# Grandpa/Grandson low budget build advise please



## Hal24 (Jan 2, 2012)

Hello friends,

Below is a list of parts for a low budget PC that grandpa and grandson hope to build. Could you please take a look and see if the parts are suitable for  a low end PC for general duties around the house? Light video games, internet browsing, MS Flight/Train simulator. 
NO on line gaming, movie downloads, SLI/XF, etc.
We raided our piggy banks and have about  $700 to spend.
We thank you for any help and assistance.

Silverstone Strider Essential ST50F-ES 500W Power Supply ATX 24PIN 120MM Fan 34A 80+ Black
Antec Sonata III Black ATX 16IN Mid Tower Quiet Case 3X5.25 2X3.5 4X3.5IN 500W 120MM Fan
Samsung SH-222AL 22X DVD Writer SATA Lightscribe OEM
ASUS Radeon HD 6670 810MHZ 1GB 4GHZ DDR5 DVI HDMI DisplayPort DirectX 11 PCI-E Video Card
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline Stiletto 8GB 2X4GB PC3-10666 DDR3-1333 9-9-9-24 Dual Channel Memory Kit
MSI H61MA-E35 (B3) H61 mATX LGA1155 DDR3 1PCI-E16 2PCI-E1 SATA3 USB3 HDMI DVI VGA Motherboard
Intel Pentium Dual Core G850 Processor LGA1155 2.9GHZ 3MB Retail Box
Western Digital WD Caviar Blue 250GB SATA 6GB/S 7200RPM 16MB Cache 3.5IN Internal Hard Drive OEM
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Edition 64BIT SP1 DVD OEM

Grandpa


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## OOZMAN (Jan 2, 2012)

Looks pretty good but I'd go for a better processor, and less RAM. Possibly a better video card and you might even be able to skimp on the PSU a bit (400-450W)


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## TheLaughingMan (Jan 2, 2012)

For cheap PC build for general use and minor gaming you are better off with an AMD APU, 4 GB of RAM at 1866 MHz. You should also consider getting a much cheaper case like a Nzxt Source 210 Elite or BitFenix Outlaw. You could also get away with a 450W PSU or 400W (if you stick with the IGP on an APU).

All and all you could shave around $100 buck or more out of your current build.


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## micropage7 (Jan 2, 2012)

you can take xigmatek asgard example
but if you wanna low erase the graphic card, use onboard card
if you say its for gaming, what type and what resolution you are on


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## Widjaja (Jan 2, 2012)

What sort of recommended system requirements are needed to play the mentioned games?

Once the recommended system requirements are recognized then there will be a base on what to start the performance tier of the machine from.

Also based on the resolution of the monitor as mentioned.


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## OneMoar (Jan 2, 2012)

Hal24 said:


> Hello friends,
> 
> Below is a list of parts for a low budget PC that grandpa and grandson hope to build. Could you please take a look and see if the parts are suitable for  a low end PC for general duties around the house? Light video games, internet browsing, MS Flight/Train simulator.
> NO on line gaming, movie downloads, SLI/XF, etc.
> ...



no just NO
epic waste of money for outdated parts


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## Deleted member 24505 (Jan 2, 2012)

1. its for a low budget pc guys, why should he spend more?
2. them intel gxxx cpu's are pretty good for a budget cpu, they are faster than a c2d.

I thinks that's a fine build for what he's going to use it for.


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## OneMoar (Jan 2, 2012)

tigger said:


> 1. its for a low budget pc guys, why should he spend more?
> 2. them intel gxxx cpu's are pretty good for a budget cpu, they are faster than a c2d.
> 
> I thinks that's a fine build for what he's going to use it for.



