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Low-End PC for the GF

MrBucket101
By MrBucket101
in New Builds and Planning
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My gf just got a new desk for her room, and now she's wanting to build her own computer to go along with it. My triple monitor setup has her a little spoiled so I'm afraid she might be wishing for too much..But her goal is a "cool looking" desktop with dual monitors. 

 

She has no plans to play any games, so she doesn't need a GPU. The computer will mainly just be used casually, iTunes, web browsing, occasional video playback, writing papers. Things like that. So it doesn't really need to be that overkill.

 

She hasn't given me a flat out budget yet, but I'd like to just show you guys what I've picked out so far and just bounce some ideas back and forth.

 

Couple things, she LOVES the look of the bitfenix prodigy, especially the atomic orange one. If you guys know of any other nice colored cases let me know. I haven't really found any that appeal to her over the prodigy. My guess is that she doesn't want her computer to look like a normal computer, she's never been one to stick to the norm lol.  I also have a spare 1TB HDD I plan on putting in. I went with the older Z87 motherboard because I figured I could get some nice premium-ish features without paying the full price of Z97.  But the only feature I can think that would appeal to her would be the upgraded onboard sound. No plans to overclock, and I'd like to mount the Hyper 212 EVO and use it as a passive cooler. Then use the asus fan tool to turn all the case-fans (if the prodigy comes with any) to silent. The CX430 is also too much PSU, but it was the cheapest semi-modular one made by a decent brand.

She already has a keyboard and mouse. 
 

 
Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($91.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.75 @ OutletPC) 
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg) 
Total: $877.06
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-28 04:50 EDT-0400

My Server - Update 1 - Update 2 - Update 3 - Update 4

Gaming Rig

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The Hyper 2012 won't fit in a Prodigy. If she won't be gaming, a stock CPU cooler is just fine. It won't be loud and it will keep the chip reasonably cool. 8GB of ram is not needed anyway. I've changed that to a 1x4GB stick. And don't pick CX power suppliers from Corsair- ask around why.

 

There you go: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gzpFMp

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.75 @ OutletPC)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Atomic Orange MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($101.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: be quiet! 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $739.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-28 05:08 EDT-0400

See my blog for amusing encounters from IT workplace: http://linustechtips.com/main/blog/585-life-of-a-techie/

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If you don't overclock go with H97/87 don't see the point in using Z97/87 with a build like this, my tip: ASRock H97/87M, used that board and its pretty good, altough not orange.

CPU: Xeon 1230v3 - GPU: GTX 770  - SSD: 120GB 840 Evo - HDD: WD Blue 1TB - RAM: Ballistix 8GB - Case: CM N400 - PSU: CX 600M - Cooling: Cooler Master 212 Evo

Update Plans: Mini ITX this bitch

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212 evo and a z87 motherboard for an i3.

Are you ok?

i was thinking the same thing. 

Watch out for each other. Love everyone and forgive everyone, including yourself. Forgive your anger, forgive your guilt. Your shame. Your sadness. Embrace and open up your love, your joy, your truth, and most especially your heart. 
-Jim Hensen

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Just get her something like this

 
CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor  ($46.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: ASRock AM1B-M Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard  ($26.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: *Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: *XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card  ($91.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: *EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($20.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $300.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-28 05:26 EDT-0400
 
Fine for just browsing the internet and doing media stuff. Change the case out for whatever one you want.

i5 4690K @ 4.5Ghz | OC'd XFX R9 290 | 8GB DDR3-1600 | 1TB HDD, 250GB SSD | Gigabyte Z97X-UD5H | 650W Rosewill PSU | Rosewill Thor White V2 Case | Windows 8.1 | 1440p 144Hz Freesync 27" |1080p 60Hz 24"
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The Hyper 2012 won't fit in a Prodigy. If she won't be gaming, a stock CPU cooler is just fine. It won't be loud and it will keep the chip reasonably cool. 8GB of ram is not needed anyway. I've changed that to a 1x4GB stick. And don't pick CX power suppliers from Corsair- ask around why.

