Help Needed with Low Cost build

[yoshiii]

Hello

 

I am building a computer for someone.  They will use it for office work, watching movies, blue ray and iTunes, photo viewing, music downloading, internet surfing and maybe some type of light gaming.

 

I asked a few months back but I want to get a updated suggestions.

 

I want to stick with Intel if possible.  I want to spend 500 dollars or less. I already have ram and ssd. I am going for Hashwell.

 

Will AMD be good still?

 

I want something the person can still use in about 4 years.

 

Will a need a GTX 750 or 950 video card?

 

Will a i3 still be good or is it better to get a low end i5?

 

What are some suggestions?

[SolarNova]

What do u mean by light gaming?

 

I mean if its just gunna be light indie games, nothing AAA, then an APU system would probably suffice.

 

Alternatively a r7 260 + Intel Pentium G CPU don't cost much. So long as any games u play can run fine on a Dual core.

[MrChavelo]

i3 4170 is good, I would upgrade it soon though, like I am doing next year

[yoshiii]

i3 4170 is good, I would upgrade it soon though, like I am doing next year

 

But will dual cores be enough for the next 4 years?

 

APU's worth it?

 

FX?

[SolarNova]

Something like this.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ B&H)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($81.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($93.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake Core X2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $486.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-06 11:14 EST-0500

 

 

Above list allows for upgradability. A second stick of RAM, A socket that can handle better CPU's like an i5 or i7, Enough PSU power to handle any upgrades and OC'ing.

 

Will a dual core be ok for 4 years.? that depends entirely on the games u expect to be able to play. Even now, certain games will just refuse to run on a Dual core. Now an i3 Dual core + Hyperthread would work, but is a little more expensive.

[zyntaxable]

Something like this.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ B&H)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($81.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($44.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($93.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Thermaltake Core X2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $486.79

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-06 11:14 EST-0500

 

Will a dual core be ok for 4 years.? that depends entirely on the games u expect to be able to play. Even now, certain games will just refuse to run on a Dual core. Now an i3 Dual core + Hyperthread would work, but is a little more expensive.

No. Don't get that cpu. Some games don't even launch anymore with a dual core cpu

[yoshiii]

Something like this.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ B&H)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-Z97M-DS3H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($81.98 @ Newegg)

Memory: Kingston Savage 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($44.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.88 @ OutletPC)

Video Card: XFX Radeon R7 360 2GB Core Edition Video Card  ($93.98 @ Newegg)

Case: Thermaltake Core X2 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($59.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: SeaSonic 650W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($69.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $486.79

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-06 11:14 EST-0500

 

Will a dual core be ok for 4 years.? that depends entirely on the games u expect to be able to play. Even now, certain games will just refuse to run on a Dual core. Now an i3 Dual core + Hyperthread would work, but is a little more expensive.

Thank you.

 

The computer will be used mostly for office work(office programs etc.), blue ray and iTunes movie viewing, music downloading(iTunes) and internet surfing.

 

Will this cpu be good for that of the next 4 years?

 

[MrChavelo]

But will dual cores be enough for the next 4 years?

 

APU's worth it?

 

FX?

It all depends on the type of games he wants to play.

 

For games like LoL and Minecraft this is a decent build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($68.88 @ OutletPC)

CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($19.99 @ Newegg)

Motherboard: Asus A88XM-A Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($54.88 @ OutletPC)

Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($39.99 @ NCIX US)

Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($77.99 @ Amazon)

Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.98 @ OutletPC)

Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg)

Power Supply: EVGA SuperNOVA NEX 650W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($54.99 @ Newegg)

Total: $416.69

Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available

Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-12-06 11:20 EST-0500

[SolarNova]

As I said, some games don't like Dual Cores, BUT for office work it would be fine.

 

In the event u decide its not good enough in a couple years, the motherboard can handle an i3 .i5, or 7, so u have future upgrade choice.

 

Now if its honestly only going to be an office workstation then u don't need to spend $500, I simply used the budget to make the best looking and running system I could, deciding between an i3 or Pentium, both have their merits. But a workstation could be had for much less and be much simpler looking but wouldn't run games very well.

[Ryuhayabusa132]

I agree with SolarNova you dont sound like your going to play much on the computer your planning to build. Therefor I suggest that you go for a low end pc with duel core and perhaps a 512mb gpu. You would be saving alot of money aswell. Btw with light gaming do you mean "Harpan", "Chess", "Minesweeper" e.t.c.?