Trying to squeeze the budget some more

[StayTuned]

This is what I've got. Is there a way I can make it 50-80€ cheaper?

I wanna create an affordable PC that will handle office work and very slight video editing/rendering from time to time. Whatever this PC is going to replace is over 8 years old and was absolute garbage at its time already, so anything more or less modern works. I used many parts from the Puppy pre-build, but I guess we can go even cheaper.

Gaming is 100% irrelevant.

The edits are highlited.

BODY:
Corsair CC-9011023-WW Carbide Series 200R - EUR 59,90
https://www.amazon.de/Corsair-CC-901...es%2B200R&th=1

POWER SUPPLY:
EVGA 100-W1-0500-KR PSU 500W - EUR 47,00
https://www.amazon.de/EVGA-100-W1-05...ords=EVGA+500w

CPU:
Intel Pentium Prozessor G4560 - EUR 83,54
https://www.amazon.de/Intel-Pentium-...tel+pentium+i5

HEATSINK:
ARCTIC Freezer XTREME - EUR 26,11 (Because I have one unit lying around already)
https://www.amazon.de/ARCTIC-Freezer...freezer+xtreme

MOTHERBOARD:
MSI Z270-A Pro LGA 1151 - EUR 110,89
https://www.amazon.de/MSI-Z270-D-Sub...s=MSI+Pro+Z270

New one: Gigabyte GA-B250M - EUR 74,02
https://www.mindfactory.de/product_i...l_1136454.html

RAM:
Crucial 8GB Kit (4GBx2) DDR4 2133 MT/s - EUR 76,97
https://www.amazon.de/Crucial-DDR4-2...gb%2Bddr4&th=1

GPU (WILL BE DITCHED FOR ONBOARD):
Gigabyte GeForce GTX 1050 - EUR 118,01
https://www.amazon.de/Gigabyte-GeFor...ywords=gtx1050

HDD:
WD Blue WD10EZEX 1 TB - EUR 48,48
https://www.amazon.de/Blue-WD10EZEX-...gital+Blue+1TB

SSD (OPTIONAL):
WD Blue 250 GB interne SSD - EUR 90,99
https://www.amazon.de/Festplatte-von...eywords=SSD+WD

DVD:
Asus DRW-24D5MT interner 24x DVD Brenner - EUR 16,56
https://www.amazon.de/DRW-24D5MT-int...%2B%2F-RW&th=1


TOTAL: 678,45€

TOTAL NO SSD: 587,46€



We have won if we can get the no SSD version down to 500€

[potis]

Why are you getting a Z motherboard? Any output you actually need on the motherboard?

Get a B250 otherwise, there is your 50$.

[StayTuned]

Why are you getting a Z motherboard? Any output you actually need on the motherboard?

Get a B250 otherwise, there is your 50$.

Not really.

The B250 is a really decent alternative, thank you!

Now it looks much more like I imagined it.

I don't see a good way to get it down to 500€ though, at least not without used units, which I want to avoid at all costs.

[Evildeffy]

Not really.

The B250 is a really decent alternative, thank you!

Now it looks much more like I imagined it.

I don't see a good way to get it down to 500€ though, at least not without used units, which I want to avoid at all costs.

Do you need the GTX 1050 in the first place?
If not drop it entirely and run on the iGPU of the Intel CPU, this allows you to spend a little more on the CPU itself to crank up the CPU horsepower.
This for your video rendering.

[Artesia]

Would you be open to buy from other sites than amazon.de?
Mindfactory currently has by far the cheapest prices in Germany.
If you buy after midnight you get free shipping and if you pay via ELV you don't pay fees (unlike if you pay with PayPal for example).

You could squeeze out a few bucks in almost every slot.
For example: Instead of 77€ for your RAM you could get 8GB Crucial CT8G4DFD8213 DDR4-2133 DIMM CL15 Single for 52 € (can't post links).
Also your desired SSD is on the expensive side and you could easily get a cheaper one.

[StayTuned]

Do you need the GTX 1050 in the first place?
If not drop it entirely and run on the iGPU of the Intel CPU, this allows you to spend a little more on the CPU itself to crank up the CPU horsepower.
This for your video rendering.

I feel like any PC should have a GPU and with the 1050 I am not really in any danger of it becoming obsolete for office work anytime soon. With less than 120€ it's also relatively cheap.

Isn't video rendering and picture processing more heavy on the GPU anyway?

I just have the feeling that investing that money into the next better CPU will end up costing me about the same and I would have to rely on Onboard Graphics which again I am not a big fan of.

- - - Updated - - -

Would you be open to buy from other sites than amazon.de?

Always. Amazon is simply just convenient for me but I will compare the prices nonetheless. If it's cheaper I'll buy from Mindfactory, thanks for the hint.

Also your desired SSD is on the expensive side and you could easily get a cheaper one.

SSD is entirely optional. If he wants one though he should get one that will last a bit longer. I've heard only good things about this particular SSD. If he doesn't want a proper one, he might as well just take none at all before we risk a data crash by installing a cheap SSD.

