Hi, I've not been keeping ip with the latest news around here, so I'm totally out of the loop. I need to put a build together for my parents and they've given me a budget of £400. They don't do any gaming, mostly internet browsing etc. usual office type activities, music etc. Budget doesn't need to include any peripherals, but will probably need to include a copy of Windows 7 I may be able to persuade them to exclude the OS cost from the build budget if that is going to be a problem. On the case front, I had an Antec 300 in mind, but then noticed the Antec 100. Looks pretty good, what are the thoughts on this? Looks like it has cut out to fit the CPU fan which would be a big help. CPU I have no idea, I'd prefer to go Intel though. Not sure what's good value at the moment though. MOBO with on-board GPU Decent branded PSU (obviously) won't need to be a big one - will 350W be enough? Anyway, thoughts and suggestions welcome. Many Thanks.
This might be the best you'll get on that budget, unless you go AMD. Includes Win7 Home premium 32bit OEM, but you'll want 64bit as you have 4GB of RAM. Might want to wait for Sandy Bridge i3's though. You should qualify for free next day shipping from scan, which will bring you below budget. Also, you can use the stock cooler instead of the AC Freezer 7, saving you about £15. I just built this for my sister, with the only difference being the cpu (i used a G6950). It should fly for basic stuff, and you're using onboard intel hd graphics.
Perhaps consider a uATX case or a small mid - tower like the Antec NSK-4482B II not the bigger Antec budget gamers' cases. Link http://www.scan.co.uk/products/antec-nsk4482b-black-mini-tower-case-with-380w-eathwatts-bronze-psu
i would get a intel Q8300 just incase you want to do something a little more cpu demanding. plus you can add on when you have more ££££ or i would buy second hand off ebay to maximise bang/buck ratio get quite afew nearly new bits of hardware.
The i3 would make a show of the q8200 at stock. Then take into account it overclocks like a monster and there is no comparison. Aswell if he ever wants more power he can drop in an i5 860.
True dat! But an i5 in an office pc? He must be a game developer or something lol. Quad core isn't necessary unless you're doing heavy multitasking like multiple excel sheets and word docs coupled with multiple web pages etc. Am i right? Its a good thing i posted the build first, otherwise his budget would be up to £1000 by now, as is Bit tech's custom when it comes to budgets lol
I got that muddled up . I was just saying if he ever wanted more power he could swap out the i3 for a 860 where as socket 775 is dead now.
Thanks for the responses guys. Just to be clear, it's for my parents and they won't be doing any overclocking. Also they don't really need much bang. I'm thinking i3 would definitely be the way to go as years down the line I can drop in a new processor and some more memory and it'll be like a new computer to them. Can someone explain the integrated graphics thing to me? I've never had to deal with anything like that before. Does that mean I don't need a motherboard with integrated GPU? Thanks
Pretty much i think. The integrated GPU on the i3 is pretty good for normal stuff. I've seen people playing games on it too, albeit at a lower resolution and settings. It will be more than enough for what you are doing.
Pretty much dude. Instead of having a graphics chip on the motherboard it is integrated into the CPU. What you do need is a motherboard that can output the data from the CPU in which case it is the H55 series boards, where as the P55 boards can not do this.
Socket 775 isn't totally dead. You can still get dual core Pentiums and G41 mobos for around £90 all in. More than enough power for the OP requirements. http://www.ebuyer.com/product/161966 http://www.scan.co.uk/products/inte...ale-45nm-293-ghz-2mb-cache-11x-core-ratio-65w
It's two generation behind with no upgrade path. Along with socket 775 being less power efficient and using the now more expensive DDR2. I'm not saying it's bad it's just if he is buying new there is no point in socket 775. If he want to go cheaper go for an AMD 250X2. At least with this in three year you can drop a hex core straight in.
but im sure you could get a Q8200/Q8300 for a fair bit cheaper then an i3 which means more money for monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers, etc maybe get a bundle deal or buy slightly second hand personally i would get a quad core as 1. i would be buying into a well est socket (unlike sandy bridge cough cough lol) 2. computer would be more multi use as cpu has 2 extra cores 3. could grab a bargin and save the rest of the money on peripherals and/or a better monitor, a back up external hdd, software etc just my 2 pence but i recently did build an i3 for someone and it was pretty fast. i'd still prefer old school
But you have to add up how many programs are coded to take use of more than two threads The only ones I can think pf are Games, rendering and encoding all of which this PC will not be doing. Sly dig with the Sandybridge there
That's the problem with asking this type of question on a forum inhabited mainly by people who want cutting edge not standard daily use computers. Upgrading and overclocking are never done by the thousands of ordinary PC users out there. The only time they change hardware is when the old stuff breaks. I've just convinced a family member to upgrade from a socket A Athlon 1800 with an NVidia TI 7700 AGP to an AM3 Phenom II x2. The only reason they accepted in the end was that the new setup was quieter. The old PC did everything required of it and the new one is overkill.
