250$ rig to learn on ! help please

[Malicemk]

Hey guys, First time ever posting and ever on a reddit website, so if I commit some atrocity i'm sorry !

I am looking for some help i can build newer computers and know which parts are good and all that but when it comes to the cheaper and older side of things i just have no clue

I am looking for a preferably 250$ or less build ! less would really be ideal.

I have a Radeon HD 4350 laying around as well as a
1tb WD caviar green SATA3/32mb cache/ 3.5 form factor harddrive laying around
And an old cd/dvd !
so that should alleviate some of the costs.

All i want this computer for is some super light gaming wow and lol on lowest settings i have 2 other high ends for those games
And most importantly i just want to learn how to use linux and start maybe dabbling into rudimentary programming.
No need for an OS because of linux or mouse/keyboard/monitor have all that already!
Any help would be appreciated i'm excited about learning a new os !

Any help would be appreciated i'm useless with older parts and what's good :3

 

[drunkducki]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($68.79 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock FM2A75 Pro4-M Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($64.48 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial Ballistix Smart Tracer 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($29.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.90 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80 PLUS Certified ATX12V Power Supply ($46.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $245.15
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2013-02-20 14:05 EST-0500)

the onboard video is much better than the HD4350

http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/a10-5800k-a8-5600k-a6-5400k,3224-16.html

 

[drg889]

I did a similar thing as you are planning to do, pretty much building a separate PC to mess with Linux and stuff on. As the person above gave, you can go with the AMD A-series CPU's (or APU) to save on a discrete video card (also stated that the integrated will outperform the 4350).

Newegg's shell shocker earlier today has/had a combo for the A4-3400 and MSi A55M-P33 mobo for $76.99. Similar to what i got which was an A4-3300 and same mobo for $59 from Fry's and it works great as a basic build and can run games like WoW on lower settings. Of course, this setup is socket FM1, not as future proof, and overall weaker, but could save you $30-50.

The CD/DVD drive should be fine, the HDD too for basic work, but keep in mind the Green drive is WD's efficient drive, and is mainly used for storage and won't perform as quick as the Black/Blue drives.

Case is just for preference, and PSU the one posted already is fine. I'd just look for an efficient and has good ratings since it's not being used for hardcore video editing or gaming.

 

[ogasnor]

If you have 2 high end systems, have you considered running a virtual machine on one of them and installing Linux on that?

VMWare and/or VirtualBox are what I use for that kind of thing.

 

[Greg Beutler]

go to craigslist and query the seller.
lots of IT guys have extra machines in good working order, maybe 3 yrs older

just bought 2 lenovo R61 for $160 each
and a mac mini for $400

all from craigslist