Non-gaming build, $400

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Space_Coyote

Gawd
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Feb 2, 2007
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My wife's client was so impressed by my recent upgrade, that he asked me to put a PC together for him. His current one is 10 years old, and he just uses it for Office apps and MS Project etc. His only requests were a DVD burner, 1GB RAM and a floppy for all his old software.

This is what I've came up with in about 15 minutes, and some of my reasoning behind it:

Decent dual-core, I don't think he'll need the larger cache. I'll only do some moderate overclocking, so no need for an aftermarket HSF.

With RAM prices the way they are, an extra gig for $15-$20 is a great deal and will help the longevity of the system. I could probably find value RAM for cheaper.

The graphics card is just a placeholder really. I just picked the cheapest PCI-E that the egg had listed, lol. I'm sure I can find something better and cheaper with a rebate, but he doesn't really need anything remotely beefy.

The only thing I'm not really sure on is the PSU. He doesn't need a lot of power, and I think Thermaltake is a decent brand.

Monitor and OS are undecided yet. Total so far ~$500 with shipping, $420 after rebates. So what do you think?
 
I say go get him a Dell if monitor and OS is included with the $400 budget.

And you do know that you have two E2140 in your wishlist right?

Also, I recommend going with an AMD setup. Towards the lower end prices and at stock speeds, AMD wins. Since I see very little chance for OCing, go AMD.

I recommend going with this mobo with onboard video if you go AMD:
Gigabyte GA-MA69GM-S2H AMD 690G mATX Motherboard - $80
 
I agree with Danny, a Dell would be a better deal. However, if you still decide to build...

You could save money on the case by getting the Cooler Master Elite 330 instead. Also, this Chaintech version of the vidcard is cheaper after rebate. Go with this OCZ Value RAM instead, so you don't have to deal with rebates.

Just so you know, this is what you could get with a good dell deal:

Dell Vostro: $419
Intel® Pentium® Dual-Core Processor E2140 (1.60GHz, 1MB L2 Cache
Genuine Windows® XP Home
Dell 17 inch E178FP Analog Flat Panel Monitor
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz - 2DIMMs
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Single Drive: 16X DVD-ROM Drive
Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
No Floppy Drive
No Modem Option
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Buy the floppy drive and SATA DVD burner from Newegg for $40. Pop 'em in, and you're done! $460 and he gets a new monitor to boot!
 
Ya know, we were talking about a Dell also. I figured I could build the same for cheaper, but when you add-in the OS and monitor, I see the value of their package.
 
enginurd said:
Thats a useless upgrade, imo. The only thing that card is good for is watching HD Videos (and its not even great for that, lol), and since he's getting a new CPU, its not like the CPU can't handle the job itself.
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yeah in your opinion, which apparently doesn't count for much. Its still a low end card, but its easily superior to what hes got lined up already. BTW if you think an E2140 is going to decode 1080p by itself you obviously haven't tried to do it.
 
Ethug said:
yeah in your opinion, which apparently doesn't count for much. Its still a low end card, but its easily superior to what hes got lined up already. BTW if you think an E2140 is going to decode 1080p by itself you obviously haven't tried to do it.
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I can watch HD Video with my Celeron. Decoding is less demanding than encoding.

If he's not in need of an "easily superior" card, then there's no point in spending the extra money on it.
 
Ethug said:
yeah in your opinion, which apparently doesn't count for much. Its still a low end card, but its easily superior to what hes got lined up already. BTW if you think an E2140 is going to decode 1080p by itself you obviously haven't tried to do it.
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Your opinion doesn't for much either since the OP never said that watching HD content was on of the goals of the new PC or playing games. So your suggestion, albeit helpful in gesture, was somewhat unnecessary since HD Content or games were not what this PC was suppose to do.

Also my 2.13Ghz Pentium M can decode 1080p content just fine. So that E2140 should be able to do so.
 
Danny Bui said:
Your opinion doesn't for much either since the OP never said that watching HD content was on of the goals of the new PC or playing games. So your suggestion, albeit helpful in gesture, was somewhat unnecessary since HD Content or games were not what this PC was suppose to do.

Also my 2.13Ghz Pentium M can decode 1080p content just fine. So that E2140 should be able to do so.
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Perhaps you should actually READ the damn thread. I wasn't the one to bring up hd decoding to start with. My point has not been invalidated. For a very minimal difference he would have a much better card. Not hard to understand.
 
enginurd said:
I can watch HD Video with my Celeron. Decoding is less demanding than encoding.

If he's not in need of an "easily superior" card, then there's no point in spending the extra money on it.
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you sure as hell aren't decoding h.264 1080p on your celeron at full speed, and no, theres no way you're going to make me believe it. Anyone who has dealt with decoding h.264 knows better.
 
I'd get him a DELL. You do realize, the first person he's gonna call if anything weird happen is.... you.

I used to build systems for a little cash on the side... it ate up my social life. All of them were virus, spyware, and incorrectly installed software. Of course... it was my fault somehow. :rolleyes:

Now I recommend store bought PCs for the OS and support alone. They call me for problems, I say... "Call DELL".

I think current dell prices on a E2140/1GB/160GB HD/Vista OS (everything but monitor) = $450 and that includes basic warrenty. (additional support and warrenty cost more, but that's their bread & butter).

A 15" LCD is $100 more. An all-in-one disposable printer is $30 more.

Just some food for thought.
 
Ethug said:
you sure as hell aren't decoding h.264 1080p on your celeron at full speed, and no, theres no way you're going to make me believe it. Anyone who has dealt with decoding h.264 knows better.
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Decoding isn't as demanding as encoding. I don't know how else to show you that my Celeron box can watch an h.264 1080P movie unless you come over. And frankly, I couldn't care less if you believe me or not, lol.

More money more for a card he doesn't need is still money wasted -- its as simple as that. If $15 isn't much to you, perhaps you wouldn't mind sending me $15 then, for nothing? and while you're at it, go ahead and give me your CC, SSN, address, etc.

I agree, sure, if he needs it, go ahead and add it to the build instead of the 7200GS. But if he doesn't, don't bother because its a useless upgrade.
 
tuksonrider said:
I'd get him a DELL. You do realize, the first person he's gonna call if anything weird happen is.... you.

I used to build systems for a little cash on the side... it ate up my social life. All of them were virus, spyware, and incorrectly installed software. Of course... it was my fault somehow. :rolleyes:

Now I recommend store bought PCs for the OS and support alone. They call me for problems, I say... "Call DELL".
Click to expand...
I'll second/third/fourth you on that, buddy!

Space_Coyote said:
I'll only do some moderate overclocking, so no need for an aftermarket HSF.

With RAM prices the way they are, an extra gig for $15-$20 is a great deal and will help the longevity of the system. I could probably find value RAM for cheaper.
Click to expand...
Why would you even bother overclocking the system? I don't think he will notice any boost and it could only void the warranty if anything does go wrong. In which case, see above, it would of course be your fault.

Extra RAM can't hurt. :)
 
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