 

There you go: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/gzpFMp

CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus GRYPHON Z87 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($91.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($30.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.75 @ OutletPC)
Case: BitFenix Prodigy M Atomic Orange MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($101.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: be quiet! 400W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg)
Total: $739.86
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-28 05:08 EDT-0400

How much do you think that PSU costs? There's no price listed for it on pcpartpicker. I had totally forgot there was 8GB of ram on there lol. I priced out a build initially with a 4560k and scrapped it cause it's pointless to spend that much for her needs. Forgot about the RAM lol

 

I think I'll be using 2x2GB though, so they can run in dual-channel. 

 

212 evo and a z87 motherboard for an i3.

Are you ok?

 

 

i was thinking the same thing. 

Did you read the write-up? I had some reasoning behind the choices, albeit not the best looking back lol. 

 

I was going to use the 212 as a cheap passive cooler, and the Z87 boards had nicer sound chipsets on them



 

 
CPU: Intel Core i3-4160 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($116.98 @ OutletPC) 
Motherboard: Asus H97M-PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($116.60 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($69.75 @ OutletPC) 
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WDN4800 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter  ($35.99 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg) 
Monitor: Asus VN248H-P 23.8" Monitor  ($167.58 @ Newegg) 
Total: $867.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-28 05:24 EDT-0400


What do you guys think about this build? I forgot she would need a wifi adapter, so I added that :P
 
I can't really find a better PSU than the CX430. I know they use lower-grade parts. But it's still semi-modular 80+ bronze. I saw a 380W Antec Earthwatts, but that was bright green, and that would stick out like a sore thumb in the bright orange case. I couldn't seem to find any retailers carrying a bequiet 400W PSU, so I don't even know how much that costs.

 

-snip-

 
Fine for just browsing the internet and doing media stuff. Change the case out for whatever one you want.

 

 

I'll keep that in mind, if her budget is not very high. I've never really ventured into the AMD side. But I could go that route and spend most of it on the monitors. Those seem to be the most expensive/important pieces at this point.

 

 

 

NICE! I'll see if they have any other colors...she hates pink lol

My Server - Update 1 - Update 2 - Update 3 - Update 4

Gaming Rig

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Just get her something like this

 
CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor  ($46.99 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: ASRock AM1B-M Micro ATX AM1 Motherboard  ($26.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: *Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($27.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: *XFX Radeon R7 260X 1GB Core Edition Video Card  ($91.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: *EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($20.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $300.18
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
*Lowest price parts chosen from parametric criteria
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-28 05:26 EDT-0400
 
Fine for just browsing the internet and doing media stuff. Change the case out for whatever one you want.

 

I have done a few builds for stuff like this and I am a fan of the AMD A-series (FM2+). Allows for a cheap build that can support dual monitors (1xHDMI, 1xDVI/VGA) and even handles light gaming.

NZXT Phantom would be a good "off the wall" case if you are okay with it being reasonably large (is fairly quiet though)

System Info 

F@H page

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CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($64.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz) 

Memory: Crucial 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($27.89 @ OutletPC) 


Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 240 2GB Video Card  ($39.99 @ Newegg) 


Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($24.99 @ NCIX US) 

Monitor: Acer G227HQLbi 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($119.99 @ Micro Center) 

Monitor: Acer G227HQLbi 60Hz 21.5" Monitor  ($119.99 @ Micro Center) 

Total: $593.80

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-03-30 12:50 EDT-0400

Fujitsu Celsius 380W: i5 650 @ 3.2 Ghz | FUJITSU D2917-A1 | 4GB RAM 1333Mhz | ASUS GTX 750 TI Strix OC Edition | Fujitsu Case | 380W Fujitsu PSU | 250GB HDD | Windows 7 64 bit | Dell P2214H


Rekty Shrekty 

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