New Build - low end "dad" PC

[deadlockedworld]

Hi Folks.

Building my dad a lowish end, but long-lasting PC (the current one is like 9 years old). No GPU planned. I already have any parts not listed. Budget is very flexible.

Its really a web browsing/music PC, but I would like it to be super responsive and continue to be in 5 yrs. Goals:
1 - simplicity - no multi-drive setups or raid, etc.
2 - longevity/reliability - want this to still be performing well in a few years
3 - responsiveness -- boot times and etc. probably more important than raw horsepower

Biggest question is AMD 2400G vs Intel i3 8100. I picked AMD because I thought some limited video performance would be nice to have in this non-gpu system. (I have always thought Intel was more reliable though ... )

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($158.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $553.84

 

[kindangrysliceofpie]

If you're only web browsing, then you can definitely go alot cheaper. I notice you have no graphics card, which is also an issue. I may recommend a parts list like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nVp8Cb total of $430

 

[julienruc]

If you're only web browsing, then you can definitely go alot cheaper. I notice you have no graphics card, which is also an issue. I may recommend a parts list like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nVp8Cb total of $430

B350 board won't work with a 2nd Gen Ryzen CPU without a BIOS update.

 

[julienruc]

Hi Folks.

Building my dad a lowish end, but long-lasting PC (the current one is like 9 years old). No GPU planned. I already have any parts not listed. Budget is very flexible.

Its really a web browsing/music PC, but I would like it to be super responsive and continue to be in 5 yrs. Goals:
1 - simplicity - no multi-drive setups or raid, etc.
2 - longevity/reliability - want this to still be performing well in a few years
3 - responsiveness -- boot times and etc. probably more important than raw horsepower

Biggest question is AMD 2400G vs Intel i3 8100. I picked AMD because I thought some limited video performance would be nice to have in this non-gpu system. (I have always thought Intel was more reliable though ... )

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($158.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $553.84

I would suggest this build, It'll be more than enough for what he's planning on doing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill - SCM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($26.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - VS 550 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Enermax - UC-12EB 44 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Enermax - UC-12EB 44 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $382.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-17 13:07 EST-0500

 

[scout_03]

go for a b450 board and try to get 2X8 gig ram that work at 3200 with samsung chipset also if you could had a gpu in this system and a 250 gig ssd for os and a 500gig or more hdd to store is music .

 

[deadlockedworld]

If you're only web browsing, then you can definitely go alot cheaper. I notice you have no graphics card, which is also an issue. I may recommend a parts list like this: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/nVp8Cb total of $430

Appreciate the response and suggestion, but this wasn't a good answer. Usage doesn't require a GPU and I already had overkill with an APU.

 

[deadlockedworld]

Hi Folks.

Building my dad a lowish end, but long-lasting PC (the current one is like 9 years old). No GPU planned. I already have any parts not listed. Budget is very flexible.

Its really a web browsing/music PC, but I would like it to be super responsive and continue to be in 5 yrs. Goals:
1 - simplicity - no multi-drive setups or raid, etc.
2 - longevity/reliability - want this to still be performing well in a few years
3 - responsiveness -- boot times and etc. probably more important than raw horsepower

Biggest question is AMD 2400G vs Intel i3 8100. I picked AMD because I thought some limited video performance would be nice to have in this non-gpu system. (I have always thought Intel was more reliable though ... )

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($158.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $553.84

I would suggest this build, It'll be more than enough for what he's planning on doing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill - SCM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($26.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - VS 550 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Enermax - UC-12EB 44 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Enermax - UC-12EB 44 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $382.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-17 13:07 EST-0500

Why B450 over A320?

Also, any opinion on AMD vs Intel? I'm not budget constrained, just thought APU was attractive idea.

 

[scout_03]

if you want to be out of doing bios upgrede for this cpu go to the b450 board i use am4 and play games .

 

[julienruc]

Hi Folks.

Building my dad a lowish end, but long-lasting PC (the current one is like 9 years old). No GPU planned. I already have any parts not listed. Budget is very flexible.

