Budget home PC

[Evch0]

Hello!

 

This is my first encounter with this forum and with making a custom PC. I decided to ask for advice on what I have chosen before making a purchase, so any advice will be appreciated. 

 

Aim: Budget home PC for my parents. Will be used for browsing, watching videos, occasional non demanding games- nothing graphics intensive.

Reason: Old PC is over 10 years old and barely hanging on.

Peripherals: None. Everything will be ripped off the old PC.

Location: Eastern Europe. Bulgaria to be precise. 

Budget: Roughly, about 260 USD or 350 CAD

Configuration: 

CPU: AMD A6-7400k                                               Price: ~60 USD or ~80 CAD

MB: ASROCK FM2A68M HD+                                 Price: ~48 USD or ~64 CAD

RAM: CORSAIR value select 4GB@1600 MHz       Price: ~25 USD or ~34 CAD

HDD: WD black 750GB                                            Price: ~70 USD or ~93 CAD

PSu: CORSAIR VS350W                                         Price: ~37 USD or ~50 CAD

Case: DeepCool mATX wave                                  Price: ~25 USD or ~34 CAD

Total value, with minor discount is as mentioned in the budget. These are about the lowest prices I could find here. 

So, do you think it's good for the job? If you have any advises, I would love to see them. 

 

Cheers

[iRileyx]

for what you're going to be using it for that'll do the job. If you're able to squeeze a little bit more more, something like an A8 7650k would be better, its quad core compared to the a6's dual core (they're around $90 USD)

[Streetguru]

8 minutes ago, Evch0 said:

 

Just be sure you're using dual channel memory

 

and try to find the fastest kit you can

Also look out for AM1 stuff, and ya any A8 something would be better for the long haul

[jeffmeyer5295]

That set up would probably do fine, but I'm curious what made you choose to go with the AMD dual core cpu? I might recommend the Intel Pentium G4400. Very good rated Intel CPU at about the same price range, compatible with DDR4. Here is a list of parts I might recommend as a similar setup, also very small form factor like the one you built. 

 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/tZHFXH

 

Double the ram on DDR4 and a very high rated CPU. Just my 2 cents, I love AMD myself and can see why you might prefer your build list.

 

Please excuse any mistakes in the build I kindof threw it together real fast

 

[Evch0]

2 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

Just be sure you're using dual channel memory

 

and try to find the fastest kit you can

Also look out for AM1 stuff

The memory is a single stick. I can try to find 2x4gb dual channel on the cheap but I don't think it will be necessary. Also, I only find DDR4 memory with higher speeds on good prices here. 

The best AM1 I can find here, for cheap, is Athlon x4 5350. 

[Mohenjo]

honestly i hate the a6. They are just so slow (made the choice of putting one in grandmas pc). See if you can maybe squeeze in a g4400 in the budget insteaed. The intergrated graphics are still prety good. 

[Streetguru]

4 minutes ago, Evch0 said:

The memory is a single stick. I can try to find 2x4gb dual channel on the cheap but I don't think it will be necessary. Also, I only find DDR4 memory with higher speeds on good prices here. 

The best AM1 I can find here, for cheap, is Athlon x4 5350. 

the 5350 is pretty solid and should be about half the cost, also do you really need the hard drive? an SSD is going to be a better choice overall unless you really need the storage space

 

the dual channel RAM gives you literally double the graphical performance for no extra money overall

 

the speed as well gives you extra performance for not too much more usually

[Evch0]

16 minutes ago, jeffmeyer5295 said:

That set up would probably do fine, but I'm curious what made you choose to go with the AMD dual core cpu? I might recommend the Intel Pentium G4400. Very good rated Intel CPU at about the same price range, compatible with DDR4. Here is a list of parts I might recommend as a similar setup, also very small form factor like the one you built. 

 

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/list/tZHFXH

 

Double the ram on DDR4 and a very high rated CPU. Just my 2 cents, I love AMD myself and can see why you might prefer your build list.

 

Please excuse any mistakes in the build I kindof threw it together real fast

 

EDIT: I was looking at the wrong socket  I will take a look at this CPU.

9 minutes ago, Streetguru said:

the 5350 is pretty solid and should be about half the cost, also do you really need the hard drive? an SSD is going to be a better choice overall unless you really need the storage space

 

the dual channel RAM gives you literally double the graphical performance for no extra money overall

 

the speed as well gives you extra performance for not too much more usually

 

It does cost significantly less than the A6, yes. I'll take it into consideration. Also on the storage, my parents make a lot of photos and clips. I mean really- a lot. So It would be nice for them to have space available. And I recon the price is OK on the HDD. 

[jeffmeyer5295]

1 minute ago, Evch0 said:

Unfortunately, mother boards with DDR4 support are still hard to find here and prices are quite high. CPU is a good throw but if I can't make use of the DDR4 support it's money thrown away. And my parents aren't the kind of people that would go "Oh, go on, make an upgrade"  

 

I totally understand! As I said AMD is always a good contender for me so I'm sure the build will still turn out great! I would jump with the others in advising against the A6, I hated the one I used for a very short time and there are a lot of similar cost cpu's out there with much better ratings.

[Evch0]

Well, thank you all for the advices. I did take in mind some of the things you said. I opted for the A6-7470k. The offer on that WD black was gone unfortunately, so I took a cheaper 500GB WD blue. The RAM also got changed. I found a 4GB stick Kingston @ 1866MHz. My only concern right now is that the CPU is running at 40-45•C with the box cooler when idle. Do you think that aftermarket thermal paste will make any difference? I edited the fan curve a bit, so it should keep it within reasonable temperatures.