Should I Build A PC?

[lancerplayer]

As much as I love the look of the iMac, I can not justify spending $1,299 on a computer that I use for simple tasks. I do not game at all, no heavy photo editing, no heavy video editing, and I do not run demanding software. All I do is web surf, stream videos, use Microsoft Office, listen to music, and watch DVDs.

My old Dell (Intel Pentium 4) from 2005 is about to bite the dust and I do not want to sink any money into it.

Can you experts link me to the parts needed to build a computer that will be perfect for my simple tasks? The cheaper the better without sacrificing quality. Can this be done for around $500+/-?

I've never built my own PC before, but there are plenty of resources available that show the process step-by-step. I'm confident I can handle the job.

I plan on running Windows 7 Pro btw.

Thanks!!

 

[bmod305]

Buy a Chromebook. I bought an Acer for 199 from Amazon and love it. Does everything you want to do except for MS Office. Use Google Docs to convert back and forth for Office; works for me. Instantly on and really fast. I ran for 9 hours on battery last weekend. I even use Chrome remote desktop to access my pc at work.
Working in the "cloud" is the future. FYI-you can work offline with it if needed. It does have a 16gb flash drive. It uses no drivers.


Dave

 

[izualangel]

I'm not sure that we should link to other sites that aren't sponsors, but there are a couple that I like, that are well known, that have good deals on barebones kits. One of them is the parent company for CompUSA, the other is the opposite of "old egg."

But yeah, with that budget you'll be fine. I built my last one for less than $200 after rebates and stuff, and it's 7 years old. Overall, the process is so easy now. Plug stuff in, insert the OS CD, and let er' rip. YouTube has tons of videos, and the two sites above also have good video and text resources.

 

[Andy636]

For 5 hundos your best bet is a new laptop.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834231146


or a DIY combo for Desktop :

http://www.newegg.com/DIY-PC-SuperCombos/PromotionStore/ID-33

 

[racer12306]

The toughest part to building a computer is specing the parts, imo. Assembly is easy.

I built a monster desktop in Fall 2011 for about $1000 including monitor, keyboard, mouse, not including the OS. 3.2GHz quad core, 16GB ram, 320GB OS drive, 3TB storage drive, decent inexpensive graphics card, 23" monitor, 2 DVD drives. I've since added a BD drive I got on sale. Overkill? Yes, but this is going to last a long time.

I had fun building it and getting it all setup, but it's not for everyone.

There are some nice little desktop options that are inexpensive. Look at ACER and ASUS for what are considered Nettops (like a Netbook but not portable). The Chromebooks look great, are cheap but don't provide the windows environment some want.

 

[Quest]

My 11 yrs old home built PC (Intel socket 478 (celeron) on Intel desktop mobo) is still working fine...but on XP with limited RAM upgrades: it's on it's last legs (no, OS not dying, but phased out in April this year).

I'm gonna buy a new one instead (store bought, could be a Dell or Acer) citing that they are pretty much the same in terms of quality, but factory units typically come with OS already (no need to fork out additional mullahs for OS).

As much as I like and use Linux on a daily basis, I still prefer a Windows machine for internet surfing and others.

Q.

 

[datech]

Just about any PC made today will do what you need. If you only need the tower you won't even need to spend $500. When I look at Best Buy ads I don't think any of them have less than 4 GB, 500 GB HD, and even the video on motherboards if much better than your 2005 Dell.

 

[Quest]

building a PC these days doesn't necessarily mean that the quality would be superior than some store-bought units....(not much of pricing difference)...and also: most of the aftermarket components such as PSU, etc. the aftermarket quality is very inconsistent..

STill what you pay is what you get in terms of whitebox solns.

Q.

