New $650 multimedia/workstation/light gaming build

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helluvagood

Weaksauce
Joined
Apr 5, 2011
Messages
93
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly multimedia, watching youtube. Most intensive thing would be light gaming (Dota 2)
Needs to be Wifi enabled.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$650 or less before tax/shipping

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Canada. Will most likely buy from memoryexpress.com

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.
This is a new build.

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model
I want to reuse my laptop SATA 3 gb/s harddrive if possible.

6) Will you be overclocking?
No

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
24"

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
This week or next week

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.
HDMI, USB 3.0, WiFi enabled

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Nope.


The most intensive thing I'll be doing is playing Dota 2 on this rig. I'm not sure which low-mid end video card will suit my needs.

Info on Dota 2 benchmarks
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/dota-2-performance-benchmark,3481.html

I am looking for the best parts possible. Best bang for buck. The case doesn't have to be anything spectacular, just has to get the job done.
I am aware of the Haswell release but would like to build this asap


Thanks


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My build so far:


Asus P8B75-M/CSM
Core™ i3-3220 ($160 bundle)
Corsair Value Select 8GB DDR3 1333 DIMM $55
Asus Radeon HD 6670 2GB $89.99
Corsair Carbide Series 200R $51.31
Corsair CX Series CX430M 430W modular $47.91
DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD-RW Drive $19.99
Asus PCE-N15 Wireless N $26.62

Total is $460.80
 
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Can you go over $650?

If we were to go with the bundle deal and choose, say...

$30 - Gigabyte Bluetooth 4.0/WiFi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n) PCI-E x1 expansion card
$55 - Corsair Value Select 8GB DDR3 1333 DIMM
$70 - WD Blue or Seagate Barracuda 1TB HDD
$20 - Asus DRW-24B1ST SATA DVD burner
$50 - Corsair CX430 430W PSU
$40 - Silverstone PS08 or Fractal Design Core 1000 micro ATX case
$120 - Microsoft Windows 8 64-bit OEM

... the total comes to around $555 before we factor in the costs of the video card. In other words, you'd have about $95 left -- the best cards we could recommend at that price range are the HD 6670 and the GTX 640. (Based on those benchmarks you provided us, they don't perform well at a 1920x1080 resolution.)

Well, you could reduce the amount of RAM or HDD capacity, but those are among the best bang for the buck. Sure, you could go with a USB wifi adapter instead, but an expansion card has comparatively better range (and in the case of the Gigabyte card, more features). A cheaper PSU may or may not be able to handle its rated capacity. I couldn't find a cheaper case on the ME site, but a few might be available in store.

And OUCH! An OEM copy of Windows is expensive compared to the U.S.

So, are you willing to increase your budget? Or make different choices in motherboard and processor?
 
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Yes I can change the mobo and processor, i just saw the bundle and thought it was a good deal. But if there are better options then I'm all for it.

I can probably get a copy of windows 7 cheaper somewhere else. I dont think I need to increase my budget.
 
helluvagood said:
What do you guys think of the standard build ($546) here

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...HZsOW9QVFRkZEpzcUplak5zZFUyYnc&hl=en_US&gid=4
Click to expand...

I don't like his choices in power supplies. Plus, I don't know which retailers he used to obtain those prices -- plus, it was last updated in February. Also, the cost of an OEM copy of Windows isn't included.

helluvagood said:
Oh and also this rig is a multimedia and workstation first. Then a gaming rig last. So I don't expect to spend much on the gpu.
Click to expand...

You're not going to do much better from a price-to-performance perspective than the i3-3220. The processor's Hyper Threading support makes it easier to handle multitasking or multi-threaded programs. You lose Hyper Threading with the cheaper Sandy/Ivy Bridge-based Celerons and Pentiums. Most of AMD's line-up in the sub-$150 price range can't compete with Intel on single-threaded performance.
 
This is the new build I have so far

Asus P8B75-M/CSM
Core™ i3-3220 ($160 bundle)
RipjawsX Series 8GB PC3-10666 $64.99
Asus Radeon HD 6670 2GB $89.99
Corsair Carbide Series 200R $51.31
Corsair CX Series CX430M 430W modular $47.91
DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD-RW Drive $19.99
Asus PCE-N15 Wireless N $26.62

Total is $460.80



This does not include windows 7 OEM and the HDD. I have a laptop HDD that I would like to use for this build. How would I do this? Its a hitachi 750gb SATA 3gb/s


What do you guys think of this build??
 
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The RAM is overpriced considering what it offers. Go with the Corsair RAM tiraides originally recommended.

The video card is overpriced IMO. It's not fast enough to take advantage of 2GB of VRAM. I recommend getting the cheaper 1GB version instead:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX36525

As for the laptop drive, they use the same connections as a regular hard drive. So just hook it up like you would with a normal sized drive. However, did that Windows 7 OEM copy already come installed on that laptop drive?
 
Danny Bui said:
The RAM is overpriced considering what it offers. Go with the Corsair RAM tiraides originally recommended.

The video card is overpriced IMO. It's not fast enough to take advantage of 2GB of VRAM. I recommend getting the cheaper 1GB version instead:
http://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX36525

As for the laptop drive, they use the same connections as a regular hard drive. So just hook it up like you would with a normal sized drive. However, did that Windows 7 OEM copy already come installed on that laptop drive?
Click to expand...

Whats the difference between a 2x4gb ram and 1x8 gb stick?
Mobo:p8B75-M/CSM w/ DDR3, 7.1 Audio, Gigabit Lan


The 1GB version is OOS, but I will keep that in mind.


Yes, the laptop HDD did come with a windows 7 oem copy. However, I am using the same serial on a ssd I installed in a laptop. Is it possible to use the same serial on 2 computers?
 
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helluvagood said:
Whats the difference between a 2x4gb ram and 1x8 gb stick?
Click to expand...

The 2x4GB dual-channel kit gives a slight performance boost over one 8GB stick of RAM (assuming that both sets are identical in every other way), but the "boost" isn't noticeable in everyday operation. In this case, it's better for you to pursue the cheaper option.

helluvagood said:
Yes, the laptop HDD did come with a windows 7 oem copy. However, I am using the same serial on a ssd I installed in a laptop. Is it possible to use the same serial on 2 computers?
Click to expand...

You need to buy a new Windows OEM license for your new system. You can't use the same OEM serial code on multiple computers.
 
$570 with the OS. This is without the harddrive since I have one already.

Asus P8B75-M/CSM
Core™ i3-3220
ValueSelect 8GB DDR3 1333MHz CL9 DIMM
HD6670 Radeon
Corsair Carbide Series 200R
CX430M CX Series Modular Power Supply, 430W
DRW-24B1ST 24x DVD-RW Drive
PCE-N15 Wireless N
 
Looks good.

I take it that, with your choice of the Asus PCE-N15 over the Gigabyte card I recommended earlier, you really needed only wifi?
 
I don't see any mention of a CPU cooler. The stock Intel cooler really is dreadful.
 
The stock cpu fan and case fans are actually very quiet. I think the corsair carbide 200R is one of the best cases you can get on a tight budget.
 
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