PC Build under $300

Sure, let them ditch the cooler, but this is how it ought to be done—especially if it’s got Hexe+...

crimsonstag84 said:Man, he could ditch the cooler, but this setup is exactly how it should be—especially if it had Hexa + Nope...

Where did you pick that up? ADM has them in stock.

I was building in an ADM case, but that’s the HexaV1 (it's got slightly lower-tier capacitors, lacks the 8-pin EPS, the cables are shorter, and there are fewer connectors and less total wattage), not the Hexa + 😉

crimsonstag84 said:I built a rig at Micro Center, but they used the HexaV1 version there—it’s got slightly lower-tier capacitors, lacks the 8-pin EPS, the cables are shorter, and it has fewer connectors and less overall wattage compared to the Hexa+ 😉

Actually, it is the Hexa+. I just finished building a PC for a buddy through them, and they delivered the Hexa+. I have no idea why their website lists it as the standard Hexa; they probably just forgot to update the listing. The box my friend has clearly says Hexa+

😵

Well, alright then 🙂

Adam Moore3 said:1 x Asrock Intel LGA 1200 Socket A78 Chipset MB
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1866MHz, CL10, Corsair Vengeance, HX318C10F
1 x Processor AMD Kaveri A8-Series X4 7600 (3.8GHz,4MB,65W,FM2+) box
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Power Supply FORTRON 400W, HEXA 400, 12cm fan, Active PFC
1 x Spire Kepler Rev.2 ,cooler, 1156/775/FM1, 96.5×51×125 mm ,92mm
1 x MS PHOENIX case without power supply, Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX

$791 techforum.com

That’s basically it. I guess you could always swap out the cooler and throw in a 1TB drive if you really needed to.

Here I am again, though this time in a different thread. I am looking to put together a desktop configuration for an older colleague of mine who works in surveying—my budget is roughly $300, ideally something available through monthly installments. The machine would primarily be used for general office tasks and, of course, AutoCAD; however, there is no need to run the latest versions, as many people in his field are still working with the 2010 edition. Given the constraints, I would prefer an integrated graphics solution—since a dedicated card certainly won't fit within this budget—and perhaps a DVD drive, though that isn't a dealbreaker; if it becomes absolutely necessary, he can just use my own data.

Thanks

Here you go:

G1840
MSI H81M P33
CRUCIAL 4GB 1600 MHZ
SEAGATE Hybrid Drive 500GB SATA 3
NAVIATEC NVT 603 + 500W

= $677 for GPUs.

He’s probably just doing 2D work in CAD—honestly, he doesn't even need a dedicated graphics card for that.

graniteharbor85 said:Here you go:

G1840
MSI H81M P33
CRUCIAL 4GB 1600 MHZ
SEAGATE Hybrid Drive 500GB SATA 3
NAVIATEC NVT 603 + 500W

= $677 for the cards.

He’s probably just doing 2D stuff in CAD, so he doesn't even need a dedicated GPU.

Nice setup,
not sure how much CAD work any of you actually do—2D or 3D—but this thing can handle 3D easily. It won't render 70 machine parts at once, obviously, but it'll get the job done fine.
I used to run CAD on a Pentium 4 with 2 gigs of RAM without lag, so this will fly.😒

graniteharbor85 said:Here you go:

G1840
MSI H81M P33
CRUCIAL 4GB 1600 MHZ
SEAGATE Hybrid Drive 500GB SATA 3
NAVIATEC NVT 603 + 500W

= $677 for the graphics cards.

He is most likely working in CAD with 2D materials—so really, does he even need a dedicated graphics card?

legend 👍

Greetings,
I am also curious about what would be best to assemble for $667
.
My wife's computer at her office recently died on her. Management mentioned they’d just pick up a pre-built for $667, but I’m thinking we could put together something significantly better—not that I’d mind doing the work, but let's face it, she is 🙂.

She already has a monitor and peripherals; we just need the tower itself.
The expense will be handled by the company—meaning it's a cash transaction—and the machine is strictly for drafting proposals, emails, and general web browsing.

I have been looking over the build that graniteharbor85 suggested; does it seem adequate for this kind of workload? Although, since there is room for extra cards, perhaps an optical drive could be added without breaking the bank?
We would definitely go with a Hybrid Drive, as she needs plenty of storage space.

Honestly, that should be more than enough for her—if she's paying cash, that setup with the optics is totally fine $643. Just so you know, an SSHD is basically a hybrid between an SSD and an HDD—it mostly uses NAND flash as a cache to handle all those everyday tasks, which makes everything load and boot way faster. To be real, even a standard HDD would get the job done, but since there’s barely any price difference between 500GB and 1TB, if you're looking for the best bang for your buck regarding capacity and speed, the Barracuda is the way to go. She could also pair an SSD with an HDD if she really wants that extra level of smoothness and snappy performance for the OS and apps, especially since 60GB is plenty of space for Windows and basic programs. From what I can see, there's a solid deal on the Blaze right now.

