Basic PC

[omega44-xt]

Need PC for parents at hometown. Current PC's mobo has failed apparently, trying to find its replacement mobo cost locally.
Specs:

• i3 530
• Intel DH55TC
• 1x4GB + 1x2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM
• 240GB SSD
• 500GB HDD
• Corsair CX450
• 18 year old cabinet from HCL
• 24" 1080p IPS monitor

1. What is the purpose of the computer? What all applications and games are you going to run? (Be exact. Which games? Which applications? Avoid the word 'et cetera.' Vague answers like 'gaming' or 'office work' will not work.)
Ans: Web browsing, watching videos, video calls

2. What is your overall budget? If you can extend a bit for a more balanced configuration, then please mention.
Ans: As low as possible

3. Planning to overclock?
Ans: No

4. Which Operating System are you planning to use?
Ans: Win10

5. How much hard drive / solid-state drive space is needed?
Ans: Have 240GB SSD + 500GB HDD

6. Do you want to buy a monitor? If yes, please mention the screen size and resolution you prefer. If you already have a monitor and want to reuse it, then do mention the screen size and resolution of the monitor you have.
Ans: Have 24" 1080p IPS monitor

7. Which components you DON'T want to buy? i.e. which components you already have and plan on reusing?
Ans: Monitor, PSU (CX450 - 10 years old), storage, have 1x4GB & 1x2GB DDR3 1333MHz RAM

8. When are you planning to buy the system?
Ans: Soon

9. Have you ever built a desktop before? Or, will this be done by an assembler?
Ans: Assembler

10. Where do you live? Are you buying locally? Are you open to buying stuff from online shops if you don't get locally?
Ans: Shipping out from Bengaluru to parents

11. Anything else which you would like to say?
Ans: Came across these parts for like 5k, seems like it will do the job:

CPU	i5 3470	1999​	*www.amazon.in/Intel-Excellent-Performance-Processor-Silver/dp/B09T3NQQSQ
Mobo	Zebronics H61	2825​	*www.amazon.in/Zebronics-Motherboard-Intel-Socket-1Audio/dp/B088F4CHQ9
RAM	Old	0​
	Cooler	380​	*www.amazon.in/Intel-LGA115x-CPU-Heatsink-E97379/dp/B01MSD39CN
	Total	5204​

Else this is another option which is much more expensive at 16k:

CPU	R3 3200G	8359​	Amazon.in
Mobo	AsRock B450M HDV R4.0	5550​	*mdcomputers.in/asrock-b450m-hdv-r4-0.html
RAM	8GB DDR4 3200MHz	1899​	*www.amazon.in/Crucial-DDR4-Desktop-Memory-CT8G4DFRA32A/dp/B08C4VHQV2/
	Total	15808​

Any idea on those 5k parts? I want the PC to function for another 2-3 years at least, post which I can donate my i5 12400 + mobo + RAM to my parents

 

[DestGod]

If cost is a priority here, then the i5 build would be the way to go. The CPU ( used I guess) will not run into any problems, but its the motherboard that's the concern here. However, from the builds and reviews on YT, it seems to be decent enough for an i5.

You could push performance but by increasing the budget-
i3 10100- 10.2k
H510- 5.5k
8GB DDR4 2666Mhz - 1.8k (for simple usage, there's not much of a difference between this and 3200Mhz)
Total- 17.5k
Performance will be far better than that i5 build, but its easily not worth for the extra 12k. i5 3570 performance is on par with the 3200G, so I wouldn't recommend the 3200G.

Also, why not consider buying a used PC? I think you'll find good options under 10k, which also avoids the hassle of building a computer.

(PS- I'm curious, how old is that build, and what version of Windows is it running?)

 

[omega44-xt]

If cost is a priority here, then the i5 build would be the way to go. The CPU ( used I guess) will not run into any problems, but its the motherboard that's the concern here. However, from the builds and reviews on YT, it seems to be decent enough for an i5.