 

[JJ717]

$500 should be easily doable, especially now with on-board graphics getting better and better. You could go the laptop route, if you want the portability, but honestly, if you already have a monitor (or an HDTV with HDMI inputs), you'll spend less or get better performance with a desktop.
There are always barebones deals on Newegg; sign up for their daily "Shell Shocker" emails and you should see a few per week.
I'm not so good on specs, but there are tons of sites with how-to's and lists of specs to look for. The actual assembly is pretty easy, but do make sure you're grounded.

 

[datech]

I use a laptop daily at home now and I like:

1> built in power back up if the lights go out

2> built in 2nd monitor capability--just plug into the VGA and select extended desktop

3> built in speakers, everything, but I like a wireless/mouse keyboard and ext speakers, even though they aren't essential.

 

[lancerplayer]

Originally Posted By: JJ717
$500 should be easily doable, especially now with on-board graphics getting better and better. You could go the laptop route, if you want the portability, but honestly, if you already have a monitor (or an HDTV with HDMI inputs), you'll spend less or get better performance with a desktop.
There are always barebones deals on Newegg; sign up for their daily "Shell Shocker" emails and you should see a few per week.
I'm not so good on specs, but there are tons of sites with how-to's and lists of specs to look for. The actual assembly is pretty easy, but do make sure you're grounded.


I considered the laptop route, but I have an iPad. Most of my leisure browsing is done on that.

This desktop will be more for web use where a lot of journal/database will be used as well as word processing and spreadsheets.

I considered the Chromebook option, but really want to stick with Microsoft Office.

I have the monitor, speakers, keyboard/mouse, and operation system ready to go. I mostly need guidance regarding a quick, snappy, and reliable CPU and motherboard combination. I will begin reading reviews on "old egg" and go from there.

I would like this PC build to last a few years and given my simple use, I feel it will if I choose the correct components.

 

[slug_bug]

Building a PC is quite easy, however, I doubt you will be able to do it cheaper than buying a pre-assembled system on line. If you had some requirement that justified some unique hardware such as a powerful graphics card it might be worthwhile, but, your needs are very basic. Factor in case, motherboard, proc., video card, memory, OS, Keyboard, monitor etc. and its hard to beat a Dell. Check out: techbargains.com

 

[AandPDan]

The most expensive part of your build will likely be Windows 7.

 

[Nick R]

I've built many, many computers. Here are just a few. I can help with pretty much any parts or assembly questions you have if you decide to go the route of building your own. I wish more people wouild, it's a great and rewarding hobby to have, if a bit expensive

My main box

Server

Sisters computer I built out of mostly spare parts. Had to buy a new PSU and Harddrive, but had most of the stuff already.

My brothers mITX gaming system

Give me a little bit I'll post links to some parts I think will work well for you

 

[SLCraig]

I would not build a PC if you just want simply duty.
You can buy one for like $199 pre made, you cannot build one for that price, so I wouldn't bother looking into that route personally.

I still build mine, but it's because I want certain things... For someone who is doing basic email, web surfing etc. Those cheap ones from the stores are more than adequate. Will probably still get a dual core and 4GB of RAM for $200. Ample.

 

[The_Jeff]

The pros of building your own include a useful motherboard BIOS. Store bought computers are "locked down" with fewer options.

Also in the future you're more likely able to upgrade with the standard/generic PS, mobo layout, case, etc.

That said I would just watch slickdeals and fatwallet for complete computer deals. I got a lenovo desktop with stacked staples coupons and $150 off for "any windows 8 computer." Even throwing the windows 8 in the trash I'm coming out ahead.

 

[Nick R]

Here you go, this should do you well.

Newegg: Intel Ivy Bridge Celeron G1610 2.6Ghz Dual Core

Newegg: ASUS P8H61-I R2.0 LGA1155 mITX Motherboard

Newegg: G. Skill 4GB (2x2GB) DDR3 SDRAM

Newegg: Sandisk 64GB Ultra SSD

Newegg: Western Digital Blue 500GB Hard Drive

Antec VP-450 Power Supply

Newegg: Cooler Master N200 miniITX Case

Newegg: ASUS DVD+RW Drive

Newegg Windows 7 Profession x64 OEM Copy

Total Before Tax/Shipping: $552.91

The Integrated CPU Graphics are more than powerful enough to handle everyday tasks and video playback. It has an SSD, which, trust me, you WANT to have, and more than enough storage space. All of these parts should be extremely reliable as well, and compact.

