 1333MHZ - 1x2GB 1x1GB
Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive
320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Integrated Video, Intel® GMA X4500
Dell 18.5 inch Widescreen E1910H Flat Panel Dipsplay
Trend Micro Worry-Free Business Security Services, 15-months - A $39 Value!

All of that for $377 shipped.

There's no way anybody here will be able to beat that deal with a DIY PC.
Click to expand...

Even though the CPU is now two generations old, sitting on LGA 775. However, if one wants a newer-generation CPU platform or wants a system that's easily "upgradable" in the foreseeable future, he would have to increase that budget (including monitor) to well above that $500 budget.
 
I would much rather stay away from manufactured computers, but thanks for the advice.

Do not need a monitor, hard drive or video card.
 
Just want to add my 2 cents about the vostros we got a few here at work and they are very good machines for the price. The new Dells also come with hardly any crapware or anything installed as opposed to the HPs we have which are loaded with junk.
 
I had a similar build for a family member (two actually) this week, here's an idea of some options I used.

$294.99 - Directron combo deal (Coupon: hard6711d ($50 off!))
i5 - 2300 CPU / Motherboard / 8GB Ram
http://www.directron.com/msih61i5combo.html?hardocp=1

$35.99 - NZXT Case (from Amazon.com, free shipping)
http://www.amazon.com/GAMMA-Classic...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1307550524&sr=8-1

$39.99 - Corsair Builder 430watt psu ($20 after $20 Mail in rebate) Use code "EMCKDKC32" for $5 discount
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...corsair_builder_series-_-17-139-026-_-Product

$99 - Windows 7 Home (64bit)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...116986&cm_re=windows_7-_-32-116-986-_-Product

$19.99 - Sata DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...C-060711-Latest-_-CDDVDBurners-_-27136238-L0C

$489.96 + shipping on the directron combo (~$15)
With shipping should be darn close to $500 (shipping being the directron combo)

You can downgrade the cpu in the combo to an i3 (saving ~$60)

You'll need sata hard drive as well (didn't say if the one ya had was sata or ide) as there are no ide ports (or pci for that matter) or a pcie ide controller, plenty of drive options around the $50 - Hard drive
 
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Thanks for the builds so far guys, will not be needing a hard drive (SATA) or a video card (PCI-e) in the build.
 
 
Skillz said:
How does this build look?

Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 24X .. OEM - $19.99
COOLER MASTER HAF 912 RC-912-KKN1 Black SECC/ ABS Plastic ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - $59.99
Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS - $44.99
Kingston ValueRAM 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit - $25.99
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM - $99.99
Combo: - $214.98

Total shipped: $476.16
Click to expand...

I cannot recommend any of the Nvidia Nforce-based mobos at this point: They are slower and less stable than their AMD/ATi chipset-based competitors, and Nvidia has very much ceased development of desktop motherboard core-logic chipsets for the AMD platform. This means that the chipset will be less and less likely to be further supported as time goes on.
 
Yeah thats a good combo deal.

However that 2GB RAM set is a bit of a waste money since for $8 more, you can get twice as much RAM:
$34 - G.Skill Value Series 4GB F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT DDR3 1333 RAM

So if you really want to stick with 2GB of RAM, find a set for $18 or less. Otherwise, it would be a waste of money
 
Danny Bui said:
Yeah thats a good combo deal.

However that 2GB RAM set is a bit of a waste money since for $8 more, you can get twice as much RAM:
$34 - G.Skill Value Series 4GB F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT DDR3 1333 RAM

So if you really want to stick with 2GB of RAM, find a set for $18 or less. Otherwise, it would be a waste of money
Click to expand...

I was going to suggest the same thing. $34 for 4GB is a good price, and will give you a lot better performance than 2GB with Windows 7, especially once you get a bunch of tabs open. And I agree, that's a good combo deal. Except you haven't listed what your old graphics card is as that motherboard does not have integrated graphics, whereas your first choice did.

