Need a computer right now that does THINGS?

[vt3c]

~$300 or less

 

For those of you who have some cash and your computer just died and you really don't want to go through building one this is a good deal. 

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883280459

 

4GB of RAM is okay for most tasks to be honest. 
Nvidia Quadro NVS 290 is more than ample for many 3D apps and HD video streaming.
1TB HDD is quite a lot of space. 

 

I usually don't like pre-builts but this one is pretty decent. 

 

Here's one for less cash with an integrated GPU and less hard drive space but it's a similar desktop model.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=83-280-581

If you need a computer at the last second or you're a college kid these are some good suggestions. 

 

Here's where the E8400 comes up compared to some other models. 

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_lookup.php?cpu=Intel+Core2+Duo+E8400+%40+3.00GHz

I AM NOT AN EXPERT

[JoaoPRSousa]

You need a PC or your just showing to the people?

[JoaoPRSousa]

http://austinnotduncan.com/builds/boson/

[vt3c]

You need a PC or your just showing to the people?

Just showing. The PC in my sig is what I'm using now.

[JoaoPRSousa]

Just showing. The PC in my sig is what I'm using now.

 

I thought your PC died as well

[Luke]

First link doesn't work.

[vt3c]

First link doesn't work.

Fixed

[vt3c]

This computer is ample for light gaming/video editing or just a daily driver for the college kid to do stuff on. Make sure you get some antivirus on it however because because. 

 

[ForsakenLive]

This computer is ample for light gaming/video editing or just a daily driver for the college kid to do stuff on. Make sure you get some antivirus on it however because because. 

 

Those are very crappy and old prebuilts, they have more problems than you may think, not only refurbished hardware, but proprietary too! It's all fun and games until you realize how bad are the drivers and how little is the support, and that's the tip of the iceberg.

I started my tech career by fixing crappy old prebuilt PCs for friends, family and neighbors, just like most people here, and I will never recommend one of these outdated and just bad PCs. Some prebuilts are 'tolerable', but these ones are on the no-go side.

 

Just building something like this is a much better solution for someone with no PC and $300 or less:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3nBwyc

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3nBwyc/by_merchant/

 

CPU: AMD A8-5500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-S1 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($44.69 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.92 @ Amazon) 

Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($28.76 @ Mwave) 

Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply  ($30.48 @ Amazon) 

Total: $285.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 21:49 EDT-0400

[vt3c]

 

Those are very crappy and old prebuilts, they have more problems than you may think, not only refurbished hardware, but proprietary too! It's all fun and games until you realize how bad are the drivers and how little is the support, and that's the tip of the iceberg.

I started my tech career by fixing crappy old prebuilt PCs for friends, family and neighbors, just like most people here, and I will never recommend one of these outdated and just bad PCs. Some prebuilts are 'tolerable', but these ones are on the no-go side.

 

Just building something like this is a much better solution for someone with no PC and $300 or less:

 

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3nBwyc

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/3nBwyc/by_merchant/

 

CPU: AMD A8-5500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($88.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-S1 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($44.69 @ Amazon) 

Memory: Corsair 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US) 

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($52.92 @ Amazon) 

Case: Rosewill FBM-02 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($28.76 @ Mwave) 

Power Supply: Antec Basiq 350W ATX Power Supply  ($30.48 @ Amazon) 

Total: $285.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-08-01 21:49 EDT-0400

 

Mhm. I was more-or-less posting this for people who don't have the computer building knowledge. I don't know, I've had good experience with these models. You may not have. 

That's also a good budget build however, APU setups are pretty nice. You get a ton for what you pay for. Just gotta build one. 

[Snickerzz]

things... but... i do things... damn computers are taking our jobs >:C

[ForsakenLive]

Mhm. I was more-or-less posting this for people who don't have the computer building knowledge. I don't know, I've had good experience with these models. You may not have. 

That's also a good budget build however, APU setups are pretty nice. You get a ton for what you pay for. Just gotta build one. 

I don't disapprove prebuilts, some people can only buy a computer through paying methods only those companies provide, or are so unfriendly with tech that it's better for them to not mess around building PCs.

 

You may had good experience with these type of PCs, and most people do, until something pops out and troubleshooting starts, then it becomes hell overnight, specially when you have driver problems, lack of support, an old OS, DRM and restrictions built into the hardware, that blocks you from altering hardware, configurations and using your PC the way you want it. Locked Bios, locked admin privileges on a hardware level, propietary everything, and so on.

[vt3c]

I don't disapprove prebuilts, some people can only buy a computer through paying methods only those companies provide, or are so unfriendly with tech that it's better for them to not mess around building PCs.

 

You may had good experience with these type of PCs, and most people do, until something pops out and troubleshooting starts, then it becomes hell overnight, specially when you have driver problems, lack of support, an old OS, DRM and restrictions built into the hardware, that blocks you from altering hardware, configurations and using your PC the way you want it. Locked Bios, locked admin privileges on a hardware level, propietary everything, and so on.

If you truly want a great budget PC without breaking the bank, go for used parts/parts that are a generation or two behind. Like a Phenom II x6 1090T in my area goes for $80 in the box. 

Buy an AMD 7700+ series GPU with 2GB of buffer for ~$120 new. 

Buy 8GB of DDR3 RAM

And buy a decent Gigabyte/Asus board. 

You'll have something completely unlocked that will handle most games on high at 1080p for miles less than something that performs right around the same. 

[Luke]

 

Those are very crappy and old prebuilts, they have more problems than you may think, not only refurbished hardware, but proprietary too! It's all fun and games until you realize how bad are the drivers and how little is the support, and that's the tip of the iceberg.

I started my tech career by fixing crappy old prebuilt PCs for friends, family and neighbors, just like most people here, and I will never recommend one of these outdated and just bad PCs. Some prebuilts are 'tolerable', but these ones are on the no-go side.

 

 

 

 

I agree. It's amazing how many companies just completely drop support for their older models when newer models come out. I have an older HP that does not support windows 7 or Core 2 Quads (no bios update for them) even though i have had a Q6600 in it running Windows 7 for years without a single problem. There are even companies that  completely removed older drivers from their website.