Its really a web browsing/music PC, but I would like it to be super responsive and continue to be in 5 yrs. Goals:
1 - simplicity - no multi-drive setups or raid, etc.
2 - longevity/reliability - want this to still be performing well in a few years
3 - responsiveness -- boot times and etc. probably more important than raw horsepower

Biggest question is AMD 2400G vs Intel i3 8100. I picked AMD because I thought some limited video performance would be nice to have in this non-gpu system. (I have always thought Intel was more reliable though ... )

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 2400G 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($158.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - A320M-DGS Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($50.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill - Aegis 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($104.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 1 TB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($139.99 @ Adorama)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit ($98.89 @ OutletPC)
Total: $553.84

I would suggest this build, It'll be more than enough for what he's planning on doing.

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: ADATA - XPG GAMMIX D10 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($97.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Team - L5 LITE 480 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($52.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Rosewill - SCM-01 MicroATX Mini Tower Case ($26.99 @ Amazon)
Power Supply: Corsair - VS 550 W 80+ Certified ATX Power Supply ($22.98 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Lite-On - iHAS124-14 DVD/CD Writer ($13.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Case Fan: Enermax - UC-12EB 44 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg)
Case Fan: Enermax - UC-12EB 44 CFM 120mm Fan ($4.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $382.90
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-17 13:07 EST-0500

Why B450 over A320?

Also, any opinion on AMD vs Intel? I'm not budget constrained, just thought APU was attractive idea.

Because it's a 2nd Gen Ryzen CPU. A320 boards won't work with 2nd Gen Ryzen CPU without the proper BIOS update and the problem is that you need a 1st Gen Ryzen CPU in the first place for the motherboard to post in order to update the BIOS and therefore read the 2nd Gen CPU. So you need a B450.

However, there are A320 boards out there that are already "Ryzen 2nd Gen ready". If you do your research or find the right seller, you will be able to find one. The best would be to go in a store as they can do it for you.

As for your Intel vs AMD question. Most standard computing and everyday use will benefit from the superior multi-threaded performance that Ryzen offers. Although if budget is not an issue, you could alternatively go for the i3-8100, which can offer a very slight increase in performance but not really worth the extra 30$ IMO.

P.S: You can find 100% legit Windows OEM licenses on Ebay for less than 10$.

 

[SgtScream]

Dude just go with the part specifications listed in the original post. No one is going to beat it.

 

[coozie7]

@ deadlockedworld: An APU isn't a bad idea, it'll have far better graphical horsepower over an i3 giving the system more flexibility; Older, less demanding games will play very well on a R5 2200G for example and it'll be a better choice if your dad gets into movies in a big way, 4K Blu-Ray anybody? 😉

Some A320 motherboards will support the later Ryzen parts, but the cost advantage is small, a cheap B450 MB will definitely support the chosen APU and may very well offer better connectivity and memory support.

There's no real need for 16Gb of RAM on a system like this, it's just wasted money, as is very fast memory, 8Gb of DDR4 3000/3200 will be more than enough and more than fast enough.

A 1Tb SSD is nice, but ask your dad how much is on his current HDD though, systems like this rarely use much storage, besides, with services like Google Drive and Microsoft One drive, along with streaming services like Netflix, there's no particular need to store huge files on the local machine these days.

If he's anything like me he'll really want a quiet system, so put a little more cash into to the case and fans.

Which would give something like this:

PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 3 2200G 3.5 GHz Quad-Core Processor ($97.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Motherboard: MSI - B450M PRO-VDH Micro ATX AM4 Motherboard ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Team - T-Force Delta RGB 8 GB (2 x 4 GB) DDR4-3000 Memory ($74.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Crucial - MX500 500 GB 2.5" Solid State Drive ($74.89 @ OutletPC)
Case: Fractal Design - Define Mini C MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($78.99 @ Newegg Business)
Power Supply: Corsair - TXM Gold 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Semi-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft - Windows 10 Home Full - USB 32/64-bit ($99.95 @ Amazon)
Total: $536.79
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-11-17 15:11 EST-0500

 

[deadlockedworld]

Thanks so much everyone. Really appreciate the motherboard clarification -- I've always been an Intel person so wasn't tracking that. Was just trying to get the simplest mobo without unnecessary bells and whistles.

Agree that you are probably right about the ram.