Cheap Build (No gaming)

[loki19524]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Within the next week or so.

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Watching movies, web surfing, word/excel, not much gaming except for the occasional sims, and possibly CAD or similar drawing programs.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: I'm starting from scratch, so everything.

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: I'm impartial. newegg and tigerdirect are fine.

PARTS PREFERENCES: Intel over AMD

OVERCLOCKING: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: Something decent

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: I would like something relatively quiet, but like I said, nice and cheap. I'm a graduate student with not a whole lot of mulah. Ideally I'd like to spend under 600 w/o the monitor, keyboard, or mouse. Here are some parts I've been looking at:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819115206&Tpk=Intel%20Core%202%20Duo%20E7400%20Processor%20BX80571E7400%20-%202.

Motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128358

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231122

Case: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3556949&sku=A107-1110

Video Card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814121272

Hard Drive: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4426054&sku=TSD-1000EADS


I'd appreciate any insight. Good times.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

You're off to a good start. I wouldn't trust the PSU included with that case. You'd be much better off going with a case that didn't include the PSU and getting a high quality PSU. If you start going over your budget, you could go with the E5200 CPU to save a little $. You'll also want a 64-bit OS to take advantage of the 4GB of RAM.

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129042 $59.95

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139008 $54.99 - $10 MIR

Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium SP1 64-bit for System Builders - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116488 $99.99

 

[WR2]

All good choices. But you can probably lower the costs of your case and power supply - it's a pretty high percentage of your total budget, especially with shipping and handling included.
Rosewill Wind Ryder case and OCZ StealthXStream 500W PSU The case has an additional $10 promo code till 3/31 and free shipping. $25 rebate on the PSU. My guess is that might save you $50.

You could substitute the 640GB Caviar Blue version and save $25 over the Caviar Green 1TB. WD performance goes from least to most = Green, Blue, Black.

 

[Onus]

If you won't be gaming, especially anything more demanding than the Sims, then you can save a lot of money by getting a 4650 or 4670.
If you are willing to consider AMD, the integrated graphics on a 790G board will meet your needs as well. A 7750 X2 Kuma or 720BE X3 PII would be good CPU choices. With no overclocking, the 720BE will pummel an e5200, and be mostly superior to an e7500 (http://www.anandtech.com/bench/default.aspx?p=87&p2=83)
I agree about the Apevia case; since the first thing you'd want to do is pull the p.o.s. PSU and toss it, shortstuff's selections make a lot more sense.

 

[jjbtexas]

this 4670 should be good or this one if you want 1gb

 

[steckman]

I agree that the 4670 is a great card, but it sounds like you would be fine with an integrated graphics solution.

 

[battlemarz]

Change the motherboard from a UD3P to the UD3R. From the sounds of it, you will not need the second PCI-e slot on the P over the R. Will save you $20. That's a case of beer!!!!

Also +1 to antec 300 and a corsair 400w.

AMD would be more performance for the money, but the intel build you have together so far (with the above suggestions) is pretty good.

 

[Onus]

Integrated as long as it is not an Intel Graphics Media Deccelerator, or budget $50-$80 for a discrete GPU (HD46x0).

 

[loki19524]

This first build's going to be fantastic thanks to all the feedback. Aside from the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, am I missing any components for my build?

 

[loki19524]

Alrighty, here's the upgraded system.

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3R LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - $115

SAPPHIRE 100255U Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready Video Card - $81

CORSAIR CMPSU-400CX 400W ATX12V V2.2 80 PLUS Certified Compatible with Core i7 Power Supply - $55

Intel Core 2 Duo E7400 Wolfdale 2.8GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E7400 - $120

G.SKILL HK 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL4D-4GBHK - $40

Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD6400AAKS 640GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - 75

Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 60

Totals to about $550 so far. I'd like to go a little cheaper if possible. Perhaps I should start considering AMD...

How about a CD/DVD burner?

 

[steckman]

You can get a decent DL DVD burner from NewEgg for about $25. Just pick a reliable brand. I have had luck with Sony, Lite-On, and Samsung.

 

[shortstuff_mt]

I've personally had the best luck with LG and Samsung drives. Here's a list to choose from:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&Description=22x%20sata%20dvd%20burner&bop=And&Order=PRICE

The only things I would consider going a little cheaper on would be the motherboard and CPU if you absolutely have to. Here's some parts to consider:

GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P43 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128380 $84.99

GIGABYTE GA-EP45-UD3L LGA 775 Intel P45 ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128372 $98.99

Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz 2MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116072 $69.99

 

[WR2]

If you don't need RAID or Firewire you can shave a bit off going with a GIGABYTE GA-EP43-UD3L P43 motherboard ($15 less)

The only other place to reduce cost without also reducing performance is the case and PSU. And it looks like the case I recommende above has sold out since I posted it above.

 

[Nik_I]

looks like a good build, but as someone already said, you could probably ditch the video card and go with an integrated solution. remember that unless you get a fanless video card, it will be making some extra noise to add to all the other components. so if you don't really need it, skip it.

 

[WR2]

COOLER MASTER Elite RC-331 Mid Tower Case $50 with free shipping. The lower price and free shipping could save you $20.
You'd need to think about a 2nd fan for this case if you're considering overclocking the CPU.

 

[fatcat]

+ 1 For the above mentioned case. I am using one for a cheap HTPC built and it does the job. I bought a second fan for the front and it works decently well for a case that cheap. Just be careful with sharp edges when assembling your rig.