PC Build under $300

Jamie Patel2 said:I'd grab everything from Micro Center or Best Buy. They don't carry certain parts there, so maybe something like this?

x2

maybe something like this.

Total's around $400-$900 (didn't do the math exactly), which means there's nothing left for a GPU. I'm thinking about just picking up a better card later. Better than blowing cash now on stuff that won't work.

There's zero graphics here. How do you expect to see anything?

That processor doesn't have integrated graphics... unless you happen to have an old PCI-e card lying around somewhere.

Also, don't bother with that power supply—you can grab a much better CX430 for that kind of money.

I've got some ancient GPU lying around, should do the trick.
Timothy Kim60 thanks, I'm definitely grabbing that power supply.
Man, this case looks even better than I thought . Honestly, that’s the one I’d pick, I’m just stressing about whether everything will actually fit—you know, making sure those motherboard slots line up with the case.
Thanks 😁

Save that money for the case. You're better off getting the other 6009 model because it actually includes the fans.

Also, I just realized—don't bother grabbing two 2GB sticks. Using 2GB modules is pretty outdated; you're much better off going with a single 4GB stick. It's cheaper, and more importantly, it leaves two slots open on your motherboard for future upgrades. In my opinion, the dual channel performance isn't even worth the trade-off here.

Furthermore, for roughly the same price, you should grab this cooler instead:
But honestly, if you just want things to run quiet, those Kepler spires or an LC Power 95 cooler will do the trick. That Zalman model is really intended for people serious about overclocking.

Jamie Patel2 said:I've got some old GPU lying around, should do the trick.
Timothy Kim60 thanks, I'll grab that power supply.
This case looks even better to me . I'd pick that one if I could, just worried about whether everything fits—matching those motherboard slots to the case layout.
Thanks 😁

Just make sure your card is PCI-E and not AGP 🙂

Hi everyone!

I'm looking to pick up a new computer case—my budget is roughly $667 plus or minus $200 or $300 if a slightly better option means it’ll last me longer...
- I already have my peripherals, monitor, and printer ready to go.

The setup will mainly be used for watching movies, browsing the web, and some basic office work like Word documents and presentations.

Just for context, the monitor I'm currently using is a 21-inch model.
A 250 GB hard drive should be plenty, though I wouldn't mind jumping up to 500 GB if it fits within the specs.

If possible, the most important thing for me would be finding something that runs as quietly as possible...

Thanks so much to anyone who takes a moment out of their day to help me out!

ST500DM005 500GB 16MB 7200 SATA 6Gb/s
INTEL Pentium Processor G3220 (3.00GHz,512KB,3MB,54 W,1150) Box, INTEL HD Graphics
Chassis SILVERSTONE Precision PS08 Midi Tower, micro ATX, 7 slots, 2xUSB3.0, Audio, Plastic/Steel, P
Patriot Sig. DIMM, DDR3 1600Mhz, 4GB
Fortron nap.400W, Hexa, 80+,active,12 cm
Asus H81M-C

Asus H81M-C total: $100 Newegg

INTEL
1 x Intel Pentium G2120 3.1, 3MB, 65W, Socket 1155, box
1 x 4GB DDR3 Corsair, 1333MHz, CL9, Value, CMV4GX3M1A1333C9
1 x Chicony HPA-400W, Advanced Highly HPA Series
1 x Spire Maverick 6009, ATX/micro ATX case
1 x 500GB TOSHIBA, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x MSI B75MA-E33, Socket : 1155, microATX, Intel ® B75, 2xDDR3

$670

AMD

1 x Spire Maverick 6009, ATX/micro ATX case
1 x 500GB TOSHIBA, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Asrock FM2A75M-DGS - AMD A75 Hudson D2, M-ATX, Solid Capacitor
1 x 4GB DDR3 Kingston, 1600MHz, CL9, HyperX, KHX1600C9D3B1/
1 x Chicony HPA-400W, Advanced Highly HPA Series
1 x AMD x4 6400 k, Richland A6-Series, 3.9GHz 2 cores

$699

www.newegg.com

If you’re going with the 6400K, you should definitely grab an extra cooler. Or, if you decide against the cooler, at least pick up some earplugs. 😁

There isn't much point looking at the 6400k when you've got an Intel Pentium on the table here.

1 x MSI B75MA-E33, Socket : 1155, microATX, Intel® B75, 2xDDR3
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Intel Pentium G2030 3.1GHz, 3MB, 65W, Socket 1155, box
1 x DDR3 8GB (1x8GB) Kingston, HyperX Blue, 1600MHz, CL10
1 x CORSAIR 430W, CX Series 80+ Bronze, EPS12V v2.3, 80+
1 x Zalman ZM-T1 micro tower case. 169(W) x 425(H) x 340(D)mm

$745

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions..

