Question on AMD system

[Kingslayer]

I am building an AMD system. Under full protest of course....It's for a buddy to give to his father so they can communicate. His father is in Africa somewhere and they want to keep in touch. Keep in mind these constraints.

1. Must be simple and reliable. i.e. NO overclocking.
2. Must be built for under $500. (computer only)
3. Must be relatively fast.

Now while I know nothing about the new AMD technology I have put together this system.

Mobo = Abit KT7E I have chosen this for price, lack of unnecessary crap (RAID controller) and reliablility
CPU = T'Bird 1Gig
Memory = 2x 128Meg PC-133 (because 2 is better than one in reliability, and this is what the mobo runs, and is easy to replace in Africa....)
Video = ATI Xpert 32meg AGP. (it's not a gamer just email and video conferencing)
HDD = 20 Gig IBM ATA-100
Sound = SB Live! Value
Case = Antec Mid tower ATX
HSF I got an extra FOP-32 here somewhere to donate to the cause.

The floppy, cdrom, and etc are normal everyday cheapo stuff to keep the price within constraints.

In the end it's $438 dollars not counting shipping. Not to bad for under 5 bills. Any recommendations? If you have any please keep it within the constraints listed above. Anything to watch out for on this CPU or Mobo?

[Placid]

Swap the hard drive for a different mfg.
Another member had much trouble in getting the warranty honored in South Africa by IBM.

Here is the thread.
http://forums.overclockers.ws/vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=8636

[Kingslayer]

Noted. Thank you.

[Hugo 59]

I would suggest going with a board with onboard sound. I would also think that a duron 700 MHz would be even more power then is needed for what he plans to do with it. You can get Duron 750's for like $30 at many online vendors and you'll save like fiffty buying a board with sound.

Just my 2¢

[Kingslayer]

Originally posted by Would71
For value, consider the ECS K7S5A. It's around $70 with shipping, and comes with on-board sound and NIC. It also has both SDRAM and DDR SDRAM slots. I'm seriously considering getting one in the next couple weeks to make a nice little Folding box out of. So far, all the reports in the forums here say it's a solid little board. (OK, not little, it's full ATX.. AGP, 5 PCI, etc.)

Take that board and spend (literally) a few dollars bumping it up to a 1.2 GHz Athlon, and you'll still come out spending less money in the end.. plus it will be faster. You can also toss the SB Live! Value out the window if you go that route, saving even more money. If you want a solid recommendation on video cards, there's always the Radeon LE, if you can get a great deal on them. They're about $78 right now for a 32 meg DDR version.. maybe less with a little Pricewatch/Reseller Ratings virtual footwork. The case and HSF and what not are fine, otherwise.

Just giving ya options, Intel-boy. :D (one of these days I'll build a duallie Athlon that'll make you and your beloved Celeries cry) :D

Oh yeah.. look into perhaps a Seagate drive.. I've had two of them now and both have held up nicely, and performed well. Perhaps a 20 gig 'Cuda IV if you can find a good price on them.. most likely under $100.

Make my Celeries cry? I don't have Celerons anymore....PIII's. And please build something that will make em cry, because you aren't going to do it with AMD SMP.

As for the Radeon, the XPert is only $40, so we are sticking with it. He will not use an all in one board, for reliability. And I agree with him. Get the seperate components, it's always better, and it's cheaper to replace a dead sound card, than a motherboard with on board sound.

[Rottys-R-Us]

My Abit KT7-E has been great for me. No problems @ all.
I have a Soundblaster live S/C and have NO probs @ all.

Good mobo for the price:)