Building a computer

I hate to sound noobish, but I've been out of the scene for quite awhile (as you can probably see by my sig). I'm wanting to build a ~$300 computer for someone (just the tower). Needs to be stable, but all she does is internet, download pictures from her camera, and chat online.

So onboard video, sound, and lan (although lan isn't really needed) is preferred. 2 GHz would suffice I think. I guess that's basically it besides a case -- maybe something with front USB access. And I'll just get a cheap 40-60 gig drive to put in there, along with one of my extra CD-RW drives with some generic 512mb worth of ram.

My question is where should I look? I know NewEgg was the greatest back when I was into it heavily, but they seem to be a little higher in price now. I'll watch eBay as well, but I'm kind of wary about computer parts over the bay. If anyone has anything here they would like to get rid of (parts or full thing) let me know.

Any suggestions on what motherboard to use? This thing needs to be 100% stable, but performance comes second (video and sound don't matter). I'm thinking P4 so I don't need to run it with case fans. There is one in NewEgg refurbs that is only $25 that has everything, but it's microATX (does this work in a normal ATX case? Here's the mobo: Here

Thanks for all suggestions. Now that I'm thinking about it I may be in over my head for that price.. We will see.

i would go with a Sempron 3100+, since S754 will be around for a bit longer. If using cool and quiet, you can go without extra case fans as well, though with any case/cpu, you should have at least one exhaust fan. CPU is not the only thing that creates heat.

for a motherboard, maybe look at one with the K8M800 chipset.

http://www.msicomputer.com/product/p_spec.asp?model=K8M_Neo-V&class=mb
http://www.hardwarezone.com/articles/view.php?cid=6&id=1274

I'd still look at newegg for these parts.

microATX will fit fine in an ATX case.

You can build a decent system for $300 I didn't check the AMD's but about a week ago I was seeing what i could get for $300 and I found you could buy a chip around 2.4-2.6ghz with integrated audio, lan, and video. So $300 sounds fine for a person who just surfs the web. They could even upgrade the video card and still do some gaming. You can also check out www.zipzoomfly.com if you want they have some nice deals there sometimes.

Yeah I think I'll be able to do this easily after looking around for a bit. I may just go AMD and build a little better for the $$. I could do something as low as the 2400+ which would more then be enough for her (besides, 2100+ is enough for me). Although I see some of them are the same core as what I have.

Maybe just a higher AMD XP (even mine would be plenty for her) form would be just as well don't you think? I'll go back with the idea of fans and go with that. I would just put a celeron in there, but I couldn't bring myself to do it.

Something I'd like. What's the difference between the Sempron and XP processors. Sempron has a lower cache and higher voltage draw. Any reason to pick Sempron over XP assuming price is nearly the same?

no reason to go Sempron over XP other than 3100+ unless you can find the other S754 Sempron's. Sempron's are essentially XP processors with half the cache.

I suppose you could just go with a Socket A Sempron but they don't offer any way to clock throttle a la Cool 'n Quiet so they tend to run a bit hotter than the A64's do, which usually leads to more fans.

Intel Celeron would be a pretty good choice for her...

Considering that you have over 100 posts you can always hit up the Wanted section in the classified section. Alot of honest buyers/sellers on this forum.

I would go used/refurbed for all parts that don't move. Generally, there are quite a few people out there that want to have the latest greatest, and you can usually get their old parts for a fraction of the price that resellers will ask. Same with refurbs.

The sempron 3100+ is an Athlon64 2800+ with 256k L2 cache. Not a bad chip, but I have seen them going for more than the 2800, so you might want to go that route instead.

I've had good experience buying from Computer Geeks www.geeks.com they are excellent for slightly older parts at good prices, provided you don't have a specific part in mind. You can generally spec a rig out there that's 90% of bleeding edge for 1/3 the cost.

I'm thinking P4 so I don't need to run it with case fans.

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Ummm how long did you say you'd been away from things?

RoadWarrior said:

Ummm how long did you say you'd been away from things?

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Hehe, yeah that was a stupid comment. It looks like I'll be able to get the parts new from Newegg for under $300. Athlon XP 2500+ as the chip.