Looking to Build a Desktop For the Best Bang For the Buck

[Lewdog]

www.tigerdirect.com

Tiger Direct used to

Lewdog, you didn't go for an AM3 setup I hope.

Nope actually haven't bought anything yet. I'm thinking I might just buy one of the refurbed systems on eBay with an i5 or i3 processor in it. Pretty hard to beat an one like this for only $250.

Brand:
HP
Processor Type: Intel Core i3 6th Gen.
Model:
260-p026
Graphics Processing Type: Integrated/On-Board Graphics
MPN:
V8P18AA
Processor Speed: 3.20GHz
Form Factor: Desktop PC Memory: 8GB
Storage Type: HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Operating System: Windows 10
Hard Drive Capacity: 1TB UPC:
190780345979

HP 260-P026 Slimline Desktop Intel Core i3-6100T 3.2GHz 8GB 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Then I'd just have to invest in a low profile video card.

What are you going to use your comp for most of the time? Are you going for a gaming setup? You can build your own its not that hard.

I don't think I'll do much gaming, though if I do decide to start a part time Private Investigation business I'll need to get some video editing software.

 

[Moonglow]

I really do need a new desktop computer. The one I have now is like Five years old, slow, and messes up quite often. I have been doing a little research to find the best value vs. performance I can find. And here is the stuff I have found so far. All the prices are off Amazon, so if you have any ideas for better value and a place to find better prices let me know.


AMD Quad Core A10-Series APU for Desktops A10-6800K with Radeon HD 8670D (AD680KWOHLBOX)
$128


ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+
$97


Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
$95


Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-02 Mid Tower Gaming Case
$50


Corsair Air Series AF120 LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack - Red
$18


Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G Thermal Paste
$7


ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mini, 4GB GDDR5 DisplayPort 128-bit PCI-E Graphic Card (ZT-P10510A-10L)
$160


Lite-On 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive Optical Drive IHAS124-14 + Nero 12 Essentials Burning Software + Sata Cable Kit
$22


EVGA 550N1, 550W, 2 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-N1-0550-L1
$41


WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive (WD10EZEX)
$50

1. I do not recommend this CPU. It bases on the low efficiency Bulldozer architecture, which means you have little performance compared to other CPUs with the same number of cores and frequency. I recommend to wait for the new Ryzen or alternatively the Athlon X4 880K, which also bases on Bulldozer but features the latest improvements of this architecture, resulting in better performance despite lower frequency.

However, if you do not want to play games, you can discard the graphics card and keep the A10-6800K, that includes graphics, even solid graphics.

2. You do not need a such expensive mainboard and memory.

3. You may consider purchasing a quality power supply.

4. Figure out, if the case provides space for two fans and if your motherboard provides the proper connections (three or four pin fan connections).

5. You do not need Thermal Paste. The boxed cooler has a pad mounted. Just mount the cooler.
You may need extra SATA cables for the optical drive and hard drive.

6. Consider getting a SSD with your hard drive. SSDs provide a major performance boost when Windows and other programs are installed on it.

The article did state it was for folks on a low budget...

And?

It's a cheezy low functioning slow 'puter..

 

[Bleipriester]

I really do need a new desktop computer. The one I have now is like Five years old, slow, and messes up quite often. I have been doing a little research to find the best value vs. performance I can find. And here is the stuff I have found so far. All the prices are off Amazon, so if you have any ideas for better value and a place to find better prices let me know.


AMD Quad Core A10-Series APU for Desktops A10-6800K with Radeon HD 8670D (AD680KWOHLBOX)
$128


ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+
$97


Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
$95


Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-02 Mid Tower Gaming Case
$50


Corsair Air Series AF120 LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack - Red
$18


Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G Thermal Paste
$7


ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mini, 4GB GDDR5 DisplayPort 128-bit PCI-E Graphic Card (ZT-P10510A-10L)
$160


Lite-On 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive Optical Drive IHAS124-14 + Nero 12 Essentials Burning Software + Sata Cable Kit
$22


EVGA 550N1, 550W, 2 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-N1-0550-L1
$41


WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive (WD10EZEX)
$50

1. I do not recommend this CPU. It bases on the low efficiency Bulldozer architecture, which means you have little performance compared to other CPUs with the same number of cores and frequency. I recommend to wait for the new Ryzen or alternatively the Athlon X4 880K, which also bases on Bulldozer but features the latest improvements of this architecture, resulting in better performance despite lower frequency.

However, if you do not want to play games, you can discard the graphics card and keep the A10-6800K, that includes graphics, even solid graphics.

2. You do not need a such expensive mainboard and memory.

3. You may consider purchasing a quality power supply.

4. Figure out, if the case provides space for two fans and if your motherboard provides the proper connections (three or four pin fan connections).