 

[razel]

Times have changed lancerplayer. Building a PC yourself no longer saves you more money than a prebuilt one. I think the last time the economics of that made sense was the mid-late 90's. Turn of the millenium was when $700 computers were around and EVERYONE bought one. Remember the e-machines?

Around 2004 was when the big boys HP, DELL caught on to cheap PCs and began selling $500 PCs that were awesome starter computers for enthusiasts to build on. I still have Pentium 4 Dell Dimension from that time. An SSD put a lot of life back into it and it'd still be in use if Windows 8 were installable on it.

Anyhow... as you have shown yourself. You get most of your web surfing, media consumption done on your iPad. You really are just left to have a Windows machine to use for productive stuff like Office, composing longer emails or printing documents.
If you have tried Skydrive recently, storing your Word or Excel document on it renders Office unnecessary! Why, because when you open those documents, it opens a fully featured Word or Excel web version. Pretty slick and it's all free.

Anyhow $500 is ALOT now for a decent laptop. You can get any current Core i3 4000 based (Haswell) laptop for well under $500. It's graphics performance is plenty. It's the screen that SUX! You will be sorely disappointed if you are used to your Retina Display on your iPad.

Anyhow, ChromeBooks are FAR too cheap and become useless if you don't live in the Chrome/Android universe. They remind me of the netbooks that were popular a few years back. Great battery life, slow performance, not useful for much else.

Point being, at your budget and usage, get a Core i3 4k series (Haswell) laptop at the screen size you want. Whatever money you have left over, use it to buy an SSD. A sale price is $120 for 240GB. Clone the original drive onto the SSD, then put that HDD it came in a $5 2.5" USB enclosure to use as a backup drive and deal with a [censored] screen.

The nicest screen I have seen on a cheap-ish laptop, if it counts is the Dell XPS 18 tab-top. It's a large 18" IPS LCD and has to be since it's touchscreen. Cheapest was $780 in the Dell Outlet.

 

[flwxman]

Here's an AMD version I threw together pretty quick and should last you a while. You have another slot to upgrade RAM if necessary and left off the SSD to get you right at budget. You can of course get a small SSD like Nick listed for the OS, which will definitely make Windows zippier. Good luck!


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A4-6300 3.7GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.98 @ OutletPC)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($57.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Power Supply: Corsair Builder 430W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($19.99 @ Microcenter)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $501.68
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-06 18:36 EST-0500)

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: crosseyedwx
Here's an AMD version I threw together pretty quick and should last you a while. You have another slot to upgrade RAM if necessary and left off the SSD to get you under budget. You can of course get a small SSD like Nick listed for the OS, which will definitely make Windows zippier. Good luck!


PCPartPicker part list / Price breakdown by merchant / Benchmarks

CPU: AMD A6-5400K 3.6GHz Dual-Core Processor ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Motherboard: MSI FM2-A75MA-E35 Micro ATX FM2 Motherboard ($57.78 @ Newegg)
Memory: G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1866 Memory ($39.99 @ Newegg)
Storage: Sandisk Ultra Plus 64GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($68.98 @ Newegg)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($59.99 @ Newegg)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($34.99 @ Newegg)
Optical Drive: Samsung SH-224DB/BEBE DVD/CD Writer ($19.99 @ Newegg)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 7 Professional SP1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($139.99 @ Newegg)
Total: $481.70
(Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available.)
(Generated by PCPartPicker 2014-02-06 18:21 EST-0500)


Missing the power supply here ;D