New build for a friend, care to take a look?

[Oifish]

1. Use: Internet browsing, listening to music, HD video, no gaming or anything CPU/GPU intensive
2. Budget: Sub $500
3. Parts purchased in the US
5. No preference on brand
6. He plans on using his existing case, USB cd/dvd drive, wireless keyboard/mouse
7. No overclocking
8. Attached to his LG 42" TV (1920x1080)
9. ASAP, his old rig is failing hard and fast

Here's what I'm thinking for the build:
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128565

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103996

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DR3 1333 (PC 10666) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820231189

HDD : WD Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822136771

CPU Fan: Rosewill RCX-Z1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835200014

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070 430W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023

OS: He is a student and is able to get a copy of Windows 7 x64 for cheap from his university.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

 

[VirtualLarry]

1. Use: Internet browsing, listening to music, HD video, no gaming or anything CPU/GPU intensive

Here's what I'm thinking for the build:
Mobo: GIGABYTE GA-78LMT-USB3 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128565

CPU: AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103996

OS: He is a student and is able to get a copy of Windows 7 x64 for cheap from his university.

Any thoughts or recommendations?

Why on earth would you get a Zambezi for something like that? I mean, sure, I love to support AMD when possible, but a 4-core (only 2-module) Bulldozer is NOT the way to go.

Consider an Intel-chipset B75 motherboard, and a Celeron (Ivy Bridge!) G1610. ($50 for CPU, $60-70 for mobo.) And maybe a small-ish SSD. (120GB is nearly the sweet spot, look around, you can get them for $80.) If an SSD is just too much for the budget, then that HDD is fine too.

Basically, why buy an Edsel, when a Honda Civic is the same price or cheaper?

Build:
CPU, Intel G1610 $49.99 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116889

ASRock B75M R2.0 LGA 1155 Intel B75 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard with UEFI BIOS $62.99 + $7.56 ship
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157356

Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 Desktop Memory Model KHX1333C9D3B1K2/8G $56.99 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104231

Kingston HyperX 3K SH103S3/120G 2.5" 120GB SATA III MLC Internal Solid State Drive (SSD) (Stand-Alone Drive) $99.99 FS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820239045

Total $277.52

Add case + PSU, Windows.

Edit: That ThermalTake TR2-430W PSU is fine. I wasn't even aware that such an entry-level PSU carried a 5-year warranty. That's very nice, for the price.

I've used an older model version of the TR2-430W, and they were fine in my rigs, with Core2Quad Q9300 @ 3.0, and HD4850 (or possibly, I still had my X1950 Pro cards back then).

Edit: If you do go with a HDD, then get the 500GB WD Blue drive, not the 250. It's only $5 more, and double the space, but that's not why you should buy it. By now, the 500GB drives should be single-platter, so it may perform better than the 250GB model. (Or, perhaps the 250GB model is also utilizing 500GB platters, only short-stroked. Who knows.)

 

[Torn Mind]

Is there any potential for him to do anything that will press him for time? (MATLAB, STATA, SAS).

Also, I see no reason to get the AM3+ platform when FM2 is more suitable for budget builds on the AMD side of things.

Yes, on the Intel end, the Celerons and Pentiums are great budget chips. I have one in the rig in my sig (G550).

Out of curiosity due to an affinity towards old systems, what is his current rig's specs?

 

[Oifish]

Thanks VirtualLarry for the advice, makes perfect sense to use the Intel over AMD. Also interesting about the 500gb over 250gb....

Torn Mind: I'm not sure of the exact specs on his current build....let's just say it uses IDE. Next time I'm over at his place I'll get the full specs for you.

 

[Oifish]

Here's the updated build. He'd rather go HDD over SSD, just to save a bit of money.

Mobo: ASRock B75M R2.0 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813157356

CPU: Intel Celeron G1610 Ivy Bridge 2.6GHz LGA 1155 55W Dual-Core http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819116889

RAM: Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 1333 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820104231

HDD : Western Digital WD Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...20%20%20%20%20

CPU Fan: COOLER MASTER Hyper 212 Plus RR-B10-212P-G1 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835103065

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070 430W http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023

 

[ruhtraeel]

IMO if he's willing to spend a bit more, an APU would be more worth it.

If he TRULY doesn't need his rig for anything other than internet browsing and HD video, a <$100 dollar 6 year old second-hand machine would get it done.

 

[Termie]

If he's looking to save money, he shouldn't spend $57 on slow RAM, when he can get 4GB for about $30. He'll never use more than that. He should put the savings towards replacing that hard drive with a 120GB SSD. It will be so much faster he won't even know what hit him.

And he definitely does NOT need a CPU cooler for a budget build like this using an ultra-low-power CPU.

 

[sm625]

Whyn not jsut get a notebook: http://www.staples.com/Asus-S400CA-R...product_132068

$500 and it even has a SSD cache.

 

[mfenn]

I think a prebuilt is the way to go here, especially if you don't want to be stuck maintaining it. Your latest build is at $280 plus whatever the OS costs him (probably ~$20). About the same amount of money gets you an off-lease Dell Optiplex with a reasonable Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, and an OS.

 

[VirtualLarry]

If he's looking to save money, he shouldn't spend $57 on slow RAM, when he can get 4GB for about $30. He'll never use more than that. He should put the savings towards replacing that hard drive with a 120GB SSD. It will be so much faster he won't even know what hit him.

