Cheap Desktop PC Builds?

Hey guys, I was in the beginning of my journey (in the journey section, obviously) and my laptop bit the dust. This leaves me with only my wife's laptop to use maybe an hour or so a day. An hour or so a day, though, is not going to do it for me.

So I took all my PC scraps and started piecing them together, trying to make something work. The only one I could get to work booted up with Windows 98 (I didn't know I had a HD with 98 on it. Creepy.) that would crash as soon as I got it booted up and logged in, and it was utilizing two power supplies and two motherboards, due to compatibility issues. It'd be really hard to explain..

Now I've made an agreement with my brother for a loan of $200 to try to build something that will allow me to run Photoshop, Illustrator, Chrome, and basic low-requirement programs. I already have a 500GB hard drive, so I don't need to purchase one, and I also have a CD drive, monitor, mouse, and keyboard. So, ultimately, all I need is a motherboard, CPU, and RAM. (Possibly video card, if necessary.

I don't know a lot about all of this anymore. I used to when I was into building computers, but now I know jack. I don't know what makes different CPUs better than each other, or what makes the $100 motherboards better than the $50 ones. So it makes it terribly difficult to choose parts on my own.


The laptop I had been using had these specs:

AMD A4-5000 APU w/ Radeon HD Graphics (1.50GHz)
6.00 GB RAM

That being said, I suppose I need a rig with at least 1.50GHz processor and 4-6GB of RAM.

The $200 includes shipping, too. Keep that in mind.

All help is appreciated!

Just go buy a cheap laptop, I got a really nice one for around $500 and it's still running to this day. (2 years old)

Acer is an amazing brand to say the least and really durable.

Go laptop hunting man

(good luck finding an exact match like your hunting for honestly man.... 6gb of ram in any machine under $200 is hard to think of...)

Your computer was using 2 motherboard??? If you want to build a computer for $200 you're going to want to go on ebay and buy used parts.

YouTubez said:

Acer is an amazing brand to say the least and really durable.

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As far as I remember Acer laptops were infamous for their soft frames. Build quality was poor but hardware ok considering low price. Times might have changed tho.

something that will allow me to run Photoshop, Illustrator, Chrome, and basic low-requirement programs

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Photoshop uses a lot of CPU power when applying filters, exporting, rendering. Decent GPU is needed for advanced features. You also gonna need as much RAM memory as possible if you are planning to work on images with lost of layers or massive resolution. Do not buy laptop if you don't need portability, as your budget is very limited and you probably won't find anything decent to work with. Check ebay or your local classifieds. I saw some guys were selling i7 (older gen) setups for around 200 bucks.

Get what you can and upgrade when you got some funds to invest. Remember, your only limit is your imagination. Good luck!

Craigslist is a wonderful thing for situations like these

I think I am going to try to use one of these motherboards in my project. It was pulled from my old Dell Dimension E520. Looking at the specs of the E520, the CPU that's on this motherboard should be: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6320 4MB Cache/1.86GHz/1066FSB

Seeing that I had planned to buy a motherboard and CPU anyways, I think I am just going to try to get a tower, power supply, and RAM for this and see if it works. If not, I'll replace the motherboard next and keep the CPU. If it doesn't work then, the only other problem could be the CPU, correct?

I have this other motherboard, though. I can't find out what computer it came out of so I can't really tell the specs on it or what the specs are for the processor that it has with it. Think anyone could help me identify it?




---I also just found this on Amazon. Would it be a good deal and ideal for what I am trying to do?
hxxp://w3.amazon.com/Dell-GX620-Interlaced-Intregrated-Professional/dp/B003KJ04TA/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1404341483&sr=1-16&keywords=dimension+e520+motherboard

You can buy an old desktop with core2duo for less then $200, you don't need this shit.

jasgrey said:

I think I am going to try to use one of these motherboards in my project. It was pulled from my old Dell Dimension E520. Looking at the specs of the E520, the CPU that's on this motherboard should be: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E6320 4MB Cache/1.86GHz/1066FSB

Seeing that I had planned to buy a motherboard and CPU anyways, I think I am just going to try to get a tower, power supply, and RAM for this and see if it works. If not, I'll replace the motherboard next and keep the CPU. If it doesn't work then, the only other problem could be the CPU, correct?

I have this other motherboard, though. I can't find out what computer it came out of so I can't really tell the specs on it or what the specs are for the processor that it has with it. Think anyone could help me identify it?

---I also just found this on Amazon. Would it be a good deal and ideal for what I am trying to do?
hxxp://w3.amazon.com/Dell-GX620-Interlaced-Intregrated-Professional/dp/B003KJ04TA/ref=sr_1_16?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1404341483&sr=1-16&keywords=dimension+e520+motherboard

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Going through all that trouble is really unnecessary since you can easily find a fully functioning computer in that price range. I just took a look around ebay for some lenovo laptops below $200 and there's quite a few options. Ive owned a couple in the past and they were pretty damn reliable.

Here's some listings on ebay: http://www.ebay.com/sch/Laptops-Netbooks-/175672/i.html?_from=R40&LH_BIN=1&_udlo=&_udhi=200&_nkw=lenovo

Found this one in particular to be a good deal, just needs an operation system for $149:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Lenovo-ThinkPad-SL510-Core-2-Duo-2-1-GHz-3GB-250GB-HD-Webcam-HDMI-Win-7-Pro-COA-/390875775518?pt=Laptops_Nov05&hash=item5b0203021e

wizard04 said:

You can buy an old desktop with core2duo for less then $200, you don't need this shit.

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this, i got a basic core2duo + 2gb ram for around $100 3 or so years ago, so for that price you should be able to get something reasonable

Thank you guys! I never knew that Walmart sold refurb computers. Anyways, will this be up to par with what I need to do?

hxxp://w3.walmart.com/ip/HP-Pre-Owned-Refurbished-Black-6005-Pro-Desktop-PC-with-Athlon-II-X2-Processor-4GB-Memory-160GB-Hard-Drive-and-Windows-7-Home-Premium-Monitor-Not/23325253?action=product_interest&action_type=title&placement_id=irs_middle&strategy=PWVUB&visitor_id=81758150183&category=0%3A3944%3A3951%3A132982&client_guid=0a863409-80aa-4a4e-900b-c59754e379a9&config_id=0&parent_item_id=19534024&guid=74d8bd41-2334-4809-9e71-9a46809eb550&bucket_id=irsbucketdefault&findingMethod=p13n