WIP Build for Sister - $250 USD

[Hulkbert]

3 minutes ago, mpsparrow said:

All you need to do is click the [bb] button, copy the entire text, and then paste that text in your message.

like this?

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($136.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($29.69 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $319.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 21:36 EDT-0400

[SilicateWielder]

1 minute ago, Hulkbert said:

What you could do is pick up a pc from free geek and put a $100 graphics card in there. (I have no idea as to the viability and effectiveness of this solution but I'm just going to put that idea out there) 

There really isn't a real reason to do this, her usage purposes do not require her to use a dedicated GPU, the integrated graphics that come with the Athlon 5350 are more than enough for her uses (Heck, I can run Fallout 4 with the 5350 I have in my rig.)

[Tedster]

4 minutes ago, Hulkbert said:

like this?

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($136.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($29.69 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $319.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 21:36 EDT-0400

Yes, brilliant!

[Tedster]

5 minutes ago, Hulkbert said:

What you could do is pick up a pc from free geek and put a $100 graphics card in there. (I have no idea as to the viability and effectiveness of this solution but I'm just going to put that idea out there) 

That implies that there's a FreeGeek near where @UnbrokenMotion lives.

But yes, an older build from a place like that would be nice. I'm not sure that a $100 graphics card would be needed for this sort of build - the HD 5450 the OP appears to have would probably be more than adequate.

[SilicateWielder]

4 minutes ago, Hulkbert said:

like this?

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A10-7870K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($136.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($29.69 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $319.00
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 21:36 EDT-0400

Yep, although the CPU is quite overkill in this. I'd probably just give her my motherboard with it's CPU and everything if we went this route. I'd go with a cheaper motherboard however.

1 minute ago, Tedster said:

That implies that there's a FreeGeek near where @UnbrokenMotion lives.

But yes, an older build from a place like that would be nice. I'm not sure that a $100 graphics card would be needed for this sort of build - the HD 5450 the OP appears to have would probably be more than adequate.

There is no FreeGeek where I live. Although there is a place where you can build your own bike for free a town over.

[rafazafar]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($71.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: MSI A68HM-E33 V2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($35.99 @ Micro Center) 
Memory: Klevv Neo 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2400 Memory  ($34.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($25.90 @ Amazon) 
Case: Apex TX-381 MicroATX Mid Tower Case w/300W Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Directron) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $209.85
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 21:56 EDT-0400

[Hulkbert]

21 minutes ago, UnbrokenMotion said:

Yep, although the CPU is quite overkill in this. I'd probably just give her my motherboard with it's CPU and everything if we went this route. I'd go with a cheaper motherboard however.

There is no FreeGeek where I live. Although there is a place where you can build your own bike for free a town over.

 

 

Is there no computer shop where they sell used computers near you? Try buying used on ebay. Idk if I can post ebay links. I wish I could get a free bike, sounds like a cool place.

[Hulkbert]

 

35 minutes ago, UnbrokenMotion said:

Yep, although the CPU is quite overkill in this. I'd probably just give her my motherboard with it's CPU and everything if we went this route. I'd go with a cheaper motherboard however.

There is no FreeGeek where I live. Although there is a place where you can build your own bike for free a town over.

 

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus A68HM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($40.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($29.69 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $215.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 22:12 EDT-0400

 

 

As for keeping the system silent , the best you could do is keep the tower somewhere not in the room and run the wires to the room. 

Add whichever GPU you end up seeing fit.

This video might help. 

 

[Tedster]

1 minute ago, Hulkbert said:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($71.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus A68HM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($40.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 320GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($29.69 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $215.61
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 22:12 EDT-0400

 

 

 

Add whichever GPU you end up seeing fit.

This video might help. 

 

Buut close to the budget if getting a graphics card separate, and no chance of running off any integrated graphics which might be a negative.

 

Also where's the RAM?

[Hulkbert]

5 minutes ago, Tedster said:

Buut close to the budget if getting a graphics card separate, and no chance of running off any integrated graphics which might be a negative.

 

Also where's the RAM?

 

 

That promo might be over...

