Aunt asked her to build her a computer. Budget: $1,000.00

[Slacker]

Don't build a system for a relative, you will be tech support, with that budget you can get a good prebuilt system that comes with service, warranty and tech support.

I would never buy a prebuilt system for myself but I have steered a few friends and relatives towards them, I still help them out with the occasional problem, but when things get messy or I am too busy to help, they call their tech support and let them fix it

Service, warranty and tech support are crucial components to consider when recommending a system.

 

[flippinfleck]

<< Don't build a system for a relative, you will be tech support, with that budget you can get a good prebuilt system that comes with service, warranty and tech support.

I would never buy a prebuilt system for myself but I have steered a few friends and relatives towards them, I still help them out with the occasional problem, but when things get messy or I am too busy to help, they call their tech support and let them fix it

Service, warranty and tech support are crucial components to consider when recommending a system. >>

Here here! I totaly agree with this, relatives are way too demanding when their computer breaks down

 

[Ausm]

<< get a northwood >>



For word processing? LMAO


Ausm

 

[Bovinicus]

If it is just for word processing you should take a look at QuietPC (www.quietpc.com). There is everything you need to build a decent setup that is nearly silent.

 

[Strawberrymom]

ENLIGHT EN-72370X3C4 $46.00
GigaByte GA-8IRXP, $165.00
MATROX G550 32MB DDR 4x AGP- $92.00
Intel Pentium4 1.8A GHz 512K Socket 478 Processor 400MHz Processor Bus- Retail Box $203.00
2 x OCZ DDR RAM 256MB PC-2700 333Hz OCZ333256. $162.00
Teac 1.44MB 3.5 Inch Floppy Drive $9.00
MAXTOR EIDE HARD DRIVE MODEL # 6L040J2 40GB 7200RPM - OEM, $86.00
Zoom 56k V.92 PCI Modem - $22.00
LITE-ON LTR-24102B-02 24x10x40 CDRW BLACK - $80.00
LITE-ON LTD-163 SPEED - RETAIL16X DVD ROM $53.00

Subtotal » $918.00
Shipping and Handling Charge » $ 45.35
Grand Total » $ 963.35


the video could be better but ifits not a gaming system the 2d rocks.

and performance wise smokes the athlon, and if you oc it thats 2.4 ghz and 3 year warranty on the chip

 

[LanEvoVI]

Does she need a monitor? That would be an extra 100-200 dollars for a decent 17" one, so keep that in mind.

 

[evergreen96]

Usually, pple who ask you to build a pc don't know too much about pc in the first place. no offense.



I think Metaphor should ask her aunt these questions.

1. Will it be used for games if yes, althon --> no, a little bit Duron
2. OC in the future, probably not, since you don't really want to give tech support do you?
3. Does she plan to upgrade the pc beside HD and maybe a CDRW/DVD (the processor/Video card in the future) Given her previous pc i would say no



With 2 of the 3 are are all no. I would go with a mb that have almost intergreated everything.

 

[Warin]

Strawberrymom

What crack did Intel send you this year?

Sorry to flame you, but OCing a processor TOTALLY voids any manufacturers warranty.

That and I dont think I have seen a single bench showing the 1.8 Northwood to perform better than an equivalently priced AMD system. I am not some AMD fanboi, but right now AMD owns the price/performance delta.

 

[Strawberrymom]

the 1.8ghz northwood can slaughter the 2000xp. especially if the 1.8 uses the 133fsb like the athlon

and i bet your one of the few that if the chip goes south you tell them yeah i oced it to see how fat it goes. Intel chips are reliable and hardly ever die before their warranty is up anywyas.

read about the differences before you want to toss your AMD crap around Warin

 

[scoobydooby]

Don't even bother trying to talk to strawberrymom. I think I'm convinced now that she/he/it has 630 posts of unhelpful nonsense. Yes the northwood is not a bad processor but most of us don't have that kind of money to throw away.
Scoob

 

[CTho9305]

for GAMING machines in college we're building:
xp 1600's
ecs k7s5a
256mb ram
40 gig HD
geforce2's, some gf3s, some radeon 8500s
cheapo cases.

for WORK machines, I woudl recommend:
duron 800 oem
a QUIET heatsink+fan (the alpha with a quiet fan would be awesome here)
ecs k7s5a (onboard sound is good, onboard lan is good)
128mb pc133
20gig HD (whatever is cheap)
TNT2 or similar video card.

that will cost you... $30 for cpu, $60 for mobo, $20 for ram, $??? for HD, and $40 for video. get an enlight 7327 cause they look pretty . and get a ~250 watt PSU, cause more is overkill, adds heat, and adds noise. of course, add on that zip stuff you wanted.

 

[Strawberrymom]

<< Don't even bother trying to talk to strawberrymom. I think I'm convinced now that she/he/it has 630 posts of unhelpful nonsense. Yes the northwood is not a bad processor but most of us don't have that kind of money to throw away.
Scoob >>



it costs almos the same as a AMD scoob, and just cause you cant afford a system for under a grand that has a northwood in it. go stick with your AMD he asked for a under 1000.00 computer and the northwood fits that bill. so if you dont have anything constructive to say move on and go back to the other lame forum you wandered in from.

Intel you get reliability, you pay alittle more but its just for the processor and you get way better stability for one.