NO give me anouther 30 seconds


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## OneMoar (Jan 2, 2012)

ffffk


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## ViperXTR (Jan 2, 2012)

OneMoar said:


> ffffk


Hmm, this spec is no better than the one posted D:


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## OneMoar (Jan 2, 2012)

sorry you will need to settle for a screenshot of the cart neweggs public lists are broken atm
http://cl.ly/D0WK
that will run circles around that gawd awe-full old intel build the op suggested
total is 697.44 SHIPPED you could knock 40 or 50 bucks off the price if you swap in some cheaper stuff ..
and if you step up another 40 or 50 bucks you have the option to go with a AMD phenom II but for what its getting used for I doubt its worth it 

if the machine is gonna do ANY kind of gaming light or otherwise a quad core cpu is a must even if its just playing angry birds ....
sims especially will benefit  from the extra cores
anouther option would be something APU based with a 6650 crossfired with the apu ....
heres a screenshot of something APU based
http://cl.ly/D0T0
you *could* forget the 6670 and still be ok graphics power wise ... but no battle field 3 for you ><
the APUS really shine with 1866+ ddr3 ram


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## OOZMAN (Jan 2, 2012)

OneMoar said:


> sorry you will need to settle for a screenshot of the cart neweggs public lists are broken atm
> http://cl.ly/D0WK
> that will run circles around that gawd awe-full old intel build the op suggested
> total is 697.44 SHIPPED you could knock 40 or 50 bucks off the price if you swap in some cheaper stuff ..
> ...



Why did you include aftermarket CPU coolers? He doesn't sound like he'd be doing any overclocking. And I still think 8GB is overkill. Get rid of those two things and increase HDD (250gb? seriously?) and possibly get a better GPU for the same money.


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## OneMoar (Jan 2, 2012)

250gb is within 10 bucks of a the 120
and the after market cooler is simply because ....
and for the apu build  the 6670 is the fastest GPU you can get thats compatable with the on-chip gpu for crossfire


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## OOZMAN (Jan 2, 2012)

OneMoar said:


> 250gb is within 10 bucks of a the 120
> and the after market cooler is simply because ....
> and for the apu build  the 6670 is the fastest GPU you can get thats compatable with the on-chip gpu for crossfire



I meant increasing the size of the HDD.


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## cdawall (Jan 2, 2012)

Games now will play fine on the APU's GPU in the future you could always snag a higher end GPU if gaming needs dictate it. As it sits its not much slower than the 6670 you spec'd







Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, L...
ASUS 24X DVD Burner - Bulk 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X...
Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel...
HITACHI Deskstar 7K1000.D HDS721075DLE630 (0F13179...
Wintec One 8GB (2 x 4GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1...
Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium SP1 64-bit - Oper...


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## TheLaughingMan (Jan 2, 2012)

I was thinking some more like this totalling $606:

The Build

And you can get the mobo + APU in a combo here to shave off another $13: Combo APU deal


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## Norton (Jan 2, 2012)

TheLaughingMan said:


> I was thinking some more like this totalling $606:
> 
> The Build
> 
> And you can get the mobo + APU in a combo here to shave off another $13: Combo APU deal



That's a nice build- can save a few $$$ if you use 2x2GB of ram. I ordered the white Source 210 from the Egg over the weekend, should have it tomorrow- reviews have been pretty good on these (including one here at TPU)

@Laughing Man- tried to respond to your visitor message but couldn't do so?


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## twicksisted (Jan 2, 2012)

why is everyone reccommending 8gb of ram for a budget build? 4gb is cheaper and for a budget build totally fine even for gaming


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## OneMoar (Jan 2, 2012)

twicksisted said:


> why is everyone reccommending 8gb of ram for a budget build? 4gb is cheaper and for a budget build totally fine even for gaming



because they don't know any better
and don't use rosewill cases there complete and utter junk and the psu's they give you with the case are a fire-hazzard ....


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## Delta6326 (Jan 3, 2012)

This will be able to handle anything for you. $580
That's the fastest DVD drive on newegg.


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## TheLaughingMan (Jan 3, 2012)

twicksisted said:


> why is everyone reccommending 8gb of ram for a budget build? 4gb is cheaper and for a budget build totally fine even for gaming



Cause 8 GB of RAM is still cheap and you have to share the RAM with the IGP. So I expected 1 GB to be used as VRAM. And Windows 7 is a little smoother and faster with 8 GB of RAM in my experience.



