New Budget Build for Office-type Machine

[dude_56013]

Hello all,

I've been out of the game as far as new builds go for quite a while. So, I figured would see what everyone had for suggestions here. My friend needs a new desktop machine for office-type work. No graphics card needed. I'm thinking probably 4GB of RAM and possibly a quad core to future proof it (they keep their stuff for a long time. Right now he's using an old Win2000 machine that was upgraded to XP...it's horrible). I'm thinking we need to stick around the $400-$450 mark or cheaper.

I don't think he needs a monitor, but if so, don't include it in the price. I'll have to ask him about that. Same goes for keyboard/mouse.

So, let's see. I'm thinking quad, ddr3, a MB that isn't too fancy--only needs one PCI x16 for later use if necessary. That's about it. I can worry about the PSU and case (I'll probably ask my friend about a few and see what he likes).

Thanks guys.

 

[63083]

Mobo: GIGABYTE 785G Micro-ATX - $89.99
CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 620 2.6GHz - $99.99
RAM: G.SKILL 2X2 GB DDR3 1333 - $94.99

And if you want a video card: XFX HD 4770 512MB GDDR5 - $114.99

 

[dude_56013]

So...wonderful news today. They can go up to around $2000. BUT...I am NOT doing that. I'm thinking $700-800 max. Basically, my friend said that if he was buying in a store, he and his mom would go up to $2000. But, they aren't buying from a store and the whole point of this is to save money. So, with that said, we can probably upgrade some parts. Haha.

EDIT: Okie doke. Here's what I've got so far...a few things are a toss up that I need opinions on...I'll bold them. All prices include shipping to my zip. But, in reality shipping won't be AS expensive bundling everything together.

CPU: PII X4 955 -$165 (would it be worth it to step up to the 965 for $20 more??)
MB: Gigabyte or ASUS both 785Gs and ~$100
RAM: G.Skill DDR3 1600 or 1333 both ~$95
HSF: I was thinking it would be nice to have one. I'm not sure if it'll fit, but I love the Xiggy, and I could buy 2 and keep one on hand (and save $20 essentially) or I could grab this. So either way we're looking at ~$30-35. I've got paste here.
HDD: WD 1TB - $100
DVD: Sony Optiarc 24X (big fan of them!) - $27
Case: I'm thinking this for now. - $45 after rebate
PSU: Corsair 650W ~$90 after rebate
Keyboard/mouse: Microsoft bundle ~$30 (unless someone can find something better for the same price)

MONITOR (I have no clue. I haven't monitor shopped for a while. Here's what I'm looking at, all are 21.5"/22"):
ACER 1080P -$160
ASUS 1080P ~$165
ACER HDMI ~$170
ACER "standard" ~$180

Final build price: ~$842-$870 with shipping and after rebates.

Now, here's a bigger question; if my friend is just using this for an office machine (NO gaming) and internet box, if he wants it to last 4 years (at least) running at a good speed, would it be worth it to step up to an i5 or i7? I don't think it would be, but you can certainly voice your opinion.

Thanks guys.

 

[dude_56013]

Bump. Almost done with finalizing this, just need the opinions of peers.

Thanks.

 

[dude_56013]

Bumping one more time to see if anyone has any input.

 

[63083]

Sry about that. I forgot to to reply. And that's build looks fine to me. Should be good for your buddy.

Another monitor suggestion. ASUS 21.5" LCD 1080P - $159.99

I say go with the ASUS if he may want some more upgrade upgrades in the future. But if he won't you can use the GIGABYTE.

 

[dude_56013]

Hey. Thanks a bunch! I was thinking of the ASUS anyways. The builder (me) needs some eye-candy haha...but it does look like a good MB anyways. I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

 

[63083]

No problem. Hope the build turns out nice. Post pics when it's all finished won't cha??

 

[Mutant Corn]

Hey. Thanks a bunch! I was thinking of the ASUS anyways. The builder (me) needs some eye-candy haha...but it does look like a good MB anyways. I'll let everyone know how it turns out!

If you haven't already ordered, it would absolutely be better to go with an i7 rig with that budget. It'll be much better than the AMD in the end, and quite a bit more future-proof. He could definitely make it last more than 4 years, especially with some mild overclocking.

It's no big deal if you've already ordered though. The AM3 socket is still new and will be around for a bit, so it has pretty good potential for a later upgrade.