SFF Parents build: Build it myself or prebuilt?

[Jobinx]

Budget: $650 CAD

Country: Canada

Usage: Social media, Youtube, Microsoft Word + bit of Excel, video streaming (Netflix & Amazon Video @1080p)

Other details: 

• Upgrading from a really slow $200 laptop.
• Specifically wants a SFF PC.
• Already have two 27' monitors, keyboard, and mouse.
• 1080p @60Hz is fine. But if it can run a larger resolution, the better.

Here is a PCPartPicker list I quickly made. (case and PSU can be bought from a friend, hence why they are $170 combined)

I also would like to get a WiFi dongle, but I don't know which ones are good.

 

I'm wondering though: Should I even build this? Or just buy some SFF prebuilt from BestBuy or whatever and save around $200?

Most prebuilts I've checked out have pretty old CPUs (not sure if I should get an older CPU since Windows 11 is coming), and the majority of prebuilts don't use M.2 NVMe SSD's. 

 

Thoughts?

EDIT: Thank you everyone for the responses. If anyone else is in a similar situation, here is the final build I decided on. Specifically went with this motherboard because the two monitors they have are VGA and HDMI. Also bought a Bluetooth adapter for like $20. Total is around $620 CAD.

Edited August 4, 2021 by Jobinx
final purchase and explanation

[adarw]

1 minute ago, Jobinx said:

Budget: $650 CAD

Country: Canada

Usage: Social media, Youtube, Microsoft Word + bit of Excel, video streaming (Netflix & Amazon Video @1080p)

Other details: 

• Upgrading from a really slow $200 laptop.
• Specifically wants a SFF PC.
• Already have two 27' monitors, keyboard, and mouse.
• 1080p @60Hz is fine. But if it can run a larger resolution, the better.

Here is a PCPartPicker list I quickly made. (case and PSU can be bought from a friend, hence why they are $170 combined)

I also would like to get a WiFi dongle, but I don't know which ones are good.

 

I'm wondering though: Should I even build this? Or just buy some SFF prebuilt from BestBuy or whatever and save around $200?

Most prebuilts I've checked out have pretty old CPUs (not sure if I should get an older CPU since Windows 11 is coming), and the majority of prebuilts don't use M.2 NVMe SSD's. 

 

Thoughts?

thats way too expensive for that psu and that case looks like it has no air flow

[adarw]

also you might want to look for the used market for a mobo and cpu on kijij or Facebook marketplace

[Arrogath]

you could go cheaper on the ram since h410 doesn't support much in terms of memory overclocking. If you were buying into 11th gen with h510 it's a different story, since Intel is gradually pulling the stick out of their butt in regards to locking that stuff down.

The main issue you're going to run into is lack of gpu or massive markup for the graphics card, so while a prebuilt sounds like a great idea it might not end up being so great

[Somerandomtechyboi]

Dont bother

 

Just buy an asrock deskmini x300, stick a ryzen 3 3200g or ryzen 5 3400g, and then just add all the other stuff like sodimm ram, storage, etc

 

I think you can actually get pre built x300 with all the other stuff preinstalled, though id suggest getting a 16gb one to make sure its not singe channel

[Jobinx]

6 minutes ago, adarw said:

also you might want to look for the used market for a mobo and cpu on kijij or Facebook marketplace

I thought the PSU was a decent deal. PCPartPicker shows me it's been as low as $160 this past year.
The case may not have the greatest airflow, but I care more about it being SFF.
Where I'm from, finding a used mobo and CPU is pretty rare. I've tried searching on Kijiji and Marketplace, but no luck so far.

[RAM555789]

6 minutes ago, adarw said:

thats way too expensive for that psu

PSU itself is priced reasonably, and while its way nicer than it needs to be, its one of the cheapest prices you can get right now on the candian market. (at least according to PcPartPicker)

 

Considering you just trying to stream and run basic programs like excel, I would go with whatever is the cheapest option between Ryzen 3000 and Intel 10th gen, including the cost of the motherboard. Just make sure if you go with Ryzen you get a 3200g or 3400g otherwise you won't have video without buying a gpu.

[Jobinx]

8 minutes ago, Arrogath said:

you could go cheaper on the ram since h410 doesn't support much in terms of memory overclocking. If you were buying into 11th gen with h510 it's a different story, since Intel is gradually pulling the stick out of their butt in regards to locking that stuff down.

The main issue you're going to run into is lack of gpu or massive markup for the graphics card, so while a prebuilt sounds like a great idea it might not end up being so great

I could get cheaper ram by like $20 at a cost of being at 2400 MHz, so that's possible. I don't think I can even get my hands on a cheap 11th gen CPU.
They don't exactly need a GPU since all they do is mostly browse the web. And I could always just get a used GT 710 from Kijiji or Marketplace.
Thanks!

