CHEAP system critique please

[Aosh]

hey, my friend just asked me to build a system for her for $500 max. She's not a power user or anything, but at the same time I'd like to give her pretty good components that aren't out of date (compared to the general population)

Since $500 isn't that much, I'm thinking of going AMD, which I havent been following up on so any criticism is highly welcome!!

These prices are based off newegg:

AMD XP 2500+ $90
Western Digital 200GB SE HD $23 (got the $200 dell rebate)
Asus A7N8X (nForce2) mobo $123
2 X Corsair XMS CMX256A-2700C2 PC2700 DDR $56 x2 = $112
Asus 52X Burner $42
Samsung A Drive $7
Video Card: nForce 2 integrated $0
Sound Card: nForce 2 integrated $0

Total (so far): $397

What I'm most concerned about is the mobo/CPU/RAM combo. I haven't done adequate research on AMD yet because I've been tied up with exams the past two weeks

Also, any recommendations on a quiet case that's somewhat aesthetically pleasing that doesnt cost over $80? Also, what wattage PSU should I be looking at?

Lastly, what's the diff b/w a XP 2000+ Thoroughbred and the 2500+ Barton? (other than $23)?

Thanks in advance!

 

[pyrojunkie]

The 2500+ uses a 333MHz FSB so it matches up perfectly with that quality RAM you picked out. I say its a good match and definitely more than I would expect in a sub-$500 system. It is also my opinion to let floppy drives die. Save yourself $7. Any good brand 300W PSU should suffice. I like Antec PSU's the most, and most time they will come with an Antec case.

 

[Aosh]

Wow, quick response

Ok, I'll leave out the floppy hehe she said she didn't want one anyways. I just thought I'd throw it in there just in case *shrug*

I might have to cut back on the $ because she needs to get a monitor too....so if I went for the XP 2000+, I should get PC2100 DDR?
Actually, you just reminded me of a question. I understand the nForce2 uses dual channel RAM. Both the Thoroughbreds and Bartons can use it?

As a side note, about the case..I'm currently looking at the Antec Overture Case....sooo beautiful (yes, I know it's over $80 haha but it comes w/ 380W PSU). The only problem is, the CD drive will ruin it's silver front........

 

[MDE]

The difference between the 2000+ Tbred and 2500+ Barton is huge, and definately worth the price. For $75.50 you could get 2x256MB sticks of Buffalo PC2700 (Micron, Samsung, or Infineon chips), or for $90 Buffalo 2x256MB PC3200 (Winbond chips, better overclocking). Buffalo RAM is good stuff, especially for the money (BTW prices are off Newegg).

 

[randumb]

If you plan on overclocking, a 2500+ (11x166=1833mhz) can run at 3200+ (11x200=2200mhz) speeds easily on air cooling. However, it would require PC3200 (DDR400) RAM. I would suggest some Buffalo RAM, it's cheap and works great.

 

[sniperruff]

get the antec small tower case fro newegg/bastbuy or whatever with the 300W PSU

maybe get separate video card?

cd burner... maybe look for omax sale or soemthing

goodluck

 

[Sid59]

unless you wanna play tech support for the rest of the computer's life .. tell her to get a DELL.

 

[pyrojunkie]

Originally posted by: Sid59
unless you wanna play tech support for the rest of the computer's life .. tell her to get a DELL.

I run a tech support company and I can tell you about 85% of the machines I work on are DELL computers. My biggest issue with DELL is every machine they seem to sell has only 128mb. Thats just not enough to pack a system with WinXP on.

Besides this machine he is building would be much better performance for the price than anything you would get from DELL. An AMD machine is just as reliable as any DELL PC. I wouldn't recommend giving a machine thats overclocked to somebody that doesn't know how to build their own machine. Overclocking always eventually causes problems and if your not there to help them with it...

