Grandma's budget PC (need suggestions)

[JustAnAverageGuy]

electron:

Were you planning on taking the computer back later on? If not, I seriously doubt email, web browsing, office usage, etc is going to require a 3GHz P4C, even a few years into the future. Especially considering your running Linux, you won't have as much for needed requirements.

 

[BaboonGuy]

Originally posted by: Blackroot
first off get an AMD a crap load better then celerons, and cheaper(in some cases)

my suggestion on what to get
Barton 2500+ w/HSF - 90$
Shuttle nForce2 ultra 400 - 61$
Case - 30-50
80gb Hardrive after rebate, 60$
512 pc 2700 - 80$

331$

same price as u'rs but would own it so badly it's sick


Not having a crappy ass celeron, priceless

this is going to be 2x as fast as the system you came up with and cheaper! personally i'd go AMD... and if you're worried about overheating just get it with an SK-7 / SLK-900 w/a 80MM Panaflo L1A or a Pabst 92MM. you'll have ultra low temps, ultra fast, for the same price!

 

[energeticelectron]

Originally posted by: JustAnAverageGuy
electron:

Were you planning on taking the computer back later on? If not, I seriously doubt email, web browsing, office usage, etc is going to require a 3GHz P4C, even a few years into the future. Especially considering your running Linux, you won't have as much for needed requirements.

No, not planning on taking it back ever.

Who knows what is going to be required in 6/7 years? But I would bet grandma is going to be much better off with a P4C-3.0Ghz, compared to a Celeron 1.8!!!!! (And for less than a $100 drop-in)

 

[kalster]

y wud ne one ever get a celeron

u say u can upgrade to a 3 gig p4 later, if u get the amd rig u can get the xp 3200 (barton) later too and cheaper

whichever you get (intel or amd) you wont be able to upgrade to the next gen of processors ne way so why not go with something thatz cheaper and faster right now

 

[Ionizer86]

Electron, you can spend $266 on that AMD rig, and you'll have saved a lot to do another upgrade in 3 yrs if needed. 6 or 7 years later, the computer will be insanely slow anyway. Buy low.

Analogy: if you spent twice as much buying a Pentium 233 MMX instead of a 166 MMX back in the day, how would that have helped? Both are very slow now. 66MHz doesn't make that much of a difference, but $300 would have, since that would have paid for an upgrade today.

My suggestions
1700+ ($45)
8RGA+ (onboard vid, sound, lan, etc, pretty much everything but modem) ($103, money saved here due to MX440 vid).
256 PC2100 from OfficeMax ($10)
Hard drive (you can find these much cheaper than $67. I got my WD400BB for $0 after rebates/coupon. I <3 Omax!)
Case: Check Hot Deals. Granny will be fine with a $25 case that has a decent power supply.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

It's your\her money.

All we can tell you is how you could spend it better. Whether or not you take the advice is your decision.

Last time I checked though, a 350MHz K6-2 could still browse the web just fine with PC100 memory, a VIA chipset, integrated graphics, sound, and a really bad OEM BIOS. Works just as good as the day I bought it. I've had that computer for nearly 6 years, and it still works. Granted, it may not be an FX-51, but for light gaming, web browsing, spreadsheats, applications, etc. It suits itself just fine.

Buy what's cheap now, by the time you need to upgrade it, the computer will seem as slow as... uhm.... something really slow.

 

[nick1985]

ive said it before and ill say it again....

Originally posted by: nick1985

Originally posted by: nick1985
sorry, ive just got to say it

athlon 1700 $49
cheap nforce2 $59
512 pc2100 $76
seagate 40 gig $57
dynapower case$25

total 266

and spanks any celery i might add




**update on prices **

266 bucks for a system that will eat that celeron rig alive, and will still have plenty of upgradeability for the near future.

 

[XBoxLPU]

your grandma can run Linux ?

my gawd

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: XBoxLPU
your grandma can run Linux ?

my gawd

im imagining a hardcore gaming grandma who listens to rap and drives a porche convertable

 

[Aftermath]

This system is going to last for 6 or 7 or more years!!!!

In seven years, an XP 1700+ will undoubtedly still have enough steam to browse the web and check email. What you need to consider is how quickly technology evolves. I'm sure people who built absolute top of the line ungodly rigs for grandma seven years ago are still using Windows 3.11 and their Pentium processors in all their glory right now.

Just snag as cheap of a system as you can build that still has functionality. The Celeron is a mistake, seeing as how it's more expensive and far slower than a cheaper AMD CPU.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

Agreed.

 

[Zebo]

New system for email and word processing???? My old MMX 233 can do that fine.

Go to for sale forum and WTB for $100.

You don't need nothing new or top of the line. I just sold a system for $75 to a friend included 1.2 GHZ T-bird, 40 gig HD, Nice antec case and PS....

I think you need at least a 19" monitor though for old eyes. Spend the money there and buy new flat screen... but computer buy used but in good shape. Install 2000 for cheap worry free licenece.

