- Mar 23, 2001
- 2,896
- 2
- 81
My wife's machine is on it's last legs, and she has agreed to let me build a new one, so she can have my current one.
Unfortunately we're on a tight budget.
However I don't really need all that much "power" since I do mostly surfing / bills / Office Apps / etc.
I'm thinking though, that I might like to leave open the upgrade path, in case I or my son should decide to play games later on.
I've done some reading and research and come up with the following... (prices are from Newegg on 3/28)
[*]BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard ($79)
[*]CHAINTECH GSV73LE-G2 GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card ($46)
[*]Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply ($40)
[*]AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail ($89)
[*]CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ($104)
[*]Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($85)
[*]LITE-ON Beige 20X DVD+R . . . 48X CD-ROM ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology ($36)
Total: $479 (not including shipping)
I have a case I can reuse, but will need a new PS (listed above).
I'm unsure of the video card, but I'm used to intergrated graphics, so I figured it would suffice for the time being.
The memory.... is there a big difference between the DDR2-800 and DDR2-667? Would 2GB of the 667 be better than the 1 GB of 800? (Assuming similar pricing)
Is it worth it to get an SATA DVD Burner? It's beige since my old case is beige but I'd be willing to go with black if it was worth it.
I should also note that I may not purchase everything from the Egg.. it's just easier to piece it all together from one location.
I've read that price cuts are coming soon, so I might hold off for awhile yet...but I need to at least start to get an idea of what I'm looking for.
I'm open to suggestions / changes ( or even just some reassurance that this build will work )... but the budget is right around $500.
Thanks
-TK
Update - - - - - - - -
Ok... I went and looked at Dell... I do get a small discount through my employer...but it's really not much, so I never bothered before. lol
Here's what I've come up with... (I got the go-ahead to up the budget a little, if it meant that my wife could have my 19"LCD too.. )
Dimension E521
- Athlon 64 X2 3800+
- Vista Home Premium
- 1 GB DDR2-667 (2 DIMMS)
- 20" E207WFP Widescreen digital flat panel
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/- RW Drive
For $686 + tax (free shipping)
I figured I could get better speakers, cheaper, from the Egg or similar outlet. (~$40)
I couldn't get a system to price out to the $479 mentioned above... care to point me in the right direction? lol
Also, I did briefly look through Dell Outlet at the refurb's. Anyone have experience with these refurbs? Are they a good deal or are they of questionable quality?
Unfortunately we're on a tight budget.
However I don't really need all that much "power" since I do mostly surfing / bills / Office Apps / etc.
I'm thinking though, that I might like to leave open the upgrade path, in case I or my son should decide to play games later on.
I've done some reading and research and come up with the following... (prices are from Newegg on 3/28)
[*]BIOSTAR TFORCE 550 Socket AM2 NVIDIA nForce 550 MCP ATX AMD Motherboard ($79)
[*]CHAINTECH GSV73LE-G2 GeForce 7300LE 128MB 64-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16 Low Profile Video Card ($46)
[*]Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply ($40)
[*]AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail ($89)
[*]CORSAIR XMS2 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory ($104)
[*]Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS (Perpendicular Recording Technology) 320GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive ($85)
[*]LITE-ON Beige 20X DVD+R . . . 48X CD-ROM ATAPI/E-IDE DVD Burner with LightScribe Technology ($36)
Total: $479 (not including shipping)
I have a case I can reuse, but will need a new PS (listed above).
I'm unsure of the video card, but I'm used to intergrated graphics, so I figured it would suffice for the time being.
The memory.... is there a big difference between the DDR2-800 and DDR2-667? Would 2GB of the 667 be better than the 1 GB of 800? (Assuming similar pricing)
Is it worth it to get an SATA DVD Burner? It's beige since my old case is beige but I'd be willing to go with black if it was worth it.
I should also note that I may not purchase everything from the Egg.. it's just easier to piece it all together from one location.
I've read that price cuts are coming soon, so I might hold off for awhile yet...but I need to at least start to get an idea of what I'm looking for.
I'm open to suggestions / changes ( or even just some reassurance that this build will work )... but the budget is right around $500.
Thanks
-TK
Update - - - - - - - -
Ok... I went and looked at Dell... I do get a small discount through my employer...but it's really not much, so I never bothered before. lol
Here's what I've come up with... (I got the go-ahead to up the budget a little, if it meant that my wife could have my 19"LCD too.. )
Dimension E521
- Athlon 64 X2 3800+
- Vista Home Premium
- 1 GB DDR2-667 (2 DIMMS)
- 20" E207WFP Widescreen digital flat panel
- 250GB SATA Hard Drive
- 16x DVD+/- RW Drive
For $686 + tax (free shipping)
I figured I could get better speakers, cheaper, from the Egg or similar outlet. (~$40)
I couldn't get a system to price out to the $479 mentioned above... care to point me in the right direction? lol
Also, I did briefly look through Dell Outlet at the refurb's. Anyone have experience with these refurbs? Are they a good deal or are they of questionable quality?