Technical > PC Hardware Discussion/Reviews > [Parts Check] Budget non-gaming build

[Parts Check] Budget non-gaming build

Save money and get a non-K Ivy bridge (like the i5-3450) or an i3 CPU. No need for a super-powerful processor if you aren't doing crazy-intensive tasks.

Ditch the "gaming" branded PSU and go with a basic Seasonic, Corsair, or Rosewill.
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If we lose this freedom of ours, history will record with the greatest astonishment, those who had the most to lose, did the least to prevent its happening.

I already have the PSU, I got it cheap a while ago when the previous PSU died. It was a spur-of-the-moment buy.

I was thinking about this particular CPU because I would like to be using this PC for at least a couple of years, and I might upgrade to a dedicated video card in the future (six months maybe) for gaming. I figured I might as well get a beefy CPU now.

Thanks for the suggestions.
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"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H. L. Mencken

The only thing I wonder in this build, why 2 x 60GB SSD's?
What are you going to use for storage etc?
I'd almost buy a WD black and have storage, but it still depends all on your needs.

If you have NAS, external or any other type, I'd almost ask on whether you could source 2 of the SSD's (in a package of course) and raid them, but this is all toying with ideas - what are your needs?
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke

Looking at that next board, it has a 8+4 power phase versus 4+2, and Broadcom over Realtek LAN, pity you didn't get Intel LAN instead. Though you do loose 1 PCI slot, I'd hardly worry on that as you're not looking at dual graphics cards or anything.

But 2 x SSD's I think is just a waste, this way you can use the $30 and get one of these or something similar, doubling the SSD size and newer technology?
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20227791
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke

reply to Rook008
Although I like where it is going, you did mention budget, and all that gear is a little overkill. For the others here, as you mentioned saving $30, it is of concern to you.

Motherboard, cpu, ram and an SSD what is the maximum dollar value for the package? It will help others help your needs.

reply to Rook008
I was budgeting around $600 for CPU, MB, RAM, SSD, 2 DVD Burners, and a copy of Win7 64 bit.

It might look like overkill, but I don't plan on changing MB, CPU, or SSD for a few years at least. And I might add a Video card in 6 months or so to do some gaming.

I wasn't looking to get 2 SSD's, it just happened that the first MB came with one free. I've since dropped that MB though.

That looks like a good SSD. 128GB and pretty fast. Thanks.

So far I feel pretty good with this:

MB: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···13157293
RAM (Free with MB): »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20231546
CPU: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19116504
SSD: »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20227791
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"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H. L. Mencken

IMHO, based upon what you described for your needs I think this will do you better and it's cheaper.

MD - »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···13130649

Any of these CPUs:
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19106009
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19103962
»www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19106010

Wow, I never even considered an AMD setup.
I'm going to go look around newegg.

Thanks for the suggestion.

reply to Rook008
There is no substitute for doing your research to ensure you know what you are getting. Another site that I use is: »www.cpu-world.com/

reply to Rook008

Re: [Parts Check] Budget non-gaming build

reply to Rook008
AMD can be fine for what you want to do. I would not consider anything more than i3 for Intel. Just got my mom a Sempron PC and it should be her last PC. The new PC replaced her Barton core AMD t-bird she ran for at least 3 years.
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Brian

"It drops into your stomach like a Abrams's tank.... driven by Rosanne Barr..." A. Bourdain

reply to Rook008
If you care about encoding speed, utilizing "Quick Sync" with the i3/i5 is a bonus. AMD has something similar (AVIVO) but I think it's slower IIRC.
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flickr | 'Cause I've been waiting, all my life just waiting
For you to shine, shine your light on me

reply to bbear2

reply to Rook008
OK guys.
So far I've decided against an AMD setup.
To me, Intel CPUs offer a better integrated video option. Intel HD Graphics 4000 should do for now, and Quick Sync is a bonus. And it turns out I'm a fan of Intel.
(That AMD FX-8150 looks like a real beast though)

And I know it seems like overkill with the i5 3570k, but I'm looking for a bit of future-proofing. Plus, I'll probably get a video card down the road and do a little gaming.
I don't buy a new PC often, and the beefy CPU will hopefully last a long while. (As an example, the last time I built a PC it was a P4 2.8Ghz Northwood socket 478 CPU with 2GB of RAM.)

Thanks for the suggestions and tips.
So far, this is my lineup:

CPU: Intel Core i5-3570k 3.4Ghz Ivy Bridge($230) »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···19116504
MB: Asrock Z77 Extreme4 ($135) »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···13157293
RAM: G.Skill Ares DDR3 1600 4GBx2 (Free) »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20231546
SSD: OCZ Vertex 4 128GB SATA 3 ($100) »www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a···20227791
OS: Windows 7 Home 64-bit

I'll pick up a couple of DVD burners, and I already have a 550w PSU, 5.1 sound card, and PC case.

Any other suggestions or tips, please don't hesitate to post.

--
"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin to slit throats." - H. L. Mencken

Looks good.

reply to Rook008
For $465 for hardware and only a couple of DVD players it looks like it is going to be quite a reasonable setup.

CPU - going back to a sandy bridge - HD3000 to save $10 isn't worth it. i3 won't overclock like the 'K'.

Motherboard - Going ASUS is going to cost a lot for for not a lot and MSI unless things have changed, bios updates are a pain when related to how easy others are (could be wrong). Seems quite a good over-all selection. Not really sure on Gigabyte.

A cooler for overclocking might be worth it, but then you can run it for a few months and then update the cooler to O/C. Not sure how the RAM will go, but you aren't trying to have it set at peak performance. Prices for RAM aren't big, so if you want to hit peaks, just waiting for a reasonable discount after Xmas when it all drops could be a good place to sort performance mods if you are itching to test what you have.

I think you could save $100 to $200 if you wanted budget, but it seems just a solid genuine middle of the road setup, that you can still play with and not break the bank.
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The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing - Edmund Burke