$250-300 Desktop Ideas

[Madone6]

My Grandparents have an old '07/'08 Dell Inspiron and I thought I could build them a new PC. No Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse required. Also They don't really need a GPU, but they could use one.

[HKZeroFive]

Off the top of my head, I'd say to get a SSD.

[KezzaMcFezza]

Get a 250GB SSD, Maybe 8GB ram? a 4 core CPU? the iGPU should be fine.

 

Hope this helps

 

P.S the iGPU in the 4690k is a beast

[Goodman2265]

SSD, more ram maybe

Give us specs pls

[Madone6]

Just now, CUDA_Cores said:

So is the goal to upgrade this PC for $250-$300, or buy a new one? Also, if the computer is to be upgraded, we will need a model name of the machine (ie dell optiplex 330) so we can find out what upgrades are compatible.

im sorry for the misunderstanding on my part, I meant building a new pc

[Madone6]

2 minutes ago, HKZeroFive said:

Off the top of my head, I'd say to get a SSD.

 

1 minute ago, CUDA_Cores said:

So is the goal to upgrade this PC for $250-$300, or buy a new one? Also, if the computer is to be upgraded, we will need a model name of the machine (ie dell optiplex 330) so we can find out what upgrades are compatible.

 

1 minute ago, ProKeero said:

Get a 250GB SSD, Maybe 8GB ram? a 4 core CPU? the iGPU should be fine.

 

Hope this helps

 

P.S the iGPU in the 4690k is a beast

im sorry for the misunderstanding on my part, I meant building a new pc

[Madone6]

1 minute ago, CUDA_Cores said:

you sure? because depending on the model, we may simply be able to upgrade it and save you quite a bit of money.

Ok then, The model is a Dell Inspiron 530s

[DragonTamer1]

It's a 775 socket processor, not too much you can do in the way of "meaningful" upgrade (depending on how you want to define it).

[dizmo]

Why do they need a new PC? What exactly is wrong with this one?
I'd just get something on the AM1 platform. They don't really need anything more. Unless they play games.

If it's just a Windows based machine to browse the web, just use something with integrated graphics, an dedicated GPU is a complete waste.

[AnnoyedShelf]

16 minutes ago, Madone6 said:

My Grandparents have an old '07/'08 Dell Inspiron and I thought I could build them a new PC. No Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse required. Also They don't really need a GPU, but they could use one.

For grandparents I honestly recommend not getting them a computer, and getting them a tablet instead.  They're way easier to use, and you won't be called for tech support as often.

[TomvanWijnen]

5 minutes ago, DragonTamer1 said:

It's a 775 socket processor, not too much you can do in the way of "meaningful" upgrade (depending on how you want to define it).

Maybe it could fit a q6600? Those are pretty good and cheap. (done that myself :P)

[Madone6]

Just now, AnnoyedShelf said:

For grandparents I honestly recommend not getting them a computer, and getting them a tablet instead.  They're way easier to use, and you won't be called for tech support as often.

Honestly my Grandma is fine with using a Desktop and switching to a whole new platform would just cause much more problems than it solves for me, my grandpa doesn't use the PC as much and still, that would make a load of problems

[Quix]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/n3KkCJ
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/n3KkCJ/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($65.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Asus H81M-D PLUS Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard  ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($34.88 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ NCIX US) 
Total: $284.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-19 22:06 EDT-0400

[DragonTamer1]

2 minutes ago, TomvanWijnen said:

Maybe it could fit a q6600? Those are pretty good and cheap.

I think a quad core would be a bit of a waste IMO, however I did take another look at the chipset. I'm not super familiar with the 775 socket (despite using one for a long time) but I did find a list of (suposed) supported processors.

 

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/mb-Intel_%28chipsets%29/G33_Express.html

 

Anything running over 1.8 GHz would probably be a noticeable boost in responsiveness.

