Under $500 USD budget build ideas

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Dr Girlfriend

Dr Girlfriend

Reputable
Sep 12, 2015
342
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4,960
I want to build a computer for my parents as a gift, their computer is an ancient iMac that's painfully slow. Honestly don't know how they put up with it. All they use it for is word processing/web browsing/youtube etc, nothing really demanding. But they tend to keep computers for 4-5+ years, so a a fairly future proof build would be fantastic. I'd like to spend under $500, which seems doable. But I know literally nothing about the lower end of the market, and I'm lost as to what the current best price/performance parts are in the category.

Pretty open to builds, only thing I definitely want for them is an SSD main drive. Any ideas would be awesome.

EDIT: I don't need any peripherals, just basic components.
 
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RockyPlays

RockyPlays

Honorable
Dec 16, 2014
1,384
0
11,960
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i5-6500 3.2GHz Quad-Core Processor ($199.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H110M-A Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($51.89 @ OutletPC)
Memory: G.Skill NT Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($33.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Antec EarthWatts Green 380W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $488.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 15:30 EST-0500
 
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quilciri

quilciri

Splendid
Mar 16, 2012
4,104
4
23,965
My humble suggestion:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock H110M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($52.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra II 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.99 @ Adorama)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHDS118-04 DVD/CD Drive ($12.89 @ OutletPC)

Total: $412.71
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 17:53 EST-0500

Since everything you listed your parents doing uses two or fewer threads, the I3-6100 will be faster for them than the I5-6500. The I3 also supports hyperthreading, should the odd 4-thread task come along.

The I3's respond well to memory speed, which is why I've included RAM a bit quicker than the base 2133mhz for DDR4. 16GB of memory is overkill right now, but If they keep their PC for a very long time, which seems to be the case, it'll save you from having to crack open the case later.

Unless you parents are going to be storing videos, they shouldn't need anything larger than a 240GB SSD (which is plenty for programs and tons upon tons of photos).

I left out a video card because gaming was not part of your priorites, and intel's HD 530 integrated is actually really powerful, to the point where it's just as good as entry level discrete cards like the R7 250.

I included an optical drive for familiarity for you parents. I know my mom still uses her optical drive frequently. (*edit* in that vein, if you're installing windows 7 for their comfort as well, you might also need the optical for the install)

Cheers!
 
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Solution
filippi

filippi

Distinguished
Oct 18, 2012
4,047
0
18,960
If you need Win10 this will do:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock B150M-HDS Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($58.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Samsung 850 EVO-Series 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($87.49 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design Core 1000 USB 3.0 MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 520W 80+ Bronze Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($63.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM (64-bit) ($89.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $494.32
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 15:31 EST-0500


 
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damric

damric

Illustrious
Sep 17, 2010
8,017
72
37,990
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Aegis 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: OCZ Trion 100 240GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($64.98 @ Amazon)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 950 2GB Superclocked+ ACX 2.0 Video Card ($129.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Enermax OSTROG ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Rosewill 450W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($42.99 @ Amazon)
Total: $506.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 15:45 EST-0500
 
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RockyPlays

RockyPlays

Honorable
Dec 16, 2014
1,384
0
11,960
PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($123.88 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z170M Pro4S Micro ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($79.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) DDR4-3200 Memory ($84.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial BX100 250GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($69.97 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Thermaltake Core V21 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($39.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($32.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $481.70
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-02-25 16:10 EST-0500
 
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