Cheapest Smallest PC Build Possible?

[AndiWhitts]

I dont have alot of money and my computer has packed in after lasting a good few years. I want to sell the components and move on to be honest!

I need a computer to run iTunes to store all my music on, and back up all of my pictures and that is basically it. it will not be for playing games or anything like that so dont need serious specifications.

I really want to spend as little as possible, so i need the cheapest components, keyboard & mouse, speakers and monitor possible!

I would really like a mini pc as the smaller the case the better, but if that isnt possible it isnt really a problem.

hopefully someone can give me some input and ideas, im going to have a little look my self and post what i can find, thanks in advance!

[ik9000]

you should be able to do this for not too much money at all. Pretty much any CPU currently available will offer you the ability to run itunes and do web browsing etc. It's only when you get to gaming or high end graphics work that the cost starts to leap up.

Will put together a spec and post shortly.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

I would avoid the cases which cannot take a 3.5" hard drive.I would avoid the Thermaltake Element Q due to its poor cooling. The Lian Li PC-Q07 case or the new socket 1155 based Shuttle SH61R4 barebone system can be had for around £160 from Scan.

[ik9000]

This spec uses some of the TodayOnly offers from Scan. It doesn't include mouse/keyboard, but you can pick up budget ones for not very much at all via Ebuyer or Scan or similar websites. NB, i think the motherboard listed only has one PSU port so at least one of the keyboard or mouse will need to be USB3. I've not included a monitor, but have included a copy of windows 7 which I presume you'll need. With over 20 posts (which you have) you can register for free shipping with scan, so this will reduce the listed price. The DVD drive has interchangeable bezels so the colour can be changed to match the case.



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[AndiWhitts]

Thanks for everybodys input but i have decidede to recycle some of the parts from my old computer, i was thinking of doing this set up:

Case + PSU £18.98
http://www.envizage.com/products/cases-evo-labs/catar-63020-evo-labs-2-bay-black-micro-atx-pc-case-with-450w-psu.html
Proccessor + Motherboard + RAM £78.95
http://www.envizage.com/products/bundles-intel/bdl-g41d3-e3400-2gb-intel-e3400-2.6-celeron-cpu-2gb-ddr3-motherboard-bundle.html

as i have a decent graphics card, HDD, monitor, keyboard and mouse.

does anyone think i can get a cheaper case, psu, proccessor or motherboard set up?

thanks.

[whobi]

What PSU are you planning to get? Generic/ Unbranded PSUs have a reputation for being unreliable and can (rarely) blow out and take your system with it. Realistically though in a low power PC you should be alright but if you do decide to upgrade (powerful GPU/ massive overclock) you should consider spending more on a better PSU from a reputable supplier like Corsair, Antec or Coolermaster

[charliecola]

at £60 this is a neat little PC: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Dell-I...ht_3299wt_1110

[pauleden]

Lian Li PC-Q07

Yeah, Lian Li have a reputation for being cheap.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Yeah, Lian Li have a reputation for being cheap.

The Q07 is around £40 to £50,which is not that expensive for a small mini-ITX case.

[Ulti]

May we know what parts you're going to be recycling?

I'd suggest getting an Intel G530 and a H61 mATX board which is quite cheap and then just using the onboard graphics if you don't do any gaming. It'll be fine for any 1080p videos.

Just some core components:
CPU: Intel G530 £31.73 - Great processing power and won't require upgrades in the future unless you end up doing intensive CPU work.
Motherboard: Asrock H61M-VS £38.98 (Only has VGA output though!) - Nice budget board to support the CPU with no frills to add to the cost.
RAM: 4GB Geil DDR3 £19.99 - 4GB should be enough for what you do.
PSU: Antec Basiq VP 350P £28.02 (Review here) - Seems pretty good and reliable for the price plus you won't need to upgrade it unless you go for a high spec computer.
Case: Fractal Design Core 3000 mATX Case £28.46 Video here for size @3:55 - it's no mini ITX but it's smaller than a mid tower.

Total: £147.18.

If you want a 1080p monitor then the BenQ G2220HD (21.5" monitor) isn't a bad choice at £82.93.

That puts the new total to £230. Adding Windows 7 and whatever else you need makes it a bit expensive.

It'll have more power than any Atom and has some upgradability options. (Can switch out 4GB RAM -> 8GB, add a graphics card, switch to threaded SB CPU such as an i3 2100 in future)

Have you considered a 15.6" laptop by the way? You can get some good deals for around £300 if you wait and it'll be roughly on par with the desktop that I listed here.
E.g. On Dell outlet you can get Inspiron 15s with an i3 Sandybridge, 4GB DDR3 and 500GB for about £330 delivered.
Or a HP with an i5, 6GB RAM and 750GB Refurbished Laptop for £350.

Another choice are the Inspiron 620 towers on Dell outlet, £290 gets you an i3-2120, 4GB DDR3 RAM, 1TB HDD, a GT530 and Windows 7 Home Premium. There's also the slim tower version with only a 320GB HDD and 2GB DDR3 RAM for £250 which should be considerably smaller. There are also Vostro 260s.

[DanceswithUnix]

This is really small, but at £280 still needs a monitor (unless you have a handy HD tv).

http://www.ebuyer.com/319565-acer-re...c-pt-sj4e2-002

Still on the small side, I have one of these little laptops.

http://www.play.com/PC/PCs/4-/213746...rlrefer=search

Very good battery life, very portable, cheap. It has an E350 cpu so not as slow as the Atom based stuff you usually get in that price range.

[b0redom]

You're all mental. Sell all your parts (except your optical drive) and buy a Microserver:

http://www.serversplus.com/searching...VHEW-658553421

£150 quid. You don't even need to buy any RAM/HDDs, although I'd probably recommend bumping the RAM to at least 4GB.

All you need is a copy of Windows 7 and you're away.

For what the OP wants it's perfect.

Quiet.
Low Power.
Small.
Cheap.

[Kumagoro]

Danceswithlinux, any chance you could do cat the fifth's video encoding test
in the pc hardware Forum with your netbook? I am curious where it stands
too old full fat cpus.

You could hook the hp netbook up to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse
and speakers etc. Then would have a machine with better resale value or
something you can take on holiday with you.

[DanceswithUnix]

You're all mental. Sell all your parts (except your optical drive) and buy a Microserver:

http://www.serversplus.com/searching...VHEW-658553421

£150 quid. You don't even need to buy any RAM/HDDs, although I'd probably recommend bumping the RAM to at least 4GB.

All you need is a copy of Windows 7 and you're away.

For what the OP wants it's perfect.

Quiet.
Low Power.
Small.
Cheap.

But a legit copy of Windows 7 bumps that cost up %50, so no longer so cheap.
Basically I think the Windows tax is looking more and more ridiculous as hardware gets cheaper.

[DanceswithUnix]

Danceswithlinux, any chance you could do cat the fifth's video encoding test
in the pc hardware Forum with your netbook? I am curious where it stands
too old full fat cpus.

You could hook the hp netbook up to an external monitor, keyboard, mouse
and speakers etc. Then would have a machine with better resale value or
something you can take on holiday with you.

It often gets plugged into the bedroom telly via hdmi so I can play iplayer type stuff on it, and it sometimes does come with me when out and about. The integrated SDcard reader is very handy for photos.

Shall have a look at cat's handbrake chart, I suspect it will be awfully slow though as it really isn't designed for that sort of use

[Pob255]

You can get the Linux version even cheaper http://www.ebuyer.com/319567-acer-re...c-pt-sj4ec-003

+ these have the advantage that they can be screwed onto the back of a monitor


you fold the stand like that and it becomes a monitor bracket.