 

[Snoop]

This guy is a troll, a few weeks back he asked what he should get for his grandma, everyone in the thread said and athlon (or at least the cheapest p4), so what does he decide, a celeron.

Electron, why post here if your mind is already made up, and you odviously think you know better than others?

Here is a nice site for you:
www.intelzone.com

 

[Bonesdad]

why ask for advice and then flatly refuse ALL of it. Get the celeron then. jeez

 

[EXman]

 

[nick1985]

the system i made is so much better than that dumbass celeron barf rig. face it.


"but but but...i can drop in a 3 ghz down the line!" WHO CARES??? its not like there arnt faster athlons out there either, and im so sure your granny needs top of the line speed.

 

[nycdude]

Originally posted by: energeticelectron
CPU: Celeron 1.8Ghz $58.00
Motherboard: Abit IS7-M $93.97
Memory: Crucial PC3200, 256MB $56.28
Hard Drive: Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM $67.00
Case&PS: Antec SLK1600 w/ 300W Smart Power $59.00

GRAND TOTAL = $334.25

And, in 2 years, I can upgrade her system to a P4C-3.0Ghz for less than $100.00. How could anyone complain?

Damn, Is this computer for you or grandma??? You seem so insistent on upgrading to the 3.0. What gives???

 

[Jeff7181]

Probably better off buying the cheapest pre-assembled system you can find. Then clean off any crap programs they have running in the background.
I just sold a Pentium 3 733 Mhz Compaq with 256 MB of RAM to a friend's parents for $200. They use it for the same thing you say your grandma will use it for... and they love it.

 

[jd103]

Quote

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by: energeticelectron
CPU: Celeron 1.8Ghz $58.00
Motherboard: Abit IS7-M $93.97
Memory: Crucial PC3200, 256MB $56.28
Hard Drive: Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM $67.00
Case&PS: Antec SLK1600 w/ 300W Smart Power $59.00

GRAND TOTAL = $334.25

And, in 2 years, I can upgrade her system to a P4C-3.0Ghz for less than $100.00. How could anyone complain?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Heres a system for granny
from Newegg:
In-win Micro ATX Case w/ 300W Power Supply, - Model IW-V500G.300FU2D Retail-$37 (small and good power supply specs)
Lite On 52x32x52 Beige Color CDRW Drive LTR-52327S - OEM - 37.99
MITSUMI D359M3 FDD 1.44MB 3.5INCH - OEM-$6.99
Logitech Deluxe Desktop (Deluxe Keyboard & S69 Mouse) - OEM-$19
CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2700 DDR RAM - OEM-$46
Bundle Special: save $20
Biostar Motherboard for AMD AMD Athlon/AthlonXP (Palomino, T-bred and Barton)/Duron Processors, Model M7VIZ - Retail-$62
(has Onboard video, sound, & lan, also has a APG 4x/8x slot)
AMD Athlon XP 1800+/266 FSB Processor CPU 1800+/ 1.53GHz -0.13 micro Thoroughbred Core Retail- $61
$294.98 - $20 bundle special= $274.98 shipped

CompUSA has a Seagate 120GB, 7200 rpm, 8MB cache harddrive on sale this week for $60 after rebate

Final Price: $274.98 + $60 = $334.98
and in 2 years you could upgrade to an Athlon XP3200+ Barton and a ATI Radeon 9800XT

 

[PELarson]

What Granny needs!

 

[nick1985]

Originally posted by: PELarson
What Granny needs!

seriously...

 

[JohnBennett]

Originally posted by: jd103
Quote

> Heres a system for granny

Thanks JD.

I'm looking to build a budget system for my 14/yr. old daughter, ... email, Sims, web, Winamp.

I don't care much about performace, but I do care about durability. Whatever gets the job done, without me having to work on the thing, ever.

I've been building computers since 1983. One thing I've learned the hard way is completely forget about "upgradability".

By the time a rig becomes so obsolete as to be uncomfortable for current applications, it costs more the upgrade it than to throw it in the trash and buy a new one.

Architecture and standards change too fast.

I build a computer, use it till I can't stand it anymore or something breaks, then trash it and build another one.

 

[JustAnAverageGuy]

build a computer, use it till I can't stand it anymore or something breaks, then trash it and build another one.

Same idea, except I sell mine to people who use far less intensive applications for it, or use them as file servers, data backup, etc.

 

[jhu]

jeez, that system is overkill for email, web browsing, and word processing. like someone else said before, get a a used cheap computer, perhaps something like a 500mhz pentiumiii or something. i do more than email and web browsing, and i only have an 800mhz celeron with 256mb of ram. in fact, i don't see myself upgrading for the next 5 years either.

 

[Luhny]

get her an amd. I also think that the p3 is a good idea too. 5 years down the road she will still be happy/able to see the screen. just remember to do some maintence to her computer every once in a while