A friend is asking me to build him a PC, it's his first computer ever, ever? yes ever. He won't be gaming, mainly surfing the web and downloading music and he wants a SFF. what components would you suggest for something like this, i'm thinking of getting him a dedicated graphics card anyways just in case he changes his mind, but a lower end one. trying to stay under $300 or lower if possible, what do you guys think.
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first and small SFF build, need some suggestions
- Thread starter dev1nsan
- Start date
Are you going to be the one paying for this $300 graphics card? If not, you are playing with fire. Your friend might not appreciate you asking him for $300 more than what he told you to spend.
People have their own ideas about what they want, so it's best to let them decide. Unless he has never seen a PC game, he already has an idea of what he is missing.
My recommendation is to just build it and try to talk him into it later.
People have their own ideas about what they want, so it's best to let them decide. Unless he has never seen a PC game, he already has an idea of what he is missing.
My recommendation is to just build it and try to talk him into it later.
$300 is kind of a low budget, I'd definitely try and increase it to $400 or $500
Here's a start:
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/50...GQ1p-yXPQ**.node1?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Ultra Microfly - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104953
FSP 400w PSU - $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152079
Sony NEC SATA Optical drive - $34
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146580
1GB DDR2-667 Corsair Valueselect RAM - $43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144701
200GB Western Digital Caviar HDD OEM (don't forget to buy SATA cables!) - $65
Total so far is $242, minus tax/shipping. All you need is a mobo and proccessor. If you have a Fry's Electronics near you, you can get a great deal on a mobo and CPU combo when they're on sale. If there's no Fry's near you, then I'd recommend you go with a cheap AMD CPU and AM2-compatible motherboard. I'm not an expert on AMD so I'll leave mobo and proc recommendations to someone else.
Here's a start:
http://shop4.outpost.com/product/50...GQ1p-yXPQ**.node1?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
Ultra Microfly - $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817104953
FSP 400w PSU - $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827152079
Sony NEC SATA Optical drive - $34
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146580
1GB DDR2-667 Corsair Valueselect RAM - $43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144701
200GB Western Digital Caviar HDD OEM (don't forget to buy SATA cables!) - $65
Total so far is $242, minus tax/shipping. All you need is a mobo and proccessor. If you have a Fry's Electronics near you, you can get a great deal on a mobo and CPU combo when they're on sale. If there's no Fry's near you, then I'd recommend you go with a cheap AMD CPU and AM2-compatible motherboard. I'm not an expert on AMD so I'll leave mobo and proc recommendations to someone else.
hey thanks TWO515TY, yea that micro fly looks pretty good. lol, no it wasn't $300 for the video card alone, I was thinking of say a $60 video card. In fact I might just upgrade my video card and give him my Radeon X800 pro.
TWO515TY I know fry's has some decent deal on Mobo and Processor combo but they don't have one for MicroATX, can you guys recommend one for MATX it doesn't even have to be dual core, Pentium 4 should be enough for him.
And again thanks for the replies
TWO515TY I know fry's has some decent deal on Mobo and Processor combo but they don't have one for MicroATX, can you guys recommend one for MATX it doesn't even have to be dual core, Pentium 4 should be enough for him.
And again thanks for the replies
Are you sure they're not for mATX mobos? Usually the ECS motherboards included in the Intel bundles are mATX, I know mine was.
http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=4752185&subid=16821563&type=
http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=4739560&subid=16776857&type=
Those are just for example...personally I think the best one to get is the combo with the E4300 for $119, I think that one comes with an mATX mobo. Sometimes they even have a combo with an ECS mobo and a Pentium 4 631 (or something like that) for $80.
http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=4752185&subid=16821563&type=
http://shopping.dallasnews.com/ROP/ads.aspx?advid=2519&adid=4739560&subid=16776857&type=
Those are just for example...personally I think the best one to get is the combo with the E4300 for $119, I think that one comes with an mATX mobo. Sometimes they even have a combo with an ECS mobo and a Pentium 4 631 (or something like that) for $80.
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maybe this MB would make for a nice choice..the onboard is better than most out there..
that is if your considering AMD..pair this with a 3600 Brisbane...be a real nice start..and very much on the cheap side..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138074
that is if your considering AMD..pair this with a 3600 Brisbane...be a real nice start..and very much on the cheap side..
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138074
Unless you can score a good e4x00 combo, the brisbane is the best route to go. They out perform any of the non C2D intel chips and ddr2 is generaly cheaper so no reason to use the older AMD chips. AMDs newer stuff is so cheap its crazy.
Newegg frequently has combos for the 3600x2 and a cheap mATX motherboard and of course FRYs. Ive been getting cpus and boards together for about $50-$80 but I buy used parts. I think the best youll get from newegg is $80+,
A decent 2GB kit of DDR2 can be had well under $100 dollars these days. Once in awile you can snag them under $50, sometimes insanly lower after rebate.
Newegg frequently has combos for the 3600x2 and a cheap mATX motherboard and of course FRYs. Ive been getting cpus and boards together for about $50-$80 but I buy used parts. I think the best youll get from newegg is $80+,
A decent 2GB kit of DDR2 can be had well under $100 dollars these days. Once in awile you can snag them under $50, sometimes insanly lower after rebate.
I think the 3600 Brisbane is a better way to go too. He's not a gamer so doesnt need alot of power but a cheap dual core chip helps with multitasking like downloading music while surfing the net. AMD chips and mobos are generally cheaper than something than a E4300 and similar mobo combo so to keep the budget low and have the performance he wants AMD is a better choice in his particular case.