Decent Bundle?

[hazexban]

I got approval from the Church last night to build them a NEW PC in a budget of 200 - 300 dollars. If it goes over that I might just take the hit as a donation. It is for the financial team there to run Church Windows. They had been using an older PC I built for them but it is not up to the task anymore.

http://www.churchwindows.com/shop/custom.aspx?recid=3#requirements

I found this bundle at TD, seems good for the price.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7640368&CatId=5294

I need a case, PS, MB, RAM, CPU, possibly a DVD drive. 4 gigs of ram would be nice, I don't think the system needs more than that, but as a rather large database for the congregation I wonder if 8 gigs would be a major improvement.

So if you can beat this bundle with parts that should handle the situation and be snappy that would be awesome, especially if you can use Amazon so I can help out the [H].

This will be running Windows 7 Home Premium.

Thanks!

Pete

 

[hazexban]

Anyone have insight or want to take on the challenge of helping? I really have no idea what the perfect balance of price vs performance is for this situation.

 

[DooKey]

If you could use the case and PSU from their current system this would help with the new system. Is that possible?

 

[Dangman]

Word of advice: It's pretty much guaranteed that any Tigerdirect bundle will include a shitty power supply. As such, that effectively kills a lot of their potential savings.

With that said, just slap in this PSU with that bundle and you should be ok.
$45 - Corsair 430CX V2 430W PSU

Just to cover my ass: You do have a legal and transferable copy of Windows 7 for this PC, correct?

 

[tiraides]

I don't like the Tiger Direct bundle due to the generic PSU and the two mail-in rebates (for the RAM). You'll end up paying around $264 for that bundle, and that's before you factor in the additional costs of an optical drive, a hard drive, and a better PSU.

The following system is what I came up with (all parts from Amazon):

$35 - Silverstone PS08B micro-ATX mid-tower case
$45 - Corsair CX430 430W PSU
$73 - AMD Athlon II X4 640 3.0GHz 95W Socket AM3 quad-core processor
$40 - ECS A960M-M3 Socket AM3+ AMD 760G micro-ATX motherboard
$26 - Crucial CT51264BA1339 4GB DDR3 1333 CL9 1.5V DIMM
$18 - Samsung SH-224BB/BEBE SATA DVD burner
$57 - Western Digital Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB HDD
=====
$294 - Subtotal (not including shipping, taxes, or rebates)

The key differences between my build and the TD bundle are:
- I included the HDD and optical drive
- Better case and much better PSU
- Less RAM (4GB vs. 2x4GB) and a slightly weaker processor (Athlon II 4-core vs. Phenom II 6-core), but they well exceed the minimum software requirements

Speaking of which, do you have the latest version of the Church Windows software? Based on the link, you'll need it if you plan on using Windows 7.

 

[hazexban]

Thank you guys! I actually will use the same case and psu i have so that should help. Unless you think its no good.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002G1YPHK/ref=oh_details_o05_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


This is the PSU that I have already gotten when trying to piece this together with second and third hand parts. I found a HD I just need to test it, its a WD Blue drive.

For windows I do have a real version and in regards to the Church Windows i mentioned this to our church and they are supposed to find out if we need a newer disc.

 

[tiraides]

What's the case? And what's the model number of the HDD?

The PSU you've linked to is no good; stick with the Corsair CX430.

 

[hazexban]

What's the case? And what's the model number of the HDD?

The PSU you've linked to is no good; stick with the Corsair CX430.

This is the case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147109

As for the HD I am going to go with a new one anyway as I don't want to trust this used one for the church. Luckily they are good at Church and backup the database files everyday.

The items on your list look good for me. It was recommended to me from this forum to get the CM PS that I got for a low powered system like this, not sure if I really need to get a different one.

 

[mikestancato]

Looks really good. Just always remember good air flow is super important.

 

[Fix Me]

This is the case:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147109

As for the HD I am going to go with a new one anyway as I don't want to trust this used one for the church. Luckily they are good at Church and backup the database files everyday.

The items on your list look good for me. It was recommended to me from this forum to get the CM PS that I got for a low powered system like this, not sure if I really need to get a different one.

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-460-W-Power-Supply-Review/1005/9

I wouldn't use that power supply based on the review from hardwaresecrets, but that's just me. I would go for the Corsair that was recommended.

 

[hazexban]

http://www.hardwaresecrets.com/article/Cooler-Master-Elite-Power-460-W-Power-Supply-Review/1005/9

I wouldn't use that power supply based on the review from hardwaresecrets, but that's just me. I would go for the Corsair that was recommended.

Thanks, I am going to go with that Corsair based on all of the feedback even going back to my original PSU WTB thread. Live and learn!

 

[tiraides]

You can reuse your old case, but ensure that there is a second 120mm fan installed in the front. (Depending on how old the case is, you may want to check the existing 120mm fan in the back.)

Even with about $40 left over to play with, I would change nothing from my original recommendation. (OK, maybe you should add a cheap fan or two, for the case.) You don't really need much for the software you're using and no one should have any illusions of the new system's capabilities (or, rather, its limitations).

 

[hazexban]

Thank you very much for all the help tiraides. I actually had used some Amazon gift cards to buy a bunch of yate loon fans to replace some in my WC setup, and have 2 extras I was going to use in this case.

Will be placing the order with Amazon today.

Thanks again.