Cheap General Purpose Dual Monitor Workstation ~$600 w/ Monitors

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RazeTheSky

Reputable
Mar 18, 2014
7
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4,510
I am trying to set up an inexpensive general-purpose workstation with a dual monitor setup. No gaming or rendering intended, just mainly internet surfing, some streaming, and word processing/spreadsheets. I was wondering if this build was any good, or if there were places I could cut out spent money. Budget ~$600 w/ monitors, if possible.


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-6420K 4.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M Pro4+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB 3.5" 5400RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.71 @ Amazon)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($41.99 @ Mwave)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: Rosewill RNX-N150UBE 802.11b/g/n USB 2.0 Wi-Fi Adapter ($9.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $603.61
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-10 23:30 EDT-0400)
 
Solution
RazerZ
Go with this build instead, it will be faster and more efficient for basic tasks as you mentioned:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power...
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RazerZ

RazerZ

Judicious
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Aug 18, 2013
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Go with this build instead, it will be faster and more efficient for basic tasks as you mentioned:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($118.93 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H81M-DGS R2.0 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($51.38 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.98 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24F1ST DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ Newegg)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($127.80 @ TigerDirect)
Monitor: Acer G236HLBbd 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($127.80 @ TigerDirect)
Total: $599.96
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-04-10 23:41 EDT-0400)
 
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Solution
envy14tpe

envy14tpe

Champion
Mar 3, 2012
9,574
14
56,665
This is $25 more but I'd like to get a quad core in the build for extra boost. I downgraded GPU to compensate. Your build is good though. It allows for more RAM in the future but you might not need to.
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.74 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75M Pro4+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($59.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($56.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Xion XON-560 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer ($19.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Monitor: Acer H236HLbid 60Hz 23.0" Monitor ($139.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: TP-Link TL-WN881ND 802.11b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($18.83 @ Mwave)
Total: $626.48
 
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R

RazeTheSky

Reputable
Mar 18, 2014
7
0
4,510
Yeah, I'll go with the i3 build, was only holding back because of 50 dollar difference, but I see now the PSU I picked was way overpriced for this kind of build. I'm just not sure about the Seagate, have had a bad experience, but I might give them a try again.
 
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RazerZ

RazerZ

Judicious
Ambassador
Aug 18, 2013
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0
33,960


Go exactly with the build I posted as you get the best run for your money. Seasonic makes good PSU's as do Corsair, but the PSU I chose was on sale for a great price and is decent quality.

An i3 will be light years ahead of an A6 and it's definitely the right path to go.
 
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