Building a computer for sister in college

[BelowAverage]

This is my soon to be third build, and it's for my sister's college work. I'd like any thoughts and improvements you have.

Budget: Absolutely less than $800 USD including Windows 10 (Reddit...?). Preferably around a $700 limit. The budget is just for the tower and Windows, we have spares of all needed peripherals.

Requirements: The system's demand is going to be lots of data crunching and statistical analysis for her college courses, with the usual Google Chrome, and Microsoft Office. No real gaming. She needs the DVD drive and the WiFi card, I decided to futureproof the rig a bit by giving her AC wifi.

 

PCPartPicker part list (Click here)

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($219.99 @ Amazon) 

CPU Cooler: Stock Cooler (AMD Wraith Spire)
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($59.98 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.88 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston - A400 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($49.98 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Toshiba - 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($45.99 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: Gigabyte - Radeon RX 460 2GB WINDFORCE OC Video Card  ($89.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Fractal Design - Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case  ($36.98 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($23.90 @ Newegg) 
Optical Drive: LG - GH24NSC0B DVD/CD Writer  ($19.45 @ Newegg) 
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus - PCE-AC55BT PCI-Express x1 802.11a/b/g/n/ac Wi-Fi Adapter  ($34.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $639.12 after rebates, including a $20 budget for Windows 10

 

Notes: This build should source parts from Newegg and Amazon only. Of course, the point of this build isn't to max out the budget, it's to keep the performance and drop the price. I may be able to get a used DVD drive for free from a friend, and I may end up trading the graphics card from this build and my current rig, at this link. Another option, if my current rig seems up to her needs, is to give her my rig and build this new one for myself, obviously swapping out the storage. Thoughts?

[samcool55]

Get your windows key from reddit and get a r5 1600.

[PCGuy_5960]

Get a Ryzen 5 1600 instead of the 1500X

[ChaoticChaosx]

Just install win10 activate later with the code I got pro for $16. Never pay more when chances for less.

[BelowAverage]

3 minutes ago, samcool55 said:

Get your windows key from reddit and get a r5 1600.

 

1 minute ago, darkchaos916 said:

Just install win10 activate later with the code I got pro for $16. Never pay more when chances for less.

So where can I find info on these cheaper Win10 codes? Something like that seems fishy.

[Marinatall_Ironside]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($237.58 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($64.53 @ Newegg) 
Memory: G.Skill - NT Series 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($59.38 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston - A400 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($53.81 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Toshiba - 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($43.18 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card  ($112.97 @ Newegg) 
Case: Deepcool - TESSERACT BF ATX Mid Tower Case  ($38.37 @ Newegg) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($48.24 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit  ($140.38 @ Newegg) 
Total: $798.44
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-21 15:00 EDT-0400

 

This should do. Total price assumes a 8% California Sales Tax, and any shipping charges.

[Cyracus]

1 minute ago, BelowAverage said:

 

So where can I find info on these cheaper Win10 codes? Something like that seems fishy.

reddits microsoftsoftwareswap, just google it. but every suggestion other than that I have is more $, r5 1600, b350 mobo, 3000mhz ram and a better quality psu like https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fZyFf7/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii520bronze slightly cheaper after the rebate even

[BelowAverage]

1 minute ago, Cyracus said:

reddits microsoftsoftwareswap, just google it. but every suggestion other than that I have is more $, r5 1600, b350 mobo, 3000mhz ram and a better quality psu like https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fZyFf7/seasonic-power-supply-s12ii520bronze slightly cheaper after the rebate even

Don't need any overclocking or fancy stuff, what can a B350 do that an A320 can't? I'd assume it'd just add cost.

[waterjug]

for another place to get cheap windows, go to kinguin.com

[Guest]

Is she really in need of something faster than an i3? 

 

If she's not gaming an integrated gpu would be fine it seems. 

[Marinatall_Ironside]

Just now, fpo said:

If she's not gaming an integrated gpu would be fine it seems. 