[Jobinx]

10 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Dont bother

 

Just buy an asrock deskmini x300, stick a ryzen 3 3200g or ryzen 5 3400g, and then just add all the other stuff like sodimm ram, storage, etc

 

I think you can actually get pre built x300 with all the other stuff preinstalled, though id suggest getting a 16gb one to make sure its not singe channel

I would love to buy the x300, but the problem is finding a Ryzen 3200g/3400g at a reasonable price. Most I've come across from Kijiji, Ebay, Marketplace, etc. run me around $300 CAD. So in total, the x300+3200g would be around $600 CAD. So it's an option, but only if I can find a Ryzen chip for a decent price.

[adarw]

1 minute ago, Jobinx said:

I could get cheaper ram by like $20 at a cost of being at 2400 MHz, so that's possible. I don't think I can even get my hands on a cheap 11th gen CPU.
They don't exactly need a GPU since all they do is mostly browse the web. And I could always just get a used GT 710 from Kijiji or Marketplace.
Thanks!

gt 710 are quite overpriced you might have better luck finding a  600 series card 

[Jobinx]

3 minutes ago, RAM555789 said:

PSU itself is priced reasonably, and while its way nicer than it needs to be, its one of the cheapest prices you can get right now on the candian market. (at least according to PcPartPicker)

 

Considering you just trying to stream and run basic programs like excel, I would go with whatever is the cheapest option between Ryzen 3000 and Intel 10th gen, including the cost of the motherboard. Just make sure if you go with Ryzen you get a 3200g or 3400g otherwise you won't have video without buying a gpu.

I would love to go Ryzen, but it's pretty tough to find a Ryzen G chip for a reasonable price. Just the CPU alone would be around $270 CAD. At that point, I might as well get an i3-10100 + mobo.

[Freakwise]

16 minutes ago, Jobinx said:

I would love to buy the x300, but the problem is finding a Ryzen 3200g/3400g at a reasonable price. Most I've come across from Kijiji, Ebay, Marketplace, etc. run me around $300 CAD. So in total, the x300+3200g would be around $600 CAD. So it's an option, but only if I can find a Ryzen chip for a decent price.

If you can try to search the one that already completely build, so it's more or less ready to run when you got it on hand, those probably is. Cheaper

[Arika]

PSU is overkill

RAM speed and amount is overkill for the usage.

 

Honestly, just get a pre-built/OEM machine. Or just get them a better laptop then they can move it around to wherever they want to use it.

 

 

[dizmo]

The build you have is probably the best you're going to find for the money. You can get something from Dell, but it's going to have less storage, a slightly bigger tower, and in the end you're only saving $100. Since you want a newer chip, that takes out most prebuilts on eBay. Still worth taking a look, sometimes you can score some really good deals, but as most decent SFF prebuilts are old office machines, you're unlikely to find anything too new.

 

31 minutes ago, adarw said:

thats way too expensive for that psu and that case looks like it has no air flow

It's a good deal for the PSU, not sure why you think a 50% price reduction is too expensive.

30 minutes ago, Arrogath said:

you could go cheaper on the ram since h410 doesn't support much in terms of memory overclocking. If you were buying into 11th gen with h510 it's a different story, since Intel is gradually pulling the stick out of their butt in regards to locking that stuff down.

The main issue you're going to run into is lack of gpu or massive markup for the graphics card, so while a prebuilt sounds like a great idea it might not end up being so great

He doesn't need a GPU for what the PC is going to be used for.

30 minutes ago, Somerandomtechyboi said:

Dont bother

 

Just buy an asrock deskmini x300, stick a ryzen 3 3200g or ryzen 5 3400g, and then just add all the other stuff like sodimm ram, storage, etc

 

I think you can actually get pre built x300 with all the other stuff preinstalled, though id suggest getting a 16gb one to make sure its not singe channel

Price is pretty high once you factor in all the additions, not really worth it.

19 minutes ago, Jobinx said:

I could get cheaper ram by like $20 at a cost of being at 2400 MHz, so that's possible. I don't think I can even get my hands on a cheap 11th gen CPU.
They don't exactly need a GPU since all they do is mostly browse the web. And I could always just get a used GT 710 from Kijiji or Marketplace.
Thanks!

I'd probably go ahead with the cheaper RAM, they won't really notice a difference for what they're doing. You don't need a graphics card at all, that's a complete waste of money.

18 minutes ago, Jobinx said:

I would love to buy the x300, but the problem is finding a Ryzen 3200g/3400g at a reasonable price. Most I've come across from Kijiji, Ebay, Marketplace, etc. run me around $300 CAD. So in total, the x300+3200g would be around $600 CAD. So it's an option, but only if I can find a Ryzen chip for a decent price.

Definitely not worth it, because you haven't factored in the WiFi module, RAM, and storage. You're looking at a substantially higher price.

1 minute ago, Arika S said:

PSU is overkill

RAM speed and amount is overkill for the usage.

 

Honestly, just get a pre-built/OEM machine. Or just get them a better laptop then they can move it around to wherever they want to use it.

There isn't really a prebuilt that's small and comes in under that price.