5. You do not need Thermal Paste. The boxed cooler has a pad mounted. Just mount the cooler.
You may need extra SATA cables for the optical drive and hard drive.

6. Consider getting a SSD with your hard drive. SSDs provide a major performance boost when Windows and other programs are installed on it.

The article did state it was for folks on a low budget...

And?

It's a cheezy low functioning slow 'puter..

My advices do not make it more expensive - even cheaper depending on choice.

 

[Lewdog]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

 

[Bleipriester]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

I bought a refurbished gamer PC for 150 € three years ago. It is now ten years old and still runs fine. I replaced the graphics card and added a SSD. It is a Q6600 CPU in it.

 

[WheelieAddict]

www.tigerdirect.com

Tiger Direct used to

Lewdog, you didn't go for an AM3 setup I hope.

Nope actually haven't bought anything yet. I'm thinking I might just buy one of the refurbed systems on eBay with an i5 or i3 processor in it. Pretty hard to beat an one like this for only $250.

Brand:
HP
Processor Type: Intel Core i3 6th Gen.
Model:
260-p026
Graphics Processing Type: Integrated/On-Board Graphics
MPN:
V8P18AA
Processor Speed: 3.20GHz
Form Factor: Desktop PC Memory: 8GB
Storage Type: HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Operating System: Windows 10
Hard Drive Capacity: 1TB UPC:
190780345979

HP 260-P026 Slimline Desktop Intel Core i3-6100T 3.2GHz 8GB 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Then I'd just have to invest in a low profile video card.

What are you going to use your comp for most of the time? Are you going for a gaming setup? You can build your own its not that hard.

I don't think I'll do much gaming, though if I do decide to start a part time Private Investigation business I'll need to get some video editing software.

So you won't game, need a better than average pc for editing evidence videos? You know that negates the evidence right? If you want a basic processor an intel dual core with hyperthreading G4560 is a great deal only 70 bucks

 

[WheelieAddict]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

the jet coupon codes are limited you need to catch them

 

[WheelieAddict]

Pentium G4560 3.5GHz Dual-Core - System Build - PCPartPicker

You need to pick a case and windows will be around $80 as well.

 

[Moonglow]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

 

[WheelieAddict]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

Yup Jet is trying to become the new amazon by offering deals. I got an I5 6500 for $160 and a 6600 for200

 

[Moonglow]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

Yup Jet is trying to become the new amazon by offering deals. I got an I5 6500 for $160 and a 6600 for200

The Vid/graphic card I got seems to be working just fine, but does put off a lot of heat..

 

[WheelieAddict]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

Yup Jet is trying to become the new amazon by offering deals. I got an I5 6500 for $160 and a 6600 for200

The Vid/graphic card I got seems to be working just fine, but does put off a lot of heat..

Vid cards do that. What you have? You might be able to undervolt it a bit to help the temps.

 

[Moonglow]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

Yup Jet is trying to become the new amazon by offering deals. I got an I5 6500 for $160 and a 6600 for200

The Vid/graphic card I got seems to be working just fine, but does put off a lot of heat..

Vid cards do that. What you have? You might be able to undervolt it a bit to help the temps.

Not sure, it's in my son's gaming computer, but it is an air and liquid cooled device...

 

[WheelieAddict]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

Yup Jet is trying to become the new amazon by offering deals. I got an I5 6500 for $160 and a 6600 for200

The Vid/graphic card I got seems to be working just fine, but does put off a lot of heat..

Vid cards do that. What you have? You might be able to undervolt it a bit to help the temps.

Not sure, it's in my son's gaming computer, but it is an air and liquid cooled device...

Probably better than my setup. I like cooling everything on air liquid will get you the best cooling though. Your son probably knows better than either of us lol

 

[Ringel05]

I'm looking at jet.com and I don't really see very many good looking deals currently.

That was last August when I did buy one and the companies that offer their stuff do change..Jet is owned by,,,,Wal Mart..............

Yup Jet is trying to become the new amazon by offering deals. I got an I5 6500 for $160 and a 6600 for200

The Vid/graphic card I got seems to be working just fine, but does put off a lot of heat..

Vid cards put out a lot of heat, high end cards can run up to 105 C under load. The key is proper case fans, at least one in back to draw the heat and one in front to blow air in. Where is the power supply located? Upper or lower back of the case?

 

[Lewdog]

www.tigerdirect.com

Tiger Direct used to

Lewdog, you didn't go for an AM3 setup I hope.

Nope actually haven't bought anything yet. I'm thinking I might just buy one of the refurbed systems on eBay with an i5 or i3 processor in it. Pretty hard to beat an one like this for only $250.

