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On April 20 2014 06:12 wussleeQ wrote:
Could someone please suggest a fairly low end build for my parents who probably at most only watch netflix?
What is your budget?
I guess $500's? I can be sort of flexible i guess lol i just want good enough budget computer that will run smoothly for a low usage user
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1600x900
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
none
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
video streaming stuff like netflix youtube
Do you intend to overclock?
no
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
no
Do you need an operating system?
no
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
no
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
anything not gigabyte. i have really bad luck with their stuff :X
What country will you be buying your parts in?
united states
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
none
Any laptop or computer pre-built at your electronics store priced at lower than $500 will be able to watch netflix....
Their biggest concern would be their internet package.
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Dell Inspirion 660i, literally $300-330. It's a 3Ghz Pentium with a WD Blue 500GB HDD that comes with windows. I got my brother to buy one last Christmas (for $280!) and it works as well as expected.
The only thing bad about it is the motherboard ONLY has 2 SATA ports (WTF dell, it costs you less than 50cents to add another port), so you would have to take out the HDD (or disconnect the optical drive) if you wanted to put an SSD in there.
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United States9452 Posts
That's what SATA expansion cards are for. Or external USB drives (particularly for optical drive).
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United Kingdom20345 Posts
On April 20 2014 07:32 yokcounty wrote:Show nested quote +On April 20 2014 06:12 wussleeQ wrote:
Could someone please suggest a fairly low end build for my parents who probably at most only watch netflix?
What is your budget?
I guess $500's? I can be sort of flexible i guess lol i just want good enough budget computer that will run smoothly for a low usage user
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1600x900
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
none
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
video streaming stuff like netflix youtube
Do you intend to overclock?
no
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
no
Do you need an operating system?
no
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
no
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
anything not gigabyte. i have really bad luck with their stuff :X
What country will you be buying your parts in?
united states
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
none I will sell them my 2011 iMac for whatever the fair price on ebay and stuff is minus $50 for TL user and free shipping. Let me know if interested.
Unless they're going really really really cheap, it's probably not worth for either of you
skyR just posted a $400 build but if you're cutting pennies you could prob get it to $275 range with a cheapo case, no SSD and a normal power supply (almost everybody uses PSU's that could be called terrible, spending $70 on a PSU for a netflix build is pretty funny to me)
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On April 18 2014 08:12 Grampz wrote:
Looking to UPGRADE
What is your current build?
EVGA 132-CK-NF78-A1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 780i SLI ATX Intel Motherboard
Q6600 Processor
280GB HD Western Digital
4 GB RAM
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1600x900
Why do you want to upgrade? What do you want to achieve with the upgrade?
Need new CD reader, Can keep CPU if needed. On budget. Possibly new RAM. Need new hard drive. Anything else I would need.
What is your budget?
300-350
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
please any help is appreciated. Not looking for a complete overhaul just some tweaks here and there. Unless I find a really good deal, in which case i wouldn't be opposed.
On a general note a new 1TB HDD will cost you around $60, this is to cover your HDD needs. You could add 4GB DDR2 ram to increase performance in games and that will cost you around $70 as well since DDR2 ram is actually more expensive than DDR3.
Then you can purchase a new CPU cooler, a good one for overclocking will set you back around $80-$90. Then you overclock the CPU as much as you can.
Overall cost will be $200-$220; Advantages are that you keep your current rig, get additional HDD space and boosts the speed a decent amount.
Alternatively you can get an I5 4430 for $190 ASUS H81M-K LGA 1150 Intel H81 Motherboard for $55 and new 4gb 1600MHz DDR3 memory for $40
Overall cost will be $280-$300, for another $50 you can buy a new HDD as well; Advantages for this build are that its new, so new CPU, new mobo with USB 3 and Sata6 support, new faster ram. It also way faster than your current computer and you can easily add more ram and add a better CPU in the future if you wish.
Disadvantages are that its quite extensive upgrade, you'll need to basically strip your current PC and add the new mobo, cpu, ram and attach the HDD, GPU and other stuff from your current computer.
