Cheapest possible build for smooth casual web browsing

[adamkatav]

Hello, in particular, I want to pick the cheapest CPU and motherboard, without dedicated GPU.

My definition for "casual" goes as far as google sheets/slides and 6-7 youtube tabs at most.

I am going to run linux lite and chrome browser.

What do you think?

[ShortRouter]

Grab a refurbished office pc for 200 $. Dell / HP

Optional: upgrade to SSD for 40 bucks.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

Are you okay with used hardware?

[kokakolia]

Refurbished PCs. The cool thing about those is that you can always upgrade them later with a low profile GPU for a decent 1080p experience. 

[Mister Woof]

1 minute ago, ShortRouter said:

Grab a refurbished office pc for 200 $. Dell / HP

Optional: upgrade to SSD for 40 bucks.

this x 11ty billion

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

You'll need an Intel Skylake CPU or newer for smooth Youtube playback (VP9 hardware decode support). And maybe 8GB of RAM.

[kelvinhall05]

Chromebook (optionally with GalliumOS) or used Thinkpad with SSD (or desktop if you can use one).

[Haro]

1 minute ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

You'll need an Intel Skylake CPU or newer for smooth Youtube playback (VP9 hardware decode support). And maybe 8GB of RAM.

At like 4k maybe but anything casual like watching a 1080 video 

A haswell of am ivy bridge build will do the job 

[Guest]

16 minutes ago, adamkatav said:

Hello, in particular, I want to pick the cheapest CPU and motherboard, without dedicated GPU.

My definition for "casual" goes as far as google sheets/slides and 6-7 youtube tabs at most.

I am going to run linux lite and chrome browser.

What do you think?

Building a desktop in that case wouldn't be a good choice. Get something like a refurbished ThinkPad T460 with an SSD, or a office Dell/Lenovo office PC for around 200$. These will be significantly better value than building new. 

[ShortRouter]

5 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

You'll need an Intel Skylake CPU or newer for smooth Youtube playback (VP9 hardware decode support). And maybe 8GB of RAM.

I have a system with a 9 year old 2600K (sandy bridge) and youtube 1080p playback is buttery smooth.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

1 minute ago, ShortRouter said:

I have a system with a 9 year old 2600K (sandy bridge) and youtube 1080p playback is buttery smooth.

What GPU? 2600k is strong enough to brute force it. This guy may end up with a Celeron or Pentium CPU which won't cut it. But a Celeron Skylake will easily.

[Drama Lama]

get something used

[ShortRouter]

1 minute ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

What GPU? 2600k is strong enough to brute force it. This guy may end up with a Celeron or Pentium CPU which won't cut it. But a Celeron Skylake will easily.

Intel® HD-Graphics 3000

You can easily find refurbished office PCs with Intel i3 or i5 quad core 3rd-4th gen for cheap.

[Nena Trinity]

Ryzen 3 3200G + 8GB RAM & any M-ITX board should do?

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

1 minute ago, ShortRouter said:

for cheap.

 

27 minutes ago, adamkatav said:

I want to pick the cheapest

 

[aisle9]

This plus that 

 

$75 and you're golden.

 

Edit: For bonus points on 4K, add this and you're set for $88. Way cheaper than going with an iGPU solution for 4K.

[ShortRouter]

@HairlessMonkeyBoyUsed i7 with mobo = 50 $. Ryzen 3 2200G with cheapest mobo = 150 $. Your point being?

Cheapest = unusable. Need to look for cheapest usable.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

6 minutes ago, ShortRouter said:

Your point being?

That if it were me building a system for my father-in-law or whatever, I would get a Skylake or newer.

[Wh0_Am_1]

25 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

You'll need an Intel Skylake CPU or newer for smooth Youtube playback (VP9 hardware decode support). And maybe 8GB of RAM.

Meh Sandy bridge is enough to handle 4K on Youtube, (when paired with a decent gpu) I know I used my 2500 / 1050 system to take on GN 4K60FPS 2x speed all the time.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

1 minute ago, Wh0_Am_1 said:

Meh the Sandy bridge is enough to handle 4K on Youtube, (when paired with a decent gpu) I know I used my 2500 / 1050 system takes on GN 4K60FPS 2x speed all the time.

Your 1050 was doing the decoding.

[Wh0_Am_1]

3 minutes ago, HairlessMonkeyBoy said:

Your 1050 was doing the decoding.

Indeed, which is why when you combo an 3470 with a 1030 ( I would pair it with a 1060 for about $200USD) you can get a pretty capable machine on the cheap, far less than Skylake is going to cost you.

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

1 minute ago, Wh0_Am_1 said:

Indeed, which is why when you combo an 3470 with a 1030 ( I would pair it with a 1060 for about $200USD) you can get a pretty capable machine on the cheap, far less than Skylake is going to cost you.

 

45 minutes ago, adamkatav said:

without dedicated GPU.

 

[Wh0_Am_1]

That doesn't mean that it isn't cheaper. I imagine the OP just did not want to spend the extra cash, but this will save the OP money so I think they will understand.

[ShortRouter]

@HairlessMonkeyBoyno need to take every word literally. "cheapest" = garbage you can pick up for free. OP didn't say "working" after all. etc etc

[Hairless Monkey Boy]

Just now, ShortRouter said:

@HairlessMonkeyBoyno need to take every word literally. "cheapest" = garbage you can pick up for free. OP didn't say "working" after all. etc etc

Yeah i'm not. I am merely recommending the best cheapest thing for the job based on the OPs request and my own knowledge and experience. Celeron Skylake.