And he definitely does NOT need a CPU cooler for a budget build like this using an ultra-low-power CPU.

This. No need for aftermarket cooling with a non-overclockable Celeron CPU that on its own barely sips any power.

If he forgoes the SSD, he's really missing out on a lot. I would support scaling back on the RAM (4GB instead of 8GB), and skipping the CPU cooler, and going for a 120GB SSD.

 

[VirtualLarry]

I think a prebuilt is the way to go here, especially if you don't want to be stuck maintaining it. Your latest build is at $280 plus whatever the OS costs him (probably ~$20). About the same amount of money gets you an off-lease Dell Optiplex with a reasonable Core 2 Duo, 4GB of RAM, and an OS.

That might be a reasonable short-term solution, but if this guy keeps his rigs for years, consider that a used C2D might not last more than 3-5 more years.

Whereas, a B75 mobo, with all solid caps, should last for 10. The IB Celeron will be more "snappy" than any C2D, overclocked or not, and if he can swing the SSD, unless he is recording security video constantly, then that SSD should last just as long as the mobo does.

See my thread about a "10-year rig" in CPUs and Overclocking forum.

 

[Essence_of_War]

Here's a pass at a sub-500 w/ an SSD and an HDD for storage!

Grab this CPU/MoBo combo for an i3 + mATX for $190

Then run with this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($97.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6450 1GB Video Card ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $293.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-20 09:12 EDT-0400)

8gb of RAM! Just try not to think about how hideous the heat spreaders are, and we still got an SSD + HDD combination.

That comes to 190 + 294 = $484 total AR, discounts, shipping, tax, etc.

Barest of bare bones GPUs, that's basically as cheap as you can get while still getting HDMI out for a TV and while it's a step or two up from integrated graphics, that's not saying an awful lot .

 

[frozentundra123456]

Here's a pass at a sub-500 w/ an SSD and an HDD for storage!

Grab this CPU/MoBo combo for an i3 + mATX for $190

Then run with this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($97.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6450 1GB Video Card ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $293.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-20 09:12 EDT-0400)

8gb of RAM! Just try not to think about how hideous the heat spreaders are, and we still got an SSD + HDD combination.

That comes to 190 + 294 = $484 total AR, discounts, shipping, tax, etc.

Barest of bare bones GPUs, that's basically as cheap as you can get while still getting HDMI out for a TV and while it's a step or two up from integrated graphics, that's not saying an awful lot .

Are you sure you need that 6450 to hook up to a TV? Couldn't you just use VGA or dvi, depending on what inputs the TV has? I know VGA supposedly has poorer quality, but I have used the same monitor from the same computer with dvi, HDMI, and VGA and could not really see the difference.

Otherwise, I would also think a prebuilt would be a good choice. If the user wants longevity though, I would try to get an i3 or Pentium from dell or Lenovo outlets, or even a sale or close-out from a local retailer.

I don't really see any reason to go with an apu based on the expected use.

 

[Essence_of_War]

I've side-by-sided VGA w/ HDMI/DVI on my desktop w/ identical monitors and I've def noticed the difference.

That being said, I double checked the MoBo, and it has HDMI out, so the 6450 isn't necessary! So w/o that you actually come in @ $460!

 

[mfenn]

Here's a pass at a sub-500 w/ an SSD and an HDD for storage!

Grab this CPU/MoBo combo for an i3 + mATX for $190

Then run with this:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport XT 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 840 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($97.90 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 6450 1GB Video Card ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill Line-M MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($22.50 @ Newegg)
Total: $293.36
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-07-20 09:12 EDT-0400)

8gb of RAM! Just try not to think about how hideous the heat spreaders are, and we still got an SSD + HDD combination.

That comes to 190 + 294 = $484 total AR, discounts, shipping, tax, etc.

Barest of bare bones GPUs, that's basically as cheap as you can get while still getting HDMI out for a TV and while it's a step or two up from integrated graphics, that's not saying an awful lot .

$500 is also $200 more than what the OP's friend is looking at. I know the budget was stated at $500, but he was quailing at a $300 machine

 

[mfenn]

That might be a reasonable short-term solution, but if this guy keeps his rigs for years, consider that a used C2D might not last more than 3-5 more years.

Whereas, a B75 mobo, with all solid caps, should last for 10. The IB Celeron will be more "snappy" than any C2D, overclocked or not, and if he can swing the SSD, unless he is recording security video constantly, then that SSD should last just as long as the mobo does.

See my thread about a "10-year rig" in CPUs and Overclocking forum.

The point is not how much performance the OP's friend can get but rather how much the OP is going to be on the hook for support. I know that you personally like fixing and upgrading the computers of friends and family for free (or taking a loss), which is totally fine. Not everybody is like that however.

 

[Oifish]

My buddy wants to learn for about PC building so I plan on building the PC with him. He's fairly savvy in the software realm, but he's wanting to learn more about the hardware side of things. Luckily he lives a few apartments down, so if he needs tech help I'm right there. And heck, I'll probably point him to AnandTech for future questions once were not living so close together.

The final build was the one mentioned above, with the addition of a 120 SSD for the OS, and 500gb for extra storage. Thanks everyone for your help. Like always anadtech is the king.