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+ Show Spoiler +
sweet thanks a lot for this!
as for the other posts, i'm too lazy to teach them mac and my brother had bought a laptop for them which i would pull my hair out trying to configure because of how shitty it ran so i decided a barebones computer would be much better.
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United Kingdom20345 Posts
I didn't actually consider that there was no HDD in this build. I guess price couldn't be brought down >that< much - though $70 for one of the best 450w psu's on the planet still seems out of place to me on such a build
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You don't need a HDD for Netflix or Youtube. $70 PSU isn't out of ordinary for these sort of builds, there are some (including me) that would get a Seasonic Platinum. Just a matter of individual preference.
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I have no qualms buying something like a PSU used on eBay for very little (though it's a bit scary trying it out, I must admit). 
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United Kingdom20345 Posts
On April 20 2014 22:38 skyR wrote:
You don't need a HDD for Netflix or Youtube. $70 PSU isn't out of ordinary for these sort of builds, there are some (including me) that would get a Seasonic Platinum. Just a matter of individual preference.
The build, with a $50 case, comes to $280 - there if no way that i would pay 1/4 of the build cost on a PSU. That's akin to a $250 PSU added on a $1k build - it's maybe good, but it's not at all necessary and it looks silly next to the price tag.
Having a good PSU is somewhat important and all, but out of all of the people that i know with PC's IRL, only one of them uses PSU's that are even rated 80+. A netflix rig isn't going to set on fire because you have a cx430 or some other psu powering the like 50 watt or whatever it's drawing for the entire system
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PSUs have become so controversial as of late.
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What is your budget?
$900
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
League of Legends; high
Starcraft 2; high
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Listening to music in the background, Microsoft Word, Streaming to twitch
Do you intend to overclock?
No unless you think it is worth it.
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
Yes, preferably windows 8
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
I need a monitor and yes it is part of my budget
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
I have no preference
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
None
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On April 21 2014 07:07 Leonidas1 wrote:
What is your budget?
$900
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
League of Legends; high
Starcraft 2; high
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Listening to music in the background, Microsoft Word, Streaming to twitch
Do you intend to overclock?
No unless you think it is worth it.
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
Yes, preferably windows 8
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
I need a monitor and yes it is part of my budget
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
I have no preference
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
None
Hello, you sound like you are looking for the same type of build as me. If you look a few pages back, you can find a build that was recommended to me that I think might for your needs as well.
Look at me helping others with their builds already :p (jk). GL!
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On April 21 2014 07:07 Leonidas1 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
$900
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
League of Legends; high
Starcraft 2; high
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Listening to music in the background, Microsoft Word, Streaming to twitch
Do you intend to overclock?
No unless you think it is worth it.
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
Yes, preferably windows 8
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
I need a monitor and yes it is part of my budget
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
I have no preference
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
None
You should probably re-read the OP, there's a lot of information in there which should get you something to start with. I think a Haswell Core i5 would be good here if you can fit it in your budget, try building around that processor (I would go for the 4670 if you wanna stream). You don't have the funds to overclock it though.
Anyway, how would one rank the GTX 750 Ti and GTX 750 in this list:
GTX 780 R9 290
GTX 770 Radeon HD7970 R9 280X
GTX 760 Radeon HD7950
R9 270X
GTX 660 Radeon HD7870 R9 270
GTX 650 Ti Boost Radeon HD7850
GTX 650 Ti Radeon HD7790 R7 260X
Radeon HD7770
I would put the GTX 750 Ti with the 650 Ti Boost / 7850 tier, and the GTX 750 in the 650 Ti / 7790 / R7 260X tier.
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United Kingdom20345 Posts
On April 21 2014 20:58 Incognoto wrote:Show nested quote +On April 21 2014 07:07 Leonidas1 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +
What is your budget?
$900
What is your monitor's native resolution?
1920x1080
What games do you intend to play on this computer? What settings?
