Maximum PC

This is the first time I'm building a computer. I don't want to spend too much, but I really need to replace my 7 yr old PC. I'm a little stingy so my budget is only $200. No gaming so I don't care about my graphics cards. I prefer at least 2 gb ram. Please help me find affordable parts. I'll shop for anything else I'm missing on Black Friday. Thanks.

Edit:
Okay, I've changed my budget and some specs. I prefer i3 processor, so no Celerons or Pentiums. Thanks.

I'd go with this build that I have below if your going to have a budget build its $267 but you could probably save costs by reusing your current rig like your optical drive and hard drive as long as they use SATA connectors and that would bring the build down to about to $190. All the parts listed can be found on Newegg and or amazon probably.

Rosewill R519-BK Black ATX Mid Tower Computer Case w/ 500W Power Supply

$69.99

ASRock H61M-DGS LGA 1155 Intel H61 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard

39.99

Intel Pentium G620 Sandy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor Intel HD Graphics BX80623G620

$63.99

G.SKILL Value Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model F3-10600CL9S-4GBNT

$17.99

LITE-ON DVD Burner - Bulk Black SATA Model iHAS124-04 - OEM

$15.99

Western Digital WD Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

$59.99

Subtotal: $267.94

a dumb question, what are u using this pc for? if its just email and web stuff wouldnt another route be more viable?

I can raise my budget to about $300, but I prefer $200 if it will satisfy my needs.

@chriszele
Can I take out DVD Burner?

@kleinkinstein
Can I take out DVD Burner? Also, are any of the other components optional?

@saipan
I'm not a computer guy. A friend suggested that I ask a forum for help. Computer will be used for homework, email, movies(streaming, youtube, facebook, etc, pretty much web browsing in general.

You should be able to take old PC's DVD drive if it is a Desktop and it has a SATA connector on it. My build is pretty much for internet and some light multitasking and will be good if you just use apps like Office and VLC.

Here's a link to a picture of a SATA cable

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=Serial+A ... s:20,i:267

if you are not gaming, then why not a refurbished notebook. here is one, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834246167 there are quite a few on the egg under 300.00.

$200 is not really enough to work with, especially if you have no OS (that's $100 right off if you want Windows).

I did manage to configure myself a $250 really bare bones build using a AMD E-350 CPU/motherboard, 2GB of RAM, a 250GB HDD, and an Antec case that you can VESA mount to a monitor.

have to agree, $200 is not enough to build-from-scratch, unless you are going to go linux. Your best bet is a refurb desktop like this one

DELL OptiPlex 755 DT Desktop PC
Core 2 Duo 2.3GHz
2GB ram
80GB HDD
Windows 7 Home Premium
$200

but if you were going to build-from-scratch this comes pretty close:


IMO the Inwin case/psu combo is best quality in this price range, the other brands have cut-rate PSU like allied, deer, L&C not worth the risk.

The best bet is to buy a factory built computer. I hear Dell refurbs are good.

It may be that you can't get a cheaper pre-built computer. If so, then I suggest an AMD (or budget Intel) CPU build with a micro-ATX motherboard. You will need a computer case, RAM, HDD, and a good PSU. Please don't buy a cheap power supply. Make sure your motherboard has on-board video output or else you have to buy a graphics card. There is no need to get a full size ATX motherboard.

The best I could do was total of $264 and I am not too sure about the motherboard maker ECS:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Celeron G530 2.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($48.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ECS H61H2-M12 Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 160GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive
Case: Apex PC-389-C ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 (64-bit) ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $263.94
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

If you drop Windows and go for Linux, you will save $90. I use linux. I even got my dad to use it for web-surfing and email and word-processing.

I concur. Building a new PC from scratch only makes sense at a certain budget. So imho, a refurbished pre-built PC or used pre-built PC might make sense here.

That said, you could probably get way more mileage if you are willing to purchase used parts for a build. It would take time and patience - getting the right parts at the right prices from the right people - but could be worth it. If interested, I would avoid ebay / craiglist and would suggest good forum sites like Hardforum, where users have a reputation to uphold.

I've heard of many bad experiences with refurb products. I think I'm going to avoid that.

@rico
Thanks man! $221.93 sounds pretty good.

@phillyj
Thanks. I think you forgot to add $39.99 for the storage.

Anyways, I can't stand using Linux & Macs. PCs only please. Is it possible that I use the case & power supply that rico suggested instead of the ones you did? If so, I can save $9 there. Also, I already have a Windows 7 installation disk.

@hindolio
Thanks. I was actually planning to check out craigslist, but I hesitated to shop for anything used since I'm not an expert at any of this.

I've compiled everything and here's what I think I should end up with:







Estimated Total: 187.94 (some shipping & tax are not included)

Can you guys let me know whether or not that will work?

Or you could buy all the things you want when they're on sale. That's what I did, took me a month but I saved over $100 after I sent in my rebates. Yep, I got all my rebates from Antec to OCZ, although NZXT took 3 months to send me the check.

Also, how long do you guys think this ~$200 computer may last?

If you're asking from the time you get it to the time it dies, it depends on how well you take care of it.

If you're asking how long until it starts sucking... well...

Okay I've edit my post.

I actually do not want any Celeron or Pentium processors.
I'm looking for:
[*]i3 processor
[*]dual core
[*]4 gb ram

with a $350 budget. Thanks.

Okay. Take your pick of only one:
☐ - Price
☐ - Performance

Pentiums are actually really good for their cost.

I only need average performance, enough to play HD videos. So price, I guess, but not with very crappy performance.

I would go with a pentium if you want to keep your costs lower. The Pentium I would recommend is the G850 because it is only $70 and is very close to the performance of a last generation i3 2100. Here's a link from anandtech showing a benchmark comparison http://www.anandtech.com/bench/Product/289?vs=404. The pentium in system mark only loses only by an average of 11% in SYS Mark so there is not much of a difference between the two processor. An i3 processor is basically a hyper-threaded pentium chip with a better integrated graphics core and it is clocked slightly higher too. Here's a comparison from Intel as well http://ark.Intel.com/compare/53422,53491. Personally I would get the G850 over the i3 2100 because it very close to its performance and is 40% cheaper than the i3.

Here are links for the prices of the two processors.

Pentium G850 $69.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819116397

i3 2100 $119.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819115078

These aren't the old Celerons from the 2000s. They're very good for budget PC builders who only surf and watch video.

You still didn't tell us how you would get the parts. Is there a Microcenter, Frye's store near you. You can get good bundle deals. Do you need Windows7? What parts do you have and what parts do you need?

I can tell you that if you want core i3, go buy a Lenovo, HP, Dell, or (insert other good brand) from Newegg or Amazon. I don't know the quality of these PC's nowadays but you can probably expect to pay $400.

I got a laptop with an AMD FX chip for $500 after tax which plays videos, skyrim, TF2 with no problems.