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can someone help me build an ultra cheap computer?

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treepop

Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2003
.....mtyy friend was looking to build a computer for around $300.....she already has a keyboard mouse monitor and speakers.....she needs all the rest....and said she wants a cd burner but no dvd player is necissary......thanks a ton for the help fellas:D
 
1700+ Retail (so u dont need another heatsink/fan)= $60 or so
Average mobo=$50
Cheap flashy case and PSU= $50 or 60
256mb of DDR= $35
Vid card= geforce 4mx= $40
20gig 7200 RPM HDD= $60 (hunt for used ones)
Fans (if needed)=$20 at most

Total= About 300 or so.
 
Pricewatch.com....

Duron 1.3 Ghz Retail CPU with Heatsink / Fan = $46

I STRONGLY Suggest a VIA KT 400 Motherboard. Better CPU upgrade path than ANY KT266/a boards. The Shuttle AK39n I use has 6 USB 2.0 ports, LAN, 5 PCI, 1 AGP, and 6.1 onboard sound = $66

Jetway SIS 315 64MB SDRAM AGP Video Card = $26.75
(note... equals a Geforce 2 Mx / ATI Radeon 7000+... Ive built a system with this card. Worked great.)

PC2100 DDR 256 MB = $20.69

Mid ATX Case w/ 400W ATX Power Supply, 8bay 4-5.25,3-3.5, 1-3.5 Hidden = $28.
I wouldn't go for anything less than a 400 Watt PSU.

$187.44...

Just add a HDD + CDRW and your set to rock with LOTS of upgrade room.

I didn't add a CDRW drive to this list... because I favor 8 MB onboard cache units like Yamaha CRW-F1ZUX. Im VERY picky about CDRWers
 
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If she isnt into gaming, then go with one of the all in one boards. Onboard sound, video and lan. Plenty of places will sell you a combo board &2200+ for around $100. Then add a $30 case $30 for ram, $40 for a burner, $50 for the hard drive.

Or keep an eye open for some of the Dell deal's, Ive seen some of their budget systems on sale for about $300.
 
My advice? Hang around newegg refurbs. look for this

(VIDEO) Ti200, 8500, 8500LE, TI4200 under $70
My currently there pic is a 128meg ti200 for 59$

(CASE) ANYTHING that comes out to under 25$ shipped. Sometimes you can get something for 15$ with free shipping in refurbs if you're fast. A case with an acceptable Allied PSU (not great but fine for a stock system) can be had for 20-25$ shipped sometimes. Try and get something with a front intake. You could also get this case for $47 shipped with a sparkle 300watt PSU.
http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?DEPA=&submit=Go&description=CASE+EVERCASE|P4ATXM

(CDRW's) Can be had as low as 25-35$ shipped if you can get to them first in refurbs.

(Memory) You probably wont get from refurbs... ocassionally you will see a 512 stick dirt cheap... but generally refurbs is corsair or other stuff Much too expensive for this. You can get a 256 stick of pc2100 for around 30$ shipped or a 512 for around 55$ shipped new... so i wouldn't bother with refurbs.

(Case fan) I'm sure you have an 80 or 120mm fan lying around if it doesn't come with the case.

(Hard drives) These are usually the first things to sell out in refurbs. If you see an IDE drive for under 55$, grab it. An 8 meg cache IDE drive for under 75$ grab it. You won't save too much getting these online... look in the circulars for a good sale... if it's MIR, try and get circuit city to pricematch... supposedly their policy it to match bottom line price... if you have a large, agressive person to help... it helps, circuit city are a bunch of weasils.

(Motherboard) Asus/abit/epox refurbs are always good. Try and get integrated lan and sound. Under 50$ is an easy goal in refurbs. If you don't get lan, they have lan cards in refurbs from time to time for 5-8$ shipped, usually linksys... or grab one from a retail store for 10-15$ on sale (oftentimes 5$ or free after a MIR).

(CPU) Newegg has 1800+ tbreds retail for 63$
 
Newegg Goodness:

$48 XP 1700+
$10 Coolermaster HSF
$59 Biostar M7VIQ (Integrated Video, Audio, Network, USB2.0)
$30 Crucial 256MB PC2100
$42 Raidmax Model 208B(Black) w/ 350W
$66 WD 40GB 7200
$52 Lite-On 52X Burner

$307 Including Shipping.

