Budget build

scooby2791

Laptop died the other day an have been contemplating buying a new one until I copped that I can finally justify attempting my own build! Price is most important for me as budget is pretty tight as I'm saving to move away this summer so hoping to keep the build as close to €300 as possible

1. What is your budget? [€300-400]

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer? [Web browsing/Photographs/Music/Movies/ Gaming at some point down the line so would like build to be relatively easy to upgrade if needs be]

3. Do you need a copy of Windows? [Yes, can run ubuntu if Windows pushes budget though]

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer? [No]

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes]

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [In around 20" or so]

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [No]

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Probably not]

8. How can you pay? [credit card or laser]

9. When are you purchasing? [Soon as possible]

10. If you need help building it, where are you based? [Attempting myself but also have a friend who has completed one before who can help]

Tij da feen

Item | Price
Total build cost: €354.99 (inc delivery €0.13)
XIGMATEK Asgard III Case |€35.41
Corsair 430 Watt CX430 V2 Builder Series 80 Plus Power Supply |€40.50
Intel Celeron G530 2.4GHz LGA1155 2MB |€43.36
ASRock S1155 Intel H61M DDR3 mATX |€50.01
Samsung 22x DVD-RW SATA Black |€16.43
Kingston 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3 1333MHz DIMM 240-pin CL9 |€19.59
Samsung 320GB SpinPoint F1 7200RPM SATA 3GB/s 16MB 3.5" |€72.27
HannsG HL195ABB 19" Widescreen 1366 x 768 5MS VGA Monitor |€77.29

A build from dabs.ie. For an everyday use PC this does the job. I built the same for my mam last week and it's perfect for what she does. In terms of gaming this build would run Source game on the integrated graphics(Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead, Portal etc.). If you put a decent enough graphics card in it would run higher end games decently at mid ranged settings.

Couldn't fit Windows in on the budget but if you're a student, or have anyone in the family who's going to college then you can pick Windows 7 up for €45 from software4students.ie.

scooby2791

Wow, thanks very much! Never thought of the student thing with Windows. Also managed to source myself a monitor so saving the 70quid on that. Anything on the above build that could be upgraded considering I've an extra 70quid to spend on parts now?

Tij da feen

I'd bump up the processor to an i3 here. Much better processor and it comes with Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics which is the same integrated graphics that the i7 2600k uses. When you decide to drop a GFX card in it'll be decent enough for running games.