You could push performance but by increasing the budget-
i3 10100- 10.2k
H510- 5.5k
8GB DDR4 2666Mhz - 1.8k (for simple usage, there's not much of a difference between this and 3200Mhz)
Total- 17.5k
Performance will be far better than that i5 build, but its easily not worth for the extra 12k. i5 3570 performance is on par with the 3200G, so I wouldn't recommend the 3200G.

Also, why not consider buying a used PC? I think you'll find good options under 10k, which also avoids the hassle of building a computer.

(PS- I'm curious, how old is that build, and what version of Windows is it running?)

CPU	R3 4350G	10500​	*www.amazon.in/AMD-Socket-Threads-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B09ZQX7MGH
Mobo	AsRock B450M HDV R4.0	5550​	*mdcomputers.in/asrock-b450m-hdv-r4-0.html
RAM	8GB DDR4 3200MHz	1899​	*www.amazon.in/Crucial-DDR4-Desktop-Memory-CT8G4DFRA32A/dp/B08C4VHQV2/
	Total	17949​

I think this is also similar in performance to i3 10100 for similar price. But performance is not a big concern.

Didn't see any great deals under 10k in TE forum for used PC.

The home PC is actually 18 years old now, was HCL one with Pentium 4. Its internals were upgraded to current specs in 2010 (RAM was 4GB, also had HD5670 GPU which died in 4 years). The cabinet has a floppy drive intact.

Right now, if I don't get a cheap 3-4k mobo for current build, I'm leaning towards the i5 3470. Expecting an used CPU & cooler, mobo might be new though. As mentioned, I need it to last another 2-3 years.

 

[DestGod]

CPU	R3 4350G	10500​	*www.amazon.in/AMD-Socket-Threads-Radeon-Graphics/dp/B09ZQX7MGH
Mobo	AsRock B450M HDV R4.0	5550​	*mdcomputers.in/asrock-b450m-hdv-r4-0.html
RAM	8GB DDR4 3200MHz	1899​	*www.amazon.in/Crucial-DDR4-Desktop-Memory-CT8G4DFRA32A/dp/B08C4VHQV2/
	Total	17949​

I think this is also similar in performance to i3 10100 for similar price. But performance is not a big concern.

Didn't see any great deals under 10k in TE forum for used PC.

The home PC is actually 18 years old now, was HCL one with Pentium 4. Its internals were upgraded to current specs in 2010 (RAM was 4GB, also had HD5670 GPU which died in 4 years). The cabinet has a floppy drive intact.

Right now, if I don't get a cheap 3-4k mobo for current build, I'm leaning towards the i5 3470. Expecting an used CPU & cooler, mobo might be new though. As mentioned, I need it to last another 2-3 years.

Ah ok. Then yeah, the i5 build would be a better option. Just watch out for the mobo, its still a sus looking one (maybe there are used alternatives for H61). Also, consider adding an 8GB DDR3 stick. I'm using MS Teams (web version) for my conferences and it RAM usage immediately shoots up to 6GB (total system).

That's an insane timeline for the PC, wonder how thermals would be with an i5 12400 though (sleeper build maybe?)

 

[omega44-xt]

Ah ok. Then yeah, the i5 build would be a better option. Just watch out for the mobo, its still a sus looking one (maybe there are used alternatives for H61). Also, consider adding an 8GB DDR3 stick. I'm using MS Teams (web version) for my conferences and it RAM usage immediately shoots up to 6GB (total system).

That's an insane timeline for the PC, wonder how thermals would be with an i5 12400 though (sleeper build maybe?)

Considering stock cooler of i5 12400 on Lancool II Mesh had it running at 50-55C for normal web browsing & stuff, the thermals won't be great. But I will likely upgrade the cabinet that time, will need to look for one with a DVD drive slot.

My parents use G Meet or zoom over browser mostly, so 6GB should be ok for now. SSD is there, so that will help, just a BX500 though.