[Freakwise]

21 minutes ago, Jobinx said:

I would love to buy the x300, but the problem is finding a Ryzen 3200g/3400g at a reasonable price. Most I've come across from Kijiji, Ebay, Marketplace, etc. run me around $300 CAD. So in total, the x300+3200g would be around $600 CAD. So it's an option, but only if I can find a Ryzen chip for a decent price.

On that note asrock also make h470 basically same as x300 but for intel if intel cpu is cheaper in your region

[adarw]

3 minutes ago, dizmo said:

The build you have is probably the best you're going to find for the money. You can get something from Dell, but it's going to have less storage, a slightly bigger tower, and in the end you're only saving $100. Since you want a newer chip, that takes out most prebuilts on eBay. Still worth taking a look, sometimes you can score some really good deals, but as most decent SFF prebuilts are old office machines, you're unlikely to find anything too new.

 

It's a good deal for the PSU, not sure why you think a 50% price reduction is too expensive.

He doesn't need a GPU for what the PC is going to be used for.

Price is pretty high once you factor in all the additions, not really worth it.

I'd probably go ahead with the cheaper RAM, they won't really notice a difference for what they're doing. You don't need a graphics card at all, that's a complete waste of money.

Definitely not worth it, because you haven't factored in the WiFi module, RAM, and storage. You're looking at a substantially higher price.

There isn't really a prebuilt that's small and comes in under that price.

oh my bad lol i thoght it was a different psu its overkill tho lol

[dizmo]

If you don't have a set agreement with your friend, I'd go with something like this instead:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-10105 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($169.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H510M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($129.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory  ($74.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($69.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Antec ISK 110 VESA U3 Mini ITX Desktop Case w/90 W Power Supply  ($87.61 @ iSanek)
Total: $532.32
 

Has WiFi built in, smaller footprint, $150ish cheaper.

 

2 minutes ago, adarw said:

oh my bad lol i thoght it was a different psu its overkill tho lol

It's basically the cheapest SFX PSU he's going to find that's decent.

[Jobinx]

19 minutes ago, Freakwise said:

On that note asrock also make h470 basically same as x300 but for intel if intel cpu is cheaper in your region

It'll be rare, but I can take a look. Thanks!

19 minutes ago, dizmo said:

The build you have is probably the best you're going to find for the money. You can get something from Dell, but it's going to have less storage, a slightly bigger tower, and in the end you're only saving $100. Since you want a newer chip, that takes out most prebuilts on eBay. Still worth taking a look, sometimes you can score some really good deals, but as most decent SFF prebuilts are old office machines, you're unlikely to find anything too new.

Ahh yeah I figured. I don't really want to get anything older than a 7th gen either. You pretty much nailed it though haha. Thanks!

11 minutes ago, dizmo said:

If you don't have a set agreement with your friend, I'd go with something like this instead:

PCPartPicker Part List

CPU: Intel Core i3-10105 3.7 GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($169.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: ASRock H510M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1200 Motherboard  ($129.75 @ Vuugo)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2400 CL16 Memory  ($74.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Western Digital Blue SN550 500 GB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive  ($69.98 @ Amazon Canada)
Case: Antec ISK 110 VESA U3 Mini ITX Desktop Case w/90 W Power Supply  ($87.61 @ iSanek)
Total: $532.32
 

Has WiFi built in, smaller footprint, $150ish cheaper.

 

It's basically the cheapest SFX PSU he's going to find that's decent.

Wow I didn't even think of cases that come with a PSU!  Also, PCPartPicker says it might not be enough power, so I changed the case to this In Win case+PSU.

[Arika]

21 minutes ago, dizmo said:

 

There isn't really a prebuilt that's small and comes in under that price.

here's one i found without even trying

 

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre/m-series-thin-clients/ThinkCentre-M75n-Thin-Client/p/WMD00000422

 

If you're talking about an actual "pre-built" in the standard sense, then no, they dont exist at any price for this use case. HP, Dell and lenovo will all use proprietary parts, thereby making them OEM machines and not "pre-builts"

[dizmo]

5 minutes ago, Jobinx said:

It'll be rare, but I can take a look. Thanks!

Ahh yeah I figured. I don't really want to get anything older than a 7th gen either. You pretty much nailed it though haha. Thanks!

Wow I didn't even think of cases that come with a PSU!  Also, PCPartPicker says it might not be enough power, so I changed the case to this In Win case+PSU.

90 watts should be fine, but if you want something higher I'd grab an InWin Chopin over that.

https://www.amazon.ca/InWin-Chopin-Mini-ITX-Stickers-Aluminum/dp/B01N091225

It's an extra $30 but it's a much nicer enclosure.

2 minutes ago, Arika S said:

here's one i found without even trying

 

https://www.lenovo.com/us/en/desktops-and-all-in-ones/thinkcentre/m-series-thin-clients/ThinkCentre-M75n-Thin-Client/p/WMD00000422

 

If you're talking about an actual "pre-built" in the standard sense, then no, they dont exist at any price for this use case. HP, Dell and lenovo will all use proprietary parts, thereby making them OEM machines and not "pre-builts"

You're on the US site. This, on the Canadian site, starts at about $700, has about 1/4 of the storage, and no WiFi.