Help with a $500 Build

Volkswagen

Volkswagen

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Nov 12, 2002
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My uncle needs a new PC and asked me to put together something for $500 including shipping and taxes (we live in NY).


1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Just normal use, internet, msn messanger, skype, music, burning dvd's and casual gaming (CS: Source)
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 USD and yes with shipping and taxes included
3) Where do you live?
NY- No MicroCenter
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
Case, PSU, CPU, Mobo, Ram, HDD (1 TB if possible otherwise 500 GB should do, DVD Burner and perhaps video card depdending on how bad the onboard video is
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
Just a 17" CRT, Mouse and Keyboard along with speakers
6) Will you be overclocking?
Most likely not since it's not my PC
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
17" CRT
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
By the end of this week
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Nothing special- just stable. No need for SLI or CrossFire.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? 32bit or 64bit?
Yes XP Home 32 Bit for now

I was thinking/hoping for 4 GB of ram and perhaps at least an dual core processor if not quad core (amd) with a 1 TB Drive. Also want a good decent size PSU so that we can add/upgrade a/the video card later on. One thing if possible it would be cool to build a mATX rig :)
 
132 GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 + AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core
137 Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black + G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
50 CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W
100 GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB
55 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB

Total shipped showed 500.26

There is a couple MIR for another 30 back as well.. Your budget is pretty tight though so there is very little wiggle room to hit that. Dropping to 2gb of ram though would allow either an upgrade to a quad core or a 5750. In the end though I would probably go with the more ram to start and maybe be able to unlock a core or 2 (haven't looked into the CPU or the Mobo's proficiency at this)
 
bastage said:
132 GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 + AMD Athlon II X2 240 Regor 2.8GHz Socket AM3 65W Dual-Core
137 Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black + G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
50 CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W
100 GIGABYTE GV-R485ZL-512H Radeon HD 4850 512MB
55 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB

Total shipped showed 500.26

There is a couple MIR for another 30 back as well.. Your budget is pretty tight though so there is very little wiggle room to hit that. Dropping to 2gb of ram though would allow either an upgrade to a quad core or a 5750. In the end though I would probably go with the more ram to start and maybe be able to unlock a core or 2 (haven't looked into the CPU or the Mobo's proficiency at this)
Click to expand...

CS: Source could easily run on a 4670
 
Onboard video will be fine for now- like I said he only plays CS like once a week for a round or two- nothing serious. I would rather get a good base foundation with a good PSU and a stronger CPU so that later on we can just add in a Video card and be all set.
 
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Volkswagen said:
Onboard video will be fine for now- like I said he only plays CS like once a week for a round or two- nothing serious. I would rather get a good base foundation with a good PSU and a stronger CPU so that later on we can just add in a Video card and be all set.
Click to expand...

Comparing the 2 Gigabyte boards listed here your looking at about a 20 dollar premium to get the on board video. So if you take that away from the cost of a decent video card you may be looking at as little as 20 bucks for a 5450.. That will certainly perform a hell of alot better then any AMD onboard.

Try This

168 GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3+ AMD Athlon II X4 635
137 Antec Three Hundred Illusion Black + G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600
50 CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W
55 SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB
38 XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450
22 SAMSUNG Black 22X

Shipped total of 504.92 with a slightly faster Quad core and Dedicated graphics compared to the other quadcore build.
 
Man Shadowssong wasn't kidding when he said the combo deals are sucking now.

Here's another option:
$207 - AMD Phenom II X4 925 CPU + GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3 AM3 AMD 770 Motherboard combo
$38 - XFX HD-545X-YNH2 Radeon HD 5450 512MB PCI-E Video Card
$92 - G.Skill F3-10600CL9D-4GBNT 2 x 2GB DDR3 1333 RAM
$55 - Samsung Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
$19 - LG iHAS124-04 DVD Burner
$50 - Corsair 400CX 400W PSU
$45 - Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z ATX Case
----
Total: $506 shipped.

While a low-end video card, the HD 5450 does, as bastage said, perform better than the AMD onboard video in games. Anyway, went for a cheaper RAM set since you weren't overclocking and had a tight budget. I don't think the Anetc 300 Illusion is worth the $65 shipped nor do I think the RC-690, despite being an awesome case, is worth it in a $500 budget build like this. Compared to the two quad-core builds, this has a significantly faster CPU.
 
Edit: Never mind I found a review on the other PSU I was going to suggest.
 
