Help me build a $500 budget PC?

[ajsellaroli]

Hey all, I need to build a $500 computer.

Here is what I WON'T need included:
Keyboard
Mouse
Windows XP

Everything else must be purchased.

Needs: The PC will need to mostly handle general office work, must be great at multitasking, may have to do occasional Photoshop work, but will almost never have to deal with video editing, will not need to be good at gaming.

What would you recommend?

 

[megamanx00]

ASRock A780LM AM2+/AM2 AMD RS780L $54.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157153

AMD Phenom II X4 940 Deneb 3.0GHz $174.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103471

HP Black 22X DVD+R 12X DVD-RAM SATA Retail $25.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140040

Antec NSK 4480 II Black & Silver with Earthwatts 380W $89.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129059

mushkin 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 1066 $61.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820146785

Western Digital Caviar Black WD7501AALS 750GB $79.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136283

And that will give you a total of $487.94. The 1TB Black is only $20 more if you need the space and I guess you can drop down to more standard DDR2 RAM to save a couple of bucks. Since I was thinking budget build I picked a DDR2 motherboard, but then I realized you aren't going to need a separate dedicated video card . I suppose you can go with an AM3 rig instead especially with the excellent GIGABYTE GA-MA770T-UD3P at only $79.99, but it does require a dedicated video card as it doesn't have onboard video .

 

[megamanx00]

Oh yeah, didn't include the price of a monitor. If you need one I guess you'd have to lower the price of some of the other components to fit one in.

 

[Outlander_04]

ok so we also need a monitor in a $500 budget .... thats tough but

AMD Athlon II X2 250 Regor 3.0GHz + ASUS M4A78-E AM2+/AM3 AMD 790GX $178
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.211697

Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220144
[ no point in 4 gig of RAM for xp and it wil be afster than vista with 4 gig anyway ]

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB $50
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136074

COOLER MASTER RS-460-PSAR-J3 460W ATX12V V2.31 Power Supply +
COOLER MASTER Elite RC-332-KKN1-GP $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.208522

SAMSUNG Black 22X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 16X DVD-ROM $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151187

Acer X223Wbd Black 22" 5ms Widescreen LCD $160
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009145

Total is $509

The cpu and mb are great quality, powerful and should last well
the 22inch lcd in that budget surprised even me but in productivity aps a bigger screen is worth it IMO
The cost cutting was with the case and power supply which are fairly basic but will work fine
There no graphics card included because the mb has the best onboard graphics available , and can even play games

 

[belardo]

The OP isn't a power user. So the $60 AMD 7850 chip will do. A better mobo should be used with at least 4 memory slots. Look at Gigabyte, MSI or Asus.

BTW: Best Buy sells pre-built Compaq with AMD X2, 3GB RAM, etc for $370 - ready to run. But its limited to 4GB (fine) and doesn't include DVI/HDMI output. But includes vista but includes coupon for Windows7.

 

[ajsellaroli]

What If I wanted to go Intel?, what would you recommend then?

Belardo, I want to build...not buy from Best Buy lol. Thanks for the advice tho

 

[ajsellaroli]

I'm building this computer for my dad. For my own build, I have much greater needs.

Anyway, on a side note (I want to upgrade my own build), is the Q6600 still one of the best Quads you can buy in the $250 range? Actually I think it costs like $200, but say I had $300 to spend on a quad, and I still have a 775 mobo, what would you suggest?

 

[dirtmountain]

The Q9550 for about $219 for the LGA775
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115041

 

[dirtmountain]

For the $500 build

CPU - E6300 - Wolfdale - $84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091

Motherboard - Gigabyte G41 - integrated graphics $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128388

RAM - G.Skill 2x2 GB DDR2 800 1.8v 5-5-5-15 $43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Monitor - 20" ACER 1680x1050 - free shipping $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009143

Case - Rosewill - $30 - free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147075

Power supply - Antec Earthwatts 80+ $45 - free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371005

Hard drive - WD SATA 250GB $50 - free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136161

Burner - HP SATA - $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140040

about $490 including shipping to me, high cost shipping items are free shipping.

 

[ajsellaroli]

For the $500 build

CPU - E6300 - Wolfdale - $84
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116091

Motherboard - Gigabyte G41 - integrated graphics $60
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128388

RAM - G.Skill 2x2 GB DDR2 800 1.8v 5-5-5-15 $43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231207

Monitor - 20" ACER 1680x1050 - free shipping $140
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009143

Case - Rosewill - $30 - free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147075

Power supply - Antec Earthwatts 80+ $45 - free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371005

Hard drive - WD SATA 250GB $50 - free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136161

Burner - HP SATA - $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827140040

about $490 including shipping to me, high cost shipping items are free shipping.

Very nice! I like this build, thanks