$600 Budget PC

BaelinofGodfrey · Jan 28, 2014

I came here months ago for help on a PC build, and you all were great at keeping me on budget and helped clear up some questions I had. Now I've come for some help for my parents. Their old desktop has finally given up the ghost and they're in need a new a one. I'll be scavenging some parts off of it to save them money but most of the core parts will need to be replaced due to be way outdated. I need to stay at or under the budget as they're retired and on a limited income. I appreciate you all taking the time to assist me.

Purchase Date: 1st or 2nd of February, they get paid on the 31st and they want it up and running soon after.

Budget: $600, pretty firm on this.

System Usage: Web Browsing, Photo Editing, Netflix, Gaming(Grandchildren)

Parts to Purchase: Power Supply, Motherboard, CPU, Memory, GPU, Case

Parts Scavenged: 500gb HDD, DVD-Drive, OS (Win98), Monitor, Keyboard/Mouse

Additional Comments: I am not a particular fan of either Intel or AMD. I would like it to be AMD due to their prices being cheaper, but if you all feel Intel would provide a better system (Especially for the grandchildren's gaming), that's fine. The system will not be overclocked. Yes, it is easy to do, but they're not as techsavy as I'm comfortable with having an OC'd system. So I'll leave it as stock. The HDD and DVD-Drive are from the original PC's purchase back in 1999, the Monitor and peripherals are from the last 2 years. The monitor can output 1080p and has a DVI and a HDMI input.

Thanks for the assistance!

onlin · Jan 28, 2014

Hello, I have made a config for you. Do you have only Win98? It is very recommended to upgrade to Windows 7.
So here is my list: http://pcpartpicker.com/user/onlin/saved/3zHL
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570 3.4GHz Quad-Core Processor ($209.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77 Pro4 ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($99.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Gigabyte GeForce GTX 650 Ti 2GB Video Card ($145.38 @ Newegg)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($57.99 @ Microcenter)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Total: $598.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-01-28 15:50 EST-0500)

Outlander_04 · Jan 28, 2014

Win 98 will not install and run on modern hardware . No drivers are available and more than 500 mb of RAM will cause it problems if it did somehow run .
Likewise the old hard drive is likely to be an IDE model with a 40 wire ribbon cable and motherboards no longer have that kind of connector . Same for the DVD drive .

Fortunately its easy to include replacements for all those and still come in under budget

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/2JbV0
AMD A10-7700K
FM2+ mb
2 x4 gig of fast RAM
Corsair 350D case
Corsair 430 watt psu
1 terabyte hard drive
dvd drive
Win7 64 bit

$564

doron · Jan 28, 2014

Athlon X4 750K - 80$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=amd+750k&N=-1&isNodeId=1

MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 - 60$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662

G.SKILL Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3 2133 (PC3 17000) - 70$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231653

ASUS HD7770 - 90$ after rebate
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121663

CORSAIR CX430 - 45$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139026

NZXT Source 210 - 40$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811146075

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - OEM - 100$

Total: 485$

Windows 7 - because using Windows 98 in 2014 is simply unrealistic. If you're still deciding to go for the Win98 then brace yourself for compatibility nightmare with everything - both hardware and software.

The reason I put 2133mhz memory module in my recommendation is because it's almost the cheapest module and you can safely use it at 1866mhz / 1600mhz.

I don't think you need an SSD because once you boot up your computer and open your browser (which is where I'm assuming your grandparents will be most of the time) then you simply won't notice the difference between an SSD and a normal HDD.

All in all, you could obviously get better hardware and still be within your 600$ budget limit, but I honestly think this should be more than enough for your grandparents as this rig can handle basic usage pretty easily and can play all of the games at 1920x1080 with decent graphics settings. If your monitor has less than 1920x1080 than there's even less need to upgrade anything for gaming. I'm sure your grandparents will appreciate the lower price.

You'll need to specify what exactly photo editing means. If it's some basic editing then no problem.

Hope that helped.

Outlander_04 · Jan 28, 2014

doron :

It cant have helped . The processor is incompatible with the motherboard and will not run

BaelinofGodfrey · Jan 28, 2014

I went and checked on the HDD and it actually uses Sata cables. I can only assume it was replaced at some point, so the HDD should still be good? I will go ahead and upgrade to Windows 7 or 8, I'll let my parents decide that since they will be the ones using it. Was not aware that it would've been such an issue and was hoping to not spend the money on a new OS. Not a big deal, I can cover that cost for them. DVD was IDE, so it'll be replaced too but most of those are like $15-20 so not a big deal either.

Is there a big difference in performace between the AMD A-series and the Intels that they would notice? The biggest thing they'd be messing with is Photoshop for their family photo editing. Usually just touch-ups and red eye removal I think.

I like the A-10's reviews, but would it be able to handle graphics as well as a discrete card?

Outlander_04 · Jan 28, 2014

You wont be able to plug the hard drive in and boot , and installing Win 7 will wipe the drive and nuke all their data .. unless they have it backed up on an external drive .
IMO get a new hard drive . They have a useful life of about 5 years anyway , and the easiest way to transfer data will be by connecting the old drive after win 7 is installed on the new drive and then copying and pasting it across to the relevant folders

The APU is a decent enough gamer . It would not have the grunt of a discrete 7770 , but it will be workable and probably play most games at low - medium . Upgrade to the 7850K and you are still under budget
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a10-7850k-a8-7600-kaveri,3725-6.html

An APU will be massively more powerful than the processor they have been using . The intel quad would be faster again .
But for day to day tasks like reading emails and web browsing there will be no difference at all .

doron · Jan 28, 2014

Outlander_04 :

Right, sorry.
MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 - 60$
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130662

Also edited on original answer

BaelinofGodfrey · Jan 28, 2014

I like the AMD setup you posted. It looks like it will fit exactly what they're needing without having to worry about a discrete card. I'll go ahead and get a new HDD and once they pick an OS, it'll be ready for assembly.

I really appreciate the help.

doron · Jan 28, 2014

Not sure what you mean about having to worry about a discrete card, but in terms of value you could do better than the A10.

A10-7700K - 160$

Athlon x4 750k + HD 7770 - 170$

Search

$600 Budget PC

BaelinofGodfrey

Honorable

Outlander_04

onlin

Honorable

Outlander_04

Titan

doron

Distinguished

Outlander_04

Titan

BaelinofGodfrey

Honorable

Outlander_04

Titan

doron

Distinguished

BaelinofGodfrey

Honorable

doron

Distinguished

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page