$275 Intel i3 2100 Build!

dgrevillius

Member
Through a combination of deals and promo codes, I was able to build a pretty nice machine for a grand total of $275.78. Here is the breakdown.

CPU: Intel i3 2100 (Microcenter.com in-store pickup) - $99.99

Mobo: MSI H61M-P23 (B3) microATX LGA 1155 (Microcenter.com in-store pickup) - $19.99 (Special deal with the i3 purchase)

RAM: 8 GB (2x4) G. Skill Ripjaws DDR3 1333 Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL (Newegg.com) - $54.99 (w/promo EMCKDGK49)

HDD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB (Newegg.com) - $39.99 (w/promo EMCKCKJ23)

Optical: Asus DVD-RW (Newegg.com) - $19.99

Case: Linkworld 727 Micro-ATX (Microcenter.com in-store pickup) - $19.99

PSU: Rosewill RV350 350W PSU (Newegg.com) - $19.99 (w/promo EMCKDGK24)


I cheated a little and made a new Newegg account to use the promo NEWCUSTOMER10 to save an additional $10. All together, I save $35 from Newegg on promos, plus the sale prices on the items. Getting $40 off the mobo at Microcenter definitely helped a lot as well. There was no tax or shipping charges from Newegg, and $10.85 tax from Microcenter.

Just a note, if you want to use these promo codes at Newegg, you have to sign up as an E-blast subscriber (They send you emails with deals).
 

Shane

Super Moderator
Staff member
Not bad,But id rather drop the 8gb of ram....just get 4 and get a better psu!

Would not trust a Rosewill.
 

dgrevillius

Member
Thank you. Both my other desktop and my laptop has 8 GB RAM, so building a fresh build with only 4 just seems backwards to me. It would bug me everyday I turned it on, even though I wasn't maxing it out.
The Rosewill PSU has 319 reviews with an overall rating of 5 eggs, so I am assuming it can't be THAT bad. My brand of choice is Corsair, but I am on a tight budget here.
As far as the HD 2000 graphics on the i3, I don't plan on using this for any games, just web browsing, email, and MS Office. It should work fine for that. My laptop has the first gen HD graphics, and it works fine. I can always upgrade to an inexpensive video card later if needed.
 

Okedokey

Well-Known Member
Thank you. Both my other desktop and my laptop has 8 GB RAM, so building a fresh build with only 4 just seems backwards to me.

The Rosewill PSU has 319 reviews with an overall rating of 5 eggs, so I am assuming it can't be THAT bad. My brand of choice is Corsair, but I am on a tight budget here.

... I can always upgrade to an inexpensive video card later if needed.

Not with that PSU you wont. It has only 15A on the 12V rail, 5A short of what any PCIe card requires.

Also 8GB is complete overkill, spend the money on a proper PSU.

I agree with Aasitti, Newegg reviews mean f-all, how many of those people actully come back and modify (if possible) their review when their DIEwill (sorry Rosewill) PSU fails, NONE. Also, when it goes, you can kiss goodbye to that mobo and RAM etc.
 
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