Low Budget Build For Friend

[brettdaniel117]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next month BUDGET RANGE: <600

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Web Surfing, "Low End Gaming", Open Office

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: United States

PARTS PREFERENCES: No preference.

OVERCLOCKING: Doubtful SLI OR CROSSFIRE: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Whatever resolution that can be provided under $150

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: My friend wants a PC for mostly low end gaming and homework. By low end gaming I mean Diablo II, Halo PC, and other undemanding games. I don't think he would boost the graphics settings hardly any. I tried piecing something together myself, but it came to more than $500, not including the OS, monitor, or case. Also, he thinks it would be cool to have a 1TB hard drive. Nor for storage, just for the ability to think, "I have a 1TB hard drive."

Heres what I had:

CPU: AMD Athlon II 250

Mobo: ASUS M4A78LT

GPU: XFX Radeon HD 4670 1GB
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220468

RAM: Patriot Gaming Series 4GB DDR3 1333

HDD: WD Caviar Black 1TB

PSU: Antec Neo 400W

Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 24X

Could you guys help me build him a cool rig for the specified quota of <$600. Of course, the less money he spends that happier he is.

 

[bigstott]

Ok Here is what i would do... First go quad core... duel cores are finished...
Two He is going to have to go 500gb hard drive for cost reasons when you have more money then you can have the bragging rights of 1tb plus you want a solid drive on a cheap one. So here is what i put together with EVERYTHING including monitor case and os plus everything else. 660.... its close to your 600 range.

LITE-ON 22X DVD±R DVD Burner Black IDE Model iHAP122-04 - OEM
Item #: N82E16827106281
$24.99

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD502HJ 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822152181
$54.99

Open Box: LG W1943TB-PF Black 18.5" 5ms(GTG) 16:9 Widescreen LCD Monitor
Item #: N82E16824005121R
$97.99

XFX HD-467X-ZDF2 Radeon HD 4670 1GB 128-bit DDR2 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - Retail
Item #: N82E16814150450
$69.99

OCZ Gold Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model OCZ3G10664GK - Retail
Item #: N82E16820227346
$77.00

Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - OEM
Item #: N82E16832116754
$104.99

HEC 6C28BB8S Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Item #: N82E16811121001
hec HP585D RETAIL 585W ATX12V Power Supply - Power Cord Included - Retail
Item #: N82E16817339012
$61.98

AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor Model ADX630WFGIBOX - Retail
Item #: N82E16819103704
ASUS M4A785-M AM3/AM2+/AM2 AMD 785G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Item #: N82E16813131595
168.99

 

[brettdaniel117]

I don't see a motherboard in there.

What about the core i3? Are the integrated graphics able to play the games I listed?

Also, I don't quite understand OEM Windows. Is it basically the same thing as the normal retail version?

As for cases and monitors, I'll let him choose. I will recommend him the Antec Two Hundred, and the monitor you listed. I'll probably mod in a window on the two hundred and throw in a cathode for lighting goodness.

 

[MadAdmiral]

OEM is the same actual product, without the flashy box. In addition, you can't call tech support, and it will only work on one computer.

Here's what I would suggest (I assume the monitor's cost isn't included):

OS/Mobo: ASUS M4A77TD and Windows 7 Combo for $165 after rebate

CPU/GPU: X4 620 and HD 4670 Combo for $151

HDD: Samsung Spinpoint F3 500 GB $55

Case: Antec 300 $52 with promo code

PSU: Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W $45

RAM: OCZ Platinum 2x2 GB DDR3 1333 mhz CAS Latency 7 $80 after rebate

Optical: Cheapest SATA DVD burner $24

Total: $572 after rebates, before shipping, taxes.

This build is much more up to date with the AM3 board and DDR3 RAM. In addition, you get a SATA optical (IDE is dying), faster RAM, a better case and a quality PSU. Of course, that doesn't matter if the the monitor needs to be included in the $600...

Integrated graphics should be able to play those games. However, you will be spending a lot more for the CPU and the board. It's better to stick in a cheap GPU.

And there is a motherboard in bigstott's build. It's in a combo with the CPU.