Building my Cousin a $100 PC

[setha1]

So I decided to build a $100 PC for my cousin, because that's all the money he has for his light-gaming.

The specs are

CPU : Intel Xeon E3110 3.0GHZ

GPU : GeForce GT 240

RAM : Atech 4GB DDR2-800Mhz

MOBO : ECS P33T-A

CASE : Olivetti ATX Mid Tower

PSU : 250w PSU (came with the case)

HDD : 320GB HDD (Seagate)

What do you think?

 

[Herman Mcpootis]

5 minutes ago, setha1 said:

So I decided to build a $100 PC for my cousin, because that's all the money he has for his light-gaming.

The specs are

CPU : Intel Xeon E3110 3.0GHZ

GPU : GeForce GT 240

RAM : Atech 4GB DDR2-800Mhz

MOBO : ECS P33T-A

CASE : Olivetti ATX Mid Tower

PSU : 250w PSU (came with the case)

HDD : 320GB HDD (Seagate)

What do you think?

 

yea, no. psu's probably terrible, gt 240 can't play all but the lightest titles at 1080p, and 2 cores is rather low for a gaming pc nowadays. save up a few more bucks and get something better instead.

[setha1]

1 minute ago, herman mcpootis said:

yea, no. psu's probably terrible, gt 240 can't play all but the lightest titles at 1080p, and 2 cores is rather low for a gaming pc nowadays. save up a few more bucks and get something beter instead.

I told him to but he doesn't give a crap

[radical guild]

Look at this http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-GT-240 save up for the gtx 750ti

[setha1]

1 minute ago, radical guild said:

Look at this http://gpuboss.com/gpus/GeForce-GTX-750-Ti-vs-GeForce-GT-240 save up for the gtx 750ti

The GT 240 was free, I told him to save another 150

[radical guild]

1 minute ago, setha1 said:

The GT 240 was free, I told him to save another 150

Tell him that it is better save up for it to get better stuff 

[Herman Mcpootis]

2 minutes ago, setha1 said:

I told him to but he doesn't give a crap

wait for some very good deals on used parts online and in your local websites, $100 is possible but you'll need to do quite alot of planning and waiting. i have made pcs in the $100-140 SGD range with core 2 quads and older gaming gpus before, but i often have to wait some time for the best deals to appear.

[setha1]

1 minute ago, radical guild said:

Tell him that it is better save up for it to get better stuff 

Yeah I'm trying, but trying to change an 11 yr old is fucking stressful

[Energycore]

2 minutes ago, setha1 said:

I told him to but he doesn't give a crap

Honestly, "save up more" is the only piece of advice you're going to get here in the forum. And it's because for all hobbies there's an entry point. For $100, a tablet will provide a better computing experience than a desktop.

 

For $250 though,

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G4400 3.3GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: A-Data Premier SP550 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($31.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $255.94
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-08 01:37 EDT-0400

 

Bam. Great components, better boot times and browsing snappiness than many non-SSD computers, and even alright gaming on the HD graphics 510 (it's better than the 240).

[setha1]

1 minute ago, herman mcpootis said:

wait for some very good deals on used parts online and in your local websites, $100 is possible but you'll need to do quite alot of planning and waiting. i have made pcs in the $100-140 SGD range with core 2 quads and older gaming gpus before, but i often have to wait some time for the best deals to appear.

Pre-Built + Used GPU?

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, setha1 said:

Yeah I'm trying, but trying to change an 11 yr old is fucking stressful

I understand. But it's something your cousing has to learn - that you can't bitch about free stuff.

 

Also, the GT 240 you got for free is worse than the graphics that comes with the Pentium CPU. It's a better paperweight though.

[KSores]

1 hour ago, setha1 said:

Pre-Built + Used GPU?

if the prebuilt has a allright cpu and add a 750ti you would b good

[VictorianReaper]

4 minutes ago, setha1 said:

3 minutes ago, KSores said:

if the prebuilt has a allright cpu and add a 750ti you would b good

 

Yea if a cheap 750ti wasn't 96 dollars. that would work well.

[VictorianReaper]

7 minutes ago, setha1 said:

Yeah I'm trying, but trying to change an 11 yr old is fucking stressful

talk to the brats parents.

[setha1]

2 minutes ago, Energycore said:

I understand. But it's something your cousing has to learn - that you can't bitch about free stuff.

 

Also, the GT 240 you got for free is worse than the graphics that comes with the Pentium CPU. It's a better paperweight though.

