Bumped - Computer Project, $650 tops

[nterror]

So I'm looking to build a small computer as a summer project. The problem is, I know next to nothing about computer building concerning which parts to choose and all, have little direction because I'm not concerned with its specifications as much, and I'm only looking to spend around $300 at the most.

Also, the case for the computer is going to be roughly 10 x 8 x 3.5 or so.

Can anybody help? I'm not looking for anything too specific specs-wise, just thought I'd ask around here to get the best bang for my buck. I mean, honestly, the only necessary parts I want would be a DVD drive and the ability to play 1080p video, which is a given nowadays.

Thanks!

 

[superben51]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

http://imageshack.us/f/841/computerbuyingguide.png/

 

[XCVG]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

That is so hilariously out of date that it's completely useless.

You mention a size for a case, does this mean you need one or don't need one?

This is what I quickly put together. I omitted the case for now, if you want one replace the PSU with a cheap case+PSU. Want a good power supply? You don't get one for this price. Optical drive? Pull one out of a junk bin.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813130641
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146748
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103943
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817170018

Llano should do fine for light gaming and normal productivity workloads, it chokes on CPU-heavy tasks however.

 

[nterror]

$200-$300 Computer Project

Don't need a case, and I don't mind shelling out the extra cash for a power supply. Thanks a lot!

 

[Mako321]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

That is so hilariously out of date that it's completely useless.

http://tinyurl.com/falconguide/ is the url for the up to date one of you guys want it.
Nterror, get an Athlon II or Pentium SB, cheap mobo with a PCI-e at least 4x slot, and a used discrete card off craigslist.

 

[XCVG]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

Well if we're going to allow used parts...

Pull a PSU out of a dead computer, make sure the PSU isn't the part that's dead. Any piece of flax will work, for a while anyway. Search more dead PCs for sticks of RAM or steal one from a computer with multiple modules when the owner isn't looking. Buy a used hard drive from a friend who doesn't know what they're worth (I know a guy who did that).

You can't rely on being able to get used parts, or at least used parts at a decent price. That being said, if you have lots of connections, use them.

I put two discrete-graphics rigs together. I think a Llano-based rig would be better at this price point, especially if you want to stay toward the lower end of the range.

AMD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131838
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102988
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817170018
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146748
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819103904
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6835103087

It comes to almost $300 and has only a crappy dual-core processor, although the graphics will be better. You could tweak it some more to get a better balance, but at this price your options are fairly limited.

Intel:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136770
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6814102988
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817170018
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820146748
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 813131724R
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116399

Again, it's in the higher end of your price range, with only a dual-core (albeit a better dual-core) processor.

 

[bic]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

My advice is to save up at least another hundred bucks so you can build something nice. Buying cheap now is actually more expensive in the long run because you get stuck playing catch-up to the low end forever.

Right now (if you buy full size desktop parts), you can probably get an i3 2100, a Biostar H61 motherboard, 4 gigs of RAM, a low end video card, a refurb hard drive, and a cheap case/PSU combo. You still need to account for a Windows license (you can get Win7 cheap if you or someone you know is in college), which is half to a third of your current budget at retail prices. The hard drive is going to ding your budget pretty hard too, unless you feel lucky and buy a refurb.

 

[vskid3]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

Are you building the case, or are you planning on using something existing? All the parts lists have motherboards that are the same area as your case, so to make everything fit, it would have to be stacked on your motherboard. A mini-itx board would be better, but the smaller you go, the higher the cost (usually).
Something like this would probably be better for you:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813131732

 

[Zero]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

I'm pretty sure Trinity is coming out really soon, so it might be worth it to wait for that instead of going with Llano.

 

[vskid3]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

I'm pretty sure Trinity is coming out really soon, so it might be worth it to wait for that instead of going with Llano.

Llano looks plenty good enough for his uses, though. If Trinity is the same price but much improved performance, it might be worth getting. But if Llano will work, he might be able to get a good deal on it as its phased out, if he waits til then.

 

[bic]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

Isn't Trinity going to be Bulldozer/Piledriver based?

 

[Mako321]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

Isn't Trinity going to be Bulldozer/Piledriver based?

It'll also have a decent GPU though, and the CPU should be faster than the Llano even with Man with Shovel.

 

[superben51]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

I don't see him saying he wanted windows anywhere. Couldn't he just use ubuntu/other linux?

 

[bic]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

If you just want your computer to be a large immobile tablet, yes.

 

[XCVG]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

Let's just assume he already has a copy of Windows, if you catch my drift

 

[nterror]

Re: $200-$300 Computer Project

This project is definitely going to be completed. Moreover, I got a job for the summer, so I am far less restricted cash-wise, definitely not to $300. I'd still like to abide by the size restraints from before, but now that I have the monetary potential to build a kickass rig, I don't need to limit myself to it if you guys have better builds.

I was looking at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813121597
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4003003&SID=4di9hf4i8efl
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...-na&AID=10521304&PID=4003003&SID=vpbjxrp6yufs
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...na&AID=10521304&PID=4003003&SID=1u50sv2s9ngtv
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115090
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...bb3r-_-Video+Cards-_-Sapphire+Tech-_-14102988

EDIT: That build would be if I abided by the size restrictions, though I probably *Can'tSayThisOnTV*ed something up somewhere.

 

[bic]

Better, but it could still use a little tweaking:

That power supply pads its watt rating by putting a ton of amps on the 5v rail, where they won't do you much good. It only pushes 16 watts on the 12v rail (in line with the other 300 watt Micro ATX power supplies on Newegg), which may cut it close depending on your video card.

Personally I think the motherboard is overkill for what you want to do with it. You can free up some cash there by going with a sub-$100 board. (Shop for MicroATX as well, unless you're absolutely set on ITX. You'll generally get more for your money there.)

Only 4 gigs of RAM? DDR3 is cheap, go for 8 gigs. 4 will get you by for now, but if you plan on upgrading later you're going to have to pull the two 2 gig sticks out and put them on the shelf because you've only got two DIMM slots. If you are going to stick to 4 gigs for now, get one 4 gig stick instead of two 2 gig ones. The price should be about the same and you can upgrade to 8 later without spending extra money on redundant hardware.

The only difference between the i3 2105 and the regular i3 2100 is the on-die graphics, and you aren't going to use that since you're getting a dedicated video card. Put the extra money into your video card or RAM instead.

If you have the budget, you'll probably be happier with a Radeon 6750 than with a 6670.