The OP said his sister does data crunching, so I would assume for her needs, more CPU cores is going to help out a lot. Check out the build I just submitted that came in just under USD $800, taxes included.

Edited May 21, 2017 by JurunceNK
Ninja-edit

[Cyracus]

Just now, BelowAverage said:

Don't need any overclocking or fancy stuff, what can a B350 do that an A320 can't? I'd assume it'd just add cost.

really just overclocking, just feels wrong to have a cpu you can OC and not doing it

[Marinatall_Ironside]

Just now, Cyracus said:

really just overclocking, just feels wrong to have a cpu you can OC and not doing it

Then he doesn't need the B350 motherboard.

[BelowAverage]

4 minutes ago, JurunceNK said:

The OP said his sister does data crunching, so I would assume for her needs, more CPU cores is going to help out a lot. Check out the build I just submitted that came in just under USD $800, taxes included.

Updated the parts list with suggestions. Total is now $654 with rebates and a $40 Windows budget. If this build can be that cheap, great!

[Himommies]

For data anylasis a MAC is recommended or some form of linux.Can't you just get like a g4560 or something and use the rest for AWS or something.You can also get a 1tb drive for like 5 bucks mroe

[BelowAverage]

1 minute ago, Himommies said:

For data anylasis a MAC is recommended or some form of linux.Can't you just get like a g4560 or something and use the rest for AWS or something.You can also get a 1tb drive for like 5 bucks mroe

I'm not sure I understand what those acronyms mean, but I know she has to use Windows. I'll look into more storage.

[ChaoticChaosx]

22 minutes ago, BelowAverage said:

 

So where can I find info on these cheaper Win10 codes? Something like that seems fishy.

https://www.hrkgame.com/games/product/windows-10-professional-oem-pc-cd-key/#a_aid=cdkeyprices

 

That's where I bought mine and most of games.

[Himommies]

1 minute ago, BelowAverage said:

I'm not sure I understand what those acronyms mean, but I know she has to use Windows. I'll look into more storage.

AWS or Amazon Web services does statistical anylasis number crunching online

[BelowAverage]

7 minutes ago, Himommies said:

AWS or Amazon Web services does statistical anylasis number crunching online

Nah, she has a special program the college gave her. Sorry.

 

Updated the HDD to 1TB from Toshiba.

Also reduced Windows 10 budget to $20... wow Reddit is amazing 

Edited May 21, 2017 by BelowAverage

[Marinatall_Ironside]

9 minutes ago, BelowAverage said:

Updated the HDD to 1TB from Toshiba.

Updated my submission as well  Now with rebates where available.

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor  ($237.58 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard  ($64.53 @ Newegg) 
Memory: Team - Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($56.05 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Kingston - A400 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive  ($53.81 @ Newegg) 
Storage: Toshiba - 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($49.66 @ Newegg) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card  ($92.97 @ Newegg) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($27.23 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($27.41 @ Newegg) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit  ($140.38 @ Newegg) 
Total: $749.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-05-21 15:29 EDT-0400

[BelowAverage]

2 minutes ago, JurunceNK said:

Memory: Team - Elite Plus 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2400 Memory  ($56.05 @ Newegg) 

Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card  ($92.97 @ Newegg) 

Case: Rosewill - FBM-05 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($27.23 @ Amazon) 

1. I've had really bad experiences with this brand of RAM in DDR3 form. I don't know if they're better now, but the kits I've had from them fail almost instantly.
2. I don't see a reason to switch to a 1050 for $20 with such a small gain of performance.
3. I'll stick with the Fractal case, thank you 

I just had an idea. Because my sister's hardest GPU task is the Sims 3, I'll probably give her my current graphics card, an R7 260X, and take the 460 for myself... hehe...

[Guest]

52 minutes ago, Cyracus said:

really just overclocking, just feels wrong to have a cpu you can OC and not doing it

In that case I'd still throw out the GPU in favor of more storage.