Sub 300 dollar build advice

[lozaning]

A couple of days ago my beloved mac book pro finally bit the dust and now Im left with only a kindle fire for a computer. I've been out of the custum build scene for around 8 years and really have no idea whats what any more and as much I'd love to spend the next month meticulisly researching every component of a new system I really just need a working computer as soon as possible.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
I'll primarily just be doing web browsing, MS Office, and other general bullshit. The one thing I do that requires more power is testing VM server configs in virtual box, sometimes multiple servers at the same time for connectivity.

2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
The budget is 300 including tax and shipping.

3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
Tucson AZ
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer.
Just need the CPU, RAM and MoBo

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I'll be reusing all the components from a dead gaming rig from years past. Case, fans, dvd drive, hard drives, graphics card. I dont recall the exact make and model of the power supply but I know when i bought it it was the highest recomneded 600 watt model on [H]. AKA not some cheapie.

6) Will you be overclocking?
Eh, proformence you dont pay for is nice, but its really not a concern.

7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
Dont have a monitor yet, but plan on having dual 17' screens. Gaming is really a non issue so I dont envision this mattering all that much

8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
In the next couple of days

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)? etc.

As this is really just a cheap build to get back to the point that I have a reall working computer Im not that concerned about that the motherboard comes with. USb 3.0 would be great, RAID would be good to. All these new cpu's have some kind of dedicated graphics built in now right? Im assuming that those are probably better than the old 6600gt Im planning on using. Kinda looking for advice on this part.

10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If yes, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yea, I have a full MSDNAA account at my disposal so OS wont be an issue.

Right now Im looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121508
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

Im thinking that this would be a good base to upgrade from as I could drop a core i7 into that board a bit down the road when Im more concerned with proformance than getting a working computer.

 

[Dangman]

5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I'll be reusing all the components from a dead gaming rig from years past. Case, fans, dvd drive, hard drives, graphics card. I dont recall the exact make and model of the power supply but I know when i bought it it was the highest recomneded 600 watt model on [H]. AKA not some cheapie.

The problem is that you've been out of of the custom build scene for 8 years. Even a high quality PSU, especially from that time period where the quality wasn't that high in the first place, is probably not a good choice 8 years later. So what PSU do you have?

In addition, are your DVD and hard drives SATA? No current Intel mobo comes with IDE or PATA anymore.

Also, what case?

Right now Im looking at:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820233190
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121508
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115078

Im thinking that this would be a good base to upgrade from as I could drop a core i7 into that board a bit down the road when Im more concerned with proformance than getting a working computer.

Setup looks ok. However it's the rest of the parts that you're reusing that I'm concerned about.

 

[lozaning]

The problem is that you've been out of of the custom build scene for 8 years. Even a high quality PSU, especially from that time period where the quality wasn't that high in the first place, is probably not a good choice 8 years later. So what PSU do you have?

In addition, are your DVD and hard drives SATA? No current Intel mobo comes with IDE or PATA anymore.

Also, what case?


Setup looks ok. However it's the rest of the parts that you're reusing that I'm concerned about.

GoGo gadget NewEgg Order history! Here is the the one they say I ordered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005

I dont really plan on running a hard core graphics card, let alone a SLI or XFire setup do you not think 500 watts is enough?

Also, good call on the lack of IDE ports. The hard drives I have are both SATA, but the DVD drive is IDE. Im in the finishing stages of seting up a windows network deployment server at work and can just use that to install instead of buying another DVD drive just to install windows and likely never use again. The case is one of those BestBuy RocketFish ones that was actually made by lianli

 

[E4g1e]

GoGo gadget NewEgg Order history! Here is the the one they say I ordered: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817189005

I dont really plan on running a hard core graphics card, let alone a SLI or XFire setup do you not think 500 watts is enough?

Also, good call on the lack of IDE ports. The hard drives I have are both SATA, but the DVD drive is IDE. Im in the finishing stages of seting up a windows network deployment server at work and can just use that to install instead of buying another DVD drive just to install windows and likely never use again. The case is one of those BestBuy RocketFish ones that was actually made by lianli

I still would not reuse that PSU due to the fact that it was similar in design and quality to the older Antec-branded PSUs that suffered from the "early death syndrome": Those PSUs are based on an older CWT platform that used a lot of Fuhjyyu capacitors (Google "Fuhjyyu" and "Bad caps"). When these PSUs get hot inside, the capacitors start failing. When you hear any signs of squealing from the PSU, replace it right away.

Also, SATA DVD burners are cheap nowadays: One should not cost more than $20 to $25 shipped.

 

[Spudsdude]

216.98 - Intel i5-2400 Quad Core i5 and 8GB Corsair Ram Combo - http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.806127

49.99 - Biostar mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813138332 (My 5 year old's rig is using this board, works great for what it is)

36.99 - Corsair 430watt Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

Total $303.96 - It's a few bucks over budget, but pretty darn close considering everything your getting

 

[tiraides]

Correction: Spudsdude's build is pretty darn GOOD considering what you're getting. When you factor in the need to run VMs on this machine, you're better off with the quad-core processor and 8GB of RAM. (If you really needed to stay under $300, I would recommend going with one of the Sandy Bridge dual-cores and one 4GB stick of RAM instead.)