[Nasuuna]

I'd still recommend another 8g of ram if you want to do any video editing

[StayTuned]

I'd still recommend another 8g of ram if you want to do any video editing

More picture editing than anything else, really. Video editing only in regards to creating photo/video collages of his work. Right now he's working on 2 gigs.

A friend of mine is a professional photographer, extremely talented. Unfortunately extremely broke, too. The PC is for him.

[Nasuuna]

More picture editing than anything else, really. Video editing only in regards to creating photo/video collages of his work. Right now he's working on 2 gigs.

A friend of mine is a professional photographer, extremely talented. Unfortunately extremely broke, too. The PC is for him.

I hope you are using a real version of your OS, professional work on a crack windows key is an extremely ugly situation if he gets caught

[StayTuned]

I hope you are using a real version of your OS, professional work on a crack windows key is an extremely ugly situation if he gets caught

Yea I got him a legit version of Windows 10. He's still using Win XP right now.

Most of his software is legit and he's working with a lot of freeware programs, but he can't afford a decent PC right now.

When I saw on what kind of "machine" he has to work I got really sad and died a little bit inside. I offered to build a PC for him for about 500€ which was within his budget. Unfortunately my hardware knowledge is limited to the high end units... so thanks for any additional help ^^

[Evildeffy]

I feel like any PC should have a GPU and with the 1050 I am not really in any danger of it becoming obsolete for office work anytime soon. With less than 120€ it's also relatively cheap.

And also completely unnecessary for office work as you can just as easily use the iGPU.
Saves you ~€ 118,- and lowers the PSU requirements and removes an added source of noise.

All the while you can pump in that extra money into like more RAM, bigger CPU, etc.

Hell you can even skip the Arctic Freezer cooler as the Pentium comes with it's own stock cooler.

With this you can simply also keep everything as is and pocket the extra change and have an uber cheap build.

Isn't video rendering and picture processing more heavy on the GPU anyway?

For most programmes everything is rendered via the CPU, there are only a handful using the GPU and it is clearly marked as such as you have to enable it specifically.
Otherwise it uses the CPU by default.

I just have the feeling that investing that money into the next better CPU will end up costing me about the same and I would have to rely on Onboard Graphics which again I am not a big fan of.

Onboard graphics for office use do not actually suck anymore.
This is why cheaper graphics cards have MOSTLY died out because the iGPUs were on par or better than the uber cheap GPUs, the only reason they still exist lower than the GTX 1050 is because Ryzen has made a smashing entrance into the market and it doesn't sport iGPUs and for older machines and servers for those cheapskates unwilling to upgrade.

Like I said you don't have to get a better CPU, you can keep it as is or improve in other areas you may think could use a bit more.
Like that SSD as an example.

SSD is entirely optional. If he wants one though he should get one that will last a bit longer. I've heard only good things about this particular SSD. If he doesn't want a proper one, he might as well just take none at all before we risk a data crash by installing a cheap SSD.

Grab a Crucial MX300 275GB, either M.2 variant or SATA variant depending on which mobo you end up going for (B250 recommended if it has an M.2 slot).
Crucial has a very successful track record for reliability versus the teething issues Western Digital has because it's new on the market.

[StayTuned]

@Evildeffy


Actually, why not? We can always upgrade the GPU if we see a reason for it. The Intel HD Graphics 610 even has a 4k resolution support, which I wasn't aware of.

[Evildeffy]

@Evildeffy

Actually, why not? We can always upgrade the GPU if we see a reason for it. The Intel HD Graphics 610 even has a 4k resolution support, which I wasn't aware of.

Like I said.. iGPUs no longer suck since they made the transition from on the motherboard to on-CPU-die
Pump in an SSD instead or save the money etc. etc.

Since he's not gaming there's no need to inject a dGPU or even a need to buy an aftermarket CPU cooler, but you have that one lying about so.. yeah.

Technically you can lower the PSU as well but it's not like Europe is cheap on PSUs compared to the mostly tax-free US.
So a lower PSU is probably not going to make any form of real difference in money saved.

Be aware though that honestly that CPU you linked is literally the ONLY CPU I'd recommend from Intel right now and you're skirting the hedges with it.
If you intend to increase CPU power normally I'd recommend going for Ryzen or wait for Coffee Lake but Coffee Lake's Pentium series etc. are still far off so no use on that.

In terms of squeezing out a cheaper mobo ... this'd probably be something I'd pick regarding features for as cheap as possible:
https://www.mindfactory.de/product_i...l_1136454.html

I REALLY hate the SATA port positioning though.. but in terms of features and price.. it's good.
Even has all connections necessary for analogue 7.1 audio if used as an HTPC f.ex. as well as an M.2 slot.

But the one thing you have to pay attention to with GigaByte (biggest factor I mean) is that you should try to always wait with instant BIOS updates, wait a week or 2.. GigaByte is notorious for bringing out some very bad BIOSes... which to their credit they fix but can really wreck the PC.

[chazus]

If it were ME..

Ditch the Optical drive
Ditch the HDD, keep the SSD. If you need space later, you can get it. (Or is this needed for editing?)
Stick with 8gb RAM, if you need more, you can get it.
Get the B250 board

Use the money saved to either move up to a slightly faster Pentium G4620, or i3-7100, or just not spend the money. It won't make a significant difference.

