$200-$300 Ready-To-Go Build Help

[Logan Weaver]

Approximate Purchase Date: This Month


Budget Range: $200-$300 (As little as possible please. Selling laptop to build this.)


System Usage from Most to Least Important: Flight Simulator, surfing the web, web hosting (ie. using WAMP), Skype, Microsoft Office, whatever else people use a desktop for


Parts Not Required: Mouse, keyboard, display, speakers.


Preferred Website(s) for Parts: newegg.com, but only because I have scrolled through it before. Other trusted sites welcome!


Country: United States Of 'Merica


Parts Preferences: I like Intel, only because I have never had anything else for processors, but since I am a noob, I'm open. I've heard of AMD and nVidia, so like I said I'm open


Overclocking: Maybe, but leaning towards no.


SLI or Crossfire: They are both GPUs aren't they? Either one unless I hear poorly about one of them!


Monitor Resolution: I already have a monitor so I don't believe I need to fill this spot out?


Additional Comments: I'd like to be able to see the components only cause I like seeing the technicality of a PC and it's parts. I also like lit PCs, but I could always do that myself so please leave it out if it puts me near/over $300. I'm a cheapskate sometimes Oh and of course water cooling if it's possible. Water cooling before lighting of course.

Thanks for your help all! Very excited to see what comes from this! Been wanting to do this for a long time!

 

[MtthewGervasi]

Have you though about a mini itx build, built one for my grandparents and it came without a GPU around $230

 

[tiny voices]

No chance are you getting water cooling on this budget, nor will you need it for the parts you can afford.

 

[MtthewGervasi]

No chance are you getting water cooling on this budget, nor will you need it for the parts you can afford.

Do you think he needs it if he is not going to overclock?

 

[tiny voices]

He said he wanted it clearly in the first post. I was just explaining it won't happen.

 

[MtthewGervasi]

He said he wanted it clearly in the first post. I was just explaining it won't happen.

he said he may not and it would be nice but even if he could afford it, if he is not going to overclock which he also said in the first post he more than likely wont, the water cooling is pointless.

 

[tiny voices]

I agree the watercooling is pointless. I was simply explaining this to him because he CLEARLY said he wanted it.

"Oh and of course water cooling if it's possible. Water cooling before lighting of course. " is his direct quote. Sounds like he wants it for sure.

 

[jvapr27]

MtthewGervasi, i think that is what tiny voices meant. That bascially, for the parts he can afford in this budget, water cooling is not even needed.

Very low budget. If you want to go build something substantial, I would save another 200-300 dollars.

BTW, Crossfire/SLI are not GPUs but a piece of technology used by GPUs. Basically it is a bridge that allows you to hook up more than one video card together. AMD calls theirs Crossfire and Nvidia calls theirs SLI.

If you want to be cheap, Intel is not always the way to go. AMD offers much cheaper stuff but considering the value, it may be negligible. AMD stuff is cheaper but often b/c it is slower and uses more energy, produces more heat. As far as CPU goes, Intel is still pretty much what most perfer. For the money AMD provides good competitors at lower prices.

Video cards, Intel really should not be an option here if you want to do gaming. In a laptop maybe, in a desktop, you should get a discrete graphics card. Either Nvidia or AMD. Many fan clubs for both. Either one will be better than Intel integrated video for now.

 

[MtthewGervasi]

I agree the watercooling is pointless. I was simply explaining this to him because he CLEARLY said he wanted it.

"Oh and of course water cooling if it's possible. Water cooling before lighting of course. " is his direct quote. Sounds like he wants it for sure.

anyway lets get back to the post, tired of debates tonight, do you think a mini itx could suit him?

 

[tiny voices]

No Mini ITX builds are expensive for the hardware you get. Prebuilt Mini ITX builds are a bad choice here for sure as they offer no real upgrade path and won;t play FSX as OP wants within his budget.

 

[Logan Weaver]

I'm open to going up to $400 if necessary to make it a good desktop. It doesn't have to be the perfect desktop on the first build. I can always change out parts as the paychecks come in

Like I said I'm totally open to suggestions on the parts. I don't know much about the building of the computers, so I'd be happy to be introduced to new products from AMD if they are as good as you say.

I really just would like to be able to build my own. It doesn't have to have crazy amazing graphics, I'm more worried about the speed of the system, and then the graphics. Flight Sim doesn't have to look like it was shot in 4k

I'm going to look into Mini ITX, even though you said they are expensive, just to see if it would end up being a better investment in the long run.

Not looking for debates in this thread, looking for component lists / recommendations

*Edit* After reading about ITX, makes me have to ask.... What about Micro ATX? Seems like that would be a better choice over ITX... Read this article to get some of my info : http://www.maximumpc.com/head-2-head-mini-itx-vs-microatx-systems2015/

Thanks!

 

[tiny voices]

mITX is a WORSE investment for the long run. MUCH less upgrade ability. Forget mITX. You will be building a standard ATX PC.

