Small PC Build for my Dad

[Ryou-kun]

Hello LTT,

 

I am trying to build a small and compact PC for my dad who is mostly be using for Netflix, YouTube, Facebook, Facebook's games, Amazon Instant Video and any media consumption. No playing hardcore games or anything like that, but it has to be fast.

I created this list in PCPartPicker, but I am not sure if it is any good.

 

We will reused the HDD in his old PC but reformat it. Don't worry about the OS. We got it cover. I was thinking to throw in a sound card to make audio sound really good but not sure if it is worth the extra cost. Also we have an old ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB vRAM GPU on my dad old PC. I would like to add it on there if possible or the i3 iGPU is powerful enough to run everything including a 1080p HDTV for the living room.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rTVTTW

 

Quick question. Is it better to buy barebone PC kit or buy parts for everything?

As for the budget, it should be under $500 dollar, but I would prefer to be low as possible.

Don't need any killer specs or anything as long it could run things he want.

 

Thank you very much, LTT. 

[ImBleu]

I'd not bother at all with a Sound Card, 99% of modern motherboards have better on board sound than most cheap Sound Cards.

 

As for your build, there is no point buying an Z97 motherboard unless you are buying something like a Pentium G3258, i5-4690k or i7-4790k, as the H87 and B85 motherboards are also supported and cheaper, Z97 is for overclocking.

 

You are also going to want 8GB of Ram and possibly a larger SSD.

[alexhelvetica]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KWCfgs, this i think would be better and cheaper

[Ryou-kun]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/KWCfgs, this i think would be better and cheaper

 

I would but my dad prefer Intel CPU.

Not sure why, he just prefer Intel. Sorry.

[19_blackie_73]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sCfgs
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sCfgs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($94.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($50.99 @ Adorama)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($73.99 @ B&H)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($16.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $410.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 02:00 EDT-0400

 

stick to onboard sound, it has a good quality

iGPU will be fine for office and vids, but 64gb of ssd is not much, usefull to go with 128gb

[alexhelvetica]

I would but my dad prefer Intel CPU.

Not sure why, he just prefer Intel. Sorry.

Some people are just like that. I think it was they have used before.

[Ryou-kun]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sCfgs

Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/7sCfgs/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-4150 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($111.99 @ SuperBiiz)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($94.99 @ Micro Center)

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($50.99 @ Adorama)

Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($73.99 @ B&H)

Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($34.99 @ Micro Center)

Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($26.99 @ Newegg)

Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($16.89 @ OutletPC)

Total: $410.83

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-06-28 02:00 EDT-0400

 

stick to onboard sound, it has a good quality

iGPU will be fine for office and vids, but 64gb of ssd is not much, usefull to go with 128gb

 

Since we have this ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB vRAM, is there enough room to add it? You know, let the GPU to be in use rather sitting there and gathering dust.

[19_blackie_73]

Since we have this ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB vRAM, is there enough room to add it? You know, let the GPU to be in use rather sitting there and gathering dust.

should be no problem as you don't need any extension slots for sound card. "Problem" of mini itx is that you have only one slot for adding something so you have to decide what's more important

[REX.exe]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/jMd3Q7

[REX.exe]

Since we have this ATI Radeon HD 5450 1GB vRAM, is there enough room to add it? You know, let the GPU to be in use rather sitting there and gathering dust.

Don't bother using it. No performance increase and just more power consumption, I would just suggest you throw it out.

[Ryou-kun]

Hmm, what do you guys think about barebone PC kit? Is it worth the cost or just screw it and just build the PC part from scratch?