Looking for a complete PC setup with a budget of 800-1000

Discussion in 'Building a new PC' started by gera229, Nov 29, 2010.

  1. gera229

    gera229 Regular member

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    I need to find components for someone that has a budget of $800-$1000 for a PC.
    Here are the minimum requirements that I was given:

    Component Minimum Requirements Features
    Motherboard & CPU combination.
    Duo Core Processor (quad preferred) Min 2 MB cache
    Ram 2 GB or better
    Hard drive 200 GB or larger
    Video card 128MB Or better AGP
    Mouse
    keyboard
    Scanner Flatbed 1200 dpi.
    Monitor 17” or greater (Flat panel) .26 dpi
    Printer + Cable Yes Color, Min 12 pages per min., 1200dpi
    Case
    Optical Drive 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
    Operating System Windows 7 Home or better
    Sound Card Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio or better
    Media Reader Include a multi-media card reader such as 19 in 1
    Network Card Include Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless Network Card or better
    Web Cam Your choice
    Power Supply This could also be included with the computer case.

    These are the minimum, higher end ports like PCI Express instead of AGP are great if their cheaper and/ or better.
     
    Last edited: Nov 29, 2010
  2. infoguy

    infoguy Member

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    youll be hard pushed to find agp graphics cards for your system these days... all mobos made now come with pcie... and to be honest the price range is very suiting to any budget... some for as little as $40

    also check 2nd hand stores and pawn shops.. i managed to get an ati 4870 x2 for just over $100
     
  3. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    This is an adaptation of my Office Quad400 build, with a dedicated graphics card added, along with peripherals including a scanner and inkjet printer.

    AMD Athlon II X4 640: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
    Gigabyte GA-MA74GM-S2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128342
    2x1GB Corsair XMS2 PC6400 DDR2: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145590
    Gigabyte GZ-KF03B: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811233067
    Antec Earthwatts 380W: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817371033
    XFX Radeon HD4670: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814150450&cm_re=hd_4670-_-14-150-450-_-Product
    Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136284
    LG GH24NS50 24x DVDRW: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136177
    MS keyboard/mouse combo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.540770
    Xerox 7600 scanner: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16838152015
    HP Officejet 6000 Printer: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828115503
    Koutech Card Reader: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820162024
    TP-Link PCIe WLAN card: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16833704059
    Samsung P2250 Monitor: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001376

    Total cost: $847. $832 after a $15 mail-in rebate.


    In order to fit within the budget I have included an inkjet printer. At 12 pages per minute, the print quality of inkjet printers is sub-par, for high quality colour prints you should expect no more than 3ppm from an inkjet.
    If you want high quality colour prints at 12ppm, you should look into a colour laser printer like this one:
    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16828115249
    This will bring the total cost of the system to $1104.
     
  4. gera229

    gera229 Regular member

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    Thanks sammoris. It's fine as long as it meets minimum requirements.

    And you chose AMD because it is better for that price?
    How good will intel be at the price if possible?
     
    Last edited: Dec 1, 2010
  5. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Not as good. For a low-end PC like this, AMD's currently the better buy.
     
  6. gera229

    gera229 Regular member

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    I have another good question that is off topic and it's about power supply power factor.

    What is the difference between Passive and Active? Which is better? Which is more efficient?
    Which one cost more in monthly/ yearly bills?

    Which one cost more in PSU price?
     
  7. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    Active PFC comes with all decent power supplies, and has done for years. APFC/PPFC does not affect the cost of electricity to you at all, but PPFC does require more energy at the power station end, as it's less efficient. The main reason why PFC is stated is for use with a UPS, as hardware with PPFC or no PFC at all places considerably higher load on a UPS since than with APFC, due to the power draw being out of phase.
     
  8. gera229

    gera229 Regular member

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    I have a question about speakers.
    I recognized that the left speaker is quieter than the right. Tested with 2 sets of headphones, left side is quieter than the right. My bro recognized this too.
    Is this a motherboard onboard built in audio problem?
     
  9. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    No, just means you've set the balance wrong in the control panel. You can change it.
     
  10. gera229

    gera229 Regular member

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    The balance is on its default setting where both sides say that it's equal. Is that really something that often time needs to be adjusted and is never perfect?
     
  11. sammorris

    sammorris Senior member

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    I have never had an issue with balance being off, at all, but if it's not correct, use that to adjust it until it is.
     

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