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Most inexpensive desktop challenge

MMOman101MMOman101 Member UncommonPosts: 1,787
in Hardware

I am looking at putting a desktop together.  It is going to be used for surfing the internet, office apps, storing pictures.  Basically it will be for my wife.  She may play some games on it, but it nothing intensive.

 

I am looking for something reliable cost effective.  For the purpose of this conversation you can leave the OS/mouse/keyboard/monitor out since they should cost the same.

 

A small case or a case that looks like something other than a computer case would be nice.  I think one monitor is all we will need.  It will have to have room for a wireless network card.   I do not need a lot of HD capacity, 250-500 should be plenty. 

 

At this point I am just doing some general idea shopping.  I do not have a set price in mind.  Hopefully I can find a great build at the cost here and move forward.

Thanks in advance.

“It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

--John Ruskin







Comments

  • GruntyGrunty Member EpicPosts: 8,657

    http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/Online/InventorySearch.aspx?brandId=2202&c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

    A word of warning from a former on-site warranty tech. Do not buy an all-in-one. Especially a refurbished one.

    If you want cheaper look at your local Craigslist.

    "I used to think the worst thing in life was to be all alone.  It's not.  The worst thing in life is to end up with people who make you feel all alone."  Robin Williams
  • Quazal.AQuazal.A Member UncommonPosts: 859

    If i was going for a new build how about this

    http://gyazo.com/da142f22d60522de807bffd90f63f6f4

    £400 all in exc the OS and even a possible overclock :)

     

    Nice case that doens't look like a 'normal' pc, all specced and priced in uk :)

     

    i you felt the HD graphics card (on board cpu) then a cheap gpu for say £50-70 would rock for most non intensive games :)

    This post is all my opinion, but I welcome debate on anything i have put, however, personal slander / name calling belongs in game where of course you're welcome to call me names im often found lounging about in EvE online.
    Use this code for 21days trial in eve online https://secure.eveonline.com/trial/?invc=d385aff2-794a-44a4-96f1-3967ccf6d720&action=buddy

  • centkincentkin Member RarePosts: 1,527

    If you are really going for most inexpensive -- I'd say to try a flea market or something and buy something used.  Even a 6 year old computer isn't THAT much slower these days.  It isn't like a decade ago where a 6 year old gaming computer was below entry level anymore.

     

  • SavageHorizonSavageHorizon Member EpicPosts: 3,480
    Originally posted by Quazal.A

    If i was going for a new build how about thishttp://gyazo.com/da142f22d60522de807bffd90f63f6f4£400 all in exc the OS and even a possible overclock :) Nice case that doens't look like a 'normal' pc, all specced and priced in uk :) i you felt the HD graphics card (on board cpu) then a cheap gpu for say £50-70 would rock for most non intensive games :)

     

    He is American so £400 is over 600 dollars to him, second hand is the best option for him imo.




  • Quazal.AQuazal.A Member UncommonPosts: 859
    Originally posted by SavageHorizon
    Originally posted by Quazal.A

    If i was going for a new build how about this

    http://gyazo.com/da142f22d60522de807bffd90f63f6f4

    £400 all in exc the OS and even a possible overclock :)

     

    Nice case that doens't look like a 'normal' pc, all specced and priced in uk :)

     

    i you felt the HD graphics card (on board cpu) then a cheap gpu for say £50-70 would rock for most non intensive games :)

     

    He is American so £400 is over 600 dollars to him, second hand is the best option for him imo.

    LOL ooc how did you know he was american :) lol :) but hey ho at least if someone after a cheap build form uk this still stands haha

     

    This post is all my opinion, but I welcome debate on anything i have put, however, personal slander / name calling belongs in game where of course you're welcome to call me names im often found lounging about in EvE online.
    Use this code for 21days trial in eve online https://secure.eveonline.com/trial/?invc=d385aff2-794a-44a4-96f1-3967ccf6d720&action=buddy

  • QuizzicalQuizzical Member LegendaryPosts: 25,531

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113378

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2281398

    That would be your CPU, graphics, motherboard, and memory for $140 total, including shipping, and before a $10 rebate.  Nothing junk there either, though no one is going to mistake a 4 GHz dual core with 192 shaders for top end performance.

  • MMOman101MMOman101 Member UncommonPosts: 1,787
    Originally posted by Quizzical

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819113378

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.2281398

    That would be your CPU, graphics, motherboard, and memory for $140 total, including shipping, and before a $10 rebate.  Nothing junk there either, though no one is going to mistake a 4 GHz dual core with 192 shaders for top end performance.

