Barebones minimum build ($300 or less!)

[I3ladeDragon]

I am more familiar with gaming builds (which I've only tried designing 2) and would appreciate help finding cheap parts that will work together for a fantastic quality non-gaming PC.

Parts Not Required: From scratch.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, but any place is fine!

Country: USA

Parts Preferences: AMD = better bang for the buck (but I am unfamiliar with AMD)

Overclocking: no

SLI or Crossfire: no

Monitor Resolution: 1024x768 or better

Additional Comments: A friend of mine was wanting a dirt cheap computer for his daily needs. OS can be XP or Windows 7. He will be mainly using it for internet and youtube videos. Wanting it to run smoothly and quickly for this task.

 

[AntiZig]

Do you need OS included in the budget? If yes that's $100 out the window right there, unless he is able to get it cheaper elsewhere (work, school, etc)

Do you need case, mouse, keyboard, monitor, speakers? (good monitors cost a lot)

 

[boiler1990]

I would look in Intel's combo deals. They sometimes have some decent DIY budget builds.

Otherwise, you could also look into barebones/nettops.

 

[smorizio]

look at hp or dell web page for sales. there comes to a price point on a build that these vendors are cheaper then calling up new egg and trying to piece a unit together. the amd apu (you have to read the spec do come with a low end gaming gpu built into the cpu.) you friend will be able to go some games with the low end amd build. just let you friend know if he does go with a pre built system for the price other then ram and a low powered video card that about it for upgrades on some of these unit. some of the new unit have very low wattage ps and you cant upgrade them.

 

[need4speeds]

Nothing beats the Llano for low end builds.
Locally the A8-3870K kit is $199.99 with a gigabyte micro-atx board.
(make sure the board supports the older analog vga since some now have ditched support for the old svga connector in favor of dvi and hdmi)

A Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO CPU Cooler (about $35) is worth it so you can overclock. (The side cover may have to be left off if the "free" case lacks fans or the cooler is too tall)

A 8gb or 4gb ddr3-1600 mem kit.

The 400 shader gpu o/c well to about 800 to 900mhz. A quad core cpu at 3.4ghz to 3.6. make sure you test with prime95+furmark at the same time to be sure for 10 mins. Small voltage increases are needed.

$300 means you must find a "free" case+p/s.Maybe a working crt monitor. Maybe do some "alley shopping" here. A $20 p4/athlonxp system with a case, ps, winxp os, monitor, key/mouse/speakers might be a good option. (and hopefully a working 80gig sata drive, lol. )

Hint: Get your cash strapped buddy to do this work for you.

A used sata hdd and borrowed sata or usb dvdrw( to do the install) will be needed.

Winxp works with the Llano so this saves you some cash.

Make sure you set the sata in the bios to "ide mode" so it works with a existing winxp install or older version of winxp.

If the power supply connectors are the old "p4/athonxp" style don't worry. Plug the atx connector on the board, and the 4 pin "p4" connector on the board, the empty 4 pins on the atx connector and the extra 4 on the new 8 pin one on the board are not needed on the Llano. (at least with asus and gigabyte fm1 boards anyway).

 

[dudewitbow]

only hope if you dont have a monitor is to look for a refurb one on dell or hp and get a cheap one with a cheap monitor

List of old refurbs on newegg, most of them, you will need a seperate monitor/acessories


Would be HPs cheapest all in one pc at 399

to think of it, a laptop would probably fit it better for the price, unless he specifically wants a desktop

Refurbed Emachiens with celeron 250$

Refurb Dell at 300$

 

[spankmon]

*Tower - $305 shipping not included*
Motherboard ASrock - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157274
RAM 2gb DDR2 G-Skill - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231098
Power Supply Antec 350w - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371003
Case Rosewill MicroATX - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147111
DVD Burner Samsung 22x - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827151244
CPU Athlon II x3 - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103886
Hard Drive Seagate Barracuda 250gb REfurbished - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148818

Use Linux Mint 13 for the operating system. It's free and plays media out-of-the-box.

 

[need4speeds]

dudewitbow found something good....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114104&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=3dy69u2lzxum

eMachines EL1850G-42W (PV.NCK02.001) 18.5" Refurbished Desktop PC Celeron E3400(2.60GHz) 2GB DDR3 320GB HDD Capacity Intel GMA X4500HD Windows 7 Home Premium
$249.99

I do know the intel GMA X4500HD is really, really poor.

In another post, someone wanted to upgrade almost the same machine to play rpg games. It only takes a single slot half height pcie-16 card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150581
XFX HD-645X-YNH2 Radeon HD 6450 512MB 32-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
Free Orcs game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer
$34.99 ($14.99 after mail-in rebate card) Free Shipping

2nd card choice.. but it puts it a bit over the $300 mark.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127611
MSI R6570-MD1G/LP Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card $62.99 $42.99 after mail-in rebate card

Dirt3 version
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127612


I didn't think it was even possible before for $300 or so...

 

[I3ladeDragon]

Here's a computer for under $300 that should be just fine for his uses!

MoBo/CPU/GPU: ASUS E35M1-I Fusion AMD E-350 APU (1.6GHz, Dual-Core) AMD Hudson M1 Mini ITX Motherboard/CPU Combo - $119.99

Memory: Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1066 - $26.99

Case: APEX DM-387 Black Steel Micro ATX Media Center - $39.99

Disk Drive: LITE-ON DVD Burner - $17.99

SSD: Crucial M4 64GB - $79.99

Keyboard: Pixxo KM-2781U (Wired) - $9.99

Mouse: Pixxo MA-W6G5 2.4Ghz Wireless Optical Mouse - $9.99

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=20390266




I'll leave the speakers and monitor up to him. The OS, I will have to let him know it's either $99 extra to fork up or suggest free alternatives!

 

[I3ladeDragon]

Best answer selected by I3ladeDragon.

 

[I3ladeDragon]

dudewitbow found something good....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114104&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-RSSDailyDeals-_-na-_-na&AID=10521304&PID=4176827&SID=3dy69u2lzxum

eMachines EL1850G-42W (PV.NCK02.001) 18.5" Refurbished Desktop PC Celeron E3400(2.60GHz) 2GB DDR3 320GB HDD Capacity Intel GMA X4500HD Windows 7 Home Premium
$249.99

I do know the intel GMA X4500HD is really, really poor.

In another post, someone wanted to upgrade almost the same machine to play rpg games. It only takes a single slot half height pcie-16 card.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150581
XFX HD-645X-YNH2 Radeon HD 6450 512MB 32-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card
Free Orcs game coupon w/ purchase, limited offer
$34.99 ($14.99 after mail-in rebate card) Free Shipping

2nd card choice.. but it puts it a bit over the $300 mark.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127611
MSI R6570-MD1G/LP Radeon HD 6570 1GB 128-bit DDR3 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready Low Profile Ready Video Card $62.99 $42.99 after mail-in rebate card

Dirt3 version
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127612


I didn't think it was even possible before for $300 or so...

I like this better!!!

 

[boiler1990]

The Newegg Shell Shocker for a few hours is a decent combo

http://www.newegg.com/Special/ShellShocker.aspx?cm_sp=ShellShocker-_-945665-_-05172012_1