Cheap, general purpose $400-$500

[corenimo]

Any help is appreciated. I checked couple of previous posts, but is not convinced yet. need a good cpu but GPU could be below average.

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Approximate Purchase Date: ASAP, this week

Budget Range: $400 - $500 max

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Surfing the internet, watching movies, HD videos, no gaming...

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

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com

Country: US

Parts Preferences: intel and Nvidia... no amd..

Overclocking: No

SLI or Crossfire:No

Monitor Resolution: 1920:1080

Additional Comments: quiet pc... fast boot...

 

[g-unit1111]

Here you go:

Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 - $59.99
PSU: Seasonic S12 II 430W - $59.99
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H77-DS3H - $99.99
CPU: 3.1GHz Intel Core i3-2120 - $124.99
RAM: 8GB Crucial Ballistix 1600MHz 1.5V - $46.99
HD: 1TB Seagate Barracuda ST 7200 RPM - $99.99

Total: $491.89

I didn't include a GPU because of the limited budget - run off the onboard video until you're able to add one. If you want to run a 6950 or a 560TI upgrade the PSU to the 520w model.

 

[doron]

I say get this:
http://pcpartpicker.com/p/aLmi
Total: $457.92

Reasons:

Pentium g630 instead of Core i3 - In your case, you won't notice the difference. We're talking light use here and this cpu can even handle light gaming. It also has the same graphics horsepower as the current Core i3 (minus some features you won't need).

Power supply - The Corsair CX430 is more than enough for this machine.

Motherboard - No need to go for the more expensive H77 in my opinion.

RAM - 8gb is way more than you need right now, but since prices are definitely at their lowest, there isn't much of a price difference between the 4gb and 8gb kits, and since ddr4 will be introduced in 2013 / 2014, ddr3 will phase out and its price will probably go up (happened with ddr2 / ddr), so if you'll need more later on it'll be more expensive.

These savings allow you to get a 128GB SSD, which you should install your operating system on, and you'll get incredibly fast boot times. You'll notice the added speed of the SSD way more than if you chose the faster cpu instead.

Chassis - You shouldn't get a gaming chassis, they're aimed to get more air going inside of them but are also louder because of that, and collect more dust because the added cutouts for fans.

 

[g-unit1111]

I say get this:
http://pcpartpicker.com/parts/partlist/
Total: $457.92

Reasons:

Pentium g630 instead of Core i3 - In your case, you won't notice the difference. We're talking light use here and this cpu can even handle light gaming. It also has the same graphics horsepower as the current Core i3 (minus some features you won't need).

Power supply - The Corsair CX430 is more than enough for this machine.

Motherboard - No need to go for the more expensive H77 in my opinion.

RAM - 8gb is way more than you need right now, but since prices are definitely at their lowest, there isn't much of a price difference between the 4gb and 8gb kits, and since ddr4 will be introduced in 2013 / 2014, ddr3 will phase out and its price will probably go up (happened with ddr2 / ddr), so if you'll need more later on it'll be more expensive.

These savings allow you to get a 128GB SSD, which you should install your operating system on, and you'll get incredibly fast boot times. You'll notice the added speed of the SSD way more than if you chose the faster cpu instead.

Chassis - You shouldn't get a gaming chassis, they're aimed to get more air going inside of them but are also louder because of that, and collect more dust because the added cutouts for fans.

Your list is empty.

I personally would not cut corners on the CPU and RAM to get an SSD that's not necessary on such a light budget. That doesn't make a whole lot of sense. If you already have a storage option like a second HD that you want to reuse then I'd say get the SSD - but do not trade space for speed - that's something that won't get you very far. I design systems for longevity and I do not want to cut corners on them for something that doesn't make sense on a build.

I use that same case on my work PC and it's great - I have the clear door and two LED fans on the top and sides and it looks very close to the European version, it's pretty sweet.

 

[azeem40]

For general purpose, CPU and RAM aren't as important. 2GB of RAM and a G630 is all you need.

 

[g-unit1111]

For general purpose, CPU and RAM aren't as important. 2GB of RAM and a G630 is all you need.

Yes but getting an SSD with no second storage option on a $500 build to me is kinda pointless.

 

[azeem40]

Oops, forgot about him not having secondary storage. Follow g-unit's build.

 

[doron]

LoL, fixed.

The g630 is more than the OP needs for his use, and by the time the g630 will be crap for such use, the Core i3 won't be too far from there. You can't future-proof everything, and you also need to consider the budget and the use case. 4 threads? Quicksync? I don't think the OP will ever use that. Other than that the difference is 300mhz, which isn't a lot.

This small sacrifice is worth the 2tb HDD and 120gb SSD, which I'm sure the OP will appreciate much more.

 

[doron]

Oops, forgot about him not having secondary storage. Follow g-unit's build.

Look again.

 

[azeem40]

Look again.

I did look, and in parts not required, HDD isn't listed.

 

[doron]

I did look, and in parts not required, HDD isn't listed.

If you open the link I provided, there is a secondary 2TB storage. It's in the $457 budget.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

the G630 will do what you need for this build. go with Doron's build

 

[corenimo]

thanks for all suggestions... i will think about these two builds

 

[neograndizer]

I agree, doron's build will suit the OP's needs.