Budget PC build recommendations?

A friend of mine—currently between jobs, so money is tight—just had her laptop kick the bucket. She’s thinking about picking up a new laptop down the road, but I told her she’d be much better off just putting that cash toward a desktop... you know, because being able to actually service things long-term pays off eventually.

She isn't a gamer or anything, but she needs to run Photoshop and the rest of the Adobe suite smoothly without the system choking. Beyond that, it’s mostly just multimedia stuff—streaming movies, music, browsing the web... the usual.
Can you guys put together a budget-friendly build for her? No need for a monitor included in the main list, though if you could suggest a cheap LCD—maybe something small like a 17" or whatever—that wouldn't hurt.

She needs to just come out and say what her budget actually is. It’s pointless trying to build anything without knowing the numbers. You could spec out a killer rig for $3,000 plus a monitor, but if she doesn't have the cash, we're just wasting time. Honestly, since she's currently between jobs, a laptop might be the smarter play—you get the screen and the machine in one shot, and you aren't getting crazy performance for cheap right now anyway. But hey, we can see what we can put together once we know the limit.

1 x 21.5'' Dell UltraSharp LED Monitor, VA, 6ms, D-Sub, DVI, black
1 x AMD Kaveri A8-Series X4 7600 (3.8GHz,4MB,65W,FM2+) box, NVIDIA GeForce GTX Series
1 x Gigabyte GA-F2A68HM-DS2 (SFM2+,DDR3,DVI/VGA,USB3.0,SATA III) mATX
1 x 450W Power Supply, ANTEC VP450P EC, ATX v2.3, 120mm fan
1 x 1TB Seagate Barracuda HDD, 64MB, 7200rpm, High-Performance
1 x 8GB Crucial DDR3L 1600 MT/s (PC3L-12800) CL11 1.35V/1.5V
1 x MS Helios 3 Case, black, 1x12cm + 1x8cm fan

Total: $1017
bestbuy.com

Don't go lower than this. It's an online retailer with a physical store in Chicago. Plus, $667 they offer free shipping and setup

http://www.craigslist.org/cs/item/20621874

Take a look at this 🙂. I am certain the price will drop $67 soon enough. It includes a 17" LCD monitor plus$50.

In my opinion, what she really needs is $333 a solid, budget-friendly used setup that includes a monitor. If she’s dead set against buying secondhand, then she can use the link mentioned above or just pick something up at a local retail store.

Just a heads-up, if a new build looks anything like this:

Intel Core i3
4GB of RAM
500GB hard drive
A basic case and power supply

The whole thing would run about $150-$$567, and if you add a new monitor, you're looking at $200 even more, plus whatever a decent printer costs.

Why bother with used gear when you can grab something brand new with a full warranty?
Go ahead, try doing Photoshop work on a 17-inch screen... see how much fun you have.

That $2,400 build is decent enough, but it doesn't include a monitor... I'd much rather have a bigger screen.

Robert Rodriguez2 said:Why bother with used gear when you can just buy new with a full warranty?
Try running Photoshop on a 17-inch monitor... you'll be begging for a upgrade...

That $2,400 build is decent enough, I suppose, but that's without a monitor included... personally, I'd prioritize a larger screen over everything else.

I am still rocking a dual 17-inch LCD setup🙂 from IBM, and frankly, I wouldn't trade them for anything, especially since my main focus is music.

mellowtiger83 said:Personally, I'm still rocking dual 17-inch LCDs🙂 from IBM. Wouldn't trade them for anything, especially when I'm listening to music.

Look, if you move up to a 22-inch monitor, you'll regret ditching those 17s. I guarantee it. Especially if you actually have work to get done.

Honestly, Robert Rodriguez2, you've got to be kidding me. Two 17-inch screens actually give you more surface area than a single 22-inch one. 🙂
Plus, I specifically need a 4:3 aspect ratio for my setup 🙂, and these new monitors cost an absolute fortune.

mellowtiger83 said:Give me a break, Robert Rodriguez2, two 17-inch screens actually cover more area than a single 22 🙂
Plus, I need a 4:3 aspect ratio for my setup 🙂, and those new ones cost an arm and a leg

Not true. That one in my config isn't even a hundred bucks

Robert Rodriguez2 said:that isn't true; the one in my config doesn't even cost a hundred bucks

Look, I'm telling you, finding 4:3 monitors is an absolute nightmare because they cost an arm and a leg, yet in certain niche scenarios, they’re actually better than widescreen setups.

You won't find any new ones larger than 19 inches—at least, I haven't come across any. The cheapest new 17-inch 4:3 option is from LG, and a 19-inch from dellov will run you north of $317... wait, no, it goes over $500