$500 build for my brother's wife

I

ivandurago

[H]ard|Gawd
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Jun 5, 2008
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Hello everyone! I am building this PC for my brother's wife, who is a graduate student, and uses her PC to stream movies via hdmi to their TV and to write papers/browse the internet. Basically she wants something that can play 1080p films with no stuttering.

I will be purchasing about 1/2 of it from Newegg and the other 1/2 from Microcenter in Denver, wherever it is the cheapest. I will be purchasing it in the next week, probably Thursday or Friday.

Here is what I have planned at the moment, I would love advice and feedback though!
1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
1080p movies on her TV via hdmi, writing papers, browsing interwebs
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
$500 max, less is better
3) Which country do you live in? If the U.S, please tell us the state and city if possible.
The parts will be shipped to Gillette, Wyoming - Possibly Fort Collins, Colorado if a lot cheaper (I could go to Denver if needed.)
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. The word "Everything" is not a valid answer. Please list out all the parts you'll need.
CPU/ mobo/ RAM/ PSU/ HDD/ CD drive/ monitor/key and mouse/ case
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
N/A
6) Will you be overclocking?
No
7) 7) What is the max resolution of your monitor? What size is it?
assuming 20"/ 1600x900
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
July 7th
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)? UEFI? etc.
SATA 6Gb/s and onboard video (that will support playing 1080p films and large movie rips [4-8gb])
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license? If so, what OS? Is it 32bit or 64bit?
Yes, Win7 64bit




CPU - $89 - [AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103994)


Mobo - $55 - [MSI A55M-P33](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130641)

RAM - $28 - [Ballistix Sport 4GB DDR3-1600](http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0382074)

HDD - $119 - [Caviar Black 1TB](http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0331606)

PSU - $45 - [CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026&Tpk=cx430)

Case - $40 - [Fractal Core 1000](http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0383062)

keyboard/mouse - $30 - [Logitech wireless](http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.phtml?product_id=0355347)

Monitor - $100 - [Acer G205HVbd 20"](http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009314
 
tiraides said:
Considering your strict budget, have you considered a prebuilt system? From GotApex:

Dell Vostro 260 Slim Tower with 2nd Gen Intel Core i3, 4GB Memory, 500GB HD, DVD Burner, 22" LCD, & 2yr Warranty - $499 with FREE Shipping!
Click to expand...

I had considered it, but I genuinely enjoy building PCs, and am looking forward to this.

Not to mention that I would prefer to hand pick the parts, and that dell you linked doesn't look it has HDMI out (only a converter from DVI to hdmi.)

Thank you for the advice though, it is always appreciated!
 
ivandurago said:
I had considered it, but I genuinely enjoy building PCs, and am looking forward to this.

Not to mention that I would prefer to hand pick the parts, and that dell you linked doesn't look it has HDMI out (only a converter from DVI to hdmi.)
Click to expand...
I just bought a similar Vostro 260S deal (same specs as the one Tiraides listed except that it came with a 23" monitor for a total of $550 shipped with the PC) for my sister and I can confirm that it has HDMI out. I genuinely enjoy building PCs as well but I care more about value than I do about the "fun". Simply put, you won't be able to put together a PC with anywhere near the performance level of that above linked Dell for the same price. Quality wise, not much difference between the setup you listed and a Dell. So from a price to performance perspective, you're better off with the Dell. Does your desire to build the PC completely outweigh the price to performance you're gonna get with a Dell?

Dell was super fast in my case: I ordered the PC on June 26th and its estimated arrival date was July 7th. It came today on July 2nd.
 
Danny Bui said:
Does your desire to build the PC completely outweigh the price to performance you're gonna get with a Dell? .
Click to expand...

Perhaps I am ignorant, but is the build I linked not higher quality in every way than the Dell aside from warranty/support? Oh and monitor size, 20" vs. 22" inch (his wife wanted a 19" or 20" monitor btw)

Honestly if you feel the Dell is the better choice Danny Bui, I will certainly get it, however I was under the impression that the build I linked was better quality for the same price. Thanks again for the help and advice!
 
OP, you have to realize that if you build a PC for a family member, they are going to come to you for every little problem they have with it down the line, even if it's unrelated, like viruses and crap.

