Two non gaming builds

totmachen

Limp Gawd
Joined
Jun 18, 2003
Messages
177
I have two friends looking to replace their terribly aging Shuttle Athlon XP builds (yes, that old) I made when they went to college. I've been really out of the hardware market for awhile and not sure where to go. Each friend has their own budget and needs, but both machines will not be used for gaming. Any suggestions would be helpful.

Friend One:

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Surfing, Pictures, Music Playing
2) What's your budget?
$800 but flexable
3) Where do you live?
Southwest WI
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, RAM, MB, HDD, Case, PSU
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
PS2 Keyboard, USB Mouse, VGA 19" LCD
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
VGA 19" LCD, open to get larger widescreen at a later date (doesn't effect this builds budget)
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
2-4 weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
Integrated Graphics are fine but would like a PCIe x16 slot for the possibility of upgrade later on. eSata port would be nice too.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Windows 7 Professional x64 through work

This friend is a big music collector and needs a larger hard drive (1-1.5TB). He is very concerned about data backup as well so an external HDD that matches the internal would be perfect.

I've looked over parts in the past and was keen on the i5-600 line and use the integrated graphics. Not sure if the Intel i-Series cpu's are best at this budget but I figured it would be great for what he needs.
Friend Two:

1) What will you be doing with this PC?
Surfing, DVD/internet video streaming, Music Playing, Pictures
2) What's your budget?
$400 but can go higher
3) Where do you live?
Southwest WI
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget?
CPU, RAM, MB, HDD, Case, PSU, LCD
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing?
PS2 Keyboard, USB Mouse
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
Standard 17"-19" widescreen
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
2-4 weeks
9) What features do you need in a motherboard?
At this budget you really can't be picky. A PCIe x16 slot would be great but really isn't needed.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
Windows 7 Home x64 available through school

With this budget and no monitor, a laptop can work just as well. He wouldn't mind the portability but really doesn't care either way.
 
$400 budget for friend 2, get a laptop like a 15.6" most of the value laptops are the 15.6" screen sizes.

Consider the Compaq Presario CQ62-238DX for $379.99 this meets his needs already. The AMD Athlon II P320 @ 2.1ghz cpu may not be as fast as an Intel Pentium T4300 @ 2.1ghz but, it has a much better onboard video with the AMD Radeon 4250 graphics. Most of the laptops with Intel Pentium cpus, have the Intel GMA 4500M graphics which is slower and will struggle in playing back 1080p videos.
 
For Friend One I've put together the following:

MB: GIGABYTE GA-H55M-USB3 LGA
CPU: Intel Core i5-650
RAM: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600
PSU CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W
HDD: SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB
Case: Antec Three Hundred Black
DVD: LITE-ON iHAS124-04
Periph: Antec MX-1 USB Enclosure + another SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB

Comes to about $730 after MIR/shipping and includes a backup drive/enclosure. Thoughts?

For the price, unimpressive. $500 build w/shipping and before MIR. Save $230 dollars

GIGABYTE GA-880GMA-UD2H + A-DATA 4GB DDR3 1333 both for $174.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.461425

Antec VSK-2000 + Antec Earthwatts Green 380D both for $74.98 ($10 MIR)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.458435

AMD Athlon II X3 440 Rana 3.0GHz + Sony Optiarc SATA DVD Burner for $88.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.466709

BYTECC ME360-SU3 3.5" Silver USB 3.0 External Enclosure + SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB for $84.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.444676

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 1TB for $59.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

Total: $483.91
Shipping: $17.71
Total: $501.62

With this budget, you can easily throw in a 24" display.
 
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