$500 Audio Computer

[devobserves]

Looking to build a computer for my roommate. He's using a terribly old computer that's still running Windows XP.
Basically he needs it to run Cubase flawlessly.

Approximate Purchase Date: This Month.

Budget Range: $400-$500 before rebates.

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Cubase, Movies, Internet Browsing.

Preferred Website(s) for Parts: Newegg.com

Location: Sacramento, California.

Parts Preferences: Intel preference.

Overclocking: No.

 

[BadActor]

He won't need a lot of processor for Cubase, so I went with the i3. It has pretty good on board graphics, he could do some light gaming with it. Could of used a cheaper motherboard, but this one has great audio, and thought he'd appreciate it. The PSU is also more than what's required, but it's good quality and will allow for adding a dedicated graphics card later.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Core i3-6100 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($124.89 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H170-GAMING 3 ATX LGA1151 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Amazon)
Memory: Kingston HyperX Fury Black 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4-2133 Memory ($42.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 120GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($43.89 @ OutletPC)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($48.88 @ OutletPC)
Case: Corsair SPEC-01 RED ATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: SeaSonic S12II 520W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($55.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Total: $466.62
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2016-01-22 12:27 EST-0500