Who else wants a $500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads?

Thumb it up!

The Athlon II X4 die, the core of this system

The $500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads is designed for a person who uses a computer mainly for:

• Working on the Web (Development, Media, etc.)
• Editing photos, with programs such as Photoshop
• Edit/convert Video or Audio
• Rendering or working with 3D (Autodesk for example)

and who’s looking for a powerful computer, capable of handling such tasks quickly, without lagging behind, with a reasonable price tag too that is.

Based on a AMD socket AM3 platform, which allows for upgrades in the future. You will be able to swap your cpu, add a video card, ram for better performing ones if you want to do so in the future.

What if I never built a PC before?

Make the jump. Do not be afraid. Seriously, building a computer has never been more simple. While the whole process may look overwhelming, if you look at it one part at a time, you’ll realize how simple it really is.

There are countless resources on how to build a computer, which you can find by doing some research on Google.

Here are two guides on how to build a computer that I recommend:

This one, from DriverHeaven.net: http://bit.ly/4bhlwb

This one, from maximumpc.com: http://bit.ly/1TgR7X

If you take your time, are careful and follow guides/videos:

You’ll end up with a fully functional computer, at a lower cost than a comparable Dell PC, with the best parts that your money can buy, instead of “ok” parts chosen by Dell. The best part? You’ll be proud of a job well done

What if I get stuck or need help?

Simply drop a comment at the end of this post and either a helpful member of this community or myself will answer you. You can also Contact me directly for some assistance. While I’m pretty busy, I’ll try my best to answer you quickly.

What if I’m outdated on what are the current best parts or simply don’t know which parts to pick?

If you don’t have the knowledge or time to choose your parts, simply stick to my recommendations below (In Bold) and you’ll be more than happy. That’s my promise.

Who are you to tell me which parts to choose?!

My name is Mathieu Bourgie, a computer expert with nearly a decade of experience in building the best computers for a given price and I share my knowledge by blogging on Hardware Revolution, where I offer various custom computer builds designs, along with useful articles such as the Best Video Card for your money, to help you figure out what are the best parts for a computer at a given price.

You can read opinions, comments and more left by my readers on the testimonials page.

What if I don’t agree with your choices?

This is the great part of building your own computer(s), you can customize it to your taste, instead of getting what the manufacturer wants you to get with a pre-built computer. If you have the knowledge and/or the time to learn, you’re free to use my recommendations as a base and then to customize any build just how you want it.

$500 Computer for Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads hardware parts recommendations, short version:

In Bold, you’ll find my recommendations, which offers the best performance possible for a price that fits the overall budget. All parts have been verified to be compatible with each other and only parts proven to be reliable have been hand-picked by me.

What if I want more performance than this build has to offer?

No problem. Included in Italic are the best possible upgrades. They are still priced reasonably in regard to the budget and are all compatible with the rest of the system. (You’ll find the price difference over my recommendation in parentheses).

Now, don’t get me wrong, there are other upgrades, but I focused on telling you which ones offered the most value for your money

In simple terms, if you want a more powerful CPU or more RAM, simply pick it from the list of recommended upgrades that are in Italic.

Component:	Make and Model:	Price
Motherboard	GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX ASUS M4A785T-M/CSM AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G ATX	$90 $85 (- $5) $100 (+ $10)
CPU	AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz AM3 95W Quad-Core AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE Deneb 3.2GHz 6MB L3 AM3 125W Quad-Core	$113 $166 (+ $53)
Video Card	Radeon 4200 HD Integrated on the motherboard	Free
RAM	G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 Two kits G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333	$89 $188 (+$89)
Hard Drive	Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB	$99
Optical Drive	LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner	$29
Case	Antec 300 + Antec 430W Power Supply Antec 900 + Antec 650W Power Supply	$80 $160 (+$80)
Power Supply	Included with the case	Free
Cooling	Included AMD CPU Cooler with CPU 1 x 120mm + 1 x 140mm case fans on Antec 300 Recommended addition: 2x XIGMATEK 120mm Case Fans	Free Free $13
Sound Card	8 channels sound card integrated on the motherboard	Free
Network	10/100/1000 Mbps integrated on the motherboard	Free
Total	Not including shipping, handling nor OS	$500

Is this the right type of PC for me?

