PCA Forums

My father in law asked me what a new PC build would cost earlier this year and I told him ~$800 is we don't reuse anything from his old PC. He didn't want to spend the money at the time. I've been mulling over the idea of either building one to give him or purchasing a pre-built to give him. The issues I run into with pre-built are cost vs the hardware I'm buying or stupid configurations. I saw an HP ENVY for $750 but when I start changing things like storage size from a 350 to 500 GB, the price skyrockets to $1k. The Dells I looked at around the same price only come with a single stick of RAM with no way to add another in the customization.

When we visited for Thanksgiving, he told me he's downsizing and gave me two firearms, a Soviet Mosen Nouget and a SIG Sauer 9 mm Subcompact that looked to have never been fired. He gave the wife a Ruger 0.380 with 2 extra magazines and a box of ammo. He refused to let me pay a dime for them so I want to build him or buy him a PC in return.

He doesn't game. Most of his computing is spent on e-mail and communication with the Shriners and Lodges. With COVID, some of his meeting are going virtual and the only webcam he has is on an old HP WIn 7 laptop. In addition to the build, I'd like to find a webcam that works with Windows 10. Apparently, that's an issue with the bit of browsing I've done. He does want to stick with Intel and I think think the on-processor GPU on the 9xxx and 10xxx series processors should be sufficient.

I'm thinking of the following. I want something reliable that I don't need to support. I have access to a Microcenter but it's 1hr 30min away. I'd prefer to stick with amazon. I added a 212 because I hate how Intel coolers mount.

According to the compatibility notes, the power supply doesn't have a 4 pin connector for the board? I found that odd.


[PCPartPicker Part List](https://pcpartpicker.com/list/HpC97X)

Type|Item|Price
:----|:----|:----
**CPU** | [Intel Core i3-10100 3.6 GHz Quad-Core Processor](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/qtqBD3 ... 8070110100) | $105.44 @ Amazon

**CPU Cooler** | [Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/hmtCmG ... 212e20pkr2) | $34.99 @ Amazon

**Motherboard** | [Asus PRIME Z490-P ATX LGA1200 Motherboard](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/fyRgXL ... ime-z490-p) | $150.99 @ Amazon

**Memory** | [G.Skill Ripjaws V Series 16 GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4-2666 CL15 Memory](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/bf98TW ... 6c15d16gvr) | $67.98 @ Amazon

**Storage** | [Samsung 970 Evo 1 TB M.2-2280 NVME Solid State Drive](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/JLdxFT ... -v7e1t0baw) | $129.99 @ Amazon

**Case** | [Fractal Design Focus G ATX Mid Tower Case](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/4vzZxr ... focus-gy-w) | $66.80 @ Amazon

**Power Supply** | [EVGA SuperNOVA GA 550 W 80+ Gold Certified Fully Modular ATX Power Supply](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/v6qBD3 ... ga-0550-x1) | $98.23 @ Amazon

**Optical Drive** | [Asus DRW-24B1ST/BLK/B/AS DVD/CD Writer](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/2v9KHx ... b1stblkbas) | $19.98 @ Amazon

**Operating System** | [Microsoft Windows 10 Home OEM 64-bit](https://pcpartpicker.com/product/wtgPxr ... s-kw900140) | $119.99 @ Amazon
| *Prices include shipping, taxes, rebates, and discounts* |
| **Total** | **$794.39**
| Generated by [PCPartPicker](https://pcpartpicker.com) 2020-12-03 10:27 EST-0500 |

This is on of the Pre-builds I was seriously considering. However, it only has a single stick of 8 GB ram. I don't understand why they didn't use 4GB x 2 in a Dual Channel Board.

https://www.letsbld.com/starter-series?type=starter

I just built for my 88 year old father-in-law a simple desktop from my old hardware. He is not a gamer so it made the decision easy. I gave him a 10 year old Asus motherboard that I used with windows 7. Never had an issue with the board, but it did need a new bios battery. Really the only new piece of hardware was a case and USB3 add-on card. The case is nice because it has the headphone jack, USB connectors, power on button and reset button on the top.

