HR Forums - Budget PC

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Hi Guys,

I'm looking to build a budget PC for my Mum, she won't be doing any gaming but it needs to be future proofed as I won't be able to convince her to buy a new computer for a long time (probably 4-5 years at the earliest). Her budget is $1000 (including speakers (but no monitor, keyboard or mouse), Windows and Microsoft office).

Oh it also needs to be able to play Blu-Ray movies. She will mainly use it for watching movies ) both blu-ray and DVD, listening to music, browsing the web, checking emails and writing up documents.

Here's what I'm planning on getting her and I thought I had better check to see if it's good.

CPU:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16725

Case:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=14105

HDD:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16679

Motherboard:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16897

Graphics Card:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=18696

RAM:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16449

Power Supply: (i want something with an 80 plus rating although i think thsi power supply might be too powerful?)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=15319

Blu-Ray Drive:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=18220

Speakers (I'm really unsure on this, I need a good pair of speakers but also not overly expensive)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...ts_id=7745

Windows:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=17003

Office:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=14437

That's a total of $841

Thanks for the help guys Smile

(12-15-2011, 04:00 AM)thecheeseking Wrote: [ -> ]Hi Guys,

I'm looking to build a budget PC for my Mum, she won't be doing any gaming but it needs to be future proofed as I won't be able to convince her to buy a new computer for a long time (probably 4-5 years at the earliest). Her budget is $1000 (including speakers (but no monitor, keyboard or mouse), Windows and Microsoft office).

Oh it also needs to be able to play Blu-Ray movies. She will mainly use it for watching movies ) both blu-ray and DVD, listening to music, browsing the web, checking emails and writing up documents.

Here's what I'm planning on getting her and I thought I had better check to see if it's good.

CPU:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16725

Case:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=14105

HDD:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16679

Motherboard:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16897

Graphics Card:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=18696

RAM:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16449

Power Supply: (i want something with an 80 plus rating although i think thsi power supply might be too powerful?)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=15319

Blu-Ray Drive:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=18220

Speakers (I'm really unsure on this, I need a good pair of speakers but also not overly expensive)

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...ts_id=7745

Windows:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=17003

Office:

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=14437

That's a total of $841

Thanks for the help guys

For the CPU, I'd upgrade to the Core i5-2500. The fact that it's a quad-core processor means that it's a lot more future-proof than the Core i3-2100.
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16403

Case: The Antec 300 is less expensive and more solid:
http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...ts_id=6754

Those speakers are pretty much awful. These would be already a great improvement: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=18552

HDD and motherboard are fine choices.

Video card: No need for a dedicated video card if your mother doesn't play video games. The CPU features an integrated video processor (IGP) and the motherboard can output via VGA, DVI or HDMI.

8GB of RAM is a wise choice.

PSU: Your current selection is the lowest priced reliable option. For $14 more, you can get a more efficient (80 PLUS Bronze) and more reliable Seasonic 430W PSU: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=15958
A wise investment (higher efficiency = lower power consumption = lower electricity bill) considering how long you intend to keep the PC.

Blu-Ray drive: Fine choice, but you'll also need software to playback Blu-Ray disks on a PC. PowerDVD 11 Ultra is what I recommend: http://bit.ly/bsYj5g

Rest of the build looks good to me.

Hey guys,

Thanks for the help, you've given me a lot to think about.

I was wondering what your opinion on these speakers is?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16511

@dstryrwiz:

You said to upgrade to the G. Skill 1600mhz RAM but doesn't the motherboard only support 1333/1066?

or am i missing something?

Those speakers looks great for the price.

No point in going with faster RAM, you won't feel any difference and all you gain is 1-3% more performance.

Alright. Thanks again guys. Here's My final build:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8956/sc...ot320g.png

look good?

Will get power DVD at a later date.

Looks good to me Smile

(12-15-2011, 08:04 AM)thecheeseking Wrote: [ -> ]Hey guys,

Thanks for the help, you've given me a lot to think about.

I was wondering what your opinion on these speakers is?

http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=16511

@dstryrwiz:

You said to upgrade to the G. Skill 1600mhz RAM but doesn't the motherboard only support 1333/1066?

or am i missing something?

Those speakers are pretty good, but they are a higher price, so it's obviously what you consider to be important. As for the RAM upgrade, it's not just the speed, it's the quality of the components. It's up to you.

(12-15-2011, 09:00 AM)thecheeseking Wrote: [ -> ]Alright. Thanks again guys. Here's My final build:

http://img17.imageshack.us/img17/8956/sc...ot320g.png

look good?

Will get power DVD at a later date.

The Seasonic's a great PSU, but I ran the power calculator and I'd be tempted to go for just a bit more overhead, that's why I recommended the Antec, as it has the same efficiency as the Seasonic and it's almost as good, however it has more overhead.

EDIT: Actually, scratch that, I forgot I was also including a GPU in the calculations.

Kingston RAM is #1 when it comes to reliability, so I'd stick with them over G.Skill if quality is your priority.

As for the speakers, the PC will be used to watch movies and listen to music, so good sound quality is important for a good experience.

Speaking of sound quality, you may want to consider getting a dedicated sound card for improved sound quality: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=15774

Onboard sound is okay, but a dedicated sound card sounds way better.

(12-15-2011, 11:01 AM)MathieuB Wrote: [ -> ]Kingston RAM is #1 when it comes to reliability, so I'd stick with them over G.Skill if quality is your priority.

As for the speakers, the PC will be used to watch movies and listen to music, so good sound quality is important for a good experience.

Speaking of sound quality, you may want to consider getting a dedicated sound card for improved sound quality: http://www.pccasegear.com/index.php?main...s_id=15774

Onboard sound is okay, but a dedicated sound card sounds way better.

Definitely second the sound card. I run an external interface for audio, but I could never think of using stock onboard sound for anything that's intending to be good.

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