The beauty of a Dell is being able to tell them to call tech support, because you doing anything with it would void their warranty. :)
 
ivandurago said:
Perhaps I am ignorant, but is the build I linked not higher quality in every way than the Dell aside from warranty/support?
Click to expand...
Nope: The mobo, PSU, and case you chose are pretty much extremely budget hardware. As such, they're not higher quality than the Dell case, PSU, and mobo. Maybe the PSU but not enough to justify build a PC out of. Really no discernible quality difference between Dell and your listed specs in terms of the RAM, mouse, KB/m, and HDD. In the CPU area, that AMD CPU is completely outperformed by the Intel Core i3 CPU in that Dell.
ivandurago said:
Oh and monitor size, 20" vs. 22" inch (his wife wanted a 19" or 20" monitor btw)
Click to expand...
Is she gonna have space issues with a 22"? If not, then she'll be fine.
 
ivandurago said:
Perhaps I am ignorant, but is the build I linked not higher quality in every way than the Dell aside from warranty/support? Oh and monitor size, 20" vs. 22" inch (his wife wanted a 19" or 20" monitor btw)

Honestly if you feel the Dell is the better choice Danny Bui, I will certainly get it, however I was under the impression that the build I linked was better quality for the same price. Thanks again for the help and advice!
Click to expand...

With your original build you'd actually be getting poorer bang for the buck: That A8-3850 is actually slower (CPU performance-wise) than the slowest of the dual-core i3 CPUs. What's more, the RAM that you selected is relatively pricey for a 4GB dual-channel kit: Its $28 plus tax price is too close to those of some 8GB dual-channel kits for its own good. Plus, the mobo that you selected has only two DIMM slots, so the kit that you selected would have taken up both slots, leaving absolutely no room at all whatsoever to expand the memory capacity (you would have had to discard both sticks of RAM just to add more).
 
Do you know if the integrated graphics on the Dell would be able to play 1080p films with no stuttering, via hdmi to their big ass plasma tv?
 
Here is what I have ordered so far, at $436.28 so far, and just need a case and key/mouse from Micro - so I will come out under budget - I do appreciate the advice everyone, and I will post pics when I finish the build!


1 x CORSAIR Builder Series CX430 V2 (CMPSU-430CXV2) 430W ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply

1 x Acer S220HQLAbd Black 21.5" 5ms LED Backlight Widescreen LCD Monitor

1 x Newegg Free CPU Magazine Coupon

1 x ASUS DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS Black SATA 24X DVD Burner - Bulk - OEM

1 x SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

1 x AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D AD3850WNZ43GX - OEM

1 x G.SKILL NS 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-4GBNS

1 x MSI A55M-P33 FM1 AMD A55 (Hudson D2) Micro ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
 
If you were still going go with a DIY build despite EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS THREAD telling you not to, at least ask for advice about the DIY build before you order it. The RAM and CPU in particular are all extremely poor choices and there without a doubt far better choices for the money. Especially the CPU: it's an OEM model which means it does not have a HSF. Which means that unless you have a FM1 compatible HSF around, you're gonna have to spend more money on the HSF which means that you basically negated the cost savings and probably overpaid.

Any chance that you can cancel the order? Also, please give us an explanation as to why you're insisting on a DIY build when you know no matter what it's gonna be a poor buy compared to a DELL?
 
Danny Bui said:
If you were still going go with a DIY build despite EVERY SINGLE PERSON IN THIS THREAD telling you not to, at least ask for advice about the DIY build before you order it. The RAM and CPU in particular are all extremely poor choices and there without a doubt far better choices for the money. Especially the CPU: it's an OEM model which means it does not have a HSF. Which means that unless you have a FM1 compatible HSF around, you're gonna have to spend more money on the HSF which means that you basically negated the cost savings and probably overpaid.

Any chance that you can cancel the order? Also, please give us an explanation as to why you're insisting on a DIY build when you know no matter what it's gonna be a poor buy compared to a DELL?
Click to expand...

I have a FM1 HS already

The reason I am DIY building is two fold - first and foremost, this is what my brother and his wife want, they both hate Dell and have had terrible experiences with them. I only have one brother, and both him and his wife are fantastic people, and I have no issue being their permanent help center. Second, since about ~ 2005 I have ordered about 20+ builds worth of PC's from Newegg and have not have a single DOA part from them, nor had a single part fail. I have dropped well over 10k at newegg over the past 10 years and have never had a single DOA, nor a single piece fail, and unfortunately I cannot say the same thing about Dell.