OneMoar said:


> because they don't know any better
> and don't use rosewill cases there complete and utter junk and the psu's they give you with the case are a fire-hazzard ....



I know plenty better. Some of the cheap $10 to $35 Rosewill cases are indeed crap, but not all of them. And those PSUs are hit or miss. I had an old 380W throw away unit that lasted me several months in a friends rig.


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## cdawall (Jan 3, 2012)

twicksisted said:


> why is everyone reccommending 8gb of ram for a budget build? 4gb is cheaper and for a budget build totally fine even for gaming



Because its a huge $40 for 8GB why wouldn't you spend an extra $15 on twice the ram? 



OneMoar said:


> because they don't know any better
> and don't use rosewill cases there complete and utter junk and the psu's they give you with the case are a fire-hazzard ....



Depends entirely on the model there have been a good number of tests showing the opposite.


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## twicksisted (Jan 3, 2012)

Seriously guys lets look at the original question being put to us here... they are looking for a "budget" PC capable of "light" gaming with something like a 6670 gfx card... and you are coming up with 8GB of system memory is necessary?

4GB is plenty and even though 8GB is cheap thesedays this is a budget system...a lot of stuff is cheap doesnt mean you should buy it or actually need it 

EDIT: look no offense, 8gb is better than 4gb but unless they will be running multiple gfx cards, VMware or high performance processors on a 64bit operating system 8GB is overkill and silly for a budget build


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## cdawall (Jan 3, 2012)

twicksisted said:


> Seriously guys lets look at the original question being put to us here... they are looking for a "budget" PC capable of "light" gaming with something like a 6670 gfx card... and you are coming up with 8GB of system memory is necessary?
> 
> 4GB is plenty and even though 8GB is cheap thesedays this is a budget system...a lot of stuff is cheap doesnt mean you should buy it or actually need it
> 
> EDIT: look no offense, 8gb is better than 4gb but unless they will be running multiple gfx cards, VMware or high performance processors on a 64bit operating system 8GB is overkill and silly for a budget build



$700 budget and he started with a 250GB harddrive. I would personally take double the ram over minor CPU change. The boards are all more or less the same and with the build I wnet with he still has room for a vga. In fact with his budget

PowerColor AX6670 1GBK3-H Radeon HD 6670 1GB 128-b...

that fits in there just fine and should function for crossfire with the APU...


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## afw (Jan 3, 2012)

Great Combo for $540 ... 

*Corsair Carbide Series 400R* Graphite grey and black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case (Model:400R)-$99.99
ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS *AM3+* AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (Model:M5A78L-M LX PLUS)-$64.99
SAPPHIRE 100315L Radeon *HD 6850* 1GB 256-bit GDDR5 PCI Express 2.1 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFireX Support Video Card with Eyefinity (Model:100315L)-$149.99
*CORSAIR Builder Series CX500 V2 500W* ATX12V v2.3 80 PLUS Certified Active PFC Power Supply (Model:CMPSU-500CXV2)-$59.99
*AMD FX-4100 Zambezi 3.6GHz *(3.8GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W Quad-Core Desktop Processor FD4100WMGUSBX (Model:FD4100WMGUSBX)-$119.99
*CORSAIR Vengeance 4GB* (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 Desktop Memory Model CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9 (Model:CMZ4GX3M2A1600C9)-$32.99
Seagate Barracuda ST500DM002 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive (Model:ST500DM002)-$84.99

Combined Total: 	$612.93
Combo Discounts: -$71.97
*Combo Price: 	$540.96*


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## ViperXTR (Jan 3, 2012)

i wonder if grandpa and grandson are absorbing any of this


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## purecain (Jan 3, 2012)

thelaughingman got it right when he mentioned Liano... i've been able to shave £100 of my lowest end build and the graphics are pretty impressive... 

you cant get anywhere near the performance of amd's apu's so please take my advice and go down that route... 
or fear buyers remorse when your low end system behaves like one... good luck with your build...


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## OOZMAN (Jan 3, 2012)

TheLaughingMan said:


> Cause 8 GB of RAM is still cheap and *you have to share the RAM with the IGP*. So I expected 1 GB to be used as VRAM. And Windows 7 is a little smoother and faster with 8 GB of RAM in my experience.



