Building a machine for a friend.. Need suggestions Budget $500-$600

C

CodeMinion

Member
Computer need to be able to do the basic things, no gaming. Needs to support dual monitors. Also, needs to be somewhat fast. A 1tb HD is a must. Thanks for the suggestions in advance
 
CPU: Intel Core i3-2100
Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-H61MA-D3V Do you know what input the monitors are? The motherboard has 1 DVI and 1 VGA output, so you may have to get adapters depending on the monitors.
PSU: CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W Overkill for no GPU, but it's fairly cheap and allows for a possible low-mid end GPU in the future, like a 550 ti or a 560.
Case: COOLER MASTER HAF 912
RAM: CORSAIR XMS 4GB 240-Pin DDR3
HDD: Western Digital Caviar Black WD1002FAEX 1TB 7200 RPM 64MB Cache

Total comes to $461, didn't factor in shipping (Or taxes if you live in CA) but it should come in right at around 500 after it's all said and done.

Wait for another user to alter my build, I may have overlooked something :o

Anyways, have a good one!
 
Also, 2 monitors, depending on size and res, almost always needs a graphics card. m.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102934 A radeon 6570 should be more than enough for dual monitors.
 
Sometimes you can run multiple-monitors off integrated graphics. One monitor needs to be DVI and the other VGA or HDMI though. You can always buy adapters though.

Looks like a good build, try to get 1600MHz RAM if you can though. You don't want 1x4GB module, if you want 4GB of RAM then go for 2x2GB because then you can run in dual-channel which would be faster (at the moment with the single DIMM you're only in single-channel). As RAM is so cheap these days, why not get 8GB via 2x4GB DIMMs?
 
Thesticks23 said:
im asking to gain the knowledge of why the custom built is better.
Click to expand...
Here's your answer. With a custom-built machine you can choose exactly what goes into the machine and you can tailor the machine for the user's needs. By building the machine yourself, you can use quality components rather than the cheap and nasty stuff which OEMs use. For example you can get a nice case with cable management features to maximise airflow and you can have a quality-branded power supply, which Dell and other OEMs certainly do not offer. Also, when you install Windows you don't have to spend the rest of time uninstalling bloatware and other crap which OEMs install. The list just goes on - and of course by building yourself you gain knowledge and it's good fun! :)

Seriously, after building several custom PCs myself, I'll never go back to buying from Dell or HP or anybody else. I'm actually saving money in the long run too (this applies more for high-end/gaming machines than for low-end machines though).
 
Intel hd 200 will almost certainly not enough. Intel 3000 will be just enough on lower res, intel 4000 should be enough for 2 monitors on higher res. why build a pc, vista kid answered that, plus that was a dumb question anyways.
 
byteninja2 said:
Intel hd 200 will almost certainly not enough. Intel 3000 will be just enough on lower res, intel 4000 should be enough for 2 monitors on higher res. why build a pc, vista kid answered that, plus that was a dumb question anyways.
Click to expand...

That's not a dumb question at all, especially if you're new to computers in general. And actually, on the extreme low end (400ish or less for a tower), buying prebuilt is generally cheaper.
 
Sorry, stupid me didn't read the whole post. Buying eom prebuilt on a low budget is usually cheaper, but on a mid to hi budget, it's less.
 
vistakid10 said:
Sometimes you can run multiple-monitors off integrated graphics. One monitor needs to be DVI and the other VGA or HDMI though. You can always buy adapters though.

Looks like a good build, try to get 1600MHz RAM if you can though. You don't want 1x4GB module, if you want 4GB of RAM then go for 2x2GB because then you can run in dual-channel which would be faster (at the moment with the single DIMM you're only in single-channel). As RAM is so cheap these days, why not get 8GB via 2x4GB DIMMs?
Click to expand...

Realized 2x2 would be better yeah, but the max Mhz for the motherboard is 1333, so 1600 ain't an option.

These will be fine: CORSAIR XMS 4GB (2 x 2GB)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top