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

[Ringel05]

Depends on the mobo, you would probably have to upgrade the one you have listed but if you go with a six or eight core now that's one component you probably won't have to upgrade the next time.

Yeah that processor won't fit in that MoBo, and I'd have to find a MoBo that is AM3+ that also has a PCI-e 3.0 x16 slot.

Yup. Or you could spend your money on an Intel chip (Haswell), the i5 quad is actually one of the best all around but it's expensive, the i3 is only a dual core but is faster than the current AMD quad core crop of processors. AMD has yet to catch up with intel's i series processor technology.

Well here is the MoBo I like that will fit that 6 core chip you showed, however I can't see anywhere that it says if the PCI-e x16 slot is 2.0 or 3.0. It is about $30 more than the board I had chosen.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B6ONXK/?tag=ff0d01-20

ASUS USA

So it doesn't.

That compatibility web page says that graphics card will still work in it. So maybe it would be fine.

I put a GForce 2GB card in my gaming build (from earlier this year), it's fast. The only potential drawback to using a 6 or 8 core is the stock CPU fan works fine but works hard hence it can be noisy, soon I plan on putting a liquid cooled fan in it, that combined with the case fan should quiet it down some making it run cooler.

 

[Ringel05]

Depends on the mobo, you would probably have to upgrade the one you have listed but if you go with a six or eight core now that's one component you probably won't have to upgrade the next time.

Yeah that processor won't fit in that MoBo, and I'd have to find a MoBo that is AM3+ that also has a PCI-e 3.0 x16 slot.

Yup. Or you could spend your money on an Intel chip (Haswell), the i5 quad is actually one of the best all around but it's expensive, the i3 is only a dual core but is faster than the current AMD quad core crop of processors. AMD has yet to catch up with intel's i series processor technology.

Well here is the MoBo I like that will fit that 6 core chip you showed, however I can't see anywhere that it says if the PCI-e x16 slot is 2.0 or 3.0. It is about $30 more than the board I had chosen.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B6ONXK/?tag=ff0d01-20

ASUS USA

So it doesn't.

That compatibility web page says that graphics card will still work in it. So maybe it would be fine.

Actually it has two PCI-e 2 x16 slots

 

[Lewdog]

Yeah that processor won't fit in that MoBo, and I'd have to find a MoBo that is AM3+ that also has a PCI-e 3.0 x16 slot.

Yup. Or you could spend your money on an Intel chip (Haswell), the i5 quad is actually one of the best all around but it's expensive, the i3 is only a dual core but is faster than the current AMD quad core crop of processors. AMD has yet to catch up with intel's i series processor technology.

Well here is the MoBo I like that will fit that 6 core chip you showed, however I can't see anywhere that it says if the PCI-e x16 slot is 2.0 or 3.0. It is about $30 more than the board I had chosen.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B6ONXK/?tag=ff0d01-20

ASUS USA

So it doesn't.

That compatibility web page says that graphics card will still work in it. So maybe it would be fine.

Actually it has two PCI-e 2 x16 slots

Right but what is the difference between a PCI-e x16 2.0 slot and a PCI-e x16 3.0 slot?

 

[Ringel05]

Yup. Or you could spend your money on an Intel chip (Haswell), the i5 quad is actually one of the best all around but it's expensive, the i3 is only a dual core but is faster than the current AMD quad core crop of processors. AMD has yet to catch up with intel's i series processor technology.

Well here is the MoBo I like that will fit that 6 core chip you showed, however I can't see anywhere that it says if the PCI-e x16 slot is 2.0 or 3.0. It is about $30 more than the board I had chosen.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B008B6ONXK/?tag=ff0d01-20

ASUS USA

So it doesn't.

That compatibility web page says that graphics card will still work in it. So maybe it would be fine.

Actually it has two PCI-e 2 x16 slots

Right but what is the difference between a PCI-e x16 2.0 slot and a PCI-e x16 3.0 slot?

Roughly 8GBs.

 

[Lewdog]

Instead of building my own, is this a good deal? It doesn't have a video card, but it seems like it would be a lot cheaper than the build I was planning.

HP ENVY 750-167c Desktop PC Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz 12GB DDR3 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

 

[TheOldSchool]

Instead of building my own, is this a good deal? It doesn't have a video card, but it seems like it would be a lot cheaper than the build I was planning.

HP ENVY 750-167c Desktop PC Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz 12GB DDR3 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Your question in post #23 doesn't matter. If you're not using your PC for gaming then that build should be great. If you are, you should think about increasing your budget a little bit. Graphics cards do matter.

 

[Lewdog]

Instead of building my own, is this a good deal? It doesn't have a video card, but it seems like it would be a lot cheaper than the build I was planning.

HP ENVY 750-167c Desktop PC Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz 12GB DDR3 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Your question in post #23 doesn't matter. If you're not using your PC for gaming then that build should be great. If you are, you should think about increasing your budget a little bit. Graphics cards do matter.

Well I do most of my gaming on my XBox One, however I would still want the ability to play games if I wanted to. I sent the seller a message to see if it has a video card slot and what type it is.

I would mostly use the system to do my school work and for surfing the net. I might actually take the Windows 10 off of it and install my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. I've been told by many people that Windows 10 sucks and is full of bugs compared to Windows 7.

 

[TheOldSchool]

Instead of building my own, is this a good deal? It doesn't have a video card, but it seems like it would be a lot cheaper than the build I was planning.

