Uber cheap (under $500) DIY computer

[scottmandue]

Mother board, 32GB RAM, processor, power supply, case...

GO!

Will add Windows 7 and 1GB video card after the $500.

I was goofing around online and building something in my mind... then realized some of you guys here are really into this... thought it would be fun to see what you can come up with.

At tigetdirect I came up with ASUS M5A99FX Pro R2.0 + AMD FX-8120 Eight Core AM3 + 24x DVD RW + case and PS (and 8GB RAM that would have to be upgraded to the 32GB I want) $479.

[stomachmonkey]

Tigerdirect is a good source.

If you have a local Micro Center the guys in the stores are fairly knowledgable and are always willing to cut you some extra deals when you buy multiple components.

[GH85Carrera]

Originally Posted by scottmandue

Mother board, 32MB RAM, processor, power supply, case...

GO!

Will add Windows 7 and 1GB video card after the $500.

I was goofing around online and building something in my mind... then realized some of you guys here are really into this... thought it would be fun to see what you can come up with.

At tigetdirect I came up with ASUS M5A99FX Pro R2.0 + AMD FX-8120 Eight Core AM3 + 24x DVD RW + case and PS (and 8MB RAM that would have to be upgraded to the 32MB I want) $479.

You must mean gig not MB. I doubt Win 7 will run with just 32MB.

[biosurfer1]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

You must mean gig not MB. I doubt Win 7 will run with just 32MB.

Windows 95 will barely run on 32MB

[lane912]

i miss win95-----

[Paco Anton]

I am partial to the new Intel processors based on the Ivy Bridge architecture. They seem to do much better than the AMD counterparts.

I found this kit at the website you mentioned:

BIOSTAR TZ77XE3 Intel 7 Series Motherboard and Intel Core i5-3470 Processor and Kingston HyperX Red 8GB Memory Module and Toshiba 1TB Hard Drive and Lite-On Internal 24X DVD Writer and Kingwin Bundle at TigerDirect.com

BIOSTAR TZ77XE3 Intel 7 Series Motherboard and Intel Core i5-3470 Processor and Kingston HyperX Red 8GB Memory Module and Toshiba 1TB Hard Drive and Lite-On Internal 24X DVD Writer and Kingwin Bundle

Final Price: $497.99*After Rebate

For more reading on Intel vs. AMD check out this link:

Best Gaming CPUs For The Money: December 2012 : Best Gaming CPUs For The Money, December Updates

[RANDY P]

I just dug up my old Dell Optiplex 745 (1.83 Core2) and upped the RAM from 2 to 4 Gig, upgraded the video card to something with HDMI (GeForce 1Gig 8600?) Had an 80G (!)HDD and installed a 500G Seagate as slave using the original as just OS boot.

Hard to think that just a few years ago 80G HDD was a lot. The OS couldn't even install until I deleted virtually everything except XP.

Installed Windows 8 which is a frustrating freak OS to figure out but I'll tell ya, this thing flat out FLIES.

Windows 8 is pretty good on an old machine. Impressive.

Was gonna do new Mac Mini but no need now.

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by GH85Carrera

You must mean gig not MB. I doubt Win 7 will run with just 32MB.

Yes 32GB, work shift was starting and typing in a hurry...

Will edit OP

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by lane912

i miss win95-----

Come on down to our museum... we have dozens on Win95 machines in exhibits

[kaisen]

HP p2-1334 Desktop & 20" LCD-LED Monitor Package

$369.98 with free shipping

HP AMD E1-1200 accelerated processor; 4GB memory; 500GB hard drive; Windows 8; 20" widescreen LED-backlit LCD monitor included

•Desktop also features: AMD VISION E1 APU; double-layer DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; AMD Radeon HD 7310 graphics; multidisplay capability (second monitor not included); USB keyboard and optical mouse
•Monitor features: Ultrafast 5 ms response time; 3,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for a high number of shades between black and white, allowing accurate color reproduction; DVI-D and VGA inputs



Under $400.....what more do you need?!

[scottmandue]

Already have mouse/keyboard/20" monitor so I am looking to put max $$ into computer.

Wife's PC blew the power supply... so cheapest thing is to just get a new PS and slap it in there... I'm just looking for an excuse to build a cheap monster PC.

[azasadny]

I would stick with the Intel CPU. DDR3 is cheap and I REALLY love the Intel motherboards... Put in an SSD (<$100) and a 500GB HD and a Radeon HD7750 and you're all set.

[Rusty Heap]

Anyone want a Maxtor 7200RPM...... 27 gig.... yes gig, hard-drive brand new in box and shrink wrap?


Screw windows 95, I miss my IBM XT days at 4.77 mhz CPU, and then a fast 10 mhz 286 computer with 4 color EGA or 12 color VGA video cards..........seriously, I miss those days, You could boot up a machine, yes DOS, with a 5-1/4" floppy drive with only a couple files.

Autoexec.bat
Config.sys
System.ini


Those 3 files were under 360K total in size.

Now, it takes what, 4 gig to simply load the Windows OS.


yes times have changed and no a 1200 baud phone modem won't cut it anymore, and yes I feel very old, and kids today just don't know how good they have it.........damnn I sound just like our parents.

[red-beard]

$500 minus the OS and the Video Card?

[red-beard]

Intel, but with only 24GB RAM

[scottmandue]

What website is that James?

[scottmandue]

Originally Posted by kaisen

HP p2-1334 Desktop & 20" LCD-LED Monitor Package

$369.98 with free shipping

HP AMD E1-1200 accelerated processor; 4GB memory; 500GB hard drive; Windows 8; 20" widescreen LED-backlit LCD monitor included

Under $400.....what more do you need?!

Already have something very much like this, picked it up for email, spread sheet, word processing, etc... fact is computers are so cheap today is is hardly worth it to build your own anymore.

However what you have there is a stock computer good for average use by the average person...

What I am looking at is a hot rod that will blow through huge photoshop files etc.

And what the he11 been years since I built a computer!

[red-beard]

NewEgg

[scottmandue]

Thanks, yeah the guys in the shop buy a lot from them.

[red-beard]

So you can see the difference in the CPUs. They are fairly comparable. Raw Power, the AMD unit is better. In some tasks, the Sandy Bridge is better. I doubt you can go wrong with eaither one.

PassMark Intel vs AMD CPU Benchmarks - High End

Intel Core i5-3350P @ 3.10GHz - 6,112 Passmark CPU Score
AMD FX-8120 Eight-Core - 6,690 Passmark CPU Score

If it were me, I would add a 64GB SSD drive for another $69 for boot speed. And I would opt for the AMD FX-8350 Eight-Core, which is available for another $50. It is up to 4.2GHZ, or about 30% faster!

And if you plan to do Photoshop, add in a high end video card. The website also evaluates the different video cards. You might even consider 2 video cards that work together. I am doing this with my drafting workstation.