With some help from a buddy, I'm pretty close to pulling the trigger on this build.. so if you guys could take a look and let me know what you think—specifically if I should tweak anything, like bumping up the power supply or maybe switching to CL9 RAM—I'd really appreciate it. I went with 1TB because shipping isn't free unless I hit the $2,000 mark, and the price difference is only $27..

Intel Pentium Processor G3220 box, Intel HD Graphics

Asrock H81M-DGS

Kingston DDR3 1600MHz, CL11, SR, 4GB

Zalman micro tower case black

Chicony Active 350 w ATX

Toshiba DT01ACA100 (3.5", 1TB, 32MB, SATA III-600)

futura-it $687..

It all looks good. If you’re planning on dropping in a dedicated graphics card sometime today or tomorrow, you should probably just go ahead and grab that Chicony Active 350 w ATX.

A buddy of mine found some build recommendations on a thread online, tweaked them a bit, and ended up with this setup (he's already got his own case and peripherals)
Here’s the parts list:
AMD A-Series A8 5500 processor, Socket FM2, 3.2GHz/3.7GHz........$203
XFX ATI Radeon HD5450 graphics card, 1GB DDR3, DVI, HDMI....$67
ASRock H61 Pro motherboard, Socket 1155, Intel H61, ATX......$90
Kingmax RAM 4GB, DDR3, 1600MHz x 2.............................$100
Cooler Master 500 W power supply, 120mm fan......................$83
It comes out to about $1630 through an online retailer.
He's just looking to play some older games, nothing too crazy, so he thinks this will do the trick.
I actually got some really solid advice on this forum when I was putting my own PC together, so I figured I'd jump back in and ask for some input on his build too$600
Best regards

Nothing works

What’s the absolute ceiling on his budget? And what kind of games is he looking to run?

Hi everyone, I'm putting together a computer for myself. I'll mainly be using it for Office tasks and watching movies, so I was wondering which of these three configurations you'd recommend based on the price point.

Motherboard: Asrock H81M-HDS, Socket 1150
CPU: Intel Core i3-4130, 3.4GHz
RAM: 4GB DDR3 PC1600
HDD: 500GB Western Digital
Optical Drive: DVD RW
Case: NaviaTec MATX PC
Power Supply: 500W
Keyboard + Mouse $833

Processor: Intel J1800 dual Core 2.58GHz (1MB cache)
RAM: 4GB DDR3 (expandable up to 8GB)
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics
Hard Drive: 500GB SATA 7,200 RPM
Optical Drive: dual Layer DVDRW
Network Card: Yes (Gb LAN)
Ports: 1x USB 3.0, 4x USB 2.0, 1x VGA, audio in/out
Case: Mini Tower
Keyboard and Mouse
Windows 8.1 $633

DVD±RW 24x, black, SATA, dual Layer, DVD-RAM, bulk
Graphics Card: Nvidia GeForce gt 630
Motherboard: H81, Intel H81, DDR3, audio, S-ATA, G-LAN, PCI-E, USB 3.0, mATX, Socket 1150
Memory: PC-10600, 4 GB, DDR3 1333MHz
Mouse: Logitech B100, optical, black, USB
Processor: Intel Pentium G3220 box, Socket 1150, 3.0GHz, 3MB cache, GPU, dual Core
Keyboard: Logitech K120, black, OEM, USB
Hard Drive: 500.0 GB SATA3, 16MB cache, 7200 RPM
Speakers: Logitech LS21, 2.1, black, 2700

I'm assuming those are just pre-built configurations, right?

Larry Ortiz5 said:I’m assuming those are just pre-built configurations, right?

Yeah, why do you ask?

If you're just looking to handle some office work and stream movies, an Intel Pentium G1820 will get the job done quite easily. I actually have some doubts about this specific configuration, but here’s a build from Future IT that might work for you:

1 x Intel Celeron G1820
1 x ASUS H81M-K, LGA 1150
1 x Patriot Signature DDR3 1600MHz, 4GB, CL11
1 x Seagate HDD, 1TB, 7200rpm, SATA 6, 64M
1 x LG DVD±RW 24x GH24NS95 SATA black bulk
1 x EVGA 400W, 80+, active, 12 cm
1 x Cooler Master T2 PLUS, USB3.0 black

Total: $681

So, you'll end up with a decent dual-core processor with integrated graphics—you can just plug directly into the motherboard via DVI or VGA. The motherboard itself is pretty well-equipped, giving you a lot of bang for your buck (like having USB 3.0, including front-panel support for your case). I also threw in a 1TB hard drive, which is honestly more than enough space for all your movies, 😁 plus 4GB of RAM. For the case, I went with a Cooler Master—it's sleek, black, and comes with that front USB 3.0 port. Everything should run smoothly thanks to the EVGA 400W power supply...

Just a quick tip: try to avoid buying those pre-built computers. They're almost always unbalanced, aren't they? With a custom build like this, you get a warranty on every single component, and if you look at the value-to-cost ratio, it's much more efficient.
🙂

Stop looking, because you honestly won't find anything better than $681... ☕