Budget PC build for $350?

Hey there. I'm pretty much a total novice when it comes to this stuff, so I could use some help putting together a PC build for about $800. My main focus will be watching movies, listening to music, browsing the web, and maybe playing some light games here and there. The only thing I definitely don't need is an optical drive—everything else is on the table.

Thanks!

AMD combo build.

1 x ASRock FM2A78M-HD+, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1866MHz, CL10, Kingston Fury, HX318C10F
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Power Supply Fortron 400W, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm fan
1 x MS PHOENIX case without PSU, Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x AMD Kaveri A8-Series X4 7600 (3.8GHz,4MB,65W,FM2+) box

$803amd.com

You've got a quad-core processor here with integrated graphics that'll handle older titles without any trouble—might even manage some newer stuff. Adding dual-channel RAM would be a huge help, but I get that it's out of the budget right now. If you ever decide you want to get serious about gaming, just plug in a dedicated graphics card and you're good to go. 🙂 You might also want to grab an aftermarket cooler eventually since the stock one is pretty rough; that’ll run you another $15 or so. It's not strictly mandatory, but it is HIGHLY recommended, so try to pick one up as soon as you can.

If you decide you want to get serious about gaming later on, you can always just slap a dedicated GPU in there. Otherwise, you've still got another 4GB of RAM ready to go, so you're pretty much set. If you're strictly using this thing for movies, honestly, you could even go cheaper than $667
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Adam Moore3 said:It's an AMD setup.

1 x Asrock FM2A78M-HD+, Socket FM2+ 95W / FM2 100W processors
1 x DDR3 4GB (1x4GB) Kingston, 1866MHz, CL10, Kingston Fury, HX318C10F
1 x TOSHIBA 500GB, 7200rpm, SATA 6 Gb/s, 32MB, DT01ACA050
1 x Power Supply FORTRON 400W, HEXA Plus 400, 12cm fan
1 x MS PHOENIX case without PSU, Midi tower MBO: ATX, mATX
1 x Processor AMD Kaveri A8-Series X4 7600 (3.8GHz,4MB,65W,FM2+) box

$803techforum.com

You've got a quad-core processor here with integrated graphics. It'll handle older titles without breaking a sweat, and maybe even some newer ones. Dual-channel RAM would be a massive upgrade, but I know that might stretch the budget. If you ever want to get serious about gaming, just plug in a dedicated GPU and you're good to go. 🙂 You should also consider picking up an aftermarket cooler later on because the stock one is pretty rough. That’ll cost you maybe another $15. It isn't mandatory, but it’s highly recommended—grab one as soon as you can.

Thanks.

What exactly do you mean by an aftermarket cooler? And what else should I add to this list? I'm a total beginner. 😁

Also, regarding the RAM, do you think I should add another 4GB stick like the one you listed above? Would that be more helpful if I wanted to play games?

William Rogers16 said:Thanks.

What exactly do you mean by an aftermarket cooler? Is there anything else I should add to what you wrote? I'm a bit lost here. 😁

Also, regarding the RAM, do you think I should add another 4GB like you mentioned above? Would I actually need that more if I wanted to play some games?

An aftermarket cooler is just extra CPU cooling that you buy separately. You'll want one here because AMD—the manufacturer of the processor in this build—provides pretty mediocre stock coolers (the ones included in the box) that tend to be loud and aren't quite enough to keep a processor cool when it starts heating up during use, just like any other chip. That's why grabbing an aftermarket cooler like THIS ONE is a good move. It’ll be way quieter than the stock unit and will keep your temps within a normal range without breaking the bank. If your budget is strictly $800, then you can stick with the stock cooler for a while and pick one up later once you have the cash. But if you can stretch yourself by another $28, just order it now along with the rest of the build so you don't have to worry about it 🙂
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As for the RAM, you can add that extra 4GB, or you can skip it; it's entirely up to you. The integrated graphics will perform significantly better if you use two sticks of RAM instead of just one, mainly due to memory bandwidth, but I won't bore you with the technical details. Generally, having two sticks is preferred, especially since many modern games now require at least 8GB of RAM as a baseline. However, you probably won't be stressing this setup with those anyway, given you're running an AMD. Long story short: if you plan on gaming even a little bit seriously, grab that extra 4GB stick. It's easy to install yourself—just click it into the slot and you're done. If you're just playing older titles, watching movies, and stuff like that, this current config will be more than enough. 😉

Got it. Thanks for the help.