 

[CTho9305]

<< That being said, get something with moderate 3d power, nothing too high, just incase one of the changes the system's use (it happens alot). Also something for DVD is good, and 2d quality is a must, considering its primary use (hint: no GF2s) >>



the gf2's are fine. I doubt your aunt is going to run at 1600*1200 anyway... most "old" (no offense) people can't even read text easily at >1024*768 or 1280*1024 depending on monitor size. that said, my room-mates GF2 pro looks fine at 1600*1200 on a 21 or 22" monitor.

anyway, i'd still say TNT2 - i put one in my dad's work system cause 1. its cheap, 2. it is acceptable for UT, hafllife 3. visual quality is excellent... of course, his incredibly sharp monitor helps.



<< The retail HSF's fan makes 32dB of noise >>


that is loud, when you consider the noise a p133 makes. many p133s dont even have a CPU fan.

and dont listen to what strawberrymom says... that system is way overkill. and costs much more.

 

[Dufusyte]

Buy her a 15" LCD to replace her CRT and she will consider it the nicest part of the upgrade.

LCD's are great for text, they are easier on the eyes, and they do not take up space, and they look relatively cool.

Go for an Envision 1500, or a KDS Rad 5. The LCD will cost around $300.

Link to some vendors selling the KDS Rad 5:
http://www.pricewatch.com/1/34/1486-2.htm

Subtract the $300 from the rest of the system, which was overkill.

---

Zip drives are totally useless since people should use CDRW which are cheaper, hold more data, and can be read by every machine. But if the school insists on zip drives, then buy an external one so it is more portable.

 

[christoph83]

I'm also going to have to vote for the northwood with an i845-D motherboard. You'll be able to set her up a quiet and cool system that will have no problems whatsoever out of the box. It will also be one of the most stable setups you could set up for her. A 1.8ghz northwood and a XP 1700+ will be around the same in peformance while only costing a little bit more.

That and I dont think I have seen a single bench showing the 1.8 Northwood to perform better than an equivalently priced AMD system. I am not some AMD fanboi, but right now AMD owns the price/performance delta.

Performance isnt everything,especially considering this is for his aunt who is doing web surfing and word processing. You wont be able to tell a difference in speed, but also get proven stability.

 

[CTho9305]

<< I'm also going to have to vote for the northwood with an i845-D motherboard. You'll be able to set her up a quiet and cool system that will have no problems whatsoever out of the box. It will also be one of the most stable setups you could set up for her. A 1.8ghz northwood and a XP 1700+ will be around the same in peformance while only costing a little bit more. >>


i'm sorry that all my AMD systems are 100% stable. and durons run really cool.



<< proven stability. >>


that remark is ignorant. i dont feel like explaining why

 

[spamsk8r]

From all of the articles I've read, along with personal experience, AMD cpus are no less stable than Intel CPUs, and a 2000XP would completely destroy a 1.8 GHz Northwood, just read any article. Stability depends mostly on the motherboard in my experience, and the 266As are quite reliable

 

[Cosmic_Horror]

This post has really gone off on a tangent.

Any cpu you purchase today will easiy handle surfing the web and word processing. The debate about northwood and Athlons Xp is irrelevant in my opinion as in these tasks no performcance difference will be observed by your aunt.

As previously mentioned start with a very god monitor, good quality keyboard and mouse that she will be comfortable. That means you will have to take her shopping for a good monitor. These are the parts she will interact with. If she feels confortable with the mouse and monitor etc she will be confortable with the system as a whole.

What i would recommend is a duron based system as they offer good value. An intergrated motherboard such as a nforce based system will be fine and also offer some gaming capabilities. I doubt weather your aunt will be notice a difference in games at 800x 600 or at 1600 x 1200.

I would go with 256Mb of Ram. Unless she is starts video editting, using photoshop or any high memory useage applications it will be sufficent.

Hard drive space will be determined by budget, but i would go with a basic case as one it is setup it should not need to be opened untill you upgarde again. Try and make the system as quite as possible and also as stable as possible.

Remember if your Aunt has survived this long with a Pentium 133, what ever you put togeather will be a masssive improvement.

Hope this helps.

 

[LuNoTiCK]

I wouldnt go with either northwood or athlon XP. I would go with a celeron 1.2ghz, it's a good price. No point in getting all that stuff that you don't need. I wouldnt go for an IBM hard drive, I would most likely go with a seagate or a Maxtor.

 

[UberNeuman]

Metaphor - do your aunt a favor and go with a pre-built system. You can get a great system with a price lower than $1000.00 that meets her needs perfectly....

 

[Nocturnal]

yeah i forgot to mention, she doesnt need a monitor, keyboard, or mouse.

she has all of that. all she needs is the computer -- i think.

ill have to ask her tonight. i doubt she needs a new monitor and stuff.

but if she wants a monitor and stuff ill tell her to go with a gateway, or dell.

thanks for the great advice, i appreciate it.

 

[Howard]

<< the 1.8ghz northwood can slaughter the 2000xp >>


Please provide some reputable benchmarks.

 

[Ausm]

<< the 1.8ghz northwood can slaughter the 2000xp. especially if the 1.8 uses the 133fsb like the athlon and i bet your one of the few that if the chip goes south you tell them yeah i oced it to see how fat it goes. Intel chips are reliable and hardly ever die before their warranty is up anywyas. read about the differences before you want to toss your AMD crap around Warin >>




AMD Crap? I put my system up against your P.O.S anyday

Ausm

 

[CocaCola5]

Get a nice 17" lcd and with whats left a midrange Morgan Duron with 256mb ram.

 

[Dufusyte]

<< i forgot to mention, she doesnt need a monitor >>



She has a stinkin' crt. I tell you, get her an LCD.

After she has an LCD, she will realize she "needed" it.

If she's spending $1000 on an upgrade, you can fit a $300 LCD into the budget. It will be the nicest part of the upgrade!