Help with beginner build (handle Audio/Visual processing)

dankfr · May 9, 2014

Hello everyone,

I am very new to PC building and I am trying to build a PC that can handle basic tasks and some graphics and audio processing at most. Gaming is not a priority. I've been doing some research and I haven't exactly found anything that is similar to my needs, because most are about building PCs for gaming. So, can anyone recommend me any basic builds (budget <$300) that can handle MSO, Photoshop/GIMP, and DAWs? So far, I've seen something about AMD FM2 APUs that are cheap. Would they make a good choice?

Thanks in advance!

Shneiky · May 9, 2014

Under 300 - no way. There is always a starting sum of 200+ for case, power supply, hard drive and RAM. Getting a motherboard and a CPU/APU under a 100 is not a good option. For 300 you can have a browsing/movie machine. For 400 you can actually do something that can decently handle photoshop and etc.

This is the best you can get for around your budget:
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A8-6600K 3.9GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.94 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A55M-VG3+ Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($86.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.43 @ OutletPC)
Case: Sentey CS1-1410 PLUS ATX Mid Tower Case ($19.00 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($41.99 @ Mwave)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $365.33
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 09:11 EDT-0400)

ScrewySqrl · May 9, 2014

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: Intel Celeron G1820 2.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($47.56 @ Mwave)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H81M-H Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($93.98 @ Newegg)
Case: HEC Enterprise MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $315.60
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 09:26 EDT-0400)

this will get the job done, and isn't much over $300

Shneiky · May 9, 2014

ScrewySqrl, you forgot a PSU... Also Photoshop/GIMP, and DAWs are CPU heavy. That video card is a waste of money.

ScrewySqrl · May 9, 2014

250X = HD7770. Not great, but functional. The Lack of PSU was foolish of me, and will put it up around $350 with a Corsair CX 430, about the cheapest decent PSU.

Here's a A10 build:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A10-5800K 3.8GHz Quad-Core Processor ($109.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI A55M-E33 Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($39.10 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi Ultrastar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ Amazon)
Case: HEC Enterprise MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($14.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $299.04
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-05-09 09:43 EDT-0400)

Search

Help with beginner build (handle Audio/Visual processing)

dankfr

Reputable

Shneiky

Shneiky

Distinguished

ScrewySqrl

Champion

Shneiky

Distinguished

ScrewySqrl

Champion

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts

Moderators online

Share this page