Budget PC for basic work/home use

[cacophony]

Budget (including currency): $500 USD

Country: United States

Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: IntelliJ IDEA, NoMachine client (to access remote work desktop), basic web browsing + photo editing, maybe some very light / low expectation gaming

Other details: 

 

I currently have a circa 2005-2009 desktop build (Q6600 + GeForce 6800GS) that has probably only been powered on for a couple hundred hours (I normally use a laptop). I'd like to replace this old build with something more modern to handle working at home and other basic tasks. I'd like to spend very little and ideally have something reliable and quiet. For the monitor I would be using a ASUS ProArt PA278QV 27” WQHD.

 

Here's the initial parts list I came up with:

 

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$139.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$84.99 @ Newegg
Memory	G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$61.88 @ Newegg
Storage	Samsung 970 Evo 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$89.00 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design Define Mini C MicroATX Mid Tower Case	$83.99 @ Amazon
Power Supply	Corsair CXM (2015) 450 W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-modular ATX Power Supply	$69.98 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$529.83
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-04 15:20 EDT-0400

 

Questions:

 

1. My old build has a Cosair VX 550W power supply. Given the little usage it has had would it make sense to reuse it in this new build? It's not modular but the case I picked looks like it would compartmentalize the mess of wires pretty well.

 

2. Any other suggestions? I haven't really put much thought into the motherboard.

 

Thanks!

[Slottr]

Swap the SSD for a crucial P1.

I'd personally put money into a power supply while you're at it.

[Oswin]

14 minutes ago, cacophony said:

My old build has a Cosair VX 550W power supply.

you do mean the corsair CX? if its this unit then you should be fine reusing it

Spoiler

and use the rest of the money to get something like this

PCPartPicker Part List

Type	Item	Price
CPU	AMD Ryzen 5 3400G 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor	$139.99 @ Amazon
Motherboard	MSI B450M PRO-VDH MAX Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard	$84.99 @ Newegg
Memory	Team T-FORCE VULCAN Z 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3200 CL16 Memory	$57.99 @ Amazon
Storage	Silicon Power A80 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive	$119.99 @ Amazon
Case	Fractal Design Define Mini C MicroATX Mid Tower Case	$83.99 @ Amazon
	Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts
	Total	$486.95
	Generated by PCPartPicker 2020-10-04 15:31 EDT-0400

14 minutes ago, cacophony said:

I haven't really put much thought into the motherboard.

the pro vdh should easily handle the 3400g

[cacophony]

1 minute ago, Oswin said:

you do mean the corsair CX? if its this unit then you should be fine reusing it

No, this is the unit: https://www.newegg.com/corsair-enthusiast-series-cmpsu-550vx-550w/p/N82E16817139004

[Oswin]

6 minutes ago, cacophony said:

No, this is the unit: https://www.newegg.com/corsair-enthusiast-series-cmpsu-550vx-550w/p/N82E16817139004

looks like a pretty old unit, might be a good idea to upgrade.

 

you could go with the CX non M for 5$ cheaper since you wont have any side panels anyway

https://pcpartpicker.com/product/Q7L7YJ/corsair-cx-2017-450w-80-bronze-certified-atx-power-supply-cp-9020120-na