Search
Sign in with
Sign up | Sign in
Solved

$500-600 Budget/Multipurpose PC - Needs tweaking?

Tags:
Last response: in Systems
Share

Approximate Purchase Date: 12/20/10


Budget Range: $600 Before Rebates


System Usage from Most to Least Important: office applications, movie watching/streaming, online poker with multitabling

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, case (reusing old Antec P180), OS


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: none


Country of Origin: USA


Parts Preferences: AMD


Overclocking: Maybe


SLI or Crossfire: No


Additional Comments:
I've been looking over other suggestions for builds in the same price range and came up with the parts listed below. What do you guys think? For my purposes, is the 955BE overkill? The total price so far is well within my budget, but as I'm not a gamer and probably won't NEED a discrete videocard for just movies and hd output, I can't seem to find any other place where the money would be well spent. This being said, I'd like to save as much as possible right now while still putting together a system with upgrade potential that will last for at least 3-4 years.

Parts so far:


AMD Phenom II X4 955BE and Gigabyte GA-88GA-UD3H
$235 (with $10 rebate and $10 coupon with purchase)

Mushkin Enhanced Essentials 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666)
$42

CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W ATX12V / EPS12V SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS Certified Power Supply
$79 with promo code (with $20 rebate)

ASUS Black 24x DVDRW
$16.99

Samsung F3 1TB Hard Drive
$55 (at local store)


Total after promo codes + coupons + shipping (2.90)

$421.85

After Rebates:

$391.85

More about : 500 600 budget multipurpose tweaking

Register or log in to remove

Onus said:
You may still want a low-end video card (HD5450 or HD5550) to better handle multiple monitors, depending on how many tables you'll have open.
The PSU is definitely overkill. A 380W Earthwatts would handle that easily, and it is only $45: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


+1 for the Antec PSU. Was about to recommend the same thing. Heck, the HEC/Orion/Compucase PSUs on Newegg are pretty decent for the price.

No, PSUs included with cases are generally crap (unless they're Antec Earthwatts). Avoid any PSU with a little voltage switch on it. A modern, quality PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch needed) and 80+ certification. Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and Enermax are among the better brands.
Related ressources
Ask the community

Onus said:
No, PSUs included with cases are generally crap (unless they're Antec Earthwatts). Avoid any PSU with a little voltage switch on it. A modern, quality PSU has full range active PFC (no little voltage switch needed) and 80+ certification. Antec, Seasonic, Corsair, and Enermax are among the better brands.


I actually wasn't referring to a PSU included with a case - I meant PSUs like this one:



It may not be super efficient or pretty, but I've built a bunch of systems with these and they are rock solid after years of continuous operation. These seem to be the exception to the rule. Then again, it's kinda a moot point, since we can all agree that Antec or Seasonic is better... :D 

For that matter, how about PC Power and Cooling :D rool:

Thanks for the replies so far. Would getting the antec psu leave enough headroom for the video card suggested along with an additional ssd or hdd down the road?

Also, should I do something else for ram or will that Mushkin set be okay? I pretty much just picked the cheapest ddr3 1333 set I could find with positive reviews.

I wouldn't attach that HEC PSU to my computer AND to the wall socket at the same time.
PC Power & Cooling tends to be overpriced. They're good PSUs, but I don't think they're quite as good as Seasonic or most Antecs.
The 380W Earthwatts could handle a much more powerful video card, and a few drives as well.
The Mushkin RAM should be fine. It isn't their top of the line stuff, but for your purposes that won't make any difference.
Register or log in to remove
 
Ask the community
Read discussions in other Systems categories
!