$70 build for mom

dialgarocksful · May 22, 2015

I'm planning to buy mom a payday gift of ~$70. This is 100% be used for Office apps, emails, and movie watching. I can't decide on whether getting an Intel or AMD (though I myself have an AMD gaming rig):

(Estimated prices)

Intel:

CPU: Pentium E5800 (heatsink sold separately on this) - $6 + $3 for the heatsink

MOBO: G31 DDR2 - $15

PSU: 350W - $7

RAM: DDR2 2GB 800MHz - $11

GPU: nVidia 8400GS - $9

Case: Rise 831 - $7.5

Keyboard + Mouse: Generic USB combo - $5

Estimated total: ~$63.5

AMD:

CPU: Athlon x2 5200 -- $35

Heatsink: Bundle with CPU

MOBO: Bundle with CPU

RAM: DD2 2GB 800MHz - $11

PSU: 350W - $7

GPU: nVidia 8400GS - $9

Case: Rise 831 - $7.5

Keyboard + Mouse: Generic USB combo - $5

Estimated total: $67.5

Any other suggestions for CPU/GPU options? Feel free to comment below. If you need any reference price list, click here. Then convert it from PHP to USD.

Q/A:

1. RAM Upgrade - Yes, I'll be upgrading the 2GB into 4GB weeks after the initial build. I just need to run it properly and be used for a couple of weeks or so

2. Budget - I'm getting "used" parts for the build. My expected pay is only around $200, $120 of it will be on my upgrades to my gaming rig.

3. OS - Windows 7 Professional 64-bit

4. HDD - I have a spare 160GB HDD on hand, which makes it "free"

5. Size of monitor - 15" 1024x768