Simple Linux machine?

[DutchTexan]

My little sister is majoring electrical engineering at Texas A&M. I want a cheap, small build we can do together. 

 

Any recommendations? Here is what I am thinking:

 

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($108.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
CPU Cooler: Rosewill RCX-Z775-LP 33.5 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler  ($11.99 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: Asus H110M-A/M.2 Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($54.99 @ Jet) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($41.89 @ OutletPC) 
Storage: Samsung 960 Evo 250GB M.2-2280 Solid State Drive  ($129.99) 
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($40.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($31.87 @ Jet) 
Total: $420.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-11 13:46 EST-0500

 

 

[PCGuy_5960]

Instead of a Samsung 960 Evo get a Core i5-6500 or an i5-6400

[Coaxialgamer]

for 400-500 USD ? Ditch the aftermarket cooler , the stock one is good enough . 

Replace the 960 evo with a cheaper drive . Unless you're doing specific tasks that require large amounts of bandwith , you won't notice any difference between an nvme drive and a sata ssd ( i recommend the 850 EVO or similar ) 

 

Use the extra cash for a core i5 or a Dgpu if needed.

[RollinLower]

i agree with the posts above, a NVMe is really not needed in a budget system.

also, consider going ITX for a small build!

[DutchTexan]

40 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

Instead of a Samsung 960 Evo get a Core i5-6500 or an i5-6400

what storage would you recommend? Why do you recommend an i5 over an i3 for Linux?

[DutchTexan]

41 minutes ago, Coaxialgamer said:

for 400-500 USD ? Ditch the aftermarket cooler , the stock one is good enough . 

Replace the 960 evo with a cheaper drive . Unless you're doing specific tasks that require large amounts of bandwith , you won't notice any difference between an nvme drive and a sata ssd ( i recommend the 850 EVO or similar ) 

 

Use the extra cash for a core i5 or a Dgpu if needed.

So, you're saying a better processor would be of greater benefit than stupid fast storage? What is the cheapest build I could get away with?

[DutchTexan]

Can anyone go cheaper? (from Amazon or Newegg only)

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q6VYRG 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q6VYRG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($120.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($78.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($45.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($44.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $384.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-11 15:01 EST-0500

[Coaxialgamer]

1 hour ago, DutchTexan said:

So, you're saying a better processor would be of greater benefit than stupid fast storage? What is the cheapest build I could get away with?

Yes  i terms of system responsiveness and boot times,  you won't see any difference between an nvme and sata ssd. Unless  your workloads requires stupid amounts of bandwith, you're better off getting an 850evo.  In facr,  if you don't need the extra cpu power ( which  won't help responsiveness) ,  you can easily shed 70$ by removing the aftermarket cooler and getting a cheaper 250gb sata ssd. 

[PCGuy_5960]

1 hour ago, DutchTexan said:

what storage would you recommend? Why do you recommend an i5 over an i3 for Linux?

An i5 is more powerful and has more cores...

A Samsung 850 Evo would be great

[Aereldor]

55 minutes ago, DutchTexan said:

Can anyone go cheaper? (from Amazon or Newegg only)

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q6VYRG 
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/Q6VYRG/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($120.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($78.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($45.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($44.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: EVGA 430W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $384.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-11 15:01 EST-0500

Get a better power supply than that one. SeaSonic makes an extremely reliable 350-watt unit for just $31.99. That EVGA power supply is a fire-hazard by comparison. The SeaSonic unit is a little cheaper and a hell of a lot better.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/QD8H99/seasonic-power-supply-ssp350se

[DutchTexan]

1 hour ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

An i5 is more powerful and has more cores...

A Samsung 850 Evo would be great

But is an i5 necessary to have a play around linux machine? I have a 6700k, 850 evo and 960 evo in my main PC, so I certainly appreciate them.

[DutchTexan]

1 hour ago, Aereldor said:

Get a better power supply than that one. SeaSonic makes an extremely reliable 350-watt unit for just $31.99. That EVGA power supply is a fire-hazard by comparison. The SeaSonic unit is a little cheaper and a hell of a lot better.

 

http://pcpartpicker.com/product/QD8H99/seasonic-power-supply-ssp350se

Should I spend around $50 for that PSU on amazon or newegg? Or what PSU would you recommend from amazon or newegg for a system that will pretty much never break 100W and costs $30-$70?

 

This isn't going to be a full on PC for daily use. I just want something simple for my sister and I to build and mess around with Linux and few programming languages.  

[Aereldor]

Just now, DutchTexan said:

Should I spend around $50 for that PSU on amazon or newegg? Or what PSU would you recommend from amazon or newegg for a system that will pretty much never break 100W and costs $30-$70?

