Extreme Budget Build - Project Budgetclass! :)

[ReviewsByGarry]

Hello everyone, I am new here at LTT, my name is Garry and I love tech and everything about it. I am a fairly new YouTuber and am very active on Twitter and Twitch as well.

 

I enjoy having fun unboxing products, doing small short reviews and pretty much giving my opinion about how things work for me. 

 

Something I am asked everyday is, "Can I get a computer that will allow me to run office, surf the web? Can I get a cheap computer as a HTPC?" - Yes you can, and that's my point of this build log, something basic, workstation capable and entry level HTPC capable that is attractive looking and under $400.

 

Please note: I already had most of these parts and this could be done differently to get faster hardware if you prefer, but I was limited to $80 (for motherboard/CPU) and I really love the embedded solution I've picked (as I've used it previously)

 

I've been using embedded solutions for awhile now to help people put together Home Theater PCs and basic workstations for a couple of years now, but this time I thought I would build log it and also make a video for the final product. 

 

 

I want to show people that you can build a basic PC without needing to spend a lot of money and still get something that is extremely sexy looking.

 

Building on an extreme budget is.. EXTREMELY HARD. So keep that in mind as well. I know I could have opted for cheaper cases, but I feel this case is the perfect price point to make that budget build look sexy enough to appeal to the end user. 

 

Build components:

 

Case: BitFenix Prodigy Blue Mini ITX Case 
(Classy looking and still priced fair enough to justify for a budget build) - This part was Sponsored by BitFenix
 

CPU/Motherboard: Biostar NM70I-1037U /w  Intel Celeron 1037U Processor 
(An extremely solid preforming embedded solution for basic tasks) - Purchased (Acquired, purchased) - $75
 

Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80 Plus 100-W1-0430-KR
(Good price point, works great, maybe a little bit too much power but will be fine for this build) - Already had
 

Memory: G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB 1600mhz 4 x 2 Kit
(A bit more expensive, but has always been a solid performer for me) - Already had
 

SSD: OCZ Arc 100 120GB Solid State Drive 
(I own 4 of these drives, they are great, I was provided a new review sample so I can use this for the build) - This part was Sponsored by OCZ

 

HDD: Seagate ST500LM021 500GB 7200 RPM 32MB Hard Drive - Already had

(These are great drives, I've had a few laying around, finally found a use for one)

 

Fans: I haven't decided yet on what fans I am going to use, I have some cheap sleeve bearing fans, but would like to get at least two nice 120mm's for the build. 

 

More to come soon, thank you all for taking the time to look at the posting!

[SkixAces]

Awesome! That is low budget pc! Have you tested any low end games on it, for example csgo (probably wont run well, but if it could run at low ~60 fps that would be a great budget system for people wanting to play low spec games like csgo )

[ReviewsByGarry]

I haven't got it built yet (motherboard will be here tomorrow) and I will be posting build pictures as I go. I actually don't have CS:GO myself but I DO have regular CS haha, I can test that on it at least.  

 

Thanks for commenting.  

[Anthony10]

I understand that this is sponsored, but putting an SSD and using a $100 case in this build makes no sense with a dual core 1.8ghz processor that uses intel hd graphics...

 

I feel the money should have been spent on the cpu and gpu instead

[ReviewsByGarry]

I understand that this is sponsored, but putting an SSD and using a $100 case in this build makes no sense with a dual core 1.8ghz processor that uses intel hd graphics...

 

I feel the money should have been spent on the cpu and gpu instead

 

There are a lot of ways this configuration could have been done if I was flat out buying the parts new; less memory, less power supply, cheap case, etc, but using a cheap case wouldn't be as attractive, of course most will argue, "why make it look nice if it's low spec", if your using it as a HTPC or a small workstation I don't think it wouldn't be a horrible thing to look nice. (of course I know the aesthetics come at the cost of performance as a cheaper case could be used and the extra could be put towards better hardware). 

 

Keep in mind, I only had to purchase the motherboard and I even considered going with Kabini, but the price point would have limited me to a Sempron version and I had one previously and this board is much snappier as it supports dual channel ram and the AM1 platform does not.

 

I already had the EVGA power supply, Memory, SSD and Case, so I was looking at the best solution to build this system under the $80 I had to spend. 

 

The point for this build is a basic HTPC and Workstation, the Intel graphics and dual core processor will be just fine with the SSD and 8GB of ram.

 

I personally prefer having a smaller SSD at least for a boot drive, but I thought after I read your comment, he does make sense, how can this be a HTPC without some mass storage, so I've added a 500GB hard drive to the log. 

 

I also updated the post a bit, to reflect only purchasing the motherboard and showing what I already had. 

 

Thanks for your feedback, much appreciated.