If you’re looking for a PC to do Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads, you’re at the right place. If this is not what you’re looking for, check out our other Computer Systems instead.

$500 Computer for Web/Photo/Audio/Video/3D Workloads Hardware parts recommendations, detailed version:

Motherboard: GIGABYTE GA-MA785GMT-UD2H AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX

This is a Micro-ATX motherboard based on the AMD 785G chipset. It features the Radeon 4200 HD integrated video chip, which outputs via VGA, DVI and HDMI.

This motherboard features six USB ports, two PS/2, FireWire, E-SATA, S/PDIF Out Optical, 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN and 8 channels HD audio., completed by one PCI-Express 2.0 16X, one PCI-Express 1X and, 2 PCI slots, five SATA ports and the usual IDE port, etc.

For $90, you get everything that you need:
AM3 socket, 4 DIMM slots for DDR3 RAM, quality on-board video and a PCI-Express 2.0 16x slot if you want to add a dedicated video card. This is a versatile motherboard capable of handling all of your needs.

Recommended alternatives or upgrades:

1. ASUS M4A785T-M/CSM AM3 AMD 785G Micro ATX – $85 (- $5) Identical to the main recommendation, except that it features one PS/2 port instead of two and 6 SATA ports instead of 5 and they are located in a better spot if you want to add a dedicated video card. It also costs $5 less.
2. ASUS M4A785TD-V EVO AM3 AMD 785G ATX – $100 (+ $10) Similar to the two previous motherboards, but this is a full-size ATX motherboard. If you prefer to have more PCI-Express/PCI slots along with more space to work with, this is a good alternative. It also features 128MB of Sideport DDR3 for enhanced video performance, for video games for example.
3. ASUS M4A78T-E AM3 AMD 790GX ATX – $130 (+ $40) Based on the higher end AMD 790GX chipset, this board features Crossfire support (8x, 8x) and a faster integrated video processor, the respectable Radeon 3300 HD which allows you to play games with low-medium settings depending on the game and your monitor’s resolution.

CPU: AMD Athlon II X4 630 Propus 2.8GHz AM3 95W Quad-Core

For $113, you get an excellent AMD quad-core processor running at 2.8GHz, capable of handling your intensive workloads. For $120, Intel offers the dual-core E7500, which is no match in performance for Photo/Video or 3D as all those workloads take advantage of quad-core architectures.

Even the Intel Q8200, Intel entry-level Quad-core processor, priced at $150 mind you, can’t keep with the $113 AMD Athlon II X4 630.

Whether it’s for Photo, Video or 3D, the AMD Athlon II X4 630 processor outperforms the Intel Q8200 while costing 37$ less. Talk about a good bang for the buck.

Recommended CPU upgrade options:
AMD Phenom II X4 955 BE Deneb 3.2GHz 6MB L3 AM3 125W Quad-Core

If you do intensive work and want a performance boost, this processor offers an extra 400 MHz and 6MB of L3 cache to speed up your applications.

If you are interested in the difference between the no L3 cache Athlon II and the full L3 cache Phenom II, check out the Athlon II or Phenom II: Does your CPU need L3 cache? article from Tom’s Hardware.

Video Card: Integrated Radeon HD 4200

Integrated on the motherboard, this video chipset offers video output via VGA, DVI and HDMI. It supports full HD 1080p video playback, Blu-Ray and more.

The video decode engine supports decoding multiple HD streams (useful for picture-in-picture on a Blu-ray movie) and additional post processing effects if you are not a big video purist. Also new is the 785G’s ability to perform detail enhancements on the fly.

RAM: G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333

4GB of RAM is pretty much mandatory to handle the latest programs along with Windows and background background such as your anti-virus, web browser, music/video player, etc.

DDR2 vs DDR3 debate

Now that DDR3 prices are on-par with DDR2, the debate is pretty much over. DDR3 consumes less power, runs cooler and offers some performance advantages in some situations. Besides, Intel and AMD future platforms will use exclusively DDR3, so it no longer makes sense to buy DDR2 RAM for a new system.

