New build advice.

[loub5]

Hi all ,

I'm new here. I'm a techy and know my way around electronics and figured I would try and save some money by building 2 computers for my 2 kids. They are both 9 & 10 years old and would like this rig to last them through highschool. They are both homeschooled and will be till they get to highschool. Please point me in the right direction. Any help is appreciated. This rig will serve both as their school PC, light gaming, and playing movies from my network nas.

Approximate Purchase Date: August 31st

Budget Range: $700 or $350 x 2

System Usage from Most to Least Important: HD video, educational software, internet, light gaming.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor (using their 24" 1080p LED tv for this), speakers, OS.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBundleDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.719545

Parts Preferences: by brand or type: I would like to stick with Intel Sandy Bridge i3

Overclocking: No

Monitor Resolution: 1920x1080

Additional Comments: If you look at that newegg DIY combo kit you will pretty much find everything I desire in my build; however, am I missing anything here? Right now that kit is running $342 + $20 3 day shipping. Is there any thing better or same for a lower cost out there?

Thanks for your help and looking forward to your advice.

 

[michxymi]

With 700$ I would build something with better perfomance and higher quality parts.

Starting with this case. It's great for it's price and allows you to spend more money to more important parts.

Xigmatek ASGARD II B/O CPC-T45UE-U01 Black / Orange 0.8 mm SECC / Aluminum and Aluminum Mesh Bezel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811815006

A high quality PSU, is a must for a stable system. This XFX model is the best for me, at this price point! It's powerful, with enough watts for the system and 44A from 12V rail meaning that it can support even more powerful cards like 6950!

XFX Core Edition PRO550W (P1-550S-XXB9) 550W ATX12V 2.2 & ESP12V 2.91 SLI Ready CrossFire Ready 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207013&Tpk=xfx%20550w

For CPU I wouldn't go with a Dual Core i3 these days. Phenom II X4 955 is a great perfomer and It will do better at everyday use without losing at gaming perfomance.

AMD Phenom II X4 955 Black Edition Deneb 3.2GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache 6MB L3 Cache Socket AM3 125W Quad-Core Processor HDZ955FBGMBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103808

For motherboard the new 970/SB950 chipset from AMD seems ideal. As I say it's Bulldozer Ready and has all the modern SATA & USB 3.0 etc.

ASRock 970 EXTREME4 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157262&Tpk=asrock%20970

RAM is extremly cheap these days so It's not a bad idea to go with a high speed 8GB kit. Bulldozer's IMC will support high speed RAM so again this is an investment for the future!

Kingston HyperX Blu 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model KHX1600C9D3B1K2/8GX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104262

A 6850 is all that you need for light gaming. It can tear appart any light game basically This particular model comes with lifetime warranty!

XFX HD-685X-ZNFC Radeon HD 6850 1GB 256-bit DDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150505

And a Spinpoint F3 for HDD

SAMSUNG Spinpoint F3 HD103SJ 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185&Tpk=samsung%20spinpoint%20f3%201tb

By here you're ready to go. You have a great system which costs 604$ plus 50$ MIR. It has high quality parts, great perfomance and it's Bulldozer Ready!

 

[loub5]

Yikes! Maybe I was not clear. I'm needing to build 2 PCs for $700.

Though I do like this build greatly for myself later on. Thank you for your suggestions.

 

[michxymi]

Oh didn't get that. I'll see what I can do then

 

[michxymi]

If you can spend 100$ more, you get the next "little diamond"

Fractal Design Core 1000 Micro ATX Computer Case w/ 1 x 120mm fan
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352009

SeaSonic SS-300ES Bronze 300W ATX12V V2.3 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power Supply - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817151085

AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz 4MB L2 Cache Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU AD3850WNGXBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103942

CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145343

GIGABYTE GA-A75M-UD2H FM1 AMD A75 (Hudson D3) HDMI SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128511

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKX 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136769


All of this for 400$. This build gives you:

- Latest AMD technology with Quad Core CPU that comes with the best intergrated Graphics.
- High quality parts
- Much better 3D perfomance
- Better perfomance to everyday use
- Low Power Consumption
- Upgrade Options. You can add a discrete GPU anytime you want, and with Hybrid Crossfire turn this to a reasonable gaming pc.

 

[loub5]

Thank you! I especially like that the motherboard has HDMI port. May consider this one after all.

 

[jsc]

To expect that a $350 computer will be good for 7 or 8 years, even as a kid's computer is highly unrealistic.

Going a little higher with the Fusion build is a good idea. And don't discount the utility of having 2 or 3 (one for you ) similar builds. It is great for troubleshooting when something goes wrong.

 

[008Rohit]

I just had to suggest someone else who was looking for a console priced gaming PC.

Processor : Intel Core i3 2100 - $124.99
MoBo : ASRock H61M-VS - $59.99
RAM : Corsair 1x4GB DDR3 1333 - $22.99
Graphics Card : PowerColor AX6670 1GBK3-H Radeon HD 6670 1GB - $59.99 - http://newegg.com/Product/Product. [...] 6814131440
Hard Disk : Seagata Barracuda .12 500GB SATA II - $25.99
Power Supply : Corsair CX 430W - $34.99 - http://newegg.com/Product/Product. [...] 6817139026
Case : GIGABYTE gz-ph1a3 ATX Mid Tower - $21.99 - http://newegg.com/Product/Product. [...] 6811233061

Total : $350 after rebates

 

[loub5]

To expect that a $350 computer will be good for 7 or 8 years, even as a kid's computer is highly unrealistic.

Going a little higher with the Fusion build is a good idea. And don't discount the utility of having 2 or 3 (one for you ) similar builds. It is great for troubleshooting when something goes wrong.

Well said!

Well i'm just saying, I'm still on an old gateway Pentium 4 rig for the last 8 years and is doing just fine. My other kid is going to be using it. I know what you are saying when spending a little more is worth it. Just trying to get something good and within budget that can be expanded upon later if needed.

 

[loub5]

Update:

I ended up going with these today.. hopefully everything arrives on Saturday so I can build this weekend.

2 x LG DVD Burner Black SATA Model GH24NS70 - OEM - $18.99
2 x Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAKX 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive - $39.99
2 x Intel Core i3-2100 Sandy Bridge 3.1GHz LGA 1155 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor BX80623I32100 - $124.99
2 x G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Desktop Memory Model F3-10666CL9D-8GBRL - $49.99
2 x BIOSTAR TH67B LGA 1155 Intel H67 HDMI SATA 6Gb/s Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - $69.99
2 x Rosewill R101-P-BK-450W MicroATX Mid Tower Computer Case, come with 1x 120mm Fan, 450W Power Supply - $54.99
2 x 120mm cooler master fans for induction side - $10

3 day Shipping: $24.54

Grand Total: $762.42 or $381.21 each shipped!

Thank you Newegg!

 

[loub5]

Best answer selected by loub5.