New PC for a newbie

Donny84

Donny84

Donny84

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Joined
6 Mar 2013
Posts
286
Hi guys,
My dad has asked me to build him a new PC after his 7 yr old piece of crap has finally run it's course.

He's asked me to build it, which is fine, but, I have no clue in regards to what parts would be best etc. I do however have the VERY basic knowledge of putting the parts together.

Anyway, enough blabbering on. This is what he would like...

- Budget of £400 max (preferably as low as possible, hes a stingy git)
- The PC will not be used for gaming, just general internet browsing, youtube watching, storing music/movies/photos
- Doesn't need windows or a monitor (edit)
- He would like some half decent speakers for music
- He wants a CD writer
- Something a bit future-proof so I can upgrade it in a few years instead having to buy a whole new one.


I know it's not the most glamorous/fun PC to help me with, but I would be very grateful for any help.

Regards,
Gareth
 
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Hi Gareth,

YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Core i3-4150 3.50GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £92.99
1 x Seagate Barracuda 2TB 7200RPM SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST2000DM001) HDD £62.99
1 x TeamGroup Elite Black 8GB (2x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C11 1600MHz Dual Channel Kit (TPKD38G1600HC11DC01) £53.99
1 x SK Hynix 128GB SSD SH910A SATA 6Gb/s - Retail (HFS128G32MNB-2201A) £49.99
1 x Asus H81M-PLUS Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £40.99
1 x EVGA 430W 80 Plus Power Supply (100-W1-0430-KR) £31.99
1 x Raijintek Arcadia Mid Tower USB 3.0 Case - Black £24.95
1 x Microlab M113 2.1 24W Speakers £19.99
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
Total : £401.47 (includes shipping : £8.00).




2.128TB of storage, including SSD for OS/Programs.

Some options:

For the stated uses, there's no need for 8GB memory. 4GB would do. I've put in 8GB because the £400 budget allows it and it's always nice to have it for just in case the uses change a bit. But that's something you can cut on.

YOUR BASKET
1 x Kingston HyperX Fury Black 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-12800C10 1600MHz Single Channel Kit (HX316C10FB/4) £32.99




The SSD can be ditched, but the system won't feel as snappy.

If he doesn't really need 2TB of storage, then change to a 1TB drive.

Doing one or some of the above can make the build cheaper, or free up room for a better processor*/speakers for instance.

* An i3 will be perfectly fine for his needs though.

Hope this helps get ideas flowing. ;)
 
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This seems good enough to me unless anyone has got any tweaks? I probably would go with the 4GB RAM though. Can't see why he would ever use 8gb.

Thanks a lot dude :)
 
For the described use any current generation CPU will do, so if you need to go cheaper, you can go all the way down to Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz (Haswell) Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail which could safe £50.

I'd do that well before dropping the SSD, and would try to keep the 8GB in, as that will future proof it better: In 3 years I would not expect to upgrade anything but an external GPU, Storage or Optical for reasonable money.
 
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It would fit well within 30 , But you'd only safe around £10 for a 60 GB model. Would not recommend that to be honest as it is not great value for money, and will be a bit too restrictive in a few years.
 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Kingston HyperX 8GB (2x4GB) PC3-17100C11 2133MHz Dual Channel Kit - Black/Gold (HX21C11BGK2/8-OC) £67.99
1 x SuperFlower Golden Green HX 550W "80 Plus Gold" Power Supply - Black £53.99
1 x Asus A88XM-A AMD A88X Chipset (Socket FM2+) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £52.99
1 x MicroLab SOLO1C 60W Bookshelf Stereo Speakers - Dark Wood Finish £49.99
1 x Crucial M500 120GB SATA 6Gb/s Solid State Hard Drive - (CT120M500SSD1) £47.99
1 x AMD A6-6400K 3.90GHz (Socket FM2) APU Richland Dual Core Processor (AD640KOKHLBOX) £47.99
1 x Western Digital Caviar Green 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (WD10EZRX) **SINGLE PLATTER** HDD £41.95
1 x Zalman T3 Micro -ATX Case USB 3.0 - Black £20.99
1 x Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £14.99
Total : £415.37 (includes shipping : £13.75).

 
YOUR BASKET
1 x Intel Pentium K Anniversary G3258 Socket LGA1150 Processor - Retail £55.99
1 x Crucial MX100 128GB SATA 2.5” 7mm SSD + 9.5mm Adapter (CT128MX100SSD1) £54.98
1 x Seagate Barracuda 7200RPM 1TB SATA 6Gb/s 64MB Cache - OEM (ST1000DM003) HDD £39.95
1 x Gigabyte H81M-S2PV Intel H81 (Socket 1150) DDR3 Micro ATX Motherboard £39.95
1 x GeIL Black Dragon 4GB (1x4GB) DDR3 PC3-10666C9 1333MHz Single Module (GD34GB1333C9SC) £31.99
1 x SuperFlower Amazon 300W "80 Plus Bronze" Power Supply £31.99
1 x Raijintek Arcadia Mid Tower USB 3.0 Case - Black £24.95
1 x Cherry Black CyMotion Expert (USB/PS2) Keyboard - Black £19.99
1 x Microlab M113 2.1 24W Speakers £19.99
1 x LG GH24NSB0 24x DVD±RW SATA ReWriter (Black) - OEM £13.99
1 x Gigabyte M6800 1600DPI Gaming Mouse £7.79
Total : £351.17 (includes shipping : £8.00).



£350 including the mouse and keyboard & an SSD and HDD.
Not sure why people are speccing 8GB of RAM and powerful PSU's.

Your dad will be pleased, £50 saving as well.
 
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@ThaReaperGuy
That's more like it dude! I think the price will make him happier than the actual performance, lol.

So this will be perfectly good for what he will be using it for?
 
Ok, so I was just about to purchase TheReaperGuys basket suggestion and I had a look at the prebuilt office PC's. I was just wondering, is TheReaperGuy's basket better than the prebuilt ones for under £400?
 
Won't be able to use the USB 3.0 port provided on the "Raijintek USB 3.0 case" with that motherboard. Get the Asus H81M-PLUS or the Gigabyte H81M-D2V if you'd like to be able to use it. They're only a pound or so more.
 
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