 

You can also get them another 4GB of RAM, though I don't see how they could really need more. It may also be worth bumping the HD up to 500GB from the 340GB that it has now. Adding an SSD would probably add a level of complexity that is unneeded to the system.

[BadBacon]

you could salavage the HDD the optical drive. If you are willing, upgrade to a q6600 quad core. Buy it used and get a cheap 100 dollar GPU from fry's or craigslist. PSU just get one new. Buy a cheap but reliable one though.

[Madone6]

8 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

PERFECT!!! I just build a gaming PC using an old dell inspiron 530s for a friend, and this PC can be upgraded quite significantly. Have you ever heard of the  LGA 771 socket mod? Here is what it is and a tutorial on how to do it:

 

 

Pick up the Xeon E5450 from ebay: ($22)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Intel-Xeon-E5450-Quad-Core-3-0GHz-12MB-1333MHz-LGA771-Processor-SLANQ-/201544358759?hash=item2eecfadb67:g:pdsAAOSwxp9W4anj

The foxconn mobo for the machine (this xeon has a higher wattage TDP): ($20)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Dell-Inspiron-530-530s-Vostro-200s-200-MainBoard-Motherboard-FM586-G33M03-GN723-/152018226973?hash=item2364fe0f1d:g:1FgAAOSwnLdWqjhH

Note if the PC already has a core 2 quad series CPU in it, you will not need to buy a new motherboard.

and the Xeon adapter: ($4)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/2-LGA-771-to-775-Adapters-for-Xeon-Mod-with-one-Intel-Xeon-Inside-sticker-/331590180430?hash=item4d34509e4e:g:BN0AAOSw9N1ViuGs

Then a single 240GB SSD: ($60)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ADATA-Premier-SP550-2-5-240GB-SATA-III-TLC-Internal-Solid-State-Drive-SSD-ASP-/291583537127?hash=item43e3bbafe7:g:vYEAAOSw9N1V1yis

A geforce GT 610: ($30)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/nVIDIA-GeForce-GT-610-1GB-PCI-E-x16-Video-Graphics-Card-Dell-RH4GP-/401045820861?hash=item5d603195bd:g:6GEAAOSwSHZWeyUM

4GB DDR2: ($11)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Desktop-RAM-4GB-4x-1GB-PC2-6400U-Non-ECC-DDR2-800-6400-240pin-DIMM-Memory-LO-/400867975437?

hash=item5d5597e10d:g:rZ8AAOSwiCRUbjpc

 

total is $150. If the total is too high, get a 120GB SSD instead, and leave out the GPU (price reduced to $90). This generation of intel CPUs had the graphics onboard the motherboard, so you don't have to worry about the CPU not having any integrated graphics becasue none of intels cpus had any at the time anyway as it resided on the mobo itself.

 

I feel like i'll break it.

[Madone6]

Just now, CUDA_Cores said:

he can't. The inspiron 530S uses a proprietary PSU that costs hundreds of dollars to buy new. OP can't just buy an off-the-shelf PSU and plug it into this dell machine as it won't fit.

ah crap

[Madone6]

5 minutes ago, CUDA_Cores said:

he can't. The inspiron 530S uses a proprietary PSU that costs hundreds of dollars to buy new. OP can't just buy an off-the-shelf PSU and plug it into this dell machine as it won't fit.

will the e5450 be too much for the psu?

 

[DragonTamer1]

1 minute ago, Madone6 said:

will the e5450 be too much for the psu?

 

I think it has a 250W PSU in the system, don't know the power draw of that processor off the top of my head.

[Lotus]

This is what I'd do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-7600 3.1GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88M PRO3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($52.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: GeIL EVO Veloce Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($31.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX200 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($58.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1500 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($34.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $298.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-19 22:54 EDT-0400

 

Not the flashiest by any means, but it'll do just about anything well enough. Not great, but well enough. I wouldn't go without an SSD because that can make a computer feel much snappier and responsive, so for the uninformed it just feels much faster.