Considering the ever-expending memory usage of programs, 4GB of high-speed DDR3 memory is a no-brainer as a minimum/recommended requirement.

Recommended upgrade:

1. If you plan to do a lot of photo/video editing and/or simply want to be future-proof, upgrading to 8GB of RAM is a good idea. Simply get two kits of G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1333 for a total of 8GB (4 x 2GB).

Hard Drive: Western Digital Caviar Black 1 TB

A standard SATA II hard drive, that offers 1TB of storage, plenty enough to handle your work files, programs and other. Backed up by Western Digital reliability and 5 years warranty.

Optical Drive: LITE-ON Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner

Seeing as my previous recommendation is now getting poor feedback, it’s time for a new recommendation, of a higher quality. The LITE-ON is a 24X DVD/CD Burner, with a SATA interface.

This drive is able to read and burn CDs and DVDs. Silent, compatible with all major formats including DVD-RAM.

Also, seeing as DVD Burners often go out of stock, here are a few alternatives that you can use to replace the Sony one. All are SATA based and compatible with the rest of the system.

1. Sony Optiarc Black SATA CD/DVD Burner with LightScribe
2. Sony Optiarc Black 24X SATA DVD/CD Burner
3. HP Black 24X SATA CD/DVD Burner

Case: Antec 300 + Antec 430W Power Supply

I hear you: Why not recommend a case with a separated power supply?

1. Obviously, the price: At $80, it’s less expensive than any other setup that would include a quality case (Antec 300 here) and a solid 430W power supply from Antec.
2. The Antec 300 is known for being a solid sturdy case that offers good cooling capabilities.
3. The power supply included with the Antec 300 offers 430W (Not that should rely on this information only as I often point in posts such as Warning: 6 Surefire Ways of Blowing Up Your Computer Due to an Inadequate Power Supply) but more importantly 30A on the the 12V lines.
4. 30A on the 12V lines offers up to 360 Watts, which is plenty enough considering that the CPUs I recommend consumes up to 125W in the worst case scenario and that the video card is integrated and consumes very little power.
5. According to the eXtreme Power Supply Calculator, this system will consume about 245W at its peak, leaving you an healthy 140 Watts of overhead. Meaning that this power supply is able to handle your power requirements if you use parts or upgrades that I recommend in this article, even in the worst case scenario.

The case comes with one 120mm case fan on the back and a 140mm top-mounted case fan. Good enough, but you can improve that as you will see later.

Recommended upgrade:

1. Antec 900 + Antec 650W Power Supply $160 (+$80) – The Antec Nine Hundred. Probably the most popular gaming case of all and for one reason: Outstanding ventilation (adjustable and not noisy), great looks and a very sturdy construction, all of that for a great price.This model comes with
   • A 650W Antec power supply, with a nice 45A on the 12V lines, for up to 540W.
   • Ventilation? Oh yeah: 2 x 120mm Blue LEDs fans on the front, one 120mm blue LEDs fan on the back and a huge 200mm fan mounted on top.

Power Supply: Included with the case

All power supplies are included with the cases that I recommend and are powerful enough to handle any combination of parts that I recommend here, for regular usage. I do not recommend overclocking here, considering the power supply, ventilation and stock cooling. As long as you stick to that, you don’t have to order a separate power supply.

Cooling:
Included AMD CPU Cooler with CPU
1 x 120mm + 1 x 140mm case fans on Antec 300
Recommended Upgrade: 2x XIGMATEK XSF-F1251 120mm Case Fan

To save on costs, I recommend using the cooler included with the CPU. While there are better coolers, the one that is included are powerful enough to handle the CPU under normal operation.

The case includes a 120mm on the back and a 140mm on top. To extend the lifespan of your computer, or if you intend to overclock, I recommend getting two XIGMATEK XSF-F1251 120mm Case Fan, one for the front of the case to cool down the hard drive and one on the side to help cool the video card, in addition of the fans included with the case.

Alternatives:

1. Cpu Cooler: If you have any intention of overclocking, I cannot stress enough the importance of a good cooler.The Sunbeam CR-CCTF 120 mm Core-Contact Freezer offers the best value regarding performance for the price, being one the best heatsink at a great price, it’s really underrated. Best part is that at that price, they even include good thermal grease and a fan controller to adjust the speed so it stays silent as well.