[StayTuned]

If it were ME..

Ditch the Optical drive
Ditch the HDD, keep the SSD. If you need space later, you can get it. (Or is this needed for editing?)
Stick with 8gb RAM, if you need more, you can get it.
Get the B250 board

Use the money saved to either move up to a slightly faster Pentium G4620, or i3-7100, or just not spend the money. It won't make a significant difference.

Yea I think I'll go with the i3-7100. Without the GPU this is well within the budget. The HDD is necessary because he has Terabytes of photographs. He's going to install two additional HDDs that he's already using as well.
The optical drive is necessary because he's still burning and reading lots of DVDs.


- - - Updated - - -

Be aware though that honestly that CPU you linked is literally the ONLY CPU I'd recommend from Intel right now and you're skirting the hedges with it.
If you intend to increase CPU power normally I'd recommend going for Ryzen or wait for Coffee Lake but Coffee Lake's Pentium series etc. are still far off so no use on that.

Yea 99,99% sure I won't go AMD anytime soon, so I won't recommend that to him either... I have no clue how to handle that so he'd be even more lost than I.

But the one thing you have to pay attention to with GigaByte (biggest factor I mean) is that you should try to always wait with instant BIOS updates, wait a week or 2.. GigaByte is notorious for bringing out some very bad BIOSes... which to their credit they fix but can really wreck the PC.

I've literally never updated any Bios I ever had in over 20 years of using and working with computers.

[Evildeffy]

Yea I think I'll go with the i3-7100. Without the GPU this is well within the budget. The HDD is necessary because he has Terabytes of photographs. He's going to install two additional HDDs that he's already using as well.
The optical drive is necessary because he's still burning and reading lots of DVDs.

Don't go i3-7100, it's not worth it.
Wait for Coffee Lake if you don't want AMD's Ryzen (it really is extremely good though .. you just are tied with an added dGPU costs) .. because the i3-7100 is a Dual-Core with HyperThreading where the new Coffee Lake i3 will be a real Quad-Core with HyperThreading.

Going with a current ANYTHING Intel over the G4560 series is NOT worth it at all and honestly a waste of money.

Coffee Lake SHOULD launch October 5th and should take over the respective price points of current CPUs.
It's a literal doubling of CPU horsepower for a 2 week wait.

Yea 99,99% sure I won't go AMD anytime soon, so I won't recommend that to him either... I have no clue how to handle that so he'd be even more lost than I.

In function they are identical except for the aforementioned loss of iGPU.
That said Ryzen CPUs are beasts ... especially for their price, even with Coffee Lake they will still retain their Price/Performance king standing.
But each has their preference and it should be respected.

I've literally never updated any Bios I ever had in over 20 years of using and working with computers.

I've done it more times than I can possibly remember for the same amount of times.
Earlier in the 90s it wasn't a big thing overall and the only reason you'd do it was because of new CPU support ... nowadays it's rather crucial for optimizing everything and fixing the explosive growth of hardware.

You'll get there I guess

[StayTuned]

Don't go i3-7100, it's not worth it.
Wait for Coffee Lake if you don't want AMD's Ryzen (it really is extremely good though .. you just are tied with an added dGPU costs) .. because the i3-7100 is a Dual-Core with HyperThreading where the new Coffee Lake i3 will be a real Quad-Core with HyperThreading.

Going with a current ANYTHING Intel over the G4560 series is NOT worth it at all and honestly a waste of money.

Coffee Lake SHOULD launch October 5th and should take over the respective price points of current CPUs.
It's a literal doubling of CPU horsepower for a 2 week wait.


In function they are identical except for the aforementioned loss of iGPU.
That said Ryzen CPUs are beasts ... especially for their price, even with Coffee Lake they will still retain their Price/Performance king standing.
But each has their preference and it should be respected.


I've done it more times than I can possibly remember for the same amount of times.
Earlier in the 90s it wasn't a big thing overall and the only reason you'd do it was because of new CPU support ... nowadays it's rather crucial for optimizing everything and fixing the explosive growth of hardware.

You'll get there I guess

And CL will cost less than 120€? Kinda.... hard to believe that there wont be a premium price on it first

[Evildeffy]

And CL will cost less than 120€? Kinda.... hard to believe that there wont be a premium price on it first

No it won't.. But it'll be 120 - 140 euros for a 4 core 8 thread CPU vs your current choice of i3 which is a 2 core 4 thread cpu for the same price.

The difference is literally double the cpu performance.

[Deleted]

Look for used Ram, the 2nd hand market for Ram is soooo much cheaper even for DDR4, I am not sure what stores can sell used to you, but even DVD drives are cheaper then retail from such stores.

Don't worry about use with Ram, its very hard to 'wear' them through, with SSDs, if you can find models such as the MX300 from crucial, you can get a good deal as well, look for 250 GB models, again don't worry about wear because no gamer or office user can wear through a good branded SSD, only data centres can do that.

[Triggered Fridgekin]

with HyperThreading.)

Will they? That's kind of impressive providing they don't screw it over with janky pricing.