In Need Of a New System, but budget is $500.00 total

[villarreal]

Hello everyone,

I have built my last two systems. The last one built in 12/2007, (that I currently use) was a MSI K9N SLI Platinum NVIDIA Socket AM2 ATX Motherboard with a AMD Athlon 64 X2 5400+ Processor 2.80GHz and Crucial 1024MB PC5400 DDR2 667MHz Memory x 2.

I need to build a new one. But I only have $500.00 total budget. Any recommendations?

I already have some SATA hard drives and SATA dvd drives. I also have in my current setup a PCI Creative Labs Sound Blaster X-Fi Pro and a Sapphire Radeon video card.

What do you recommend I use my $500.00 budget on? Any and all recommendations are welcome!

Thanks in advanced for your time and knowledge.

Rene

 

[villarreal]

I will not use this system for gaming, but I will be using it sometimes not all the time for video editing, dvd ripping and music recording. thx!

 

[o1die]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ImageGallery.aspx?ComboImage=combo1173328.jpg&ComboName=Intel%20Core%20i3-2105%20Dual-Core%20Processor%2c%20Biostar%20H61MGC%20H61%20Motherboard%2c%20G.Skill%208GB%20Memory%2c%20Seagate%201TB%20HDD%2c%20Rosewill%20MicroATX%20Case%20w%2f400W%20PSU%20SuperCombo&ItemList=N82E16800995121%2cN82E16811147099%2cN82E16813138332%2cN82E16819115090%2cN82E16820231422%2cN82E16822148697 $300 after rebate, good for the rest of today
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814127687 $117 after rebate shipped
windows 7 pro average price of $70 on craigslist

Total: about $487 after rebates

Option 2 if you already have an operating system and want to use onboard video:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157303 $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116504 $220 ($15 promo card; includes better Intel HD 4000 graphics)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820147096 $40
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129066 $45 after rebate and promo code, free shipping
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371029 $45 use old power cord; doesn't come with one
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823334009 $20

Amd package:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157333 $87 shipped
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113280 $130

As you can see, the prices are similar; with amd, you get better onboard video and have more $$ for the motherboard.

 

[villarreal]

Thank you for your resonse. I'll read on the links and see which ne is the best option. Thank you for your time and knowledge o1die.

 

[villarreal]

So the CPU's Intel/AMD are about the same in performance?

 

[o1die]

No. The 3570k is the best; the 2105 and trinity are similar, but trinity by amd has better onboard graphics. The first option gives you an ok board and cpu, with an outstanding video card. A 21% discount is pretty good; the quality is ok, and new hardrive is included. I chose the 3570k for the second option as it's resale value is outstanding and the Intel HD 4000 graphics are better than Intels slightly cheaper quad cores. The third option is amd's latest trinity cpus, which are more than adequate for anything that you will use your system for. The antec case and power supply are far better than some cheap no name brand power supplies.

 

[Aristotelian]

The general rule of thumb seems to be Intel is better for processing (faster CPUs) but AMD is better for gaming/graphics. Since you are doing video editing and ripping, that would seem to argue for Intel.

Here is a core i3 build that gets you an SSD for your operating system for $450 total. You could ditch the SSD if you need to purchase Windows and stay under $500.

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

CPU: Intel Core i3-3240 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($149.98 @ Outlet PC)
Motherboard: ASRock Z77M Micro ATX LGA1155 Motherboard ($97.55 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($45.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Mushkin Callisto Deluxe 60GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($64.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Antec Three Hundred Illusion ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 300W 80 PLUS Bronze Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($44.98 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $453.48
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-01-03 20:24 EST-0500)

 

[o1die]

Newegg has the regular 3570 for $200 in todays email promos, saving you $20 since you don't need to overclock. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130655&nm_mc=EMC-IGNEFL010413&cm_mmc=EMC-IGNEFL010413-_-EMC-010413-Index-_-IntelMotherboards-_-13130655-L010C
The msi board is a great deal at $55 shipped; register with newegg if you can.

 

[villarreal]

THank you both for the response. I've been looking at all options.

One question: THe 3570 has a HD Graphics 2500 and the 3570K has the HD Graphics 4000. Would I loose much on the Graphics if I went with the HD 2500 option?

 

[o1die]

You'd lose a little, but I've never tried Intel's newer onboard graphics, only the 2000, which I didn't like. The 3d option was limited in an old golf game I play, so I got a 210 video card with fanless heatsink for 27 cents after rebate at frys. It works for me. Basically, all the options I gave you would do what you need. You can spend a little more on the cpu, motherboard, or video card. Even the shellshocker special that ran yesterday would have been adequate, and given you alot of room for a decent video card.

 

[villarreal]

I appreciate all your help o1die. I'm leaning towards the Intel 3570K, but I have not made a final desicion yet. But I like what I see at this point.

I may have more questions though.

Thanks again!

 

[DJRWolf]

Here is my 2 cent:

I'm going on your going to reuse HDD(s), optical dive(s), case, and power supply. Total build prices after any rebates.

Intel build: $476 (with $15 video card)
i5-3570k CPU
ASRock Extreme 4 Z77 Motherboard
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) PC1600
ZALMAN CNPS9500A-LED 92mm 2 Ball CPU Cooler
XFX One ON-XFX1-STD2 Radeon HD 5450 Video Card (optional)

AMD build: $374
A10-5800k
ASRock Pro4 FM2 A75 Motherboard
G.SKILL Ripjaws X Series 16GB (2 x 8GB) PC1600
SilverStone Heligon HE01 CPU Cooler