Computer build for friend

Janders

A friend of mine needs a new computer by Thursday, his crapped out.  He only uses it for online auto auctions.  Just looking for some input on what would be the best components be. I know how to look for gaming parts, but this is different.

I think just some basic stuff would work? Probably don't need a dedicated graphics?

Would an i3 be over doing it? He has multiple auctions up at once so processing power would really be the only thing needed, I'm assuming.

 

Anyways, just looking for some input. Also I have a microcenter that I will be purchasing all parts from, because they are right down the road from me, and I can get the parts tomorrow and have it built and ready right away.

Thanks!!

Quizzical

If he really only uses it for online auctions and is never going to play games on it, then a cheap dual core with integrated graphics will have plenty of performance for him.  And yes, a Core i3 is way overdoing it.  A Haswell Celeron/Pentium or AMD Trinity/Richland/Kaveri dual core is plenty.  I'd stay away from Atom or Socket AM1, though, as there's no need to go that low end in a desktop.  Get something cheap that goes in LGA 1150 or FM2/FM2+ and expect to pay about $50.

Do get him a decent quality power supply, though, and not the cheapest piece of junk you can find.  Low end junk can cause all sorts of problems, up to and including frying hardware.  And I don't just mean a power supply frying itself; they sometimes take other hardware with them when they die.  You don't need a ton of wattage (rated at 300 W is more than enough), but you do need decent quality, which tends to start around $40.

I'd also get him an SSD instead of a hard drive.  120 GB SSDs don't cost much more than the cheapest modern 7200 RPM hard drives, but he'll notice the speed difference of an SSD--even if he wouldn't notice the difference of a faster CPU or GPU.

Janders

How does this look?

Motherboard: http://www.microcenter.com/product/446578/FM2A88M-HD_Socket_FM2-FM2_mATX_AMD_Motherboard

PSU: http://www.microcenter.com/product/435028/A6_7400K_Black_Edition_39GHz_Dual-Core_Socket_FM2_Boxed_Processor

package deal $63 after rebates

Case: http://www.microcenter.com/product/416831/Core_1000_mATX_Computer_Case_-_Black --$34.99

OS: http://www.microcenter.com/product/431194/Windows_7_Home_Premium_SP1_64-bit_English_-_OEM $99

Ram: http://www.microcenter.com/product/382074/Ballistix_Sport_4GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Desktop_Memory_Module_Kit_(Two_2GB_Memory_Modules)  $34.99

SSD: http://www.microcenter.com/product/408885/SSDNow_V300_120GB_SATA_III_6Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD) $54.99

PS: http://www.microcenter.com/product/399979/Builder_Series_CX430_430_Watt_ATX_12V_Power_Supply $29.99 after rebates.

Ridelynn

Honestly, for this, I would just get a decently cheap laptop, like under $400 cheap. You don't need any amount of processing power at all, all you need is something that can browse the web. Heck, a tablet may even be all he needs.

The reason being - it's all in one nice convenient package, can be carried around, used on the sofa, wherever. If anything breaks in warranty there's no troubleshooting - you just send it in, and if anything breaks outside of warranty, you throw it out and get a new model

jonp200

The Pentium G3258 is an amazing chip (Pentium Anniversary Edition)  Dual Core Processor.  Haswell 3.2 Ghz, unlocked retails for about $69 - Nothing not to like here.. Heck, you can even overclock it! Integrated graphics...

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117374&cm_re=pentium_g3258-_-19-117-374-_-Product

 

 

Quizzical

Originally posted by Janders

How does this look?

Motherboard: http://www.microcenter.com/product/446578/FM2A88M-HD_Socket_FM2-FM2_mATX_AMD_Motherboard

PSU: http://www.microcenter.com/product/435028/A6_7400K_Black_Edition_39GHz_Dual-Core_Socket_FM2_Boxed_Processor

package deal $63 after rebates

Case: http://www.microcenter.com/product/416831/Core_1000_mATX_Computer_Case_-_Black --$34.99

OS: http://www.microcenter.com/product/431194/Windows_7_Home_Premium_SP1_64-bit_English_-_OEM $99

Ram: http://www.microcenter.com/product/382074/Ballistix_Sport_4GB_DDR3-1600_(PC3-12800)_CL9_Desktop_Memory_Module_Kit_(Two_2GB_Memory_Modules)  $34.99

SSD: http://www.microcenter.com/product/408885/SSDNow_V300_120GB_SATA_III_6Gb-s_25_Internal_Solid_State_Drive_(SSD) $54.99

PS: http://www.microcenter.com/product/399979/Builder_Series_CX430_430_Watt_ATX_12V_Power_Supply $29.99 after rebates.

Looks pretty good to me.  Since you're buying it in person, I won't try to fish out better deals on New Egg for you.

Do be aware that, without an optical drive, you'll need some way to install the OS.  You could probably borrow an optical drive from some other machine, but do have some plan for that.

I assume you're planning on reusing peripherals from the old computer.

Loke666

Originally posted by Quizzical

Looks pretty good to me.  Since you're buying it in person, I won't try to fish out better deals on New Egg for you.

Do be aware that, without an optical drive, you'll need some way to install the OS.  You could probably borrow an optical drive from some other machine, but do have some plan for that.

I assume you're planning on reusing peripherals from the old computer.

He could install it from a USB stick, but borrowing a DVD ROM is easier. Heck, you can install it from another computer in the same network as well but that is pretty tricky and nothing I recommend at all.

jonyrizzla

i don't recommend you to take 120G SSD, it's never enough, 256G or SSHD