dchee89

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Dec 7, 2012
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Hi all,

Decided to buy my first computer (which will also coincidentally be my first desktop PC...ever) and settled on a near $350 budget.

http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rjwh

It'll be used primarily for media editing and some gaming on less than max settings (LoL, Fallout 3, maybe CoD:BO2 if feasible)

Do I have all the bases covered? Or are there any other parts I need to budget for? I have a monitor and a copy of Windows 7, so don't have to worry about that.

Any other thoughts or advice for a noob would be greatly appreciated.
 

mrdowntownkiller

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Sep 14, 2012
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pentium will be so slow in media editing and gaming even casual ones , maybe the pentium is a good choice for web surfing pc and just office work , so it's bad choice.
at your budget choosing amd option is a smarter choice , because it's hard to fit like an i3 cpu to $350 build. so here what i came up with :)

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD Athlon II X3 450 3.2GHz Triple-Core Processor ($59.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: Asus M4N68T-M V2 Micro ATX AM3 Motherboard ($53.89 @ NCIX US)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Hitachi 500GB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($49.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Zotac GeForce GTX 550 Ti 1GB Video Card ($79.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Zalman Z9 ATX Mid Tower Case ($39.99 @ NCIX US)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 500W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($51.98 @ Newegg)
Total: $362.82
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2012-12-07 07:18 EST-0500)
 

songorocosongo

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Nov 6, 2011
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Also for any on the builds mentioned a 400w PSU is enough. So save a little and get this

$39.99 + $4.99 shipping: Antec NEO ECO 400C 400W Continuous Power ATX12V 2.3 / EPS12V 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029

and this

$13.99 and free shipping: Crucial Ballistix Sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model BLS2KIT2G3D1339DS1S00 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148541
 
Ok so here are my recommendations. $350 is a little difficult to work with and my items are all from Newegg, so you can sub a few items from other sites. I hit $450, but you get a little back from MIRs and you could get the HDD from another site, there weren't any real deals on Newegg for a 1TB drive, and I think with what you are doing you will want 1TB. I also don't think you want to go an APU (A8 or A10) if you are planning to go with a Pentium + dedicated card. That combination right there outperforms an APU. The APU shines when you are using onboard graphics. The APU's are just not that great in games, though they are usually playable on low settings.


CPU: Intel Pentium G860 Sandy Bridge 3.0GHz $74.99
For $10 extra bucks you can get a 3.0GHz CPU instead of 2.7. The 300MHz will help.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116405

Motherboard:
ASRock H77M LGA 1155 $69.99
I would recommend the H77 chipset over the B75. It has more features that you may want to use.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303

Memory: Crucial Ballistix 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory $16.99
I'd get this RAM, as already mentioned above. It is much better. I'd also suggest looking at 8GB if you are planning to work on large media files. Also, your motherboard doesn't allow for more than 2 DIMMS so you couldn't just add another set of 2x2GB. Just something to think about.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148488

Storage: Seagate Barracuda ST1000DM003 1TB 7200 RPM $79.99
It was the cheapest 7200RPM 1TB drive on Newegg. There are other good ones, like the Samsung F3 that I completely recommend. You could get this somewhere else for a good price. Newegg usually has at least one 1TB drive on a good sale, but not today.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840

Video Card: SAPPHIRE 100358L Radeon HD 7770 GHz Edition 1GB $119.99
I just do not think a 6670 is going to cut it for any modern gaming. the AMD 7770 would suit you FAR better for the little extra money. It also comes with a free Far Cry 3 game, which is nice.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814202011

Case: COOLER MASTER Elite 430 RC-430-KWN1 $39.99
Cases are totally personal preference. You could put it in a wooden box as long as it has a ground and ventilation. I saw the one you selected was on back order and not a deal on Newegg.This one was pretty cheap.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811119227

Power Supply: Antec VP-450 450W $38.99
While the PSU you selected is good. I think it is overkill for your system and your money is better spent on something else. This one is cheaper and will handle any lower end card.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371045

Total: $457.92 + $10.64 (shipping) - $25(MIR) = $443.56
 
Within the budget :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rkWx
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rkWx/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rkWx/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.53 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: MSI Z68A-G43 (G3) ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($78.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $354.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
 

samuelspark

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Sep 12, 2011
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The MSI board is terrible. Don't get it. My experiences with it have been horrible.
 
That board doesn't look to be a bad one, but there are alternatives :

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rl1w
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rl1w/by_merchant/
Benchmarks: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/rl1w/benchmarks/

CPU: Intel Pentium G860 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.53 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock H61M-DGS Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($44.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix sport 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1333 Memory ($13.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($64.99 @ NCIX US)
Video Card: Sapphire Radeon HD 7750 1GB Video Card ($78.99 @ NCIX US)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 430 ATX Mid Tower Case ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Antec 450W ATX12V Power Supply ($31.64 @ NCIX US)
Optical Drive: Lite-On iHAS124-04 DVD/CD Writer ($16.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $349.11
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)

http://www.asrock.com/mb/overview.asp?cat=CPU&Model=H61M-DGS

Supports any ivybridge cpu, asrock board.
 

samuelspark

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Sep 12, 2011
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IB is supported on any H61 all you need is a BIOS update. I have the MSI board. No voltage control, slow boot, etc.
 

samuelspark

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Sep 12, 2011
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IB is supported on any H61 all you need is a BIOS update. I have the MSI board. No voltage control, slow boot, etc.
 

dchee89

Honorable
Dec 7, 2012
3
0
10,510


I decided to go with this build for the sake of money. A friend also stepped up and gave me a PSU and CD/DVD drive, so that helps me save a bit more.

Thank you EVERYONE that responded; this community is really helpful!