Edited April 24, 2016 by Hulkbert

[SilicateWielder]

40 minutes ago, Hulkbert said:

What you could do is pick up a pc from free geek and put a $100 graphics card in there. (I have no idea as to the viability and effectiveness of this solution but I'm just going to put that idea out there) 

There really isn't a real reason to do this, her usage purposes do not require her to use a dedicated GPU, the integrated graphics that come with the Athlon 5350 are more than enough for her uses (Heck, I can run Fallout 4 with the 5350 I have in my rig.)

 

2 minutes ago, Tedster said:

Buut close to the budget if getting a graphics card separate, and no chance of running off any integrated graphics which might be a negative.

 

Also where's the RAM?

Yes, buying a seperate gpu simply isn't worth it for this kind of budget and use case. I could buy an A8 with Integrated R7 graphics and have more money left over as well as similar performance to some GPU/CPU combinations of the same price range.

But it would still be overkill for what she needs, More Ghz does not improve multitasking performance, having more cores does.

[Hulkbert]

3 minutes ago, UnbrokenMotion said:

There really isn't a real reason to do this, her usage purposes do not require her to use a dedicated GPU, the integrated graphics that come with the Athlon 5350 are more than enough for her uses (Heck, I can run Fallout 4 with the 5350 I have in my rig.)

 

Yes, buying a seperate gpu simply isn't worth it for this kind of budget and use case. I could buy an A8 with Integrated R7 graphics and have more money left over as well as similar performance to some GPU/CPU combinations of the same price range.

But it would still be overkill for what she needs, More Ghz does not improve multitasking performance, having more cores does.

 

The Athlon is a quad core.  

 

Why not just do that?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7670K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($85.58 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 320GB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($25.62 @ Amazon) 
Case: Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $253.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 22:33 EDT-0400

[SilicateWielder]

3 minutes ago, Hulkbert said:

The Athlon is a quad core.  

 

Why not just do that?

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7670K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($85.58 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital AV-GP 320GB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($25.62 @ Amazon) 
Case: Enermax ECA3212-BL ATX Mid Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $253.53
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-23 22:33 EDT-0400

I am going for an athlon, but I was using the A8 for an example to explain why using a GPU isn't worth it for this kind of budget.

[papapoi]

you could get a refurb from newegg like this  and save the trouble of building and maybe use the balance to throw in a ssd

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883282436

 

check walmart locally if you have one, they were clearing out most of the acer systems for less than $300

 

[SilicateWielder]

3 minutes ago, papapoi said:

you could get a refurb from newegg like this  and save the trouble of building and maybe use the balance to throw in a ssd

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883282436

 

check walmart locally if you have one, they were clearing out most of the acer systems for less than $300

 

We would just buy a used PC, however we decided it would be best to just buy the parts over time instead of buying an entire PC all at once. Due to financial reasons.

[papapoi]

8 minutes ago, UnbrokenMotion said:

We would just buy a used PC, however we decided it would be best to just buy the parts over time instead of buying an entire PC all at once. Due to financial reasons.

gotcha, too bad you dont live out here in hawaii i got some older pc parts i keep telling myself to sell but im too lazy to test them. 

try watching this site for deals

http://slickdeals.net/deals/computers/

and get this chrome extension, you can set the prices you are looking for and it will email you if it gets to that price or lower on amazon since you are going to piece meal the pc, might help save a few dollars.

http://camelcamelcamel.com/

[Herman Mcpootis]

edited the parts.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor  ($37.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine M1 - Passive Fanless CPU Cooler  ($10.49 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock AM1B-M Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard  ($29.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: OCZ TRION 150 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($49.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($23.26 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer  ($13.99 @ Newegg) 
Total: $222.69
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-24 00:06 EDT-0400

[SilicateWielder]

I found a Barracuda 320GB HDD lying around. Here is a new part list. My sister decided that she wants the case my current rig is in so the case in the list is irrelevant to the build. I also made this revision while logged out of PC part picker so the prices should show now.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5150 1.6GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Alpine M1 - Passive Fanless CPU Cooler  ($10.49 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus AM1M-A Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard  ($34.91 @ Amazon) 
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($26.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: DIYPC Futurus -BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($38.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: XFX XT 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($30.98 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer  ($14.89 @ OutletPC) 
Other: Seagate Barracuda  ST3220820A8 320GB 7200RPM Hard Drive (Purchased For $0.00)
Total: $191.24
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-24 00:44 EDT-0400