No you do not.



afw said:


> Great Combo for $540 ...
> 
> *Corsair Carbide Series 400R* Graphite grey and black Steel / Plastic ATX Mid Tower Gaming Case (Model:400R)-$99.99
> ASUS M5A78L-M LX PLUS *AM3+* AMD 760G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard (Model:M5A78L-M LX PLUS)-$64.99
> ...



I'd take this over the APU any day. I own an A8-3850 by the way. Yeah the on board graphics are okay but it's got no balls (processing power), which is more important for this build. Plus the 6850 is better anyway is it not? 

Another point: The AM3+ socket has upgrade potential (8 core Piledriver), while the FM1 is gonna be phased out pretty quickly. 

Although it's unlikely the OP will be overclocking, the FX-4100 oc's like a beast. 4.7 on stock cooling, I've heard. 

ALL ELSE ASIDE, this is a cheaper build, and plenty good enough for what the OP wants. 

So there we go, started at $700 and ended at $540 for a much better system. Welcome to TPU. This is what this site is for.


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## cdawall (Jan 3, 2012)

You do know that the FX-4100 is slower than the A8-3850. I also don't see how you see them as slow? Its a 2.9ghz Athlon II X4 with integrated graphics and a couple of tweaks to improve performance.


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 3, 2012)

cdawall said:


> You do know that the FX-4100 is slower than the A8-3850. I also don't see how you see them as slow? Its a 2.9ghz Athlon II X4 with integrated graphics and a couple of tweaks to improve performance.



Just adding some info; I see the FX4100 as a dual core with AMD's equivalent of hyperthreading, not as a quad. Tat is a very nice combo and not to mention could potentially save another $25 with the MIR.


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## cdawall (Jan 3, 2012)

JrRacinFan said:


> Just adding some info; I see the FX4100 as a dual core with AMD's equivalent of hyperthreading, not as a quad. Tat is a very nice combo and not to mention could potentially save another $25 with the MIR.



The major downsides I see with it are the outdated 760G motherboard, FX4100, and smaller HDD than the build I posted. Doesn't matter how soon FM1 dies 760G is on the same chopping block so its a mute point from that argument. Upgrade those parts to match the APU build and the price is similar or downgrade the APU build and you can quite easily add a 6850.


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 3, 2012)

In all honesty, it would be better to just pay the extra 60$ and get a Intel Core i5-2300/2400 Sandy Bridge and get much better performance.


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## cdawall (Jan 3, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> In all honesty, it would be better to just pay the extra 60$ and get a Intel Core i5-2300/2400 Sandy Bridge and get much better performance.



In what internet browsing? $60 is the difference between a midrange and low end video card seems like money better spent to me since when you get to gaming and general usage the difference isn't noticeable. I for some reason don't see this being an encoding station or similar you know were that performance would make a difference.


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## JrRacinFan (Jan 3, 2012)

Oooh here we go

PSU $33
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=129923

875k+P55 $250
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=157923

Xclio Touch $70
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=136261

A couple 250GB hdd's $25 ea.
http://www.techpowerup.com/forums/showthread.php?t=121253

Geil 2x2GB $25 (Not pretty cosmetically but would work)
GeIL Enhance CORSA 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRA...

HD6750 $107
HIS H675F1GD Radeon HD 6750 1GB 128-bit GDDR5 PCI ...

DVD Burner
Sony Optiarc CD/DVD Burner 24X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X...


If Im missing any parts let me know.


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## cdawall (Jan 3, 2012)

Just under the $700 budget jumping to a more powerful processor, motherboard will full future support and a decent gaming card. Not to mention keeping 8GB of ram and a big HDD.

Asus M5A79+Windows 64 bit
AMD Phenom II X4 970BE
Wintec ONE 8GB
PowerColour HD6770
Corsair CX430
HEC 63R3BB
Lite-on DVD-RW
Hitachi 750GB

Total $688.91


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## TheLaughingMan (Jan 3, 2012)

OOZMAN said:


> No you do not.
> 
> I'd take this over the APU any day. I own an A8-3850 by the way. Yeah the on board graphics are okay but it's got no balls (processing power), which is more important for this build. Plus the 6850 is better anyway is it not?
> 
> ...