What would you have recommended for CPU/GPU/RAM/Mobo from newegg for under $160 for the entire set? Not to mention the onboard GPU is ~ = to a 5570. What set up would I have procured that was ~$160 that offered the same performance, that also allowed her to play high def/10+gb files on her plasma via hdmi? I do not believe a single person here has advertised a superior build aside from the Dell link, which was not at all what I was asking for.

Honestly, after using boths Dell PCs and my own DYI's for 10+ years, I have literally not had a single one of my DIYs fail on myself or any of my friends, however I have had 3+ Dells' fail for myself and my family.

I would be more than willing to run benchmarks against anyone with a Dell Vostro 260, and we can see how well the money was spent.

Not to mention, this is the least trustworthy quote I have ever read, " If you set it up correctly, it should." Empirical evidence please sir :D... of course this is a 'faith' based forum lol
 
Last edited:
ivandurago said:
I have a FM1 HS already
Click to expand...
Should have mentioned that in your OP in your answer to question 5. Thats the reason why we ask that question and expect an accurate answer so we can avoid confusion.

ivandurago said:
The reason I am DIY building is two fold - first and foremost, this is what my brother and his wife want, they both hate Dell and have had terrible experiences with them. I only have one brother, and both him and his wife are fantastic people, and I have no issue being their permanent help center. Second, since about ~ 2005 I have ordered about 20+ builds worth of PC's from Newegg and have not have a single DOA part from them, nor had a single part fail. I have dropped well over 10k at newegg over the past 10 years and have never had a single DOA, nor a single piece fail, and unfortunately I cannot say the same thing about Dell.
Click to expand...

Next time make your reasoning loud and clear especially when 3-4 other people continue to recommend a Dell setup. When you ask for advice on this forum, we're always going to offer options that some people may not want but will be the best for them. Until that person can show or say otherwise, we're gonna recommend the option they don't like if it's the best fit for them.

ivandurago said:
What set up would I have procured that was ~$160 that offered the same performance, that also allowed her to play high def/10+gb files on her plasma via hdmi?
Click to expand...
$160? According to the current pricing on Newegg, the RAM, CPU, and mobo you chose comes out to $176 shipped. You said Newegg right? For around $176 shipped, I would have gone with this setup:
$148 - Intel Pentium G850 CPU + ASRock H61M/U3S3 Intel H61 mATX Motherbaord Combo
$20.50 - G.Skill Value Series 4GB DDR3 1333 F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT
---
Total: $168.5 shipped

Significantly lower power usage and faster clock for clock single threaded performance. Media playback is largely single threaded AFAIK.

Also, the Corsair CX430 is a good PSU. However $2 gets you significantly better quality and more efficient PSU with virtually the same amount of usable power (27A on the +12V rail VS 28A on the +12V rail for the Corsair):
$49 - Antec Earthwatts Green EA380D 380W PSU

There's also a "15% off w/ promo code AJUNE15, ends 7/4" for that above PSU that would have brought it down to ~$42. And no I'm not factoring in the Corsair rebate because you haven't recieved it.

Now for your AMD setup, I would have gone with this faster RAM instead since the performance of the AMD APU's onboard GPU is directly related to RAM speed. Basically the faster the RAM, the faster the GPU. Thats how you get to HD 5570 performance territory:
$24 - Crucial 4GB CT51264BD160B DDR3 1600 RAM

Another $3 in savings could have been saved if you went with this DVD burner:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151255
ivandurago said:
Not to mention, this is the least trustworthy quote I have ever read, " If you set it up correctly, it should." Empirical evidence please sir :D... of course this is a 'faith' based forum lol
Click to expand...
Check the HTPC subforum. You'll see tons of people there running HTPCs with current SB dual cores Pentiums and Core i3 and playing HD content just fine. If you grab the April 2011 issue of the "Guide to Building a Home Theater PC", it also confirms that the onboard video of the Core i3 can easily handle HD content. Now, I wrote "if you set it up correctly" part because many people somehow incorrectly setup their GPU and media playback software to the point where HD content cannot be played. This happens even when they have high-end GPUs.
 
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