Feronix
New member
How much PC can you get for just £150? Well on paper it looks rather impressive if I tell you that it's a quad core CPU in a mITX form factor. In reality, it's not very impressive, but let's be honest; A lot of people don't need that for their Office applications, web browsing and possibly media PC boxes.
This is a very low powered PC, that won't even draw 50 Watts from the wall at full load, much like the HTPC in last week's Buyer's Guide. It is however slightly bigger, and less powerful. But then again; it's half the price.
Notice:
This Buyer's Guide will not include product alternatives, as there simply are none. In this price bracket there is not much to choose from unless you just want a different case, or a different brand of memory.
To start off, we're picking up a case from a brand that we also picked for the £250 Game PC/Steambox. The Powercool 2020C with included 350Watt Power Supply won't be of great build quality, but it will house this computer nicely at very low cost.
The 350Watt power supply won't be of great quality either, but luckily the system will only draw 1/7th of what the unit is rated at, so it'll do the job fine.
--------------------------
The motherboard that goes into this case can be found for as little as £25 and features VGA, HDMI and DVI ports so it can be hooked up to pretty much any monitor or TV. It even gives us two USB 3 ports at the back, so I can consider this as nohting less than an absolute bargain.
It supports the AM1 CPU and gives you 2 RAM slots, as well as a full-length PCI-E slot, but the case I picked does not have any PCI slots, so if you plan to use the PCI-E slot, you'll have to buy a different case.
Either way, the MSI AM1i is a great purchase and fits this build perfectly.
--------------------------
Inside the motherboard goes one of the cheapest quad core desktop CPUs available these days. Please be aware that it being a quad core doesn't mean it has the same performance as a quad core i5 or even an 860k. No, this CPU is more comparable to the sort of quad cores you find in phones, but with a 64 bit instruction set!
At around £30 you get this quad core core APU, clocked at 1.6GHz. It also has the GPU on-board, which is a Radeon R3 HD8400 chip clocked at 600Mhz. Nothing special, but plenty to present you with an image on your screen.
The AMD Athlon 5150 also comes with a cooler in the box, so we don't have to buy one.
--------------------------
Accompanying the APU, there will be 2GBs of RAM. This is not a lot, but as said this is a system made for web browsing and office applications. Also, because it will just be one DIMM, you can easily add another 2GBs later down the line, which is more than enough for said tasks.
In this case, I have chosen to go with 1x2GB Corsair Value Select rated at 1600MHz, with timings of 9-9-9-24.
--------------------------
The last component in the build is one that may surprise some people, but I've managed to squeeze in an SSD. Granted it's only a 120GB one, this is honestly enough for web browsing, a bit of music and your office applications.
The Kingston V300 120GB is not the fastest SSD out there, but it still gives you 120GB of flash memory, rather than a slower mechanical drive.
Alternative:
- WD Caviar Blue WD5000LPVX, 500GB 5400RPM
Total cost:
£155.83 (Prices may vary depending on webshop and/or time of purchase)
Operating Systems
Windows 8.1
While the system meets all the minimum requirements for even the 64bit version of this operating system, and most people are probably used to this, a legitimate license cost as much as half this PC.
Of course there are other legal ways of obtaining the OS for less than that, or even some (non recommended) ways of obtaining it completely for free as well.
Nevertheless, this system will run the OS and its basic applications smoothly as it's one of the more complete and parent-proof on the market.
Elementary OS
The name says it all; Elementary OS is one of the most basic of the Linux distros out there, and while if you're looking to build a system for an older family member putting Linux on it might not be the best idea, the OS handles the hardware much more efficiently than Windows does with much lower minimum system requirements.
It has a built-in browser, with Google Chrome available, a built-in movie and music player, and an app store with countless apps that are easy to install and take up little space. Even if you're a Windows user, once you get the hang of it, it's a really solid OS.
Oh, and best of all? It's free!
http://www.elementary.io/
Android
Disclaimer: Android OS is built for the mobile market, thus for ARM-based hardware and may not function fully on your desktop PC. While free, and most people know how it works, it is not recommended to install this without the proper knowledge.
We all know how Android works, and I'm pretty sure all of us have used it at least once in their lifetime. While not bullet-proof, if you get it to work on your PC, no one will have an issue controlling it, all Android apps will be available at your fingertips, and you don't have to pay for it. What else could a person desire?
