[wasbo]

Hello everyone, my uncle is looking for a new PC and instead of buying a Dell I recommended a custom PC. This PC is not for gaming but rather, general tasks like surfing the web, watching movies, writing out reports for his job, examining pictures (he's a home inspector). His budget is $800 CAD and everything must be from www.canadacomputers.com. He would like the tower, a 24" monitor, and windows as well. Also, I would prefer intel/Asus if that's possible. Thanks guys! One other thing, this system will be at stock so there is no need for an aftermarket cooler.

 

[wasbo]

anyone have any ideas? Thanks

 

[Shadow11377]

I was going to recommend looking at the Haswell Celerons for the processor, but that site doesn't have them in stock.
You definitely don't need an i3/i5 for web surfing/media playback/viewing. Not unless you're looking to playback like 10 1080p streams at once.

 

[AcEsSalvation]

I'm not home right now, I'm on my lappy with a slow connection. I will say that I should be able to find you a nice and reliable build. Of course, others will chime in on what would be better to use. I do want to stress something to you.

Do not go cheap on the PSU. Get solid advice from people on these forums. (Namely "shilka" and "TwoCables".)
I should be able to start compiling a list for you soon, as long as I don't pass out, I should have a decent build in about an hour or two.
Edit: Look for a low TDP processor and a low power draw GPU. Integrated graphics will suffice, but a dGPU will have better driver support, and if someone does want to do a small amount of light gaming, you'll be thankful. You will not be needing an unlocked processor, so if you do get an i5 for whatever reason, you can save some money there. You can also save by getting a lower end board since it won't need overclocking abilities, or need higher end parts.

 

[ZealotKi11er]

Please dont use Canadacomputer. Use NCIX.

 

[Ultra-m-a-n]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ZealotKi11er

Please dont use Canadacomputer. Use NCIX.

Yeah they are a reputable retailer, I would buy from them if I lived in Canada!

 

[Ultra-m-a-n]

And i would suggest getting one of the Korean 1440p monitors! Yeah it may seem overkill, but he'll be looking at pictures and drawings an a larger screen and higher resolution will be beneficial as everything is very crisp and easier on the eyes!
Honestly he won't be looking at the computer and putting your money In what he sees everyday will help

There's a reason the iMacs use 1440p panels

Just my 2¢! It's overkill, and since you have $800 and $300 is a pretty big chunk of your budget!

 

[Ultra-m-a-n]

Also yes get a quality psu! The rosewill capstone line is a great place to start looking! 80plus gold, whatever wattage you need and quiet! Plus they are a good price considering the quality!

 

[EPiiKK]

Does he have old parts from his PC like hard drives and such?

PSU - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=33_1238_443&item_id=057132'
CPU - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=4_1210_65&item_id=063172
MOBO - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=26_1207_1206_1201&item_id=060725
RAM - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=24_311_312_611&item_id=040918
SSD - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=179_1229_1088&item_id=057277
HDD - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_1086_215_217&item_id=066219
CASE - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=6_113&item_id=058687
MONITOR - http://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=22_1195_700_1103&item_id=068582

Totals at 694, which leaves plenty of money for windows. Someone could check it out. I'm not an expert on non gaming builds

 

[ozlay]

are you picking it up locally or online?

 

[AcEsSalvation]

Attempting to make a list now... but their site is soooo laggy.
Celeron CPU - 55CAD
ASUS H61m Board - 70CAD, has a 15CAD rebate
2x2 Kit of RAM - 50CAD
2TB HDD - 100CAD I would pick up two since it is for a family. You might need more later on too.
GT 430 - 60CAD I've owned two GT430's, they are great at this price level. Will help for 3D rendering, and can do a little more than the integrated. Completely optional.
Also, what OS do you want? You can find W7/8 for about ~80USD, but I don't know what is available to you. You also need a PSU and optical drive. Again, ask the PSU gurus, and I don't know a thing about optical drives

435CAD before monitor, OS, PSU, and optical drive.

Here is a monitor for 150CAD. Some people are really picky with their monitors, but I have no issues with my two Acer's

EDIT: Need case too lol.

 

[ozlay]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcEsSalvation

Attempting to make a list now... but their site is soooo laggy.

this ^ i sorta gave up when i noticed they didnt have any decent psu's I think everyone on the this tread searching there site is too much

 

[AcEsSalvation]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozlay

this ^ i sorta gave up when i noticed they didnt have any decent psu's I think everyone on the this tread searching there site is too much

Unfortunately, I only know of one PSU that is good (and cheap) that would fit his needs... they don't have the Rosewill Capstone 450W

 

[Ultra-m-a-n]

So using another retailer is really out of the question huh? Sorry I'm using my iphone and can't suggest a build...

 

[ADHDadditiv]

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: Gigabyte GA-F2A88XM-D3H Micro ATX FM2+ Motherboard ($76.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($93.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($184.00 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $804.93
I went with an AMD build I know, but I tried to do an i3 build and I just knew this had much more performance for the $$$. Plus I got a really nice monitor in your budget.

OP, my advice, ive used Canadacomputers before, unless you live near them or something, go for NCIX. Seriously, take my word on that, NCIX is the superior company.