 

This isn't going to be a full on PC for daily use. I just want something simple for my sister and I to build and mess around with Linux and few programming languages.  

Oh, why didn't you say so. I think I can knock together a build for you guys for $200 or so. Give me a moment.

[DutchTexan]

1 minute ago, Aereldor said:

Oh, why didn't you say so. I think I can knock together a build for you guys for $200 or so. Give me a moment.

Thank you, sir!

[DutchTexan]

I think this is the cheapest, reasonable quality rig I can come up. Everything is from newegg, but the SSD off amazon.

 

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2GBP8K
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/2GBP8K/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($120.98 @ Newegg) 
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-ITX/ac Mini ITX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($78.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Avexir Core Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($41.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: PNY CS1311 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($59.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Cooler Master Elite 110 Mini ITX Tower Case  ($44.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $384.89
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-11 17:21 EST-0500

[Aereldor]

4 minutes ago, DutchTexan said:

Thank you, sir!

This should suit your needs just fine, and should work well for basic tasks like web browsing, word processing, and watching movies. It'll handle simple programming without a hitch. If you want the system to be faster and snappier, then spend $40 more to swap out the 250GB hard drive for a 240GB SSD. This will reduce boot times, as well as application launch and load times. However, given how simple Linux is, it should run pretty well on a hard drive too, so this isn't essential.

 

I've also only used Amazon and Newegg, and have made sure to pick not just the best components for the price, but the most reliable. MSI and SeaSonic are synonymous with reliability in the PC hardware world.

 

It's not tiny, but too small and it gets cramped and awfully difficult to build in. DIYPC's micro-ATX cases are compact, look nice, have a ton of useful features, generally have high build quality at a low price, and are easy to build in.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Celeron G3900 2.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($42.19 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($24.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($20.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: DIYPC MA08-BK MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $198.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-11 17:21 EST-0500

[Aereldor]

15 minutes ago, DutchTexan said:

I think this is the cheapest, reasonable quality rig I can come up. Everything is from newegg, but the SSD off amazon.

Check out the build I posted right before this. It's about half the price and is still great for the purposes you mentioned- a good building experience and a powerful enough PC to mess around with Linux and programming languages. 

[DutchTexan]

27 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

This should suit your needs just fine, and should work well for basic tasks like web browsing, word processing, and watching movies. It'll handle simple programming without a hitch. If you want the system to be faster and snappier, then spend $40 more to swap out the 250GB hard drive for a 240GB SSD. This will reduce boot times, as well as application launch and load times. However, given how simple Linux is, it should run pretty well on a hard drive too, so this isn't essential.

 

I've also only used Amazon and Newegg, and have made sure to pick not just the best components for the price, but the most reliable. MSI and SeaSonic are synonymous with reliability in the PC hardware world.

 

It's not tiny, but too small and it gets cramped and awfully difficult to build in. DIYPC's micro-ATX cases are compact, look nice, have a ton of useful features, generally have high build quality at a low price, and are easy to build in.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Celeron G3900 2.8GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($42.19 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: MSI H110M PRO-VD PLUS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($24.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 250GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($20.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: DIYPC MA08-BK MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($37.98 @ Newegg) 
Total: $198.11
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-12-11 17:21 EST-0500

Wow you are a master. Thank you so much! I've been on the phone for the last 20 minutes, sorry. I like it a lot!

 

Thanks for taking the time, I really appreciate it.

[Aereldor]

12 minutes ago, DutchTexan said:

Wow you are a master. Thank you so much! I've been on the phone for the last 20 minutes, sorry. I like it a lot!

 

Thanks for taking the time, I really appreciate it.

Sure. If you feel my answer has helped you settle on a configuration, you can click the tick box next to it to mark the thread solved.

[DutchTexan]

13 minutes ago, Aereldor said:

Sure. If you feel my answer has helped you settle on a configuration, you can click the tick box next to it to mark the thread solved.

I'm going to order the parts now

[PCGuy_5960]

16 hours ago, DutchTexan said:

But is an i5 necessary to have a play around linux machine? I have a 6700k, 850 evo and 960 evo in my main PC, so I certainly appreciate them.

It isn't necessary, but is much more useful than an NVMe drive IMO... 

[DutchTexan]

24 minutes ago, PCGuy_5960 said:

It isn't necessary, but is much more useful than an NVMe drive IMO... 

True, but if you could build a $200 programming toy, wouldn't you?

[PCGuy_5960]

24 minutes ago, DutchTexan said:

True, but if you could build a $200 programming toy, wouldn't you?

I would