Need versatile college rig, lend suggestions!

I'm going to college this fall, and need a PC that will handle tons of different tasks. It needs to function as a music storehouse, as a TV and DVD viewing machine, and play an occasional game. I'm thinking something along the lines of a 2500+, nForce2, an AIW 9000 pro, 512MB of PC3200, and an 80-120GB SATA hard drive. Reliability and versatility are a top priority, with noise and performance being a close a second and third. My primary PC will be staying at home, as I'll be commuting back about every other day, so it doesn't need to be a speed demon, just enough to watch TV or a movie, play Quake 3, and store music.

If possible, costs need to be kept under $600. Also, the TV viewing will probably be just the news, and I already have a 15" CRT I'll use with it. Is there a CHEAP <$70 NF2 board that has the good reputation as the NF7-S or A7N8X?

Id probably spend the extra money from the sata drive on a better video card. and go IDE. but Ive never had a sata drive. but does its speed really matter when listening to MP3s off the hard drive, thats not a real big file to load. and graphics are more important than how fast you can load a map of the HD.

ares350 said:

Id probably spend the extra money from the sata drive on a better video card. and go IDE. but Ive never had a sata drive. but does its speed really matter when listening to MP3s off the hard drive, thats not a real big file to load. and graphics are more important than how fast you can load a map of the HD.

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I just want the ease of routing the cable. The system will probably only be playing Quake 3, and possibly BF1942 or Desert Combat, so it doesn't need a killer graphics board. However, I probably will keep an eye on mail-in rebates to see if I can get a drive for $.50/GB or less.

Solid Choices

I think you have hit the nail on the head to provide yourself a solid computer.I would make sure you have good communication between your home computer and the one at school.This could be done in many ways to include a dual format DVD copier that will allow you to transfer a lot of data(using DVD-RW's) anytime you make the trip or any other type of communicaton you have.

I allocated a $100 for a Dragon style case with a 400W Antec PSU. This seems a little high. Anyone know of a good case with a decent 300W+ PSU that's less than $50?