Build a midrange rig for


Recommended Posts

I've been set the task by my friend to build a computer which I'd class as midrange. The only thing he really cares about is that it must "feel" quick (although he won't be doing anything massively computational). So SSD boot drive and a fair chunk of RAM?

My budget is ?500 (plus ?50 for P&P). Monitor, keyboard, mouse, speakers and OS are not necessary - so all the money is for a barebones tower really.

Currently, I'm thinking of an i5, mATX board, 2TB HDD, 128-256GB SSD. He's requested 32GBs of RAM, so although I think it's overkill I have to allow for it. If there's enough left over, I'll buy a midrange graphics card - but from what he's told me it will be used for it may not be required at all. I'm guessing a reputable 500W PSU would be fine for this build.

Case should be something simple. Nothing flashy, and no loud fans.

Does anyone have any tips before I start to go and order the pieces?

Link to comment
https://www.neowin.net/forum/topic/1118936-build-a-midrange-rig-for/
Share on other sites

That's quite overkill for something to "feel" quick if he's just going to surf the web. Unless he's doing video work, you could get away with an i3. The SSD and a fast spinning disk drive will make all the difference in feel.

And 32gbs, well... that will be future proof, anyway.

It'll be a bit more than surfing the web, but no (or hardly any) video processing. Probably a few posters in Photoshop, and games such as Football Manager.

It's also got to last a few years, so that's why I'm trying to go for an i5 over i3.

It'll be a bit more than surfing the web, but no (or hardly any) video processing. Probably a few posters in Photoshop, and games such as Football Manager.

It's also got to last a few years, so that's why I'm trying to go for an i5 over i3.

Assuming their computing habits aren't going to change drastically, an i3 will last as long as an i5. General computing isn't going to require 4 cores any time soon, and most software is regressing on CPU requirements to be compatible with more devices.

If the price is close, I'd rather an i3 and graphics card than an i5 alone.

Something I had in mind:

ASRock H61M-GE @ ?55

Core i5 3450 @ ?140

Corsair Enthuiast 450W PSU @ ?22

Samsung 830 256GB @ ?130

Samsung Spinpoint F4 2tb @ ?70

RAM @ ?25 per 8GB module

Case @ ?25

Which leaves me a bit of change for cables and fans etc. Not decided on brands for the ram/case yet but hoping thats a sensible assumption.

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Posts

    • Given only Volume license customers and specific resellers can obtain the LTSC versions legitimately it seems likely that this has been tinkered with quite a lot!
    • Apple CEO Tim Cook confirms looming price hikes due to memory shortages by Hamid Ganji Image via Apple Memory and chip shortages have led to significant price increases for electronics over the past year, and it seems that more hikes are on the way for upcoming smartphones and computers. Apple CEO Tim Cook has confirmed that the company is planning to increase the prices of some of its products due to the ongoing memory and storage shortages. In an interview with The Wall Street Journal, Cook confirmed the looming price hikes for Apple’s future products, adding that “Unfortunately, price increases are unavoidable.” He also said the company is doing its best to “mitigate the huge increases that are being passed to us, and we’ve been trying to shield our customers from the increases, but the situation has become unsustainable.” The Apple CEO also noted that the allocation of a large portion of memory chips to AI companies has contributed to shortages in the market, resulting in lower supply at a time when demand for devices remains high. “We definitely need memory pricing and supply to return to reasonable levels for consumer products. That’s the bottom line,” Cook said. Cook also added that Apple is ready to use its vast cash reserves to help boost supply in the market because additional production capacity is needed. While he declined to specify how Apple plans to do that, he said the company will not build its own memory and storage factories despite its financial resources and silicon expertise. Cook did not provide further details on the scale of the price increases or which Apple products would be affected, though iPads and Macs could see higher prices sooner than other products. Apple’s next product launch event is scheduled for September, when the company is expected to unveil the iPhone 18 Pro, iPhone 18 Pro Max, and its first foldable iPhone. It remains unclear whether the upcoming iPhones will be affected by the price increases, but given the current memory shortage, higher prices seem increasingly likely. There is currently no clear timeline for the end of the memory shortage. Samsung, one of the world’s three largest memory chip manufacturers, recently said the shortage could persist for several more years.
    • Downloads does not equal actual usage, even less when the app is pre-installed in some Galaxy phones.
    • +1000 to this, don't understand why they added that margin around the top bar, even the close button is a PITA to click without aiming. Ofc, this is just preview and hopefully they will revert such odd UX decision before hitting final version.
    • so the people who bought this will get a refund?
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      eurospharma62 earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      With What earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Week One Done
      Harris Gilbert earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • One Month Later
      Vincian earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • First Post
      Jocimo earned a badge
      First Post
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      542
    2. 2
      +Edouard
      167
    3. 3
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      86
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      64
    5. 5
      ATLien_0
      64
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!