Brand:
HP
Processor Type: Intel Core i3 6th Gen.
Model:
260-p026
Graphics Processing Type: Integrated/On-Board Graphics
MPN:
V8P18AA
Processor Speed: 3.20GHz
Form Factor: Desktop PC Memory: 8GB
Storage Type: HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Operating System: Windows 10
Hard Drive Capacity: 1TB UPC:
190780345979

HP 260-P026 Slimline Desktop Intel Core i3-6100T 3.2GHz 8GB 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Then I'd just have to invest in a low profile video card.

What are you going to use your comp for most of the time? Are you going for a gaming setup? You can build your own its not that hard.

I don't think I'll do much gaming, though if I do decide to start a part time Private Investigation business I'll need to get some video editing software.

So you won't game, need a better than average pc for editing evidence videos? You know that negates the evidence right? If you want a basic processor an intel dual core with hyperthreading G4560 is a great deal only 70 bucks

No, it's not about editing the videos in that type of way. Most video cameras don't show the time and date stamp on them anymore, and the way the video is done, you have to splice many small video clips together.

 

[Uncensored2008]

I really do need a new desktop computer. The one I have now is like Five years old, slow, and messes up quite often. I have been doing a little research to find the best value vs. performance I can find. And here is the stuff I have found so far. All the prices are off Amazon, so if you have any ideas for better value and a place to find better prices let me know.


AMD Quad Core A10-Series APU for Desktops A10-6800K with Radeon HD 8670D (AD680KWOHLBOX)
$128


ASRock FM2A88X Extreme6+
$97


Corsair Vengeance 16GB (2x8GB) DDR3 1600 MHz (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory
$95


Corsair Carbide Series SPEC-02 Mid Tower Gaming Case
$50


Corsair Air Series AF120 LED Quiet Edition High Airflow Fan Twin Pack - Red
$18


Arctic Silver 5 AS5-3.5G Thermal Paste
$7


ZOTAC GeForce GTX 1050 Ti Mini, 4GB GDDR5 DisplayPort 128-bit PCI-E Graphic Card (ZT-P10510A-10L)
$160


Lite-On 24X SATA Internal DVD+/-RW Drive Optical Drive IHAS124-14 + Nero 12 Essentials Burning Software + Sata Cable Kit
$22


EVGA 550N1, 550W, 2 Year Warranty, Power Supply 100-N1-0550-L1
$41


WD Blue 1TB SATA 6 Gb/s 7200 RPM 64MB Cache 3.5 Inch Desktop Hard Drive (WD10EZEX)
$50

You can get an AMD FX-6300 Vishera 6-Core 3.5 GHz (4.1 GHz Turbo) Socket AM3+ 95W FD6300WMHKBOX Desktop Processor
for as little as $100 via NewEgg.

Is it true that when it says 6 core, it is really only a three core though? I get so confused when you read about Intel processors against AMD ones.

It's 6 physical cores No hyper-threading though. Less threads than on a 4 core Intel.

 

[Uncensored2008]

www.tigerdirect.com

Tiger Direct used to

Lewdog, you didn't go for an AM3 setup I hope.

Nope actually haven't bought anything yet. I'm thinking I might just buy one of the refurbed systems on eBay with an i5 or i3 processor in it. Pretty hard to beat an one like this for only $250.

Brand:
HP
Processor Type: Intel Core i3 6th Gen.
Model:
260-p026
Graphics Processing Type: Integrated/On-Board Graphics
MPN:
V8P18AA
Processor Speed: 3.20GHz
Form Factor: Desktop PC Memory: 8GB
Storage Type: HDD (Hard Disk Drive) Operating System: Windows 10
Hard Drive Capacity: 1TB UPC:
190780345979

HP 260-P026 Slimline Desktop Intel Core i3-6100T 3.2GHz 8GB 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Then I'd just have to invest in a low profile video card.

What are you going to use your comp for most of the time? Are you going for a gaming setup? You can build your own its not that hard.

I don't think I'll do much gaming, though if I do decide to start a part time Private Investigation business I'll need to get some video editing software.

I buy a LOT of refurbs and use them on the shop floor. I have done very well with them. I usually pay about $100 and get a half-decent machine. I use them as barcode hosts, so fairly light duty. But they run office apps with no problem. Most have been gen. 2 I5's lately. A hundred bucks with a Windows license, hard to go wrong.

 

[Kat]

Interesting thread. Love it! I used to build mine (and yes I am a gurl). It got cheaper to just buy one now days. But nothing like the feel of accomplishment when you build one, boot it up, and it works! LOL

 

[Lewdog]

Interesting thread. Love it! I used to build mine (and yes I am a gurl). It got cheaper to just buy one now days. But nothing like the feel of accomplishment when you build one, boot it up, and it works! LOL

Yes I built my last two, but when you start pricing individual parts, and then take into account the time you put into putting it together and some of the unforeseen problems you might run into like a motherboard that doesn't post, it just seems cheaper to buy one already put together.