Could shave a little off with a smaller HD or generic RAM but this should do pretty well. I have two of those cases and they are pretty nice, the PSU is good. For $15 more you could get the Asus A7N266-VM, which is nforce1 and is fully integrated with dolby sound, but only has USB 1.1.

If you can catch some good refurbs you'll be even better off, but new stuff is always nice.

-Rav
 
i bet capitan slug can come up with somthing cheap too...

what would he be doing on it tough, gaming? or just browsing and stuff?

oh also he could go through you can get some used parts in the classifieds here (the above suggestions look good though:D)
 
Sheesh, this is the first time I've seen ME referenced twice in a thread I didn't start... Thanks :D

My list

- AMD DURON 1.1GHZ
- Biostar M7VIG PRO All-In-One mobo
- 256MB PC2100 RAM
- WD400EB 40GB 5400RPM
- Speeze CPU Fan (80mm, very quiet)
- Lite On 52x24x52 Black CDRW
- *BLACK* PANASONIC FDD
- ATX MID-TOWER CASE w/ 300W POWER SUPPLY (also includes side intake with 80mm fan)


$260 + shipping
If you need a modem or more fans let me know
 
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Asus A7N266-VM= 68
AMD Athlon XP1800+ Retail =65
256MB PC2700 DDR=43.99
ATI Radeon 9100 64MB Retail=72
Creative Labs Modem Blaster 56k (DI-5655)=37.14
Seagate Barracuda ATA V 60GB=81.73
(case)Antec SLK3700AMB=52.54
floppy drive=8.94


my suggestions are to find a cheaper modem mabey even used or referb

find a cheaper case just he squarest bage box you can find

and mabey mabey if your over budget a cheaper vid card
 
Captain Slug said:
Sheesh, this is the first time I've seen ME referenced twice in a thread I didn't start... Thanks :D

My list

- AMD DURON 1.1GHZ
- Biostar M7VIG PRO All-In-One mobo
- 256MB PC2100 RAM
- WD400EB 40GB 5400RPM
- Speeze CPU Fan (80mm, very quiet)
- Lite On 52x24x52 Black CDRW
- *BLACK* PANASONIC FDD
- ATX MID-TOWER CASE w/ 300W POWER SUPPLY (also includes side intake with 80mm fan)


$260 + shipping
If you need a modem or more fans let me know

don't you need to add cables to that list since everything is OEM only :p
 
foldingrig0.jpg


Here's my microATX LAN rig. Made from completely used parts. It's about 8 months old, so prices have definately dropped over the moons.

dremmelling.jpg


Everything you see here for about $200. I bought most of the stuff on the forums. Only thing I didn't get used was the case and 200W psu. I payed $37 on newegg.com. Best $37 ever spent.

Here are the specs:

AMD Athlon XP 1700+ @ Stock 1.47GHz (used)
MicroATX Asus A7N266-VM with NForce 220 Chipset
32MB Onboard GeForce2 Shared Graphics (used- I'm the third owner of this mobo :D)
Windows XP Professional Version 2002
256MB PNY PC2100 DDR RAM (used - classifieds)
30GB Hitachi (IBM) 7200RPM ATA133 HDD (used - classifieds)
LiteOn 16x48x DVD-ROM (used - retired from my main rig)
Mitsumi 1.44MB Floppy Drive (used - pulled from a rig found in the trash)
AOpen Black MicroATX Case (new)
AOpen 200W mATX PSU (came with case)

So next time you see a refurbished dell for $500, just laugh and know you can get parts from here on the forums classifieds at used prices, for $200 for this rig.

Only downfall on this case is that everything has to be low profile (as far as AGP and PCI cards). And that stuff usually isn't cheap. I also had to make a fan hole and grill for the HSF, because it was sufficating. A pally in a tiny case = keychain. And thats not good.
 
deRusett said:
don't you need to add cables to that list since everything is OEM only :p
The motherboard comes with one IDE and one Floppy cable. The CD-RW should come with an IDE cable, but it's not in the picture.
I'll add another to the list...

Like mine, I don't think his sister cares about round cables...
 
yeah.....this is an awsome setup! thanks you guys so much....my bro...liked it soooo...much he wants one also.....quick question....whats the big diff between the Biostar M7VIG PRO and the Biostar M7VIQ?....I see ythe video is different and there are less dimms...is the video on the pro that much better...I see it has an 8 so I am assuming it's better then the 4 thanks a ton :D
 
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