A simple home build

Procasinator

Thinking of building a PC for my parents this Christmas. Currently using a hand-me done Pentium 4, so an upgrade is overdue.

Main uses will be standard home use (browsing, word, e.t.c), media viewing (downloads, streaming) and a small bit of Photoshop/Illustrator (amateur use, not professional).

Pre-packaged PC is fine too, if a good deal is spotted.

Mainly want something that is good value and future-proof them for the next few years.


1. What is your budget?
Prefer sub €400.

2. What will be the main purpose of the computer?

Mainly a home PC, but will probably be permanently connected to a TV in the same room (10m HDMI cable I'm thinking). Won't be a dedicated HTPC, but will be used semi-regularly for it.

A bit of Photoshop/Illustrator work, but nothing heavy duty.

3. Do you need a copy of Windows?

If moving to Windows 8, yes. Haven't decided what the best course of action here is. Current computer has W7, so may stick with that.

4. Can you use any parts from an old computer?

Probably move over a 1 TB hard-drive, but assume another one to be added. An old IDE DVD rewriter.

5. Do you need a monitor? [Yes/No]

No.

5a. If yes, what size do you need. [19'/20'/22'/24'/etc.]

5b. If no, what resolution is your current monitor and do you plan to upgrade in the near future? [1920x1080/1440x900/etc.] [Yes/No]

TV is 720p, monitor is an old VGA 4:3 ratio (probably 1028x786). Future upgrades could be 1080p TV and monitor, and if so likely to push 1080p video. Games not so much.

6. Do you need any of these peripherals? [Keyboard/Mouse/Wireless Card/Card Reader/Speakers/etc.]

Not really, speakers maybe if they're a good deal and can be tacked onto an existing order.

7. Are you willing to try overclocking? [Yes/No]

Possibly, but would prefer to leave it as stock.

8. How can you pay?

CC preferred.

9. When are you purchasing?

Just need to take the plunge before xmas.


10. If you need help building it, where are you based?

Done a self-build before, so should be okay.

Procasinator

So far, I am thinking this:

Item|Price
Intel Core i3-4330 Box, LGA1150|€111.09
MSI H87-G41 PC Mate, ATX, Sockel 1150|€74.98
8GB-Kit Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 MHz CL9|€80.12
be quiet! PURE POWER L8 400W|€46.56
Zalman Z3-Plus Midi-Tower - schwarz, ohne Netzteil|€38.93
WD Caviar Blue 1TB 6Gb's|€53.38
Shipping|€18.99
Total|€424.05

Any opinions, or more importantly, incompatibilities?

BloodBath

Looks good. You could save some money by going matx.

A board like this and a case like this should do the trick. Same spec ram for €10 less.

That's if you are connecting with a hdmi. These cheaper boards are specialised in their connection options.

Procasinator

BloodBath wrote: »

Looks good. You could save some money by going matx.

A board like this and a case like this should do the trick. Same spec ram for €10 less.

That's if you are connecting with a hdmi. These cheaper boards are specialised in their connection options.

Yeah, trying to decide between mATX and ATX. Like the option for future expansion that ATX brings regarind PCIe, RAM and SATA, even though it'll probably never be needed.

Initial graphic outputs used will be HDMI for TV and VGA for monitor will be the initial connections needed (which seems to be provided by the board you linked). DVI however is a possible future need, if the monitor is upgraded at some point.

Thanks!

marco_polo

If you wanted to chop down the cost a good bit more something like the G3240 would be worth considering as well and would be just fine for a Home/HTPC.

It about half the cost of the i3 but you are getting alot more than 50% of the performance. Clocked a little lower and its missing a handful of features like Hyperthreading and AES, but apart from that there not a whole lot in it really.

http://www.cpu-world.com/Compare/295/Intel_Core_i3_i3-4330_vs_Intel_Pentium_Dual-Core_G3420.html