If you want integrated graphics with the ability to upgrade to some AM3+ CPUs in the future, look at the MSI 880GMA-E35 for $90. It has USB3, SATA6, and HDMI out too. A forthcoming BIOS update is supposed to enable AM3+ support. Then use the $15 off promo code on the Phenom II 965 (use code EMCKDJF45) and with the 4GB of RAM and the rest of your build from before, you're at $479.16 including shipping.
 
tonytnnt said:
I was going to suggest the same thing. $34 for 4GB is a good price, and will give you a lot better performance than 2GB with Windows 7, especially once you get a bunch of tabs open. And I agree, that's a good combo deal. Except you haven't listed what your old graphics card is as that motherboard does not have integrated graphics, whereas your first choice did.

If you want integrated graphics with the ability to upgrade to some AM3+ CPUs in the future, look at the MSI 880GMA-E35 for $90. It has USB3, SATA6, and HDMI out too. A forthcoming BIOS update is supposed to enable AM3+ support. Then use the $15 off promo code on the Phenom II 965 (use code EMCKDJF45) and with the 4GB of RAM and the rest of your build from before, you're at $479.16 including shipping.
Click to expand...

Actually, the OP listed a Radeon X300 SE card in the old system. In that case, the OP will need a motherboard with integrated (onboard) graphics or a new motherboard plus a new PCI-e discrete graphics card since the X300 SE is now no longer further supported (or "totally obsolete", in practical terms). The only driver that works with the X300 SE in Windows 7 would be the default WDDM one that's included with the Windows OS itself - and that driver is not very compatible with many applications. The last driver version from AMD that supported the X300 SE was the Catalyst 9.3 drivers - and that version was released before the advent of Windows 7. Beginning with the 9.4 drivers, AMD has discontinued support for the ATi GPUs below the HD 2000 series.
 
Skillz said:
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Web browsing, paper typing, school related work
Click to expand...


You don't need Windows for that. Ubuntu or the distro of your choice.

-Libre Office - Open source and compatible with latest MS Office Word & Excel
-Firefox and Chromium for web browsing

The only thing Linux can't do is stream Netflix.

So there's and extra $100 for hardware :)
 
techbob said:
You don't need Windows for that. Ubuntu or the distro of your choice.

-Libre Office - Open source and compatible with latest MS Office Word & Excel
-Firefox and Chromium for web browsing

The only thing Linux can't do is stream Netflix.

So there's and extra $100 for hardware :)
Click to expand...

Here's the problem:

Most older parents know absolutely nothing at all whatsoever about using Linux. If you hand a Linux machine to someone who knows absolutely nothing at all how to use it, he or she would end up completely bricking the PC in just one second. (Trust me; these parents know only Windows.) Linux has had a(n undeserved) reputation of requiring (literally) a Ph.D. in rocket science just to even operate properly. And these days, it is a bit easier but still nowhere near idiot-proof.
 
techbob said:
You don't need Windows for that. Ubuntu or the distro of your choice.

-Libre Office - Open source and compatible with latest MS Office Word & Excel
-Firefox and Chromium for web browsing

The only thing Linux can't do is stream Netflix.

So there's and extra $100 for hardware :)
Click to expand...

Technically, yes, that's true. But unless OP is already versed in Linux and especially basic Linux troubleshooting, I'm loathe to recommend this path on a system that is dealing with time critical work (like writing a term paper the night before.) I know they're both equally likely to break, but Windows has a lot larger support base than Linux to allow the OP to get back up and running.

That said, I fully encourage users to dualboot or have a LiveCD of Linux handy, especially students. Even basic Linux knowledge is another skill you can have in your back pocket for the future. It can be especially useful if your Windows installation goes belly up. Just remember to save documents to a flash drive or the cloud, or email them to yourself so you can always have access to them.
 
I am fairly versed in Linux, though I only use it as a server environment, not a desktop environment.

However, E4g1e is correct. Said parent would be totally clueless on what to do on a Linux box.
 
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