The Craigsbay 350!

[Poster]

Build Name: The Craigsbay 350

(Craigslist and Ebay, $350)

 

 

Description -   The Craigsbay 350 is my adaptation of the "Scrapyard" idea generated from LTT.  I wanted to make the build a project to help teach my 10 year old nephew how to build a computer.  He's a big fan of LTT (and tech in general) but does not come from a financially stable home. To him, this "budget" build is the Taj Mahal of computers. I picked out all of the parts to cater towards a capable gaming machine with upgrade ability.  It turned out very well.

 

Parts - G3258, 212 EVO, ASRock Z97 Pro3, 4GB Ballistix Tracer, 128GB Sata 3 SSD, 250GB Barracuda, EVGA GTX 650, Raidmax Vortex V4, CX430 Builder, LG "22 1080p,  AZZA Keyboard/Mouse combo = 345ish after taxes/shipping.  I also ended up grabbing a couple of LED case fans from coolermaster to match the LED's on the RAM (kids love that stuff!).

 

Conclusion -  I was able to OC the pentium chip to 4.5Ghz running 1.35v and a core temp of 68 max through Prime95 (only for 4 hrs, but that was all the time I had and no failures).  The graphics card is a weak link in this system and I expect he'll upgrade to 8 gigs of RAM at some point in the future. He is only interested in Minecraft right now, but that will change I'm sure.  The longest part of the build was the install of the 212, which was easy enough but required some patience for someone that has never used a screw driver before  .  My nephew was blown away with how much fun it was to build his own "gaming" rig.  I might have hooked him for life.

 

Pics - 

 

Installed the G3258 and 212

 

 

Installed the RAM and cooler fan

 

 

Mobo to case, Graphics card, PSU

 

 

Starting to cable manage 

 

 

The very first windows install

 

 

 

[TheKDub]

Shoulda named it "The Craigsbaystation 350"

[MrBucket101]

@Poster

 

since its a craigslist ebay mashup, mind listing off what came from where and how much?

That was a cool aspect of the scrapyard wars, seeing what they got for how much

[Poster]

Cant forget, happy 10 year old!

 

[Poster]

Yeah the link to the thread I started about the build process has all of the prices listed here:

 

http://linustechtips.com/main/topic/335437-building-scrapyard-pc-with-my-10yo-nephew/

[thekeemo]

im disappointed dual core and a gtx 650..

[SonoDanshi]

great job on the system and great job on the uncling.

[Poster]

im disappointed dual core and a gtx 650..

Believe it or not, this is kinda the intention.  I threw in a Z97 motherboard so he can upgrade the chip to a  4690 or 4790 without a hitch, and the graphics card is intentionally low end (but still discreet, and capable for LoL/Minecraft) so he can see the effects and want to upgrade that too.  In-so-doing, this is creating a carrot-on-a-stick for him to realize the higher potential.  In order to achieve the higher potential, though, he will have to pickup a summer job mowing lawns or something.  This helps foster responsibility, something he isn't learning from his not-in-the-picture dad.

[thekeemo]

Believe it or not, this is kinda the intention.  I threw in a Z97 motherboard so he can upgrade the chip to a  4690 or 4790 without a hitch, and the graphics card is intentionally low end (but still discreet, and capable for LoL/Minecraft) so he can see the effects and want to upgrade that too.  In-so-doing, this is creating a carrot-on-a-stick for him to realize the higher potential.  In order to achieve the higher potential, though, he will have to pickup a summer job mowing lawns or something.  This helps foster responsibility, something he isn't learning from his not-in-the-picture dad.

I agree with that 

im just suprised you couldnt find a better card for the money used 280's are pretty cheap

[Poster]

I agree with that 

im just suprised you couldnt find a better card for the money used 280's are pretty cheap

 

Yeah I would have loved to score a 280 (hell I would have taken a 260) for 55 (USD) but didn't come across anything lower than 90.  I could have easily made it happen by dropping the SSD and/or 212 evo.  There will be no doubt, though, that the 650 will have performance drops (and games he wont be able to play).  I want him to say "why is this so laggy (or something similar)" so I can point to the GPU and say "upgrade that with a ______".  And he can set a goal to earn X dollars to replace that GPU.

[thekeemo]

Yeah I would have loved to score a 280 (hell I would have taken a 260) for 55 (USD) but didn't come across anything lower than 90.  I could have easily made it happen by dropping the SSD and/or 212 evo.  There will be no doubt, though, that the 650 will have performance drops (and games he wont be able to play).  I want him to say "why is this so laggy (or something similar)" so I can point to the GPU and say "upgrade that with a ______".  And he can set a goal to earn X dollars to replace that GPU.

oh I didnt see the SSD that explains it. Also you are the best kind of dad placing the seed not giving the tree