 

[tiny voices]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-4130 3.4GHz Dual-Core Processor ($106.42 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Asus H81M-E Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($45.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Mushkin Silverline 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($43.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: MSI GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Video Card ($92.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair 200R ATX Mid Tower Case ($49.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($39.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $422.36
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 14:37 EDT-0400

This is what you want to do. We could go a bit cheaperon the GPU if need be, but this is an amazing PC for your needs

 

[Logan Weaver]

Looks great tiny! I did some picking of my own.... What do you think of this?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mczMNG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mczMNG/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6200 3.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler ($17.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 630 2GB Video Card ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Wired Network Adapter: TP-Link TG-3468 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter ($11.66 @ Newegg)
Total: $502.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 15:01 EDT-0400

Just started playing around with it xD I'd be willing to go this high if it was a good system that would last...

What would be your recommended setup if you lowered that GPU? What is GPU again? xD Isn't that the video card? Goes to show how much of a noob I am

Also what about the Compatibility note at the bottom. has USB3.0 ports but the board doesn't have the 3.0 reader

 

[icegod]

Looks great tiny! I did some picking of my own.... What do you think of this?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mczMNG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mczMNG/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6200 3.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler ($17.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 630 2GB Video Card ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Wired Network Adapter: TP-Link TG-3468 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter ($11.66 @ Newegg)
Total: $502.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 15:01 EDT-0400

Just started playing around with it xD I'd be willing to go this high if it was a good system that would last...

What would be your recommended setup if you lowered that GPU? What is GPU again? xD Isn't that the video card? Goes to show how much of a noob I am

Also what about the Compatibility note at the bottom. has USB3.0 ports but the board doesn't have the 3.0 reader

There are a lot of problems in your build mate, let us help you instead

I didnt understood one thing, will you be gaming on this computer or not?

 

[tiny voices]

Looks great tiny! I did some picking of my own.... What do you think of this?

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mczMNG
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/mczMNG/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD FX-6200 3.8GHz 6-Core Processor ($104.99 @ SuperBiiz)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master DK9-7E52A-0L-GP CPU Cooler ($17.15 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock 970 Pro3 R2.0 ATX AM3+ Motherboard ($56.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($44.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Video Card: Asus GeForce GT 630 2GB Video Card ($54.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($59.98 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair CX 430W 80+ Bronze Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($26.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: LG WH14NS40 Blu-Ray/DVD/CD Writer ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Sound Card: Asus Xonar DG 24-bit 96 KHz Sound Card ($26.97 @ Newegg)
Wired Network Adapter: TP-Link TG-3468 10/100/1000 Mbps PCI-Express x1 Network Adapter ($11.66 @ Newegg)
Total: $502.68
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 15:01 EDT-0400

Just started playing around with it xD I'd be willing to go this high if it was a good system that would last...

What would be your recommended setup if you lowered that GPU? What is GPU again? xD Isn't that the video card? Goes to show how much of a noob I am

Also what about the Compatibility note at the bottom. has USB3.0 ports but the board doesn't have the 3.0 reader

Problems:
CPU is OLD AND SLOW
Cooler is not worth it's price
GPU is too low end to be worth anyting.
PSU is crap. this is the single most important part of a PC.
Sound card is a waste and isn;t better than motherboard audio.
Every motherboard has ethernet built in. Drop the card/ it is completely pointless.

This is a really awful build for your needs. Go with what I posted.

 

[Logan Weaver]

Well I'm glad I have you guys then! I'll be going with tiny's recommendations then Will probably run it past my uncle (computer programmer) and see what he thinks of it just for kicks. Thanks for the help guys! Also tiny, would the case I have in my list work with what you gave me? I think the case looks cool

 

[tiny voices]

Yes that case will be fine.

Glad to be able to help.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

here is a build that will work for about your original budget:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD Athlon X4 860K 3.7GHz Quad-Core Processor ($69.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($38.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Memory: Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($33.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Storage: Hitachi Deskstar 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($38.95 @ Amazon)
Video Card: MSI Radeon R7 250X 1GB Video Card ($82.98 @ Newegg)
Case: Thermaltake VL80001W2Z ATX Mid Tower Case ($22.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $307.88
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-08-07 16:35 EDT-0400

this should run Flight Simulator X on high settings, and more modern games like War Thunder or World of Warplanes on medium.

 

[tiny voices]

Change that CX to an Antec VP-450 and that is a good choice as well.

 

[ScrewySqrl]

I've used the CX PSU's in my own build...its 4 years old and working fine still, and that was when it didn't *quite* make Bronze

Johnny Guru liked them back then. I disagree that they are 'tier 4' and more liek a tier 3. They've been quite reliable for me for years.

 

[tiny voices]

The older CX units were BETTER quality than the newest ones are.

I would never touch a new one.

An Antec VP-450 would be my choice for sure.

 

[Logan Weaver]

The older CX units were BETTER quality than the newest ones are.

I would never touch a new one.

An Antec VP-450 would be my choice for sure.

Any chance you could suggest a 3 monitor video card that would be good for the build I selected from your answer?

 

[tiny voices]

The video card in my build supports 3 monitors.

I assume you mean only gaming on one and just using the other two for stuff like internet and things. If you want to game on 3 monitors you need to change the whole build and multiply your budget by 3 at least.