Low-end Media/Internet Build ~$500

[mgrove91]

Approximate Purchase Date: In the next few days

Budget Range: 450-550 (but preferably on the lower end, of course)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Media (music/movies), browser-based gaming, and browsing the net.

Parts Not Required: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers, OS

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Only Newegg.com

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: None, particularly - as long as it fits into that budget range.

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire: No

Monitor Resolution: Not sure... it's not my monitor.

Additional Comments: This computer is for a relative who is using an old setup... from back in the early 2000s and would simply like a speed upgrade/ fresh install to their computer. She has all the aforementioned peripherals but she would like to start fresh with everything else. She really only uses the computer for browsing the internet, internet (browser based) gaming, and watching media. My major hurdle here is wondering whether she needs a low end graphics card or not. I know her monitor is at least higher than 1024x768 so I'm not sure whether onboard graphics can handle anything above that.

Thanks for the help in advance.

 

[brian1bialey]

Hi mgrove91, I would recommend the one of the APU series from AMD as its onboard graphics Can actaully play modern titles just on lowered resolutions and lowered graphical settings. The onboard graphics perform a little bit better than the Radeon HD 5550 which you can look for on youtube for videos on how it will perform for video games.


However, it seems that this would not be used for gaming and this will meet your needs.

Heres a build:



SAMSUNG CD/DVD Burner Black SATA Model SH-222AB - OEM
Item #: N82E16827151233
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$17.99


HITACHI HDS721050CLA362 (0F10381) 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Item #: N82E16822145299
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$79.99


ASUS M5A97 AM3+ AMD 970 SATA 6Gb/s USB 3.0 ATX AMD Motherboard with UEFI BIOS
Item #: N82E16813131767
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
$99.99


Antec EarthWatts Green EA-380D Green 380W Continuous power ATX12V v2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS BRONZE Certified Active PFC Power ...
Item #: N82E16817371033
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
Protect Your Investment (expand for options)
-$15.00 Instant
$59.99
$44.99


Team Elite 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model TED38192M1333HC9DC
Item #: N82E16820313086
Return Policy: Memory Standard Return Policy
$35.99
1

Team 8GB Micro SDHC Flash Card Model TG008G0MC24A
Item #: N82E16820313182
Return Policy: Standard Return Policy
-$6.99 Saving
$6.99
$0.00


AMD A8-3850 Llano 2.9GHz Socket FM1 100W Quad-Core Desktop APU with DirectX 11 Graphic AMD Radeon HD 6550D AD3850WNZ43GX - OEM
Item #: N82E16819103994
Return Policy: CPU Replacement Only Return Policy
$134.99
Subtotal: $413.94

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Thats The build i'd reccomend for you; it should be able to do flawless media based things however if you want to do any gaming i'd reccomend this.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150576
XFX 6670 128 bit 1gb ddr3

Another thing that will make your system alot more faster is adding a SSD which i really reccomend; it can reduce loading times by half as most ssd's have reading times of 250 mb r/w while most hardrive are about 100 mb r/w.


I'd reccomend this one for a bootdrive: it'll boot windows in about 9 seconds versus about 20-30 seconds for a normal hardrive so use that as a figure:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820220581


The two bottom options are purely optional so it would be about $440 after taxes for your build but i'd reccomend the ssd because the onboard graphics are very good actaully. Hope you enjoy!

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AMD 1605t 6 core @ 3.2 ghz l 8gb 1600mhz team elite l gigabyte 990x l visiontek 6870 1gb ddr5 l 150gb 10,000 rpm

 

[mgrove91]

Best answer selected by mgrove91.