More information here:
http://www.android-x86.org/
Or for the simpler version with a more user-friendly interface, although not full Android functionality:
http://consoleos.com/
Software
LibreOffice
I'm asuming that everyone knows about Microsoft Office, so I'm going to skip that one, but if you buy a £150 computer, you're not likely to drop the money on Microsoft's quite expensive office suite.
LibreOffice is available for both Windows and Linux (and also OS X), and is completely free office software for your desktop. It offers Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base, otherwise known as things like Calculator, Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
You can even save all your filetypes as .docx so that other people, or even yourself can open them on another computer in actual Microsoft Office software. You will also have no trouble opening documents that were made in Microsoft's software with this free alternative.
https://www.libreoffice.org/
Accessories
- Microsoft All In One keyboard. With this small, chiclet style keyboard with touchpad for gestures, you can sit comfortably on your couch and control the PC. The integrated function keys and touchpad work really well to control Windows 8(.1), such as operating the sound volume, or even opening media applications. As a bonus it is 'waterproof', so no worries if you spill your drink on it.
- WD My Passport Ultra 1TB. This external 2.5" 5400RPM is not very quick, but it can carry a lot of music and movies! It comes with password protection and a high-speed USB 3 interface so you can watch movies on your HTPC without even having to copy them off the drive. As you a bonus you can plug and play it into any computer that you own, so it can be used for easy files transfer. Ah, you guys know how external HDDs work
- Transcend RDF5 USB3.0 Card Reader. Transcend are well known in the SD card world, but they also offer this very convenient tool. You plug the USB 3.0 stick in any USB port, and from there it acts as an SD card reader for normal-sized SD cards, as well as Micro SD cards.
Tips & Tricks
Install Windows from a USB
This is much faster than from any disc. You can find a guide here.
Start8
Start8 will add the regular old start button and -menu from Windows 7 back into Windows 8 and 8.1. You'll also be able to boot straight to the desktop, completely avoiding the entire Metro interface. Download here
Ninite.com
www.ninite.com lets you select all the (free) software that you like to install and download it as a single installer package. This way you'll only have to download and install one file, rather than many seperate ones.
SSD maintenance
Please have a look at our thread on SSD maintenance by member Wraithguard:
http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=67884
This is a very low powered PC, that won't even draw 50 Watts from the wall at full load, much like the HTPC in last week's Buyer's Guide. It is however slightly bigger, and less powerful. But then again; it's half the price.
Notice:
This Buyer's Guide will not include product alternatives, as there simply are none. In this price bracket there is not much to choose from unless you just want a different case, or a different brand of memory.
To start off, we're picking up a case from a brand that we also picked for the £250 Game PC/Steambox. The Powercool 2020C with included 350Watt Power Supply won't be of great build quality, but it will house this computer nicely at very low cost.
The 350Watt power supply won't be of great quality either, but luckily the system will only draw 1/7th of what the unit is rated at, so it'll do the job fine.
--------------------------
The motherboard that goes into this case can be found for as little as £25 and features VGA, HDMI and DVI ports so it can be hooked up to pretty much any monitor or TV. It even gives us two USB 3 ports at the back, so I can consider this as nohting less than an absolute bargain.
It supports the AM1 CPU and gives you 2 RAM slots, as well as a full-length PCI-E slot, but the case I picked does not have any PCI slots, so if you plan to use the PCI-E slot, you'll have to buy a different case.
Either way, the MSI AM1i is a great purchase and fits this build perfectly.
--------------------------
Inside the motherboard goes one of the cheapest quad core desktop CPUs available these days. Please be aware that it being a quad core doesn't mean it has the same performance as a quad core i5 or even an 860k. No, this CPU is more comparable to the sort of quad cores you find in phones, but with a 64 bit instruction set!
At around £30 you get this quad core core APU, clocked at 1.6GHz. It also has the GPU on-board, which is a Radeon R3 HD8400 chip clocked at 600Mhz. Nothing special, but plenty to present you with an image on your screen.
The AMD Athlon 5150 also comes with a cooler in the box, so we don't have to buy one.
--------------------------
Accompanying the APU, there will be 2GBs of RAM. This is not a lot, but as said this is a system made for web browsing and office applications. Also, because it will just be one DIMM, you can easily add another 2GBs later down the line, which is more than enough for said tasks.
