Ultra-Cheap PC for a class demonstration

[ptcgplayer]

So I've been recruited to teach a tech class to upper level elementary students which involves building PCs for the library to use. However, the people in charge haven't given me a concrete budget for the project, and I decided to pretty much low-ball the crap out of it. So I got a PC build that would turn on and run Internet Explorer for about $170. It's definitely not worth the price, but it's a possibility. I then put together the idea of a $250 build that would be much better (still not that great) But it would last for a long time and still run pretty well for what they want it used for. If you guys could help me with other options, then that would be awesome! It's just that they don't really give me decent information on the structure of the class. Prepare for updates!

[ptcgplayer]

I'll drop the links here:

$250 Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2YVLvK

Ungodly POS: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QbnKCJ 

 

Oh and I'm sorry I got the titles of the builds mixed up lol.

[Aytex]

4 minutes ago, ptcgplayer said:

I'll drop the links here:

$250 Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2YVLvK

Ungodly POS: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QbnKCJ 

 

Oh and I'm sorry I got the titles of the builds mixed up lol.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $253.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 14:25 EDT-0400

 

Is that I came up with, mostly the same except the cpu, it should preform better than the FX

[Aytex]

Just now, DEcobra11 said:

 

Won't output video... 860K has no GPU

Ah, forgot about that

[Enderman]

raspberry pi

[swordsman247]

this would do ok for a basic workstation and not be too slow. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MLkysY

[ptcgplayer]

2 hours ago, Aytex said:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($69.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A68M-HD+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($49.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($28.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1100 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($28.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $253.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 14:25 EDT-0400

 

Is that I came up with, mostly the same except the cpu, it should preform better than the FX

That sounds pretty awesome. I didn't think to look at the 860k.

[ptcgplayer]

2 hours ago, swordsman247 said:

this would do ok for a basic workstation and not be too slow. http://pcpartpicker.com/p/MLkysY

Aight that looks dope as well. Thanks for the suggestions.

[ptcgplayer]

2 hours ago, DEcobra11 said:

No probs, swap that with a A8 7600, similar CPU performance, lower clock and no OC though

Will take into consideration. Thanks for the help.

[ptcgplayer]

2 hours ago, Enderman said:

raspberry pi

They want the full experience. I wish it could be the Raspberry Pi

[SLAYR]

32 minutes ago, ptcgplayer said:

So I've been recruited to teach a tech class to upper level elementary students which involves building PCs for the library to use. However, the people in charge haven't given me a concrete budget for the project, and I decided to pretty much low-ball the crap out of it. So I got a PC build that would turn on and run Internet Explorer for about $170. It's definitely not worth the price, but it's a possibility. I then put together the idea of a $250 build that would be much better (still not that great) But it would last for a long time and still run pretty well for what they want it used for. If you guys could help me with other options, then that would be awesome! It's just that they don't really give me decent information on the structure of the class. Prepare for updates!

You could get a prebuilt refurbished pc and just disasemble and reassemble it.

 

EDIT : http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=9SIA8WV3WC6893

for $60 it will at least run a brower no OS though. 

Edited March 21, 2016 by SLAYR
Added link

[ptcgplayer]

2 hours ago, Enderman said:

 

 

2 hours ago, ptcgplayer said:

I'll drop the links here:

$250 Build: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2YVLvK

Ungodly POS: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/QbnKCJ 

 

Oh and I'm sorry I got the titles of the builds mixed up lol.

Alright my dudes I think that this one might be it. I tried to take a balance of the best and cheap components and I think this would be it... 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XPnFFT

 

feel free to tear it apart if you want, and make it better. I'll check on the posts in the evening.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP GUYS!!!

[swordsman247]

34 minutes ago, ptcgplayer said:

 

Alright my dudes I think that this one might be it. I tried to take a balance of the best and cheap components and I think this would be it... 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XPnFFT

 

feel free to tear it apart if you want, and make it better. I'll check on the posts in the evening.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP GUYS!!!

If you go with that case it comes with a 300w power supply included. so like this with out an extra psu.

 http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/

[NumLock21]

Library, I picture this pc will tucked some where, so you will want it to be as small as possible.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Avexir Budget Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($40.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Logisys CS6801BK MicroATX Mini Tower Case w/350W Power Supply  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($15.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $216.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 18:09 EDT-0400

[tataklee]

3 hours ago, ptcgplayer said:

 

Alright my dudes I think that this one might be it. I tried to take a balance of the best and cheap components and I think this would be it... 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/XPnFFT

 

feel free to tear it apart if you want, and make it better. I'll check on the posts in the evening.

THANKS FOR ALL OF YOUR HELP GUYS!!!

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Micro Center) 
Memory: Avexir Budget Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($38.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Corsair 100R ATX Mid Tower Case  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $245.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 18:40 EDT-0400

 

Maybe something like that would look a tiny bit nicer. 

[vtecf20c]

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/sNkysY

 

188 with ssd and a very good seasonic psu

 

or if you don't care about ssd speed or psu life 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/8hDXCJ

 

136.. and still miles better than the old pc.

 

anyway i think the better choice is this:

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/WrxjP6

 

151 with a small ssd, which is hugely faster in daily use than HDD, and hope the crappy psu will not die very fast.

[ptcgplayer]

5 hours ago, NumLock21 said:

Library, I picture this pc will tucked some where, so you will want it to be as small as possible.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($44.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Avexir Budget Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($12.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier Pro SP600 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($40.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Logisys CS6801BK MicroATX Mini Tower Case w/350W Power Supply  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: LG GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($15.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $216.84
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-03-21 18:09 EDT-0400

I like the idea, but the PSU and Dual Core Processor isn't exactly ideal. But I like the rest.

[vtecf20c]

Just now, ptcgplayer said:

I like the idea, but the PSU and Dual Core Processor isn't exactly ideal. But I like the rest.

what do you have to do with those pcs?

 

with a new dual core at over 3ghz you can even play games with good frames..

[infamoustrey]

1 hour ago, ptcgplayer said:

I like the idea, but the PSU and Dual Core Processor isn't exactly ideal. But I like the rest.

The Pentium G4400 is significantly faster than the A8-7600. 

 

Here is a video of a last generation Pentium trading blows with an FX-6300 - 

 

[NumLock21]

29 minutes ago, infamoustrey said:

The Pentium G4400 is significantly faster than the A8-7600. 

 

Here is a video of a last generation Pentium trading blows with an FX-6300 - 

 

It's build for the school library, not a gaming computer

[infamoustrey]

On 3/22/2016 at 10:30 PM, NumLock21 said:

It's build for the school library, not a gaming computer

Which is why buying a slower, more expensive processor makes 0 sense.

 

A8-7600 80$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113371

G4400 64$ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1UH3Z96302&cm_re=G4400-_-19-117-625-_-Product

 

There is no reason to buy the A8-7600 over the pentium here, ram costs about the same and the 1151 socket will allow for a better upgrade path in the future.

[Aereldor]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD 5350 2.05Ghz Quad-Core Processor  ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Motherboard: MSI AM1I Mini ITX AM1 Motherboard  ($28.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory  ($15.89 @ Amazon) 
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($35.91 @ NCIX US) 
Case: Rosewill FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($19.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $172.66
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-04-04 20:02 EDT-0400