I'll go ahead and try.
$19 Lite-on iHAS124-04 24x DVD burner
$40 Cooler Master Elite RC310
$70 Samsung F3 1TB
$49 Sapphire Radeon HD 4650
$50 Corsair 400CX 400 watt PSU
$90 Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 4GB (2X2GB)
$161 Gigabyte GA-770TA-UD3 Am3 Amd 770 mobo with Phenom II X2 550
A total of $487.95 after shipping
Plus, after all MIRs it's only $437.95.
The CPU isn't a quad, but it's one of the best dual-core AMDs on the market. I figured I'd go with a 4650 because that seemed like more than enough. I was able to squeeze in a 1TB F3 for you. I think the RAM is the best you can get for that price (It also has a $10 MIR by the way). I just bought that same model a few weeks ago for $110, and I thought I was getting a good deal. I went ahead and chose that lite-on burner only because I have it and it seems to be adequate.

EDIT: If you want even more HD space, you could get this 1.5TB Seagate for only $10 more than the Samsung. The only thing is I'm not sure how reliable they are and I don't know if I'd trust it as an OS drive, which Is why I didn't recommend it in the original build.
 
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your change in cases is a bad move. The PSU on the bottom is a much better orientation. Plus the one Danny recommended has another MIR making it a little cheaper then the one you changed to.

Your change to a faster dual core for a savings of 7 dollars is also not a good change (compared to the quad I recommended above). bang for buck you get MUCH more with the lower clocked quad. I Do like the Ram change though as that Corsair is the same as I personally run in my main rig.



I Think your best bang for buck with whats been mentioned

$19 Lite-on iHAS124-04 24x DVD burner
$70 Samsung F3 1TB
$49 Sapphire Radeon HD 4650
$50 Corsair 400CX 400 watt PSU
$90 Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 4GB (2X2GB)
$45 Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z ATX Case
$168 GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3+ AMD Athlon II X4 635

$499.95 shipped with 60 back in MIR
 
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bastage said:
your change in cases is a bad move. The PSU on the bottom is a much better orientation. Plus the one Danny recommended has another MIR making it a little cheaper then the one you changed to.

Your change to a faster dual core for a savings of 7 dollars is also not a good change (compared to the quad I recommended above). bang for buck you get MUCH more with the lower clocked quad. I Do like the Ram change though as that Corsair is the same as I personally run in my main rig.



I Think your best bang for buck with whats been mentioned

$19 Lite-on iHAS124-04 24x DVD burner
$70 Samsung F3 1TB
$49 Sapphire Radeon HD 4650
$50 Corsair 400CX 400 watt PSU
$90 Corsair XMS3 DDR3 1600 4GB (2X2GB)
$45 Thermaltake V3 Black Edition VL80001W2Z ATX Case
168 GIGABYTE GA-770TA-UD3+ AMD Athlon II X4 635
Click to expand...
I agree with the bottom orientation of the PSU. It's much more practical IMO. I didn't pay much attention to the case, so yeah, I'd go with the one Danny recommended then. Plus, with the money I was under the budget, I should have just used the combo for the quad and same mobo you used in your build. The dual-core Phenom II does have advantages over the quad Athlon, but I don't think the person the OP is building it for will never utilize it's advantages. As for the RAM if you couldn't tell by my sig, I use that Corsair RAM as well. I think the combination of the recommendations you just made is one of the best on here. I'm still digging the quad Phenom II that Danny chose though
 
Appreciate all the help- bastage's build seems to be the one. Might leave out the GPU and use the 7600GT that he has right now in his old PC until we can get something better. Will see with him if he can add a little to his budget :)
 
Volkswagen said:
Appreciate all the help- bastage's build seems to be the one. Might leave out the GPU and use the 7600GT that he has right now in his old PC until we can get something better. Will see with him if he can add a little to his budget :)
Click to expand...
I'd personally go with Danny's build. I think you're better off with a better CPU rather than more HD space, but it's up to you. This is coming from a guy who proposed that you sacrifice the CPU for a bigger HDD, but if it were me, I'd do the exact opposite.
 
Yeah the only change is that I will use the combo from Danny with the better cpu :)
 
Volkswagen said:
Yeah the only change is that I will use the combo from Danny with the better cpu :)
Click to expand...

The Phenom is definitely more powerful.. But honestly when talking about a budget I don't know that its 30 dollars more powerful.. But I Guess ultimately if it doesn't break the budget then its just 30 bucks..

Edit: For the record as long as the cost difference doesn't push out any other parts I would do the Phenom. But if it comes to taking a performance hit anywhere else to do the upgrade its not going to pay off.
 
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