[Anthony10]

There are a lot of ways this configuration could have been done if I was flat out buying the parts new; less memory, less power supply, cheap case, etc, but using a cheap case wouldn't be as attractive, of course most will argue, "why make it look nice if it's low spec", if your using it as a HTPC or a small workstation I don't think it wouldn't be a horrible thing to look nice. (of course I know the aesthetics come at the cost of performance as a cheaper case could be used and the extra could be put towards better hardware). 

 

Keep in mind, I only had to purchase the motherboard and I even considered going with Kabini, but the price point would have limited me to a Sempron version and I had one previously and this board is much snappier as it supports dual channel ram and the AM1 platform does not.

 

I already had the EVGA power supply, Memory, SSD and Case, so I was looking at the best solution to build this system under the $80 I had to spend. 

 

The point for this build is a basic HTPC and Workstation, the Intel graphics and dual core processor will be just fine with the SSD and 8GB of ram.

 

I personally prefer having a smaller SSD at least for a boot drive, but I thought after I read your comment, he does make sense, how can this be a HTPC without some mass storage, so I've added a 500GB hard drive to the log. 

 

I also updated the prices showing what I already had / compared to just buying the board. 

 

Thanks for your feedback though, much appreciated.

 

That explanation helps, I think I'm just a bit distraught with the parts list, I want to argue with it but they are just extra parts, lol.

hope to see some pics soon

[ReviewsByGarry]

That explanation helps, I think I'm just a bit distraught with the parts list, I want to argue with it but they are just extra parts, lol.

hope to see some pics soon

 

Haha, I can see where you're coming from, but if you look at my channel, you'll see I never do anything like others do.. 

 

I am very random and I love to tinker with all PC components,

 

I'll even admit, I love budget parts, you'll see that soon as I post more "random builds"

 

I'm pretty sure I'm the only person who bought a backplate for a NON-TI GTX 750. LOL

[TechJohnson]

Love the idea, man! Can't wait to see some pictures.

[ReviewsByGarry]

Good news everyone, the motherboard came in today, so I will be getting started on the build, shouldn't take long, I will have more pics later

 

 

So I want some of your opinions, I know the board is black with orange/redish memory slots, and I DO realize the red memory matches better, but here are some photos of it with the red memory and then some black /w BLUE LED Avexir Memory.. both sets are the same speed 1600mhz, but the Avexir was $10 less (which fits more into a budget build, and the BLUE LED color matches the case.. so I'm a bit torn. 

 

 

[Anthony10]

I think the Avexir ram will look better in the end, but I don't think we'll know until the final system to see how much red you can actually see

[ReviewsByGarry]

I think the Avexir ram will look better in the end, but I don't think we'll know until the final system to see how much red you can actually see

 

Yeah, I think I'll have to make that decision once it's all put together.  

[ReviewsByGarry]

Here's a photo of all the items that I am using in this build laid out for you all, doesn't look like much, but it should be fun to play with!  

 

[Overkilled]

@ReviewsByGarry did you reach to bitfenix or did bitfenix reach out to you?

[ReviewsByGarry]

@ReviewsByGarry did you reach to bitfenix or did bitfenix reach out to you?

 

I contacted them, they were great to work with, I did a fan review/unboxing, PSU unboxing and also a system swap with them, I plan on making a video of me installing the PSU in my Intel system and also a video of Budgetclass once I get going, I have all the parts, just ran into some extra work the last few days, should be getting that going soon.

 

Here's the stuff I've done with them if you wanna check it out:

 

Lynn's BitFenix Colossus Window Black & Green System Rebuild

 

BitFenix Spectre PRO ALL WHITE White LED 120mm / 140mm Case Fan Review/Installation

 

BitFenix Spectre PRO ALL WHITE White LED 120mm / 140mm Case Fan Unboxing

 

BitFenix Fury 650G Power Supply PSU 650 Watt Unboxing / Overview

 

[Overkilled]

I contacted them, they were great to work with, I did a fan review/unboxing, PSU unboxing and also a system swap with them, I plan on making a video of me installing the PSU in my Intel system and also a video of Budgetclass once I get going, I have all the parts, just ran into some extra work the last few days, should be getting that going soon.

 

Here's the stuff I've done with them if you wanna check it out:

 

Lynn's BitFenix Colossus Window Black & Green System Rebuild

 

BitFenix Spectre PRO ALL WHITE White LED 120mm / 140mm Case Fan Review/Installation

 

BitFenix Spectre PRO ALL WHITE White LED 120mm / 140mm Case Fan Unboxing

 

BitFenix Fury 650G Power Supply PSU 650 Watt Unboxing / Overview

system swap?

[ALXAndy]

I've never seen any one run any sort of SLI set up and a 8 core Vishera from a budget 500w power supply before so that's new on me.

