Budget Desktop (~800) for Basic-Use

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AHLee24

Reputable
Jun 12, 2014
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4,510
First off, I want to say thanks for taking the time to read this. I've been meaning to help my mom build a desktop to replace her current laptop. She's had her current laptop for the past 4 years and its slowly deteriorating on her. She's not really tech-savvy and mainly uses it to watch movies, videos, go online, write documents (microsoft office), etc., just basic stuff. I've been browsing on a simple build that I can make for her but not really satisfied with the overall cost. If possible, please share some advice on where I can save some money on my build.

I really want her just to have a nice fast, stable desktop that won't really tear a hole in my wallet. The build is as follows:

Case: Corsair Carbide 200R
Motherboard: ASRock MB-970EX4
CPU: AMD FX-6300
Optical Drive: LG Electronics Optical Drive
Memory: Corsair XMS3 4GB
PSU: XFX ATX 550 Power Supply
Network Card: TP-LINK TL-WDN4800 Dual Band Wireless N900 PCI Express Adapter
HDD: WD 1TB Harddrive
(I'm also considering adding a small SDD so she can have a fast bootup time)
Monitor: ASUS VS228H-P 22-Inch Monitor
OS: Windows 7 Home
Total Price via Amazon: $889.66
Budget (with OS & Monitor): ~$800

I know people usually post on the forums for advice on gaming desktop but I've always wanted to build a desktop and thought that building a simple one would be a nice place to start. Like I said earlier, things I'm looking for are areas that I can save money on. I want to at most spend roughly $800 with OS and monitor included.

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you very much!
 
Solution
okcnaline
DUDE!!!! Why the [BEEP] are you tearing $889.66 for something that $500 might give you a combo?!
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-6500 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($25.95 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive...
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okcnaline

okcnaline

Splendid
Nov 17, 2013
8,083
5
26,965
DUDE!!!! Why the [BEEP] are you tearing $889.66 for something that $500 might give you a combo?!
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD A8-6500 3.5GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.99 @ Newegg)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($29.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($69.99 @ Micro Center)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 2GB (2 x 1GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($25.95 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($37.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($54.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master N200 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($48.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($24.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 - 64-bit (OEM) (64-bit) ($95.98 @ OutletPC)
Monitor: Samsung S22D300NY 60Hz 21.5" Monitor ($119.99 @ Amazon)
Wireless Network Adapter: Asus PCE-N53 802.11a/b/g/n PCI-Express x1 Wi-Fi Adapter ($28.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $642.83
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-06-12 19:29 EDT-0400
 
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bob hays

Honorable
Nov 21, 2012
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11,960
^^^ i'd go with an i3 because the single threaded performance is much better and most basic apps are single threaded. Also why 6gb of ram? Go with 1x4gb stick and if you need more you can add another.

Also the stock cooler is fine.
 
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A

AHLee24

Reputable
Jun 12, 2014
10
0
4,510
Wow guys didn't expect such a fast response.

@okcnaline: Honestly I didn't know what a basic desktop component should be. All I ever looked up were like gaming desktop builds which were uber expensive. Thanks again for the response! I'll probably use yours and make some adjustments

@bob hays: I agree with you on the i3 and the memory parts. I'll probably just stick with 4gb of ram. Which i3 CPU would you recommend?

What are your opinions on wireless network cards? I know in the past they weren't that good that's why people usually use ethernet cables for desktops. But at my parent's house, their modem is setup in a very awkward location which would require alot of ceiling looping just to connect an ethernet cable. Do you guys think they are reliable now?


thanks again for your help!
 
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bob hays

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Nov 21, 2012
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Wireless is not advised for gaming because of latency but for basically anything else its just fine. As long as the card is close enough to get good signal strength. You could also use a powerline ethernet connection so you don't have to do any wiring.
 
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bob hays

Honorable
Nov 21, 2012
1,357
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11,960
There is a significant difference in single threaded. The i3 is actually also better in multi-threaded because of hyper-threading but the difference is a lot smaller. Any i3-4000 series works, just don't get a T version (those are low power models).
 
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