Stock cooler will be more than adequate for that CPU if you want to save a few bucks. The latest Intel coolers are fine, especially for a low end Core i3.

Do a Google search or check the mobo or RAM website to make sure that RAM really will work with default settings. So many times performance RAM has failed me, and I'm still stinging from it. Otherwise stock Crucial RAM and use their database to match the right part.

16GB is overkill for a non gamer unless he's a heavy user of Photoshop, or does video editing, and even then. Then again, RAM is cheap. Make sure it's a 2 stick kit (2x8) or you don't get the advantage of dual channel performance.

On CPU graphics are fine, even for moderate gaming nowadays.

Any modern Webcam should work fine with Win10. Stick to name brand though: Logitech or Microsoft is what I would recommend. Sort Amazon reviews by most reviews. With everyone using Zoom, there's a lot of reviews. Look for a camera with a good microphone, and that looks good in poor lighting.

Thanks guys

This is what I have my accountant use for all her employees that just run tax software and office. So no gaming and just a work computer.

Dell OptiPlex 3070 Micro - They are small and have been pretty solid machines.

i5 ($45 cheaper if you go with an i3)
Windows 10 Pro
16GB 2x8
512GB NVMe

$706
Extra $50 off with coupon DELL50
$656

https://www.dell.com/en-us/work/shop/ct ... 39cf686dab


I disagree on the memory. Typical users will have Outlook, various office documents and PDFs open as well as a browser open with multiple tabs, memory goes fast. We had to upgrade all the work desktops that only had 8GB.


As for Webcam. The Logitech Brio is great and is Windows Hello compatible.....but only if he's willing to spend $200 on a webcam Otherwise a C922 or C920 (half the price) is good. I wouldn't trust any of the no-name webcams that popped up everywhere. I only use/recommend Logitech webcams.

As for mic quality, I don't ever use mics on webcams unless it's my laptop/surface. I have and really like the Samson Meteor mics.

Yeah, I was going to recommend an OEM system as well in the same price range, but it sounded like maybe he wanted to make it more of a personal gift and build it himself.

Frankly any Dell or HP system in the $600-$800 range will do the job. You just have to worry about the PSU failing sometime in the first three years.

These are the parts I ordered. Amazon had the processor and Motherboard in a bundle. RAM shipped my Amazon is had to find @ 2400 or 2666 speeds right now. Amazon and Crucial themselves didn't have the non-Ballistx ram in stock. I ordered Windows 10 Home directly from Microsoft because Amazon only had it through 3rd party vendors. It came with a USB for installation. I know I could easily make one myself but I can't be bothered to do so. I'm taking a chance on the AUKEY webcam. There was a deal on it for 50% off. The Logitech cameras are tough to come by right now. When I did find one, it was either a January delivery or the vendor was price gouging.

Intel Core i3-10100 Desktop Processor 4 Cores up to 4.3 GHz LGA1200 with MSI B460M-A PRO ProSeries Motherboard
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08 ... =UTF8&th=1

Crucial Ballistix 2666 MHz DDR4 DRAM Desktop Gaming Memory Kit 16GB (8GBx2) CL16 BL2K8G26C16U4B
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B08 ... UTF8&psc=1

Samsung (MZ-V7E500BW) 970 EVO SSD 500GB - M.2 NVMe
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Corsair RMX Series (2018), RM550x, 550 Watt, 80+ Gold Certified, Fully Modular Power Supply
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Asus 24x DVD-RW Serial-ATA Internal OEM Optical Drive DRW-24B1ST
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

AUKEY FHD Webcam, 1080p Live Streaming Camera with Stereo Microphone
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Corsair 110R Tempered Glass Mid-Tower ATX Case (BROKEN ON ARRIVAL - RETURNING)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B07 ... UTF8&psc=1

Fractal Design Define R5 - Mid Tower Computer Case (I have the R6 Define - Fractal makes some of the best cases)
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00 ... UTF8&psc=1

The Case arrive today. I knew it was busted as soon as I picked up the box. I didn't necessarily want a glass window but it was the cheapest quality case Amazon had upon my initial order. The packing inside the box is awful too. There's no padding on the glass side of the case to help prevent it breaking during shipment.