 

[Duvie]

Look at the shuttle nforce2 mobo with onboard gf4mx graphic...It can be had for 81 shipped at newegg..Don't be fooled the asus name is the one that only means quality. It usually stands for overpriced while many offer same performance for less....The shuttle has onboard vid, sound and lan as well .....save 40 bucks

I would look at 2 sticks of bauffalo pc2700..you said you are not ocing themn why ppay for the corsair stuff??? I can run cas 2 with my stuff even though itstates cas 2.5.... save 25 bucks

 

[Aosh]

Ok I'm convinced, I'll stick with the Barton

I'll go with the Buffalo RAM too, thanks for the suggestion.

Don't plan on OCing, just to minimize having to play tech support.

I could tell her to get a Dell, but a) she has plenty of decently tech-savvy friends (I just got the privilege to build it haha) and b) I could build her a much better system given the price, no?

Lastly, why do you suggest I get a seperate video card? I really wanted to save $ by not having to buy one. Are the filters used on the nForce bad causing poor vid quality? (She's not a gamer, sorry I didn't specify before)

Also, i'm really tempted to get the Antec Overture Only problem is, it's not a tower so it's kinda awkward finding a place to put it unless she puts her monitor on top of it... What do you guys think?

Thnks again!

 

[Aosh]

Ok, i'll go for the shuttle board

 

[Duvie]

No the graphic are fine...definitely emply the dual channel ddr and you can easily get to near 4000 in 3dmark2k1se. Remember that the gf4mx is not a direct x8 compliant card. It is only direct x 7. I can play flight sim 2002 on it just fine with fine settings. If she doesn't want to play the new incarnation of UT, Doom, quake, and half-life chance are she wil be fine....

 

[Ant001]

The CPU is definitely good, the mobo should be good but I don't really know much about it. Seems to me like you could get cheaper RAM. If you friend doesn't want to spend more than $500, she doesn't need really fast RAM. Get one stick of whatever name-brand RAM is cheapest (Crucial, Buffalo, Kingston, and Corsair are good). The Antec Lanboy is a nice tower case for about $80-90.

EDIT: NVM about one stick, get two if you use onboard graphics.

 

[pyrojunkie]

No problem for a non-gamer to use the onboard GeForce4 MX graphics. No issues with it on quality.

I also think that Asus is always a quality board so never overpriced, but concede you can get a similiar performance board in a less expensive price.

 

[MDE]

Look for one of the cheap\free after rebate burners at Best Buy\Circuit City to save a little more cash.

 

[Ionizer86]

MX440 is plenty. While we're at it, the EPoX 8RGA+ may be a better choice at $102 since it has lan, nforce audio (the good stuff), firewire, usb2, etc, pretty much everything except SATA, dual lan, and digital sound. Not sure about the Shuttle, but the EPoX may be worth the extra. BTW you may want to pick up a burner locally since it'll be a lot cheaper (free and $10 after rebate burners etc). Sometimes, a Liteon pops up for $20 or less as well.

 

[Aosh]

Ok, thanks for all the comments. So far i revised it to the following:


AMD XP 2500+ $90
Western Digital 200GB SE HD $23 (got the $200 dell rebate)
Shuttle Mobo MN31N Retail $81
2 X 256MB Buffalo PC2700 DDR $42 x2 = $84
Asus 52X Burner $42 //or buy locally
Video Card: nForce 2 integrated $0
Sound Card: nForce 2 integrated $0
Antec Overture Case w/ 380W TruePower $99

Total: $419 (note that I added a case, which is why the price "increased")


A question about RAM...I was always confused about the diff types. Whats the diff b/w:

Buffalo Technology 256MB PC2700 DDRAM Micron, Samsung or Infineon Chipset Memory Module 32X8, Part# PC270032X8-256M - OEM
184-pin DDRAM
Unbuffered. non-ECC
CAS2.5
4 Layer DIMM

Buffalo Technology DDR DIMM 256MB PC2700, Part# DD333-S256 - OEM
184-pin. 333MHz. 6 layer PCB. Samsung or Micron chipset. Unbuffered. Non-ECC.
CAS Latency: 2.5

The first costs $42, the other $43?