Sound Card: Integrated 8 Channels Sound

Integrated with the motherboard, this sound card will handle many different sound setups, including headphones, a microphone and more. While integrated audio on a PC used to be absolutely horrible, it has gotten much better in the last few years, thus why I have no trouble recommending it.

Cost: Free – Integrated

Network: 10/100/1000 Mbps LAN

Integrated with the motherboard, this network adapter will allow you to access your local network and Internet by using a Ethernet (RJ-45) cable.

Cost: Free – Integrated

Recommended operating systems:

The operating system cost, if there’s one, is not included in the total cost. The two reason for this are that the cost represents only hardware and because you may be able re-use a previous license, go with an open-source OS such as Linux or , if you’re so inclined and are aware of what you’re doing, use torrents. Nevertheless, here are some recommendations:

Windows 7

Despite Linux starting to support some games, Windows still is the platform of choice for the best performance at the moment. Considering that you’ll have 4GB of RAM, you’ll need a 64-bit version, as 32-bit is limited to 4GB of memory for the entire system, which is not enough now, nor in the future if you upgrade.

Windows 7 is by far better than Windows Vista, looks better, more functional, less annoying, consumes less resources and brings DirectX 11 to the table.

Three Available Versions:

1. Windows 7 Home Premium: The basic edition, with all the looks, most of the functionality and DirectX 11.
2. Windows 7 Professional: If you want the virtual XP mode, you’ll need at least the Professional edition. Also required if you want to backup to a network, using the built-in backup mode in Windows.
3. Windows 7 Ultimate: To help protect data on your PC and portable storage devices against loss or theft with BitLocker and to work and switch between 35 languages.

OEM vs Retail:

The OEM version allows you to only install it once on a computer. You cannot transfer the license to another computer in the future and you do not receive support from Microsoft. It’s the same type of license you get when you get Windows on a desktop or laptop that you buy from Dell, HP and such. It’s less expensive, but gives less flexibility. Ideal if you intend on keeping your computer for many years.

The Retail version is the full version, which allows you to transfer the license to another computer in the future and you can call Microsoft if you need any form of support. Ideal if you intend on upgrading/changing your computer down the road.

Other than that, you get the same features on both, only the license differs. The price between the two differs obviously.

OEM Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit OEM – $105
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional 64-bit OEM – $140
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bit OEM - $175

Retail Versions:

1. Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium Retail – $184
2. Microsoft Windows 7 Professional Retail – $275
3. Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Retail - $292

Linux

A lot of people these days boots more than one OS. Linux is a wonderful choice: powerful, cool, and cheap. Take your pick of distributions and have fun! For Fedora, Ubuntu, Debian, Slackware, and Mandrake, try Distrowatch.com, Cheapbytes.com, LinuxQuestions.org or one of the many others.

What about Word processing, Excel and other Windows-based programs that Iyou need? Linux being an open platform, there are many free alternatives that will answer your needs. For Word/Excel and such, try OpenOffice.

Cost: Free

Conclusion

Did you like this computer build? What you would do to improve the build or this article?

I’m always open to your suggestions and ideas to improve this blog, your blog.

If anything, I invite you to comment on this computer build, share your opinions, what you think about it, etc.

Building this system?

Contact me and let me know how it goes, send me your story, pictures and I’ll publish it on the blog, to share with and help bring confidence to others who are thinking of building a computer for the first time.

Did you enjoy this build? Support me and Hardware Revolution

For each article, I spend many hours of research and many hours of writing/editing and I generously offer it to you and everyone else for free. If you appreciate my work, you can help me cover my costs (Hosting, living, etc.) and support our community by making a donation.

How much should you donate?

I suggest $10 because if you think about it, a consultation for a custom computer like the one in this article, from an expert with a decade of experience like me would cost you $50, if not even more.

Have I mentioned all the time and money that I have saved you through this and all of the other articles available on Hardware Revolution?

Obviously, this is a suggestion. Donate what you can to support us. Thank you very much.