HP ENVY 750-167c Desktop PC Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz 12GB DDR3 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Your question in post #23 doesn't matter. If you're not using your PC for gaming then that build should be great. If you are, you should think about increasing your budget a little bit. Graphics cards do matter.

Well I do most of my gaming on my XBox One, however I would still want the ability to play games if I wanted to. I sent the seller a message to see if it has a video card slot and what type it is.

I would mostly use the system to do my school work and for surfing the net. I might actually take the Windows 10 off of it and install my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. I've been told by many people that Windows 10 sucks and is full of bugs compared to Windows 7.

Well the video card is pretty crucial to the whole system. If you want to upgrade it in the future it's possible, but it'll be a huge bitch to do. You'll have to learn how to take your entire system apart, replace the graphics card, and put it back together. For school and the internet you should be fine. For casual gaming, you should expect low-end graphics and performance on modern games.

As a comparison, I spent over $1000 on my Desktop. That's not including the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and OS. My graphics card should be good to go for another 4, maybe 5 years. I ordered the individual parts and put them together which is what I wanted to do because it was fun and saved me money. Now 5 years from now, when I'm running the newest games on low settings, I'd rather die than take this thing apart and install a new graphics card. That's what you'd be looking at.

 

[Lewdog]

Instead of building my own, is this a good deal? It doesn't have a video card, but it seems like it would be a lot cheaper than the build I was planning.

HP ENVY 750-167c Desktop PC Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz 12GB DDR3 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Your question in post #23 doesn't matter. If you're not using your PC for gaming then that build should be great. If you are, you should think about increasing your budget a little bit. Graphics cards do matter.

Well I do most of my gaming on my XBox One, however I would still want the ability to play games if I wanted to. I sent the seller a message to see if it has a video card slot and what type it is.

I would mostly use the system to do my school work and for surfing the net. I might actually take the Windows 10 off of it and install my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. I've been told by many people that Windows 10 sucks and is full of bugs compared to Windows 7.

Well the video card is pretty crucial to the whole system. If you want to upgrade it in the future it's possible, but it'll be a huge bitch to do. You'll have to learn how to take your entire system apart, replace the graphics card, and put it back together. For school and the internet you should be fine. For casual gaming, you should expect low-end graphics and performance on modern games.

As a comparison, I spent over $1000 on my Desktop. That's not including the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and OS. My graphics card should be good to go for another 4, maybe 5 years. I ordered the individual parts and put them together which is what I wanted to do because it was fun and saved me money. Now 5 years from now, when I'm running the newest games on low settings, I'd rather die than take this thing apart and install a new graphics card. That's what you'd be looking at.

I never had a real problem putting in a graphics card before? The tower I have now, I just undo 3 screws, slide the side, and then plug in the graphics card. Why do you think it is so hard?

 

[TheOldSchool]

Instead of building my own, is this a good deal? It doesn't have a video card, but it seems like it would be a lot cheaper than the build I was planning.

HP ENVY 750-167c Desktop PC Intel Core i5-6400 2.7GHz 12GB DDR3 1TB Windows 10 | eBay

Your question in post #23 doesn't matter. If you're not using your PC for gaming then that build should be great. If you are, you should think about increasing your budget a little bit. Graphics cards do matter.

Well I do most of my gaming on my XBox One, however I would still want the ability to play games if I wanted to. I sent the seller a message to see if it has a video card slot and what type it is.

I would mostly use the system to do my school work and for surfing the net. I might actually take the Windows 10 off of it and install my copy of Windows 7 Ultimate. I've been told by many people that Windows 10 sucks and is full of bugs compared to Windows 7.

Well the video card is pretty crucial to the whole system. If you want to upgrade it in the future it's possible, but it'll be a huge bitch to do. You'll have to learn how to take your entire system apart, replace the graphics card, and put it back together. For school and the internet you should be fine. For casual gaming, you should expect low-end graphics and performance on modern games.

As a comparison, I spent over $1000 on my Desktop. That's not including the monitor, keyboard, mouse, and OS. My graphics card should be good to go for another 4, maybe 5 years. I ordered the individual parts and put them together which is what I wanted to do because it was fun and saved me money. Now 5 years from now, when I'm running the newest games on low settings, I'd rather die than take this thing apart and install a new graphics card. That's what you'd be looking at.

I never had a real problem putting in a graphics card before? The tower I have now, I just undo 3 screws, slide the side, and then plug in the graphics card. Why do you think it is so hard?

Maybe I'm just being crazy then. While I was building my rig I swore that the next time I would just pay extra to have it built for me. I'd rather die than take my case apart to put in a new graphics card. But if you're up for it then good for you

 

[Darkwind]

www.tigerdirect.com

Tiger Direct used to be the cheapest, but I haven't put a system together in about 8 years so who knows. Good luck.

 

[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.

 

[WheelieAddict]

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

 

[Lewdog]

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.

 

[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.

 

[WheelieAddict]

Anyways AMD is releasing a new architecture in a few days on the am4 socket. So don't buy old amd, intel has been better anyways. New amd looks great though. Also stay away from Tigerdirect used to be a good retailer not anymore.

 

[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...

 

[Moonglow]

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.

I got one off of Jet for 180 bucks...

 

[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?

 

[WheelieAddict]

Moonglow knows whats up jet.com has huge discount codes if you catch them. I saved 60 bucks on a processor.