 

[SpeedFreak03]

I just recieved my Antec SLK3700AMB case from NewEgg today, for $62 and $18 shipping (to delaware). It comes with the Antec SmartPower 350W PSU. I was amazed at the quality (of the case itself and the paint) of this case, as all my cases have been cheap knockoffs before! Also, about mobo's, check out the Abit NF7-M (i think its -M, but go to newegg and type NF7 and look for the one with integrated graphics). I am getting the Abit NF7-S (no onboard graphics, but has firewire, SATA, and better built-in sound) when I upgrade to my Barton 2500. Also, I'm going with one stick of 512MB PC3200 Buffalo ram (I plan to add another stick later on). I have done a lot of research, and asked a lot of questions, and I found that these products are the best for my budget/use.

EDIT: Disregard the section about the NF7-M, because I see you found a different board lol.

 

[Duvie]

Shuttle Motherboard for AMD processors Micro ATX, Model MN31N - Retail
Specifications:
CPU: Socket A, AMD AthlonXP, Athlon, Duron
FSB: 200/266/333 MHz
Chipset: nForce 2 IGP + MCP-T
Memory: 3x Dual Channel DDR 200/266/333+ SDRAM, Max 3 GB
IDE: ATA 133/100
Slots: AGP (8X), 3x PCI
Ports: 2x VGA, 6 USB2.0, 2 Sets of 2x5-pin Front Panel IEEE 1394 onboard headers, 1x LAN, and Audio ports
Onboard LAN: Realtek 8201B 10/100 Fast
Onboard Video: Built in GeForce 4 MX (Dual VGA Ports)
Onboard Audio: Realtek ALC650E (6 channel audio)
Form Factor: Micro ATX More... Model#: MN31N Special FedEx Saver Shipping $5.00


Better not get the AN as it does not have onboard vid, unless you have decided to get her a 9200 ATI card or something...

 

[SpeedFreak03]

I just re-read the thread, and I see you need a monitor. I bought a HP Pavilion MX70 17'' (can do up to 1280x1024@60hz) for $80 after a $50 rebate at Best Buy (about a month ago). This is by far the BEST monitor I have ever used! The text is amazingly clear (second only to LCDs), and it is really bright for games/movies. Also, it looks like it will match well with my Antec case .

 

[Aosh]

Hmmmm, I've gotten quite a lot of mobo suggestions. Just to clarify

What I'm looking for is:
onboard Firewire, USB 2.0, built-in, good onboard sound, reliable & cheap

What I'm not:
good GPU, SATA


I thought all nForce2's use the same onboard graphics/sound? But seeing from all the posts, it seems that this isnt the case?

 

[Aosh]

Oops, ok..tentatively changed the mobo to the Shuttle MN31N for now. I'll edit the post in a sec..

 

[Aosh]

ack, I have an exam in a few hours, so I'm gonna go hide in a corner and study. Thanks for all the suggestions, I'll look at every1's posts again in careful detail after and make changes. Please keep the suggestions coming! Especially for a mobo that satisfies the criteria I posted a few posts ago.

 

[lordtyranus2]

I'd go with PC3200 because it seems to cost just about the same on Pricewatch. You can get better timings or a mild overclock. Though if its more than $5 or so forget it.

get the floppy. You'll need it once or twice in your life, but for those 1 or 2 times its paramount. Besides, if this is an email/word processing comp, floppy helps to transfer documents for people who don't know or don't have better methods.

Your case seems to be expensive for a $500 computer.

If you drop the firewire and/or USB 2.0, I think you could save more as well.

 

[InlineFive]

That system is pretty powerful for a "budget" system. (It makes my computer feel outdated. ) All you need now is a whopping video card and you have a moderate gamer!

-Por