Huh? I have had the A6-3650, A8-3850, FX-8150, Phenom II 1100T, Phenom II 955, etc. etc. While you build is not bad, this is a computer for *grandpa and grandson* as the title of the thread states. I don't think they will be too concerned about upgrade paths and phasing out sockets.

You should really re-read his original post as the most taxing thing this system will do for the next few years is run Train Sim or something to that effect. With a game with a large scale map more RAM will be helpful.

Considering how well the 6550D IGP plays Resident Evil 5 and Portal 2, I don't think Sim anything will be an issue. In all the other stuff, the A8 single thread performance is better than the FX-4100 as Cdawall already stated.


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## Athlon2K15 (Jan 3, 2012)

You guy should be ashamed of yourself,besides the few people that actually helped the OP (highway) Its turned into a bunch of teenagers bickering about setups,all he wanted to know is if the system he described was good enough for what he wants to do.:shadedshu


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## brandonwh64 (Jan 3, 2012)

maybe he should just pickup a used 775 combo for under 100$ and be done with it. This is why I hate "build/need build help" threads because everyone has an opinion and no one is ever right. More input from the grandpa would be nice such as future uses and personal opinions on what people have already posted in terms of builds.


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## Norton (Jan 3, 2012)

brandonwh64 said:


> maybe he should just pickup a used 775 combo for under 100$ and be done with it. This is why I hate "build/need build help" threads because everyone has an opinion and no one is ever right. *More input from the grandpa would be nice such as future uses and personal opinions on what people have already posted in terms of builds.*




^^ This

Is Grandpa even watching? This thread seems to have turned into a big mess about sockets, ram, etc, etc... If I started this thread, I would be completely confused by now 

Just saying


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## TheLaughingMan (Jan 3, 2012)

Norton said:


> [/B]
> 
> ^^ This
> 
> ...



You are new here. I can clarify.

*ahem*
Guy 1: You budget is a little to generous. Here is how you can save money.
Guy 2: That is good my friend, but I do believe this is slightly better.
Guy 1: I agree. Good show.
Guy 3: My E-Penis is bigger than your E-Penis. Look at me wave it around! Whoooooo!
Guy 4: I didn't read anything before my post and I am not sure what is going on, but this is what I would build for me if I only spent $700 on my PC.
Guy 3: PENIS!!!!!!
Guy 1 and Guy 2: And on that note I will stop posting in this thread and go elsewhere on the forums.

P.S. You should follow Guy 1 and 2 example. There is enough info. on the first page to help this guy. Really any of those configurations is fine for what he needs. He can debate the ups and downs for himself.


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## OOZMAN (Jan 3, 2012)

AthlonX2 said:


> You guy should be ashamed of yourself,besides the few people that actually helped the OP (highway) Its turned into a bunch of teenagers bickering about setups,all he wanted to know is if the system he described was good enough for what he wants to do.:shadedshu



Yeah coz you're helping bro.


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## Norton (Jan 3, 2012)

TheLaughingMan said:


> You are new here. I can clarify.
> 
> *ahem*
> Guy 1: You budget is a little to generous. Here is how you can save money.
> ...



Count me in as a Guy #1/Guy #2.... I've been following along on this forum long enough to know it doesn't need any more Guy #3 & #4's


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## Hal24 (Jan 3, 2012)

Hello from the frozen North!
Wow, what just happened? I am sure there are many nuggets of wisdom in all of this.
Thanks to all who took time to contribute.
Grandpa


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## digibucc (Jan 3, 2012)

Hal24 said:


> Hello from the frozen North!
> Wow, what just happened? I am sure there are many nuggets of wisdom in all of this.
> Thanks to all who took time to contribute.
> Grandpa



lol you can expect that at TPU. we start by answering the question asked, and then move on to hijack their thread and discuss it in detail. computer geeks huh 

how did it turn out?


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