Building first PC w/ little knowledge and average budget/needs

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sircharles

Honorable
Nov 11, 2013
10
0
10,510
Hello community,

I am hoping that some of you may take the time to answer and help out a first time PC builder. My laptop has become essentially non-functioning and I think for my current needs a desktop PC is the answer. I have only just begun researching parts and what it takes to build a PC (no prior knowledge) so any and all advice is welcome and most likely helpful.

As far as my needs go, I don't game on the computer (enough for it to be a factor) and don't require anything over the top. I am looking for a value build that gives me the ability to play/download music and videos, some basic office stuff, internet surfing, and connections with my tv and speakers. Reliability and speed are really what I am hoping for. I'm looking at a budget somewhere in the $400-500 range.

Guidance on quality parts, processors, motherboards, and whether or not I can use old desktop parts would be great. If someone has recently done this/seen this somewhere I would be interested in just simply duplicating an already successful one that is of a similar description.

Thanks!
 
Solution
Sayken
The build stated above is really good (except the 1 ram part)
but here we could get even more power:

best build I could make out of 500$:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core $119.99 Newegg
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ $69.99 Microcenter
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $64.99 Newegg
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $59.94 OutletPC
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB $109.99 Newegg
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower $27.50 Newegg
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V $37.99 Newegg
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $16.98 OutletPC

Total: $499.37

This shall kill anything you throw at it at max at...
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Scycron

Honorable
Apr 27, 2013
178
0
10,760
I recommend this build.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/210K6
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/210K6/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/210K6/benchmarks/

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 750K 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($59.91 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (1 x 8GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: XFX Radeon HD 7850 1GB Video Card ($124.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $449.85
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-11-11 21:49 EST-0500)
 
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Sayken

Sayken

Honorable
Jul 8, 2013
657
0
11,060
The build stated above is really good (except the 1 ram part)
but here we could get even more power:

best build I could make out of 500$:

CPU: AMD FX-6300 3.5GHz 6-Core $119.99 Newegg
Motherboard: Asus M5A97 LE R2.0 ATX AM3+ $69.99 Microcenter
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 $64.99 Newegg
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM $59.94 OutletPC
Video Card: MSI Radeon HD 7850 2GB $109.99 Newegg
Case: Rosewill Galaxy-01 ATX Mid Tower $27.50 Newegg
Power Supply: Corsair 600W ATX12V $37.99 Newegg
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer $16.98 OutletPC

Total: $499.37

This shall kill anything you throw at it at max at a resolution of 1366x768
So you don't only get a video and internet machine but a gaming beast as well (for that budget)!
you can sometime determine a pc speed and reliability by it's power of handling new video engines (from which games are made). so if the pc can take almost anything then you know it is already overkill for tasks such as office, surfing ... and it will last you longer time ^^
 
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Solution
S

sircharles

Honorable
Nov 11, 2013
10
0
10,510
Thank you for your reply!

I honestly hadn't considered the OS and other software I would need to purchase post assembly, although for a good build that will last me some time that I wouldn't mind purchasing that stuff on top. I continue to read about overclocking, is it something I should try and concern myself with? or leave it alone?

Also from what I've read I think I will be able to put it together no problem (have taken a few apart before) but getting it set up and ready to run is a little discerning, as far as once I hit that power button. Advice, tips, or anything I should look at ?

 
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