Or you could go the Intel route:

G1840
MSI H81M P33
A-DATA 4GB 1600 MHZ
TOSHIBA 3.5" 500 GB SATA 3
SAPPHIRE R7 250 1GB DDR5
FORTRON HEXA 400W 80+ ACTIVE
NAVIATEC NVT 603 MATX

- you get a weaker CPU here, but the GPU actually packs more punch.
- way more options for beefier processors later on if you decide to upgrade.
- the stock cooler does the job just fine—and honestly, it's the same deal with the AMD build since that APU is 65W (plus there's a 45W TDP option if you want to keep things cool).

I’ve got a setup pretty similar to the one graniteharbor85 posted. I’d probably just go with the Corsair Vengeance RAM since it comes with a 5-year warranty, even if $10 it ends up costing a bit more than the Kingston Fury.

If you’re big on warranty coverage, just go with Crucial and get that lifetime guarantee. I’d personally steer clear of Vengeance—I’ve had them fail on me way too many times, leaving me staring at nothing but blue screens.

graniteharbor85 said:If you're obsessed with warranties, just go with Crucial and get a lifetime one. I'd skip Vengeance—it's failed on me too many times and left me staring at BSOD screens.

I've had great luck with Kingmax RAM, but good luck actually finding it in an American store.👎

I used Corsair DDR2 back in the day—zero issues. Now I've moved on to DDR3 and everything is running perfectly. My brother actually uses Corsair Vengeance DDR3 too, and he’s having no trouble at all. One buddy of mine is getting kicked to the curb by his motherboard, though, so he's dealing with some memory headaches. He’s picking up a new board this week, so we're hoping those problems finally disappear. Honestly, I stuck with them because of that 5-year warranty and the fact that my old DDR2 was rock solid. I've always had great luck with Corsair.

French Quote : Memory

Memory/RAM:

Report released on May 10th 2013:

Average Failure rates:

- Kingston 0.20% (down from 0.27% last year)
- Crucial 0.39% (up from 0.30% last year)
- G.Skill 0.95% (down from 1.01% last year)
- Corsair 1.18% (up from 1.06% last year)

The hierarchy remains unchanged from the previous year. Kingston and G-skill reduce their failure rates , while IT increases for Crucial and Corsair.

Below are the top 5 products seeing the most returns:

- 4.92% : Corsair Vengeance 16 GB (4x4) DDR3 1600 CL9
- 4.46% : Corsair Vengeance LP Black 16 GB (4x4) DDR3 1600 CL9
- 4.35% : Corsair Vengeance LP Blue 16 GB (4x4) DDR3 1600 CL9
- 3.46% : Corsair XM3 8 GB (2x4) DDR3 1333 CL9
- 3.31% : Corsair XM3 16 GB (2x8) DDR3 1600 CL11

It appears Corsair ran into significant issues with their DDR3 kits during this window, specifically within the Vengeance line.

Report released on October 30th, 2013:

Average Failure rates:

- Kingston 0.20% (unchanged)
- Crucial 0.46% (up from 0.39%)
- G.Skill 0.90% (down from 0.95%)
- Corsair 1.08% (down from 1.18%)

For the third period running, the order hasn't budged. Kingston maintains an incredibly low return rate, whereas Crucial saw a slight uptick, and both G.Skill and Corsair showed modest improvements in reliability.

Once again, no individual memory kits exceeded a 5% return rate, but here are the five kits with the highest rates:

- 4.41% Corsair XMS 4 GB (2x2) DDR3 1333 CL9
- 4.14% Corsair XMS3 8 GB (2x4) DDR3 1333 CL9
- 3.63% Corsair Value Select 8 GB DDR3 1333 CL9
- 2.73% Corsair Mac Memory SO-DIMM 8 GB (2x4) DDR3 1066 CL7
- 2.67% Corsair Vengeance SO-DIMM 16 GB (2x8) DDR3 1600 CL10

Mirroring the previous report, the list is dominated exclusively by Corsair models; however, this time the highest failure rates aren't tied strictly to the high-end Vengeance series.