$500-$600 Budget Build

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Burn

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I will be building a PC for a friend here pretty soon and he said he'd like to keep it around $500-$600. Doesn't need anything like monitor, keyboard, mouse (as far as I know, anyways) but he does need an OS (Win7 Home or Pro). He said he doesn't do anything too intensive, mainly just internet browsing, MS Office, and other basic stuff. I was thinking i3/i5 but haven't really kept up with the market lately...

Suggestions?
 
Hey burn, saw your post I recommend this for your friend

Newegg.com - Intel Core i3-530 Clarkdale 2.93GHz 4MB L3 Cache LGA 1156 73W Dual-Core Desktop Processor - Processors - Desktops

Newegg.com - BIOSTAR TH55B HD LGA 1156 Intel H55 HDMI Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Intel Motherboards

Ram is under 55 with free shipping
Newegg.com - Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3/2GR - Desktop Memory

Also same as the ram is under 55.00 with free S/H
Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3500418AS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive

For the OS if he has vista and you know the upgrade trick to windows 7 the easy way this will work out perfectly. also it will be 91.00 total for this item.
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Anytime Upgrade from Home Premium - Operating Systems


If I'm right all that should equal up to around 360.00 plus he has room for a case and a dvd burner or anything else you decide for him.
 
For the OS if he has vista and you know the upgrade trick to windows 7 the easy way this will work out perfectly. also it will be 91.00 total for this item.
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Anytime Upgrade from Home Premium - Operating Systems

you cant upgrade from vista to 7 with anytime upgrade software, only from one version of w7 to another version of w7.

Windows Anytime Upgrade: frequently asked questions

Can I use Windows Anytime Upgrade to upgrade a previous version of Windows to Windows 7?

No. Windows Anytime Upgrade can't upgrade previous versions of Windows to Windows 7. Windows Anytime Upgrade is designed only to upgrade your computer from one edition of Windows 7 to another edition of Windows 7.

here are some other options
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
Newegg.com - G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Desktop Memory Model F3-12800CL9D-4GBRL - Desktop Memory
Newegg.com - Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive
Newegg.com - Antec Three Hundred Black Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Computer Cases
Newegg.com - Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit 1-Pack for System Builders - Operating Systems

totals $576 w/ free shipping on everything. $568 w/ promo code (EMCYZNT57 - $8) from the case.

if you dont think he'll need 4gigs of ram, you could get him 2gigs instead and save around $27.
Newegg.com - Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR1333D3K2/2GR - Desktop Memory

but, he could also get a quad core from ati's offerings
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
Newegg.com - ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G HDMI ATX AMD Motherboard - AMD Motherboards

switching just the cpu and mobo while keeping everything else the same (w/ the 4gigs of ram) would change the total to $562 also w/ free shipping and $554 with the case promo code i listed above.
 
Totally forgot about this thread lol. I think going with AMD could be the best choice... I mean you can get a quad for like $100...

Question though, how well do Athlon II's compare to Phenom II's? I was thinking of going with the build Aliasaid suggested just going with this instead, Unless Anthlon II's are like WAY worse than the Phenom II's...
Newegg.com - AMD Athlon II X4 620 Propus 2.6GHz 4 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 95W Quad-Core Processor - Processors - Desktops
That way I can give him the option of a decent GPU, if he wants/needs it.
 
I could be wrong, but I believe the Athlon 2 to P2 is like C2Q 65nm to C2Q 45nm
guessing that athlon 2 620 is similar to the q6600
 
It was just an idea; I just have a natural hate of integrated graphics, lol.

And nah he won't be OCing, he knows little about computers so OCing would be out of the question.

If I did go with the Athlon II 620, what GPU should I pick up? Just something decent, nothing too beefy - 4670 maybe?
 
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