Bumped - Computer Project, $650 tops

nterror · **Posted:** Thu Apr 19, 2012 5:07 am

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 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 19, 2012 6:59 am

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

XCVG · **Posted:** Thu Apr 19, 2012 7:11 am

That is so hilariously out of date that it's completely useless.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 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 19, 2012 9:35 am

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

Mako321 · **Joined:** Tue Oct 27, 2009 5:36 pm **Posts:** 3403

XCVG wrote:

That is so hilariously out of date that it's completely useless.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 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 19, 2012 3:35 pm

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 · **Posted:** Thu Apr 19, 2012 6:32 pm

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 · **Joined:** Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:28 pm **Posts:** 683

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 · **Joined:** Sat Aug 01, 2009 8:52 pm **Posts:** 2637

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 · **Joined:** Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:28 pm **Posts:** 683

Zero wrote:

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.

Bumped - Computer Project, $650 tops

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