$200-$300 build for my father

Well my dad desperately needs a new computer, I know, I know, with that low of a budget I already can hear you saying "Why doesn't he just get a prebuilt Dell?"

He already has one and it can't handle what he does. It's an HP all in one and has some crapstorm 1.8 GHz AMD processor.

And yes, I already checked it for viruses, CCleanered' the startup programs... It's all fine, it's just a painfully slow computer made for your grandmother who only uses 1 tab of IE at a time, or something, lol...

My mom does similar things to my dad on her computer and she never complains, she loves hers, it's an HP as well, but a 3.0 GHz Intel processor instead of a 1.8 AMD -_-

He browses the internet with literally 10+ tabs open, plus itunes usually in the background which doesn't help. Other than that not much beyond a normal office use computer.

Since I'm getting two Xeon X5650s for my machine anyway, I thought why not give him one of my E5620s?

We have a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc, as well as the E5620 i'll give him. If you can fit in Windows 7 that would be helpful too, although I might have one laying around somewheres.

I'm no good at budget builds, unfortunately ... :L

You might take a peek at this thread, or others like it.

That E5620 is well beyond what he needs. If you're in a giving mood, sell it and donate some of the cash to your father's budget. I'd stick with an APU processor in this budget.

You guys are talking about the LGA 1366 quad core Xeon 5620 right?
That'd be a sweet CPU for a casual use PC. Give it to your dad. Don't give him a cruddy APU.

I saw that, but he doesn't game AT ALL. Literally only needs CPU + very cheap GPU.

And yes, we are, I was hoping for some build suggestions -_-

Theocnoob said:

You guys are talking about the LGA 1366 quad core Xeon 5620 right?
That'd be a sweet CPU for a casual use PC. Give it to your dad. Don't give him a cruddy APU.

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Are you serious? What's 'cruddy' about an APU processor on a budget build? I'm sure the 5620 is a great CPU, but probably far more power than needed to run ten whole browser tabs. Even a budget-minded APU is probably more power than needed.

To each his own, but I wouldn't be pairing a processor like that with other components that are part of a $250 build, especially when the OP most likely needs to buy a copy of Windows as well.

pcgamer4life said:

Are you serious? What's 'cruddy' about an APU processor on a budget build? I'm sure the 5620 is a great CPU, but probably far more power than needed to run ten whole browser tabs. Even a budget-minded APU is probably more power than needed.

To each his own, but I wouldn't be pairing a processor like that with other components that are part of a $250 build, especially when the OP most likely needs to buy a copy of Windows as well.

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The whole point here is that he already HAS the Xeon, and it's a decent CPU. It won't be expensive to find a used MOBO for it. The Xeon is certainly more powerful than any APU is going to be in the serial processing department. Sure it has no built in GPU, but all this user is going to need is a $30 GPU anyways.
An APU would be an added expense, as the user doesn't own the APU yet and would have to buy it, and would end up with an inferior processor.

I did say APUs are cruddy. I'll stand by that. They have almost no cache and are pretty sad contenders in the CPU department. Sure, it's neat that they have a built in GPU that's half decent, but IMO, AMD sacrifices too much CPU to pack the GPU on that die. I rarely recommend APUs unless the budget is uber low. I realize this is just such a situation, but he has a Xeon already. That changes things.

Theocnoob said:

The whole point here is that he already HAS the Xeon, and it's a decent CPU. It won't be expensive to find a used MOBO for it. The Xeon is certainly more powerful than any APU is going to be in the serial processing department. Sure it has no built in GPU, but all this user is going to need is a $30 GPU anyways.
An APU would be an added expense, as the user doesn't own the APU yet and would have to buy it, and would end up with an inferior processor.

I did say APUs are cruddy. I'll stand by that. They have almost no cache and are pretty sad contenders in the CPU department. Sure, it's neat that they have a built in GPU that's half decent, but IMO, AMD sacrifices too much CPU to pack the GPU on that die. I rarely recommend APUs unless the budget is uber low. I realize this is just such a situation, but he has a Xeon already. That changes things.

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I think he was thinking the Xeon chip was one of those w models that ran $1500 bucks new back in 2009-10

the e series might get you $200 on ebay, which is pretty good since they are under $400 at various etailers.


I still would sell it and get a SB/IB i3-i5 setup or even an AMD APU. Don't need a high end mobo, only need 2x2GB of RAM if not gaming, and not running 100+ tabs open. Small SSD and recycle his current HDD as storage space

Probably fit it all into a SFF chassis as well. Although I would not go smaller than uATX if on that tight a budget.

Theocnoob said:

The whole point here is that he already HAS the Xeon, and it's a decent CPU. It won't be expensive to find a used MOBO for it. The Xeon is certainly more powerful than any APU is going to be in the serial processing department. Sure it has no built in GPU, but all this user is going to need is a $30 GPU anyways.
An APU would be an added expense, as the user doesn't own the APU yet and would have to buy it, and would end up with an inferior processor.

I did say APUs are cruddy. I'll stand by that. They have almost no cache and are pretty sad contenders in the CPU department. Sure, it's neat that they have a built in GPU that's half decent, but IMO, AMD sacrifices too much CPU to pack the GPU on that die. I rarely recommend APUs unless the budget is uber low. I realize this is just such a situation, but he has a Xeon already. That changes things.

Click to expand...

The problem I see is that this computer's sole function is 'normal office use' and browsing with 'literally 10 tabs open.' Neither of which are demanding in any sense of the word.

To expand on my original recommendation:
AMD APU, budget motherboard, CX430, current storage and optical drive and peripherals, 64GB-128GB SSD if you're so inclinded, 4GB RAM, and whatever case you choose. I would much rather purchase all of this new than make a budget build on overkill and used hardware, especially if I was building for someone other than myself.

So I just looked around ebay for some motherboards and you can find one from around 50-100 bucks used, then heres the rest of the build that I would do

Mobo- Your Choose 50-100 bucks
Ram- 1x4gb Gskill @1333 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231642 35.99
Case- Fractel Core 100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352032 $35.99
Power Supply- Corsair CXm 430w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049
39.99 after mail in rebate
Hard Drive - wd blue 1tb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339 69.99
Video card- GeForce 210 24.99 on new egg is post a link but I'm on my phone and I don't have power

Total 255-305 depending on how much you spend on your motherboard

oG AnarCHy said:

So I just looked around ebay for some motherboards and you can find one from around 50-100 bucks used, then heres the rest of the build that I would do

Mobo- Your Choose 50-100 bucks
Ram- 1x4gb Gskill @1333 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231642 35.99
Case- Fractel Core 100 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811352032 $35.99
Power Supply- Corsair CXm 430w http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817139049
39.99 after mail in rebate
Hard Drive - wd blue 1tb http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822236339 69.99

Total 230-280 depending on how much you spend on your motherboard

Click to expand...

Will also need a video card if he sticks with the Xeon.

Here's another thought- REFURB!
Buy a refurb PC, stick a 1TB WD BLUE in it and re-install windows. They come with a COA key so you can just use your copy of win 7/8 that you already have.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA2080YW6789

Pop an extra 2GB of DDR3 in there and swap out the HDD. JM2C.