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View Full Version : Building new comp, suggestions needed.

Hc000
07-13-05, 01:02 AM
My friend's mom wants a new computer for internet, iPod and email. She said it HAS to be fast and I have $500 to do it.

I was thinking using

Amd Athlon 64 3000+ or Pentium 4 (Hyperthreading is required, else will go with AMD)
Fortron 350W
Crucial 512MB
GeForce 6200 or Radeon X300
Some cheap case
80GB WD/Maxtor/Segate HDD

Any suggestions for specific CPU/MOBO combo ? or video card suggestions ?

Newegg Wishlist (http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/WishShareShow.asp?ID=1584863&WishListTitle=%24500+PC)
Scott9027
07-13-05, 01:55 AM
It really bothers me when people go putting video cards in budget rigs, just because they think it's too low for their gaming needs. Go with onboard video and sound for this person. E-mail and Ipod does not push the limits of their GPU. Unless you can find an old video card that's cheaper with a motherboard than a motherboard with onboard video forget it.

I don't understand what you meant by this: (Hyperthreading is required, else will go with AMD)

If you need HT then you will be getting an Intel. I would actually recommend going Intel for this build because the overall solution is much more stable IMO. Just make sure you get an Intel chipset as well.

I'm not sure how expensive Crucial RAM is, but I would say to get the cheapest brand name RAM you can find. Timings will not help the real-world performance at all. Save your money and get more RAM instead. A gig of RAM would be too much for the use IMO, but it would be a better use of the budget than getting low latency RAM.

For the hard drive, if she wants to store alot of music, photos, etc. you might want to look into larger drives, especially with the $/GB you can get these days.

And I think that's a great choice for a PSU, exactly what I would have recommended.
1cem4n
07-13-05, 06:38 AM
Why does this woman give you $500 dollars to make a computer which has to go FAST?

-1cem4n
darksparkz
07-13-05, 01:39 PM
The MSI motherboard is fine, IMO, MSI has the best onboard video and graphics. If she doesn't need video that much, drop the video card. Get the SATAII with 16mb buffers. Try to find a cheaper case, one's without PSU's are the cheapest ones. Try not to stick with generic PSUs, not that great for long term usage.
Vulcan
07-13-05, 01:44 PM
I would actually recommend going Intel for this build because the overall solution is much more stable IMO.
:rolleyes: I smell ignorance.
Vulcan
07-13-05, 01:47 PM
The MSI motherboard is fine, IMO, MSI has the best onboard video and graphics. If she doesn't need video that much, drop the video card. Get the SATAII with 16mb buffers. Try to find a cheaper case, one's without PSU's are the cheapest ones. Try not to stick with generic PSUs, not that great for long term usage.

By the time you buy a decent psu (50.00) and halfway decent case (35.00) you 3/4 of the way to buying the sonata. You end up with a much quieter and easy to work with case by going with the Sonata.
Vulcan
07-13-05, 02:00 PM
Okay, heres what I would do.

EPoX EP-8KDA3I Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250 @ 60.25
pqi TURBO 1GB (2 x 512MB) @ 95.00 - 20.00 MIR
AMD Athlon 64 2800+ Newcastle @ 120.00
Antec Life Style SONATA @ 99.00

Then, whatever cheap videocard you want, and whatever cheap hard drive. I've never been a fan on onboard video, even for budget builds.
Scott9027
07-13-05, 02:31 PM
There's a reason I said IMO...and if you think AMD's third party chipset support is better, that's fine. I was just offering my opinion.
1cem4n
07-13-05, 07:37 PM
Seriously, just see if you have some old crappy videocard you don't want anymore and put it in and same with hard drive.

-1cem4n
BrutalDrew
07-13-05, 07:44 PM
Why does she need an A64 for browsing the internet? Get her a Sempron system.
TalRW
07-13-05, 08:01 PM
internet, iPod and email.

Thats what you said she needs it for. Basically from the sounds of it you could cut cost corners in a lot of areas.

Amd Athlon 64 3000+ or Pentium 4 (Hyperthreading is required, else will go with AMD)
Fortron 350W
Crucial 512MB
GeForce 6200 or Radeon X300
Some cheap case
80GB WD/Maxtor/Segate HDD

Ok Way overboard with the processor. Get a socket A system and thats still way overkill but you save a ton of money.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813127166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103400

Your PSU looks sufficient

For RAM maybe try this (although you could get off with 512 pretty easy if thats all she is doing)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820146299

Video card, bleh don't get that stuff. From what you imply she is doing absolutly zero gaming. Either get a board with onboard video or get a cheap card like this.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814140032
Yeah it's junk but you said all she is doing is the internet and e-mail

Maybe with those money saving tips you could invest in a bigger hard drive for her music.

I'm putting this in bold cause this is more for you than her. She says she wants it to be fast and I"m sure any system you put together will be way faster than she requires, the main thing is teaching her proper maitnance. What will slow the system down is spyware viruses worms ect. Hook her up with stuff like a virus scanner adaware spybot and all that junk and teach her how to use it. Taking care of the PC after it's built is more than half the battle. If she takes proper care of it it will remain fast otherwise it will be fast when she first gets it and then slow down and then you will have to constantly come back and do tech support.
BrutalDrew
07-13-05, 08:17 PM
I would get a socket 754 Sempron system. This is what I would suggest.

Epox EP-8HMMI-A (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123240) - $64.99
AMD Sempron 2600+ (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819104226) - $72.00
Corsair VS 512MB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145026) - $43.50
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 80GB (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148040) - $62.00
In-Win Z720T (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811108336) - $44.99
Total ~ $300

I'm putting this in bold cause this is more for you than her. She says she wants it to be fast and I"m sure any system you put together will be way faster than she requires, the main thing is teaching her proper maitnance. What will slow the system down is spyware viruses worms ect. Hook her up with stuff like a virus scanner adaware spybot and all that junk and teach her how to use it. Taking care of the PC after it's built is more than half the battle. If she takes proper care of it it will remain fast otherwise it will be fast when she first gets it and then slow down and then you will have to constantly come back and do tech support.

I completely agree with this. I would kepp the computer up-to-date with automatic updates turned on and set to here personal preferences. Use the SP2 firewall (no need for anything else), use AntiVir or AVG as anti-virus. I like Anti-Vir and it does have better detection rate, but either would be fine. As for spyware i highly suggest you put Microsoft AntiSpyware on the computer and have it running in the background to prevent spyware. Also have ad-aware for occasional scanning. Buying a cheap router such as the Netgear RP614 would also be a wise choice for security. Also make sure she uses Firefox or Opera. Tell her to stay away from IE unless she absolutely needs to use it. It may also be best to set up a limited account.

Here are some general security tips too.
http://www.omnicast.net/~tmcfadden/guides/build/security1.html
http://www.ezlan.net/firewall.html