$500 or less Desktop

onipar

onipar

Member
I posted recently asking about CPUs, but I thought some full-build suggestions might be better for me. I'd like to keep it below $500 if possible.

The computer is for web browsing, watching video, listening to music, Photoshop, and minor video editing (think Microsoft Movie Maker or Openshot). I do tend to run a few programs at the same time. A good example would be Itunes, Photoshop, Microsoft Word, and Firefox all at once. And it'd also be nice to run a virus/spybot scan on top of that without totally crippling the system. :rolleyes:

I have a Windows 7 upgrade disk, but I do need an older version of Windows for the update disk to work...so I guess i have to factor that into the build. But, I do think I can use my current CD/DVD drive, and probably the HDD as well (even if it;'s just for backup storage.

I had my eye on either the AMD Phenom II X4 965 Black Edition or the Intel i3 2100, but really, anything you think will work for this, let me know.

Thanks so much for the help. I've only built one computer before, and still feel like a big ol' newb. :D

EDIT: Also, i guess I should add that I do enjoy building my own computer, but if you feel I'm better off just buying a prebuilt at this level, and that it'd be cheaper that way, please let me know. Thanks.
 
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Yeah I think an i3 2100 would be good paired with an H61 or an H67 board, 8GB of 1600MHz RAM, a 500GB-1TB HDD. Should all work nicely.

Would you use onboard graphics?
 
spirit said:
Yeah I think an i3 2100 would be good paired with an H61 or an H67 board, 8GB of 1600MHz RAM, a 500GB-1TB HDD. Should all work nicely.

Would you use onboard graphics?
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Yeah, I'd stick with onboard graphics for now at least. I'm not planning on running any video games on the system, but it'd be nice to know I can add a GPU in the future if I wanted to.
 
 
Sweet, thanks, man! :D I've tentatively added all that stuff to my wishlist in preparation of purchasing the build. But I do want to ask, what are your thoughts on the AMD FX-8120 Zambezi 3.1GHz, because with the current promo code, it'd only be $10 more than the intel i3.

Is the FX really just for gaming machines, or would it work better than the i3 for what I'm looking to do?
 
I'm constantly surprised how well the i3 seems to stack up against all of these multi-core CPUs. I guess I really don't understand how "cores" work.

Anywho, I found this special combo deal page on New egg.

It doesn't have the motherboard you suggested, but I can get the i3 chip with the ASRock Z77 Extreme3 for a few bucks less ($224.98). How does that look?
 
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byteninja2 said:
I wouldnt go with the CX line. Not saying they are bad, however, there have been quite a few of them that whine. I actually just built a build for a friend with a CX 430 and it whined! But I RMAed it and it was fine. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207018&Tpk=xfx 450w If you can afford it, go with this.
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Hey, thanks for the tip. i actually installed that same CX430 in a computer I built last year, and come to think of it, it does some sort of load when it boots. Never really considered where the noise was coming from, but it could be the PSU.
 
You probably could have never expected someone would have so many questions about a PSU! :o

I just remembered that I replaced my PSU ion my current computer probably about 2-3 years ago, so I opened it up to see what I have.

It's a Cooler Master 500W, similar to the one I linked to, but not the exact model since it's been a couple years.

Anyway, do you think it's safe to use the Cooler Master in my new build, or should I play it safe and buy one of the new ones listed in this thread? It seems to have worked pretty good since I've had it, but maybe it's time for a new one anyway...

Thanks!
 
 
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