 

[AcEsSalvation]

Going to have to pick at your a build a little bit

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADHDadditiv

CPU: AMD A8-5600K 3.6GHz Quad-Core Processor ($104.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: G.Skill Ares Series 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-2133 Memory ($93.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
I went with an AMD build I know, but I tried to do an i3 build and I just knew this had much more performance for the $$$. Plus I got a really nice monitor in your budget.

He was wanting Intel/ASUS, so I was just following what he said. Since there won't be any gaming on it, he doesn't need a 100CAD+ chip. I would guess that an A4 would be enough (which is why I listed a Celeron). Also, this is meant to be for a family... so 240GB isn't going to go far. And the last part, he doesn't even need an i3 really.

I'm not meaning to discredit your build, it is great. OP, you will be having a lot thrown at you from OCN. The main thing we want to do is help you, even if it means picking at each other

 

[Carniflex]

Ugh. Their "PC configuration" is rather limited. Anyway.

(1) Korean 27'' ~300$ from ebay leaving approx 500 for the build.

For the listed purpose either Intel or AMD would do ok - I personally would probably go for AMD APU, say

(2) CPU - A6-5400K ~65$
(3) Mobo - Gigabyte GA-F2A55M-DS2 ~45$
(4) 8 GB of RAM
(5) 2 TB HDD (would love also SSD but prolly not enough budget if Windows key is also needed)
(6) Some cheapish case and good 300..400W PSU
(7) Windows license for ~100 (win 7 64bit home premium).

 

[ADHDadditiv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AcEsSalvation

Going to have to pick at your a build a little bit

He was wanting Intel/ASUS, so I was just following what he said. Since there won't be any gaming on it, he doesn't need a 100CAD+ chip. I would guess that an A4 would be enough (which is why I listed a Celeron). Also, this is meant to be for a family... so 240GB isn't going to go far. And the last part, he doesn't even need an i3 really.

I'm not meaning to discredit your build, it is great. OP, you will be having a lot thrown at you from OCN. The main thing we want to do is help you, even if it means picking at each other

Fair enough. Family build needs a bit more storage yes, I was under the impression that it was for OP's dads job mostly, which is why I thought of an SSD. And yes, an A4/Celeron would probably be enough, I was just trying to elminate the need for a GPU. Here, I revised it slightly, this would be pretty much perfect.

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($184.00 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $759.92

 

[Carniflex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ADHDadditiv

Fair enough. Family build needs a bit more storage yes, I was under the impression that it was for OP's dads job mostly, which is why I thought of an SSD. And yes, an A4/Celeron would probably be enough, I was just trying to elminate the need for a GPU. Here, I revised it slightly, this would be pretty much perfect.

CPU: Intel Pentium G3220 3.0GHz Dual-Core Processor ($67.99 @ Canada Computers)
Motherboard: MSI H81M-P33 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($50.99 @ Canada Computers)
Memory: Kingston Blu Red Series 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($48.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Kingston SSDNow V300 Series 240GB 2.5" Solid State Disk ($139.99 @ Canada Computers)
Storage: Seagate Barracuda 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($62.99 @ Canada Computers)
Case: Silverstone PS08B (Black) MicroATX Mid Tower Case ($44.99 @ Canada Computers)
Power Supply: Thermaltake TR2 500W ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ Canada Computers)
Operating System: Microsoft Windows 8.1 (OEM) (64-bit) ($109.99 @ Canada Computers)
Monitor: Asus VS247H-P 23.6" Monitor ($184.00 @ Canada Computers)
Total: $759.92

In my opinion Win 7 would make more sense unless he knows specifically he likes win 8 on desktop. About that SSD - I'm not familiar with Kingston ones but the kingston V300 series is not "entry level" stuff? Just a remark that if it is it should be avoided like plague, same from Crucial entry level series (they have it called "v4", perhaps thats why I'm looking at this Kingston also with suspicion). I was unfortunate enough (well still are, but it's just rotting at the shelf atm) to buy Crucial v4 series SSD. Thought that how bad it can be (already had two of the m4 series from them) and the anwer is that entry level SSD's can have crappier performance than decade old laptop HDD's. At least mine was as soon as it got more than 80% full.

 

[ADHDadditiv]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Carniflex

In my opinion Win 7 would make more sense unless he knows specifically he likes win 8 on desktop. About that SSD - I'm not familiar with Kingston ones but the kingston V300 series is not "entry level" stuff? Just a remark that if it is it should be avoided like plague, same from Crucial entry level series (they have it called "v4", perhaps thats why I'm looking at this Kingston also with suspicion). I was unfortunate enough (well still are, but it's just rotting at the shelf atm) to buy Crucial v4 series SSD. Thought that how bad it can be (already had two of the m4 series from them) and the anwer is that entry level SSD's can have crappier performance than decade old laptop HDD's. At least mine was as soon as it got more than 80% full.

Umm, yeah, SSD's get slower as they get fuller, same as HDD's, not a common known fact but its true. Optimal to stay at around 70% usage.
Windows 7 makes less sense actually, they are going to discontinue support for 7 probably by the end of the year (if what I hear is true), which is very bad for a family PC.

Yes, it is an entry level kingston SSD, but its not actually all that bad, I've heard quite good things about it. BTW, I wouldn't trust Crucial drives anyways, I've always gotten bad stuff from them. Thats more just a personal opinion though.