In this case, I have chosen to go with 1x2GB Corsair Value Select rated at 1600MHz, with timings of 9-9-9-24.
--------------------------
The last component in the build is one that may surprise some people, but I've managed to squeeze in an SSD. Granted it's only a 120GB one, this is honestly enough for web browsing, a bit of music and your office applications.
The Kingston V300 120GB is not the fastest SSD out there, but it still gives you 120GB of flash memory, rather than a slower mechanical drive.
Alternative:
- WD Caviar Blue WD5000LPVX, 500GB 5400RPM
Total cost:
£155.83 (Prices may vary depending on webshop and/or time of purchase)
Operating Systems
Windows 8.1
While the system meets all the minimum requirements for even the 64bit version of this operating system, and most people are probably used to this, a legitimate license cost as much as half this PC.
Of course there are other legal ways of obtaining the OS for less than that, or even some (non recommended) ways of obtaining it completely for free as well.
Nevertheless, this system will run the OS and its basic applications smoothly as it's one of the more complete and parent-proof on the market.
Elementary OS
The name says it all; Elementary OS is one of the most basic of the Linux distros out there, and while if you're looking to build a system for an older family member putting Linux on it might not be the best idea, the OS handles the hardware much more efficiently than Windows does with much lower minimum system requirements.
It has a built-in browser, with Google Chrome available, a built-in movie and music player, and an app store with countless apps that are easy to install and take up little space. Even if you're a Windows user, once you get the hang of it, it's a really solid OS.
Oh, and best of all? It's free!
http://www.elementary.io/
Android
Disclaimer: Android OS is built for the mobile market, thus for ARM-based hardware and may not function fully on your desktop PC. While free, and most people know how it works, it is not recommended to install this without the proper knowledge.
We all know how Android works, and I'm pretty sure all of us have used it at least once in their lifetime. While not bullet-proof, if you get it to work on your PC, no one will have an issue controlling it, all Android apps will be available at your fingertips, and you don't have to pay for it. What else could a person desire?
More information here:
http://www.android-x86.org/
Or for the simpler version with a more user-friendly interface, although not full Android functionality:
http://consoleos.com/
Software
LibreOffice
I'm asuming that everyone knows about Microsoft Office, so I'm going to skip that one, but if you buy a £150 computer, you're not likely to drop the money on Microsoft's quite expensive office suite.
LibreOffice is available for both Windows and Linux (and also OS X), and is completely free office software for your desktop. It offers Writer, Calc, Impress, Draw, Math and Base, otherwise known as things like Calculator, Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
You can even save all your filetypes as .docx so that other people, or even yourself can open them on another computer in actual Microsoft Office software. You will also have no trouble opening documents that were made in Microsoft's software with this free alternative.
https://www.libreoffice.org/
Accessories
- Microsoft All In One keyboard. With this small, chiclet style keyboard with touchpad for gestures, you can sit comfortably on your couch and control the PC. The integrated function keys and touchpad work really well to control Windows 8(.1), such as operating the sound volume, or even opening media applications. As a bonus it is 'waterproof', so no worries if you spill your drink on it.
- WD My Passport Ultra 1TB. This external 2.5" 5400RPM is not very quick, but it can carry a lot of music and movies! It comes with password protection and a high-speed USB 3 interface so you can watch movies on your HTPC without even having to copy them off the drive. As you a bonus you can plug and play it into any computer that you own, so it can be used for easy files transfer. Ah, you guys know how external HDDs work
- Transcend RDF5 USB3.0 Card Reader. Transcend are well known in the SD card world, but they also offer this very convenient tool. You plug the USB 3.0 stick in any USB port, and from there it acts as an SD card reader for normal-sized SD cards, as well as Micro SD cards.
Tips & Tricks
Install Windows from a USB
This is much faster than from any disc. You can find a guide here.
Start8
Start8 will add the regular old start button and -menu from Windows 7 back into Windows 8 and 8.1. You'll also be able to boot straight to the desktop, completely avoiding the entire Metro interface. Download here
Ninite.com
www.ninite.com lets you select all the (free) software that you like to install and download it as a single installer package. This way you'll only have to download and install one file, rather than many seperate ones.
SSD maintenance
Please have a look at our thread on SSD maintenance by member Wraithguard:
http://forum.overclock3d.net/showthread.php?t=67884