League of Legends; high
Starcraft 2; high
What do you intend to use the computer for besides gaming?
Listening to music in the background, Microsoft Word, Streaming to twitch
Do you intend to overclock?
No unless you think it is worth it.
Do you intend to do SLI / Crossfire?
No
Do you need an operating system?
Yes, preferably windows 8
Do you need a monitor or any other peripherals and is this part of your budget?
I need a monitor and yes it is part of my budget
If you have any requirements or brand preferences, please specify.
I have no preference
What country will you be buying your parts in?
USA
If you have any retailer preferences, please specify.
None
You should probably re-read the OP, there's a lot of information in there which should get you something to start with. I think a Haswell Core i5 would be good here if you can fit it in your budget, try building around that processor (I would go for the 4670 if you wanna stream). You don't have the funds to overclock it though. Anyway, how would one rank the GTX 750 Ti and GTX 750 in this list: Show nested quote +GTX 780 R9 290
GTX 770 Radeon HD7970 R9 280X
GTX 760 Radeon HD7950
R9 270X
GTX 660 Radeon HD7870 R9 270
GTX 650 Ti Boost Radeon HD7850
GTX 650 Ti Radeon HD7790 R7 260X
Radeon HD7770
I would put the GTX 750 Ti with the 650 Ti Boost / 7850 tier, and the GTX 750 in the 650 Ti / 7790 / R7 260X tier.
Yes, 750ti is under the 270, while 750 above 7770
standard build here i think i5 4670, 8gb RAM (cheap, probably 1600c9), ~450w psu (whatever has quality and works), 750ti/760 (getting lower is possible, but makes somewhat lopsided towards CPU and OP probably wants future games to run suitably well)
h81/b85/whatever board works
depending on storage needs:
single 120gb ssd (~840 evo)
single 240gb ssd
(instead of, or combined with one of the below)
single 500gb HDD
single 1tb HDD
single >1tb HDD
120gb ssd + 1tb HDD works well, as does single 240gb SSD if you don't want more space. Depends a lot on the price, in the UK we got some really low SSD prices recently, 240gb SSD was cheaper than 120gb ssd + a decent HDD
Case is personal, you can range from not actually buying one, to spending like $150 within reason. Best to stick to cheaper for lower budget though, it's very easy to cool such parts and they won't really heat up a basic case with a couple low speed fans
i5 4670 + 750ti are silly low power consumption, like 150w for entire system level low. 760 is architecture behind (for those unaware) with higher strengh but significantly higher raw power consumption, so it'd be in the low to mid 200's range for entire system i think
It's not much power (in terms of bills etc) but it's relevant because power usage pretty much directly correlates to heat output. At that level it's not much to worry about, as for example two high OC'd 780ti's with a 3930k can hit a thousand watts or so.
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R7 265 aka the 7850, bountiful at ~$155 and is literally the R9 270 with 4 CU's (or w/e amd calls them) chopped off. They are both power limited at 150w (much like the 650Ti boost/660 situation) so you only really lose ~5% performance (after OC ofc) for ~$25 cheaper... Way to go AMD you just shot your self in the foot.
So I say R7 265.
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United Kingdom20345 Posts
On April 21 2014 22:25 iTzSnypah wrote:
R7 265 aka the 7850, bountiful at ~$155 and is literally the R9 270 with 4 CU's (or w/e amd calls them) chopped off. They are both power limited at 150w (much like the 650Ti boost/660 situation) so you only really lose ~5% performance (after OC ofc) for ~$25 cheaper... Way to go AMD you just shot your self in the foot.
So I say R7 265.
It's still a pretty big gap, 1.25x in favor of the 270 in terms of CU's.
TBH they seem pretty similar price/perf (265 and 750ti), maybe 265 a bit better (though less available) but the combination of significantly more CPU-efficient drivers, double the performance per watt and NVENC available makes 750ti extremely appealing to me (and i think some others)
I am probably quite biased though.
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EPT