    Thanks quizzical, I appreciate the response.  That is basically what I was looking for. Any idea on a power supply.  I was thinking this would cost 250-300 before OS, and I am putting it together.  I am sure I can find a case. 

    “It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

    --John Ruskin







  • MMOman101MMOman101 Member UncommonPosts: 1,787
    Originally posted by centkin

    If you are really going for most inexpensive -- I'd say to try a flea market or something and buy something used.  Even a 6 year old computer isn't THAT much slower these days.  It isn't like a decade ago where a 6 year old gaming computer was below entry level anymore.

     

    First I want to thank people for their responses. 

    Somehow my original post was miss understood.  I take the hit on that.  I am not looking to build a PC for a low cost.  I have been looking and put together a few builds under $300, minus OS. 

    I just don't want to overspend on a PC that is not going to ever use the resources that is has.  Nor do I want to purchase a POS part that has a greater likely hood of failing in 12 months.  Low cost and reliable.

     

    The basic parts I need are:

    MB

    RAM

    CPU

    HD

    PSU

    Case (low profile or looks like something else)

    Wireless NIC (PCI)

     

    The main reason I posted it here is I thought there might be some people who would have build like systems for kids or spouses and they might have some good ideas on decent PCs for a reasonable cost.  No, I am not buying a pre-built machine from a box store either.  I am not going to a flea market.  Hell someone here just asked for a PC built for $400.  I would be willing to do something like that, just don't think it is necessary. 

    “It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that's all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better.”

    --John Ruskin







  • RidelynnRidelynn Member EpicPosts: 7,383

    Originally posted by MMOman101

    The main reason I posted it here is I thought there might be some people who would have build like systems for kids or spouses and they might have some good ideas on decent PCs for a reasonable cost.  No, I am not buying a pre-built machine from a box store either.  I am not going to a flea market.  Hell someone here just asked for a PC built for $400.  I would be willing to do something like that, just don't think it is necessary. 

    Well,

    You see - when you split out all the components, it actually costs more than some of the pre-builts... which are able to leverage mass production with integrated parts, and that results in a much lower cost to build.

    So when you are trying to get into the lowest budget possible - the prebuilts are able to come ahead of a build-it-yourself because they are leveraging an economy of scale and bulk purchasing to bring down their production costs. That is opposed to the typical gaming machine scenario, where building it yourself is typically a lot cheaper, because of the markup that companies place on "gaming" branding.

    Just think of the cost of the packaging alone for each individual product, versus something like an All-In-One... One box, versus the 7 or 8 that you list. In cardboard and packing material alone that's a measurable cost difference, particularly against the type of low budget your looking at.

    There is also a matter of what is considered "reasonable" -- that varies widely. Power Supplies are a popular item to debate on the issue of "reasonable" - some people see value in paying a bit more for specific models, other people a generic OEM that's $10-$15 may be more than adequate. How many cores in a CPU - how much RAM - Operating System -- all those things have various costs, and when your down to counting pennies, it matters a lot more than when you have enough of a budget to absorb some variance. You say "Nor do I want to purchase a POS part..." - that statement alone has a huge amount of objectivity associated with it, and that one statement right there can easily swing that budget 25-50% just on brand preference or warranty support alone.

    So - cheapest PC you could build? Free- go dumpster diving, take what you can get hand-me-down, barter away for components using other-than-cash, etc. But you don't give nearly enough to get any meaningful builds for any amount of cash - $300 can get you an extremely wide range of machines with an equally wide range of capabilities -- and pre-built may actually get you a better machine than you can build yourself down in the extreme budget range.

  • eye_meye_m Member UncommonPosts: 3,317
    I have a Pentium 4 3.0Ghz with hyperthreading, 2GB of RAM, ASUS P4P 800 motherboard and 400W PSU in some case I can't remember the name of. You can have it if you come pick it up. Just buy your own HDD and install Windows. IS that cheap enough?

    All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.

    I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.

    I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.

    I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.

  • centkincentkin Member RarePosts: 1,527

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?sdtid=7813387&SID=6cfead92162044aaae9f2c0da8c03173&AID=10440897&PID=1225267&nm_mc=AFC-C8Junction&cm_mmc=AFC-C8Junction-_-cables-_-na-_-na&Item=9SIA6A320W5964&cm_sp=

     

    Newegg has a $125 shell shocker that might be up your alley.

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