I'll text him tomorrow and see what he can do, probably request him if he wants a PC he has to, sell some xbox games, his xbone headset, and his rc car crap probably gonna get him $400

[Herman Mcpootis]

1 minute ago, setha1 said:

I'll text him tomorrow and see what he can do, probably request him if he wants a PC he has to, sell some xbox games, his xbone headset, and his rc car crap probably gonna get him $400

try to do that, $400 is more then enough for an entry-level gaming pc.

[KouenHasuki]

No spare hand me downs around to pass onto him and then use the money for some upgrades instead? I normally avoid any DDR2 machines at this point, the only exception is an older Acer netbook I have with a light linux distro.

 

Why not ask around family and friends and see if there is a 1st or 2nd gen i series computer kicking around that you could just upgrade a little and that should keep him going. That's what I would do at least

[setha1]

1 minute ago, herman mcpootis said:

try to do that, $400 is more then enough for an entry-level gaming pc.

Hopefully he listens

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, setha1 said:

I'll text him tomorrow and see what he can do, probably request him if he wants a PC he has to, sell some xbox games, his xbone headset, and his rc car crap probably gonna get him $400

Here's a build for $400.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 880K 4.0GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($79.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X PRO3+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($36.88 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case  ($36.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.09 @ Amazon)
Total: $400.42
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-08 01:46 EDT-0400

 

It will even outperform the XBox while gaming

Build is made with cheap overclocking in mind. You'll have no problem overclocking the CPU with the setup and cooler.

[setha1]

1 minute ago, KouenHasuki said:

No spare hand me downs around to pass onto him and then use the money for some upgrades instead? I normally avoid any DDR2 machines at this point, the only exception is an older Acer netbook I have with a light linux distro.

 

Why not ask around family and friends and see if there is a 1st or 2nd gen i series computer kicking around that you could just upgrade a little and that should keep him going. That's what I would do at least

I probably can ask my uncle

[VictorianReaper]

9 minutes ago, setha1 said:

I'll text him tomorrow and see what he can do, probably request him if he wants a PC he has to, sell some xbox games, his xbone headset, and his rc car crap probably gonna get him $400

if you do go for a 400$ dollar build which is great

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($76.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X PRO3+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($33.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card  ($96.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Apevia X-Plorer Black ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Rosewill 500W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $395.31

 

EDIT

Black And Blue Case Now

Fixed the 750ti situation
 

[Energycore]

1 minute ago, VictorianReaper said:

if you do go for a 400$ dollar build which is good try

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($76.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A88X PRO3+ ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($64.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($33.98 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($47.49 @ OutletPC)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 750 Ti 4GB Video Card  ($141.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Cooler Master TC102 ATX Mid Tower Case w/500W Power Supply  ($37.99 @ Micro Center)
Total: $403.32
 

Hi! I wanted to comment that most case + power supply combos are uh, bad. The power supplies in there are dangerous. At least get the $37 EVGA 500W, since that one doesn't break the ATX specification.

 

Also, 750 Tis for less than $100! http://pcpartpicker.com/product/mj4NnQ/zotac-video-card-zt7060510m

[KouenHasuki]

1 minute ago, setha1 said:

I probably can ask my uncle

Sounds like a plan and hell people have older gpu's kicking around too that would kill a 240, hell I know I got a HD7800 series card and a GTX 560 Ti too just laying around from previous upgrades, and to be fair even that 560 Ti could play fallout 4 on medium settings 1080p to a playable level (around 45 fps as memory serves me) 

[setha1]

2 minutes ago, KouenHasuki said:

Sounds like a plan and hell people have older gpu's kicking around too that would kill a 240, hell I know I got a HD7800 series card and a GTX 560 Ti too just laying around from previous upgrades, and to be fair even that 560 Ti could play fallout 4 on medium settings 1080p to a playable level (around 45 fps as memory serves me) 

My uncle use to work at AMD so I expect some serious cards

[Herman Mcpootis]

Here's what i recommend for $400 after rebates.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 845 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($59.98 @ NCIX US) 
Motherboard: MSI A68HM-E33 V2 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($39.99 @ Micro Center) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Toshiba 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($41.99 @ NCIX US) 
Video Card: Asus Radeon R9 380 2GB Video Card  ($139.99 @ Newegg) 
Case: Rosewill SRM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($27.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $377.92
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-06-08 01:57 EDT-0400