 

Kiddies = don't try that at home.

 

As for this build? are you actually doing anything other than promoting yourself here? IE - mods, braiding and so on?

[ReviewsByGarry]

She's had the setup for awhile now, but honestly, the cards never get used to max load, (it was more of an aesthetics thing, and with the discounts, why not?) Even if so, two of them is roughly 290w and the E variant of the 8320 is quite impressive, it's not like we are using a 9590 or something crazy like that with a insane TDP. Maybe I should get a watt meter and test it and actually see.. would be nice to know how close it is. 

 

I personally think a 600 watt would be more feasible for her situation, so I don't disagree with you, but it's working just fine (and has been for around 3 months) and trust me, I warned her when we went with SLI that we may have to upgrade the PSU, but since it's working flawless, we just kept it.

 

I bought a bunch of these PSUs when they were on sale, my 8320E system with a single Galax 960 EXOC has the same PSU for the time being. I've not had one of them fail yet, I'm quite impressed by EVGA power supplies. 

 

And no, I'm not just trying to promote myself, it was suggested that I post on a forum and show people what I do, and promote the companies that have sponsored builds and given review samples. 

 

I know basic system building isn't anything special, but I just wanted to share it with people. I have a lot of builds I would like to show off and plan on it as long as I am welcome, I do apologize if it's too basic or too random for my first post. 

 

With all that, I'm getting old and it's just a hobby that I can do with limited funds, too bad actual bills have to come first, but I just enjoy building systems and doing random stuff. Hopefully people understand where I'm coming from. 

 

Here is one of my other projects:

 

Thanks to FractalJosh and Fractal Design for the Node 804.  (This is the 3rd update, still need to do a video for it) 

[ReviewsByGarry]

New pictures, build is COMPLETE!

 

First off, I want to say thanks again to BitFenix for providing the case for this build, I absolutely loved building in this case, it was a bit tight but I think everything looks great for a basic build. I was impressed with how high quality the case was, and how HEAVY all of the panels of the case were. 

 

 

Once I opened the case, I was extremely happy to see that ALL of the drive cages, even the 5.25 was removable, this was my initial plan because of the back panel having two 2.5 inch mounting spots as you can see below. 

 

 

Something I also LOVED about this case was the grill on the top, I really liked the latch system it has to take the grill on and off, it's extremely unique and I haven't had a case before with something like that. 

 

 

I opted to install a ENERMAX T.B.VEGAS 120mm Blue LED 120mm Fan in the rear, I already had this (that was taken off my cluster cooler), so I didn't have to make any additional purchase (if someone was doing this build, they could just leave the 120mm BitFenix fan in the case). I added this fan for the lighting to match the memory.

 

 

Normal mounting hardware for the case, BUT.. something extra included that I've NEVER seen another case come with is a USB 3.0 to 2.0 converter cable, normally with older motherboards or smaller ones (such as the one I used), you don't always get a USB 3.0 motherboard header, so this was a great surprise in the box. You normally have to buy these separate, thanks BitFenix for including this. 

 

 

Here's a quick shot of the motherboard installed before putting anything aside from the fan in the case, fit perfectly, no issues at all. 

 

 

Quick front shot after getting everything installed, made a couple of changes a few times, but ended up happy with this setup. 

 

 

And here is the inside after getting everything going, installing Windows 8.1 during this photo, love the way this came out. 

 

 

Love that blue glow over the motherboard, looks great, extremely nice, specially with that BLUE LED ram.

 

 

Came out better than I expected it would using a non sleeved power supply, and a embedded motherboard, I am actually quite impressed how it runs too, I did NOT expect it to run as good as it does, I will actually post more here after getting the system up, we will test the SSD speeds, and maybe even some gaming (if the on-board can handle it) -- Lol

 

 

Wanted to put up some night time shots of the case, I think it looks great.

 

This proves you can spend a little money, get a sexy looking basic HTPC build that would appeal to someone who does not have a lot of money to spend.

 

And yes... I know the case could be cheaper to make this build less expensive and you could ditch the SSD, but I wanted to show you a basic FAST HTPC build that works perfectly 100% with no issues and will even do other tasks such as office, web browsing and even steam Streaming with 0 issues, and LOOKS SEXY.

 

Thanks guys for checking out the build, check out my other posts for other builds. Thanks! 

[ReviewsByGarry]

I wanted to post a small update, I decided to take out the 500gb and make it external in a case I got from MicroCenter for $4.00, I wanted to do this because of portability reasons. Then I also took out the OCZ SSD and painted it blue and added an Iamapropos A-Team Gaming community logo to it and then mounted it front side out in the back of the case, looks much better and a lot cleaner this way.