Look, I know what an SSHD is—500GB is plenty more useful than some tiny 60 or 120GB SSD. That was my line of thinking 🙂
. The thing is, I haven't actually spent much time working with SSHDs, so I'm a bit unsure about the real-world speed boost you actually get. For roughly $167, I'm deciding between a 500GB SSHD or a 1TB HDD.
In my opinion—since 500GB should be more than enough for her needs—it seems smarter to go with the SSHD to snag that extra speed. Or am I totally off base here?

******EDIT
I just caught the second part of the post where you mentioned an SSD.
Honestly, that kind of setup is my personal favorite, though I'm not entirely sure if a decent SSD will even fit within $667.
If it works out, she could easily go with a 60GB SSD paired with a 500GB or 1TB HDD, provided it stays within budget.

Don't even sweat it—you’re definitely going to feel the difference compared to those old-school HDDs, especially if you're juggling a bunch of stuff at once. Personally, I think 1TB might be overkill for what you're doing, but hey, if the jump from the 500GB model gives you more speed and the price gap is tiny, it totally makes sense. Honestly, since you don't need massive storage, getting a Hybrid Drive is the way to go—it's a much better value for the buck.

edit:

So, here’s how everything looks all put together:

G1840
MSI H81M P33
CRUCIAL 4GB 1600 MHZ
PATRIOT Blaze 60GB SSD
TOSHIBA 3,5 500 GB SATA3
LG DVD-RW SATA
NAVIATEC NVT 603 + 500W

= $688.

It seems I am drafting a post covering all those exact points using that same logic 🙂
I suppose that’s the end of it—though there might be a slim chance of salvaging some RAM from my old desktop (it’s about two years old; any hope it’s running DDR3? 🙂 )

I really appreciate you taking the time to answer everything!

It’s a bit of a toss-up... companies throw all sorts of random stuff into their builds sometimes. If you can dig up the specific model for a big-name brand like HP, Dell, or Acer, it’s usually pretty easy to get an idea of what’s actually inside. If it turns out you're dealing with DDR3, there's definitely a chance of compatibility issues since they're likely from a different manufacturer—so just make sure you run them through MemTest first to be safe (aim for about 3 or 4 "passes" to be sure).

I’ll take it apart and see for myself—though, frankly, I’m not holding my breath.

Well, there goes that Blaze deal—it’s completely vanished from the site and isn't available anymore 😢

Is this Kingston option actually any good?

🤔 Looks like their website was just acting up—it’s back online now.

Don't even bother with the v300. It seemed decent enough when it first launched, but ever since they pushed those new firmware updates, the performance has absolutely tanked.

Well, look at that—it’s back in stock 😵
I'm going to send over an inquiry now; hopefully, that means the 🙂
is actually available.

graniteharbor85 said:Here you go:

G1840
MSI H81M P33
CRUCIAL 4GB 1600 MHZ
SEAGATE SSHD 500GB SATA 3
NAVIATEC NVT 603 + 500W

= $677 for the cards.

He is likely working in AutoCAD with 2D materials—so a dedicated graphics card isn't even necessary for him.

It seems I have no luck whatsoever with Mclovin1's configurations. On my own machine, I occasionally experience freezes lasting several seconds; this specific build mentioned above differs by two things—instead of an SSHD, there is a standard Toshiba 500GB drive, and instead of Crucial RAM (which wasn't present), there is Patriot.

Running 64-bit Windows 7, the installation took two hours; it is quite obvious something is wrong, but I thought I would try anyway. It is terrible—it stutters, it is slow, it is a complete disaster.
When I install the 32-bit version, it takes maybe an hour, yet Microsoft Office 2007 takes nearly thirty minutes just to install. A total catastrophe. This is a brand-new setup, I have tested the RAM and everything is fine, and I tested the HDD using HD Tune which shows no errors—though it seems to have mechanical issues. For instance, when I attempt to open a folder, everything freezes for a second or two, and when I hear a click inside the case, it can only be the hard drive, at which point the folder finally opens.
And this is a new configuration, freshly unpacked.

Purchased from CNN
Today, no one is answering the phone, and they aren't responding to emails. I will likely have to send the entire computer back rather than just the hard drive. Who knows how long that will take? I will surely have to shoulder the shipping costs as well. And honestly, damn Toshiba—both on this machine and on my own computer.

If anyone has any advice—I am truly at a loss here—perhaps suggesting if the issue lies elsewhere and not with the hard drive, please feel free to speak up.

☕