Tax Return Joy -- PC Build around $500?

[ChickenSoup]

NOTE: I'm not including the monitor here, or the OS. Could I uh, get some help looking over some stuff for this? I'm talking 500 give or take 50-75, it's not a set limit. I'm just putting feelers out there to see if I could pull this off.


My laptop is becoming less and less functional... I got it upon graduating high school in 2010. It's a li'l reliable Toshiba, and it was purchased in January of that year, having been on sale from late 2009. It runs internet browsing and Office 2013 perfectly fine.... but that's about it.

My mom pointed out that all I really need it for (in the sense of a true NEED, not a want) is writing assignments and note-taking in lectures. Thing is... I still have a fondness for writing out my notes. So most of my actual uses for my laptop (gaming, video production, other st00f) are starting to not be so viable anymore.

I've considered getting a tablet for grad school, but the fact of the matter is that I have a love/hate relationship with tablets and don't care to buy one. I'm pretty much set in the way of mobile stuff--even LAN parties with my friends only involve games like AoE II/III or MineCraft and I can run those pretty fine. A decent desktop seemed like a good possibility. I need something that will last at least through 3 years of graduate school and be able to upgrade parts easily after that.


Is this something that's possible? Should I just wait until I can get a $600+ computer when I have a real job?

[Chozon1]

You can Google it and find multiple builds fairly easily. Most of them, oddly enough, had enough language in them to be inappropriate to link to here. The one that didn't seemed like it was kind of blah...like they didn't bother looking for cheaper prices, but just sorta threw compatible parts together (including going with a far more expensive Intel dual core, vs a much cheaper and more powerful AMD six-core).

It seems like the $500 price point is like the sorcerers stone of PC gaming builds.

[ccgr]

Custom building will be tough since $120 of that $500ish is going to be for Windows alone...unless you want to stick with Linux for a bit, Steam is on Linux now and the supported games for it is growing daily. Most Humblebundle games have linux versions available too.

Also to keep costs down I would focus on AMD systems

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... -101793907" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

but Decent Intel systems can be had: http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... -102298375" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For a monitor, here's what I recommend, go to a pawn shop, I've been getting 19"-20" LCDs for $20-$25

[ArchAngel]

http://www.logicalincrements.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

You can thank me later.
The AMD FX series have a lot of bang for their buck. I used them (6 core) for both my wife's and friend's computer.

If you can save money by not needing to get a monitor or a case, that can go a long way.

TigerDirect sometimes has a pretty good deal on a pc bundle.

Also, if you don't want to do the SSD + HDD combo, spend the money for a Hybrid drive. 2 TB for around $100, it goes along way on getting you at least some of the SSD performance. I'm using it for my secondary drive now. I like it.

[TDog9631]

And on top of what ccgr said about Linux, thanks to Wine, you can get most Windows game to work. Maybe not the newer ones, but I bet AoE due to its age works with wine.

[ChickenSoup]

Like I said, I'm talking five hundred to 575 ish not including OS, monitor, mouse/ keys.

Thanks for the links, guise :3 I shall checken sie out.

[Chozon1]

Don't forget SteamOS. It's in beta, but you may could use that.

And it's the bestest price ever. <3

[Pheonix]

Yeah, with the announcement of the 750ti and AMD's equivalent, you can get a decent rig for a decent price.

[ArchAngel]

I know this isn't great, but it might tide you over till you cough up for a nice graphics card.
http://slickdeals.net/permadeal/115004/ ... video-card" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[ChickenSoup]

I think I'm going to scout sales and get the good stuff when good deals come up. I'm not in a huge hurry or anything, so I'm fine with not getting it all at once. The 750ti looks pretty kewwwwwl

[HankTheCowdog]

I would recommend Newegg, as they nearly ALWAYS have the cheapest going prices, as well as often some bargains.

The website is

http://www.newegg.com/

600th post!!

-Hank

[Deepfreeze32]

Surprised no one has recommended PC Part Picker. That's how I built my latest computer.

Which, if anyone is interested, is here.

[ArchAngel]

Pretty sweet tool and rig.