New Basic PC Build - $500 budget

[charliepage88]

This is what I have in mind currently:

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=34271748

With shipping and all that, it's close to $500. It's for my grandma, but I wanted to get a bit nicer to last longer - I can get the keyboard, mouse, monitors, CD drive, etc. from her current PC.

Approximate Purchase Date: This week

Budget Range: Up to $500 with shipping (can go a bit over)

System Usage from Most to Least Important: Surfing the internet, skype, watching videos, instant messaging.

Are you buying a monitor: No

Any feed back is much appreciated. Thank you.

 

[sadams04]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.15 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($41.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $497.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-10 11:57 EST-0500

 

[Thaisnang]

You need OS?

 

[charliepage88]

You need OS?

Nope, I think all I need is - case, power supply, motherboard, hard drive, cpu, memory.

 

[charliepage88]

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.29 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-H97N-WIFI Mini ITX LGA1150 Motherboard ($114.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($67.15 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial MX100 128GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($62.99 @ Amazon)
Case: Cooler Master Elite 130 Mini ITX Tower Case ($41.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: SeaSonic 350W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($45.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer (Purchased For $0.00)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($99.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $497.38
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-12-10 11:57 EST-0500

Nice, that's pretty cheap. Taking off windows that puts it at around $400, good deal.

Is 350W going to be okay? I didn't know future-proof wise if I went higher (such as 500, 600) - if it would be worth it or not.

 

[Thaisnang]

You need OS?

Nope, I think all I need is - case, power supply, motherboard, hard drive, cpu, memory.

Take the windows from that build up there add a i3. and switch to a HDD. Get a cheaper $60 motherboard add a $25 Pcie wifi card if you need one.

 

[sadams04]

Is 350W going to be okay? I didn't know future-proof wise if I went higher (such as 500, 600) - if it would be worth it or not.

350w is way more than enough for that system as-is. It even leaves a little room if you wanted to add a gaming GPU down the road. If you want to go larger, look toward a 550w unit from XFX or Seasonic. Your only major upgrades here, IMHO, would be to an i3 4150, 256GB SSD (instead of 128GB), and a GPU. No need to look toward an i5 for your intended uses.

Take the windows from that build up there add a i3. and switch to a HDD. Get a cheaper $60 motherboard add a $25 Pcie wifi card if you need one.

You certainly can do that, but being a small form factor (ITX) that takes the only expansion slot available.

 

[charliepage88]

Is 350W going to be okay? I didn't know future-proof wise if I went higher (such as 500, 600) - if it would be worth it or not.

350w is way more than enough for that system as-is. It even leaves a little room if you wanted to add a gaming GPU down the road. If you want to go larger, look toward a 550w unit from XFX or Seasonic. Your only major upgrades here, IMHO, would be to an i3 4150, 256GB SSD (instead of 128GB), and a GPU. No need to look toward an i5 for your intended uses.

Take the windows from that build up there add a i3. and switch to a HDD. Get a cheaper $60 motherboard add a $25 Pcie wifi card if you need one.

You certainly can do that, but being a small form factor (ITX) that takes the only expansion slot available.

I see, I wasn't aware of that with the power supply. I've gone ahead and slightly changed your suggestion:

http://pcpartpicker.com/user/charliepage88/saved/6ZJTwP

Swapping in an i3 and still only $427 with shipping, seems pretty nice. My only question - why an ITX instead of say, a mid-tower? Is it only to save space?

I just ask because I've only done mid/full towers before, but I'm certainly not opposed to trying something new out. (haven't put in an intel processor either)

 

[sadams04]

Swapping in an i3 and still only $427 with shipping, seems pretty nice. My only question - why an ITX instead of say, a mid-tower? Is it only to save space?

I just ask because I've only done mid/full towers before, but I'm certainly not opposed to trying something new out. (haven't put in an intel processor either)

Yep. ...for the small size. Just thought that this machine won't see many upgrades (if any at all) so the small size would be fine. It would be easy to switch cases and motherboards if you wanted a larger setup.. ??

 

[charliepage88]

Swapping in an i3 and still only $427 with shipping, seems pretty nice. My only question - why an ITX instead of say, a mid-tower? Is it only to save space?

I just ask because I've only done mid/full towers before, but I'm certainly not opposed to trying something new out. (haven't put in an intel processor either)

Yep. ...for the small size. Just thought that this machine won't see many upgrades (if any at all) so the small size would be fine. It would be easy to switch cases and motherboards if you wanted a larger setup.. ??

Ah, makes sense.

Thanks a lot for the help! And thank you Thaisnang.