$350 budget PC for a friend in the US

[Burz]

Quick rundown: I have a friend in the US who knows nothing about PCs but needs a new one for studying and possibly playing some games, for under 350 US dollars.

 

Budget: $350

Location: Arkansas, USA

Aim: Web browsing, Minecraft, Steam.

Peripherals: 1 Monitor, 1 Mouse, 1 Keyboard, headphones (Not a problem, already gotten)

Reason: She has had other older PCs earlier and they have fried. No point in upgrading those.

 

So, I know this should be pretty easy to do. But I don't have good access to US prices, and I am terrible at browsing for that on the internet. I figured it might be a good idea to post here.One of my recommendations was to try and get a random working pc with a Core i3 or something and then buy a used GPU for it, but I know that's not going to fix her issue due to the lack of experience with it. If anyone has tips on how to lead her the right way, let me know.

 

It's a really basic rig she needs so I know it's not going to be hard to get. I'm just unaware of what exactly is available and for which prices around there.

 

Thank you,

 

-Burz

 

[Zando_]

Just check on PCPP for the US. The best build for this budget would be a B250 mobo or an H110, if you can find one with an updated BIOS), a Pentium G4560 ( basically a 3.5GHz i3 for $60), and 8GB RAM. Maybe squeeze a 1050 in there.

[Burz]

Just now, Zando Bob said:

Just check on PCPP for the US. The best build for this budget would be a B250 mobo or an H110, if you can find one with an updated BIOS), a Pentium G4560 ( basically a 3.5GHz i3 for $60), and 8GB RAM. Maybe squeeze a 1050 in there.

That doesn't sound bad. I'll relay the information to her. I'm still looking for more suggestions though, just in case.

[Zando_]

Here's @Being Delirious' Super Duper Budget PC for starters:

 

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

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($74.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: ASRock - B250M-HDV Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($62.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.88 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.44 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GT 1030 2GB LP OC Video Card  ($69.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: BitFenix - Comrade ATX Mid Tower Case  ($29.99 @ NCIX US) 
Power Supply: Corsair - CXM 450W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply  ($49.99 @ Amazon) 
Total: $391.07
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-27 20:51 EDT-0400

 

I'd recommend dropping the GT 1030 to keep it under budget, then she can get a 1050 or 1050 Ti later, and you can coach her on how to install it. Since it feeds off the PCIe slot, there won't be any cable management stuff to complicate it. 

[aisle9]

The best option at that price point, especially if she isn't comfortable with Linux and wants activated Windows, really is to grab an Optiplex tower with a Sandy or Ivy i5, 8GB of RAM and a 500GB+ (ideally 1TB) hard drive, then install Windows 7 using the license stuck to the side of the PC and install 10 with that. Failing that, try something like this on for size:

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor  ($54.99 @ Amazon) 
Motherboard: Asus - A68HM-E Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard  ($40.89 @ OutletPC) 
Memory: Patriot - Signature 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1333 Memory  ($39.99 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Seagate - BarraCuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($42.49 @ Amazon) 
Video Card: MSI - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB Video Card  ($93.98 @ Newegg) 
Case: Rosewill - R363-M-BK MicroATX Mid Tower Case w/400W Power Supply  ($44.99 @ Amazon) 
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Pro OEM 64-bit  ($30.00) 
Total: $347.33
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-27 20:54 EDT-0400

 

Obvious downsides: it's an old platform with no upgrade path, it's slow RAM and it's an iffy PSU included with a case (although I've have good luck with Rosewill's included PSUs over the years). Upside: it's a $350 gaming PC that would perform on par with a lower-end G4560 system if I dare venture a guess myself.

[Daniel Z.]

bth I would go used, but get this if you can't go used

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($74.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.88 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.44 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.69 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $383.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-27 21:07 EDT-0400

[NTDaws]

7 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

bth I would go used, but get this if you can't go used

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($74.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.88 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.44 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.69 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $383.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-27 21:07 EDT-0400

Super shit power supply. Code Black.

[Daniel Z.]

Just now, Being Delirious said:

Super shit power supply. Code Black.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($74.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.88 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.44 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: SeaSonic - 300W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($36.69 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $386.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-27 21:16 EDT-0400

[Daniel Z.]

1 minute ago, Being Delirious said:

Super shit power supply. Code Black.

safesonic  They are a lifesaver for uber cheap builds. Also the new CXMs are nice

[Burz]

35 minutes ago, Daniel Z. said:

bth I would go used, but get this if you can't go used

 

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel - Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core Processor  ($74.89 @ B&H) 
Motherboard: MSI - H110M Pro-VD Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard  ($46.99 @ SuperBiiz) 
Memory: Crucial - 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR4-2133 Memory  ($54.88 @ Amazon) 
Storage: Western Digital - Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive  ($48.44 @ OutletPC) 
Video Card: EVGA - GeForce GTX 1050 2GB ACX 2.0 Video Card  ($99.99 @ Amazon) 
Case: Rosewill - FBM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case  ($24.99 @ Amazon) 
Power Supply: EVGA - 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply  ($33.69 @ SuperBiiz) 
Total: $383.87
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2017-06-27 21:07 EDT-0400

So far I'm kind of preferring the AMD CPU build by aisle9 because it seems to be better balanced. I don't think my friend will need DDR4 memory (I still have DDR3 and never had any issues) and a quad core seems a bit more beefy. I did tell her that the AMD based build will mean more upgrades in the future, but I think she might prefer that over a rather unbalanced build. I do appreciate the input though, I will still be relaying this info to her.

[Aereldor]

Mad that nobody tagged me here despite having a regularly updated $350 build in my signature since 2015.

[Daniel Z.]

2 hours ago, Burz said:

So far I'm kind of preferring the AMD CPU build by aisle9 because it seems to be better balanced. I don't think my friend will need DDR4 memory (I still have DDR3 and never had any issues) and a quad core seems a bit more beefy. I did tell her that the AMD based build will mean more upgrades in the future, but I think she might prefer that over a rather unbalanced build. I do appreciate the input though, I will still be relaying this info to her.

The Athlon is quite old and is basically an A10 without iGPU, the Pentium far outshines it in gaming. DDR4 is just newer and a small generational increase in performance, and all four cores are really weak on the Athlon. The AMD has no upgrade path while the Pentium can go up to an i7.

[Burz]

On 6/28/2017 at 1:09 AM, Daniel Z. said:

The Athlon is quite old and is basically an A10 without iGPU, the Pentium far outshines it in gaming. DDR4 is just newer and a small generational increase in performance, and all four cores are really weak on the Athlon. The AMD has no upgrade path while the Pentium can go up to an i7.

Thanks for the info. I was misinformed