I had an old socket 939 system (2ghz, dual core Athlon, 2GB memory), that I was going to reformat for the kids. Unfortunately the power supply was bad. I got a new power supply but could not get the machine to POST, so I assume that the MB also got fried.
I would like to build an inexpensive system, reusing as many parts as possible.
I figure I need a new MB, CPU and memory for sure.
Hard Drive and Video card are hopefully still ok. Video card is nVidia 6800GS, PCI-E. It has both IDE and SATA hard drives in it, I figure I would only need the SATA in the new system.
The case is still usable, but it had a funky power supply....a replacement would be hard to fit in there, but I could make it work. Basically, if I could get a good deal on case/PSU I would consider getting it, otherwise I just need a PSU.
This machine is going to have Linux (edubuntu) on it. I would like the kids to use Scratch, and some flash based games. It will also be used for research, schoolwork, etc.
I thought a SFF pc would be nice, but I do not know very much about them. Do they cost more/less/the same for similar power? The small form factor would be nice, but not if I have to pay more for it.
Finally, I think I will go with 4GB, but am not sure what MB/CPU combo is a good deal right now at the low end. I would like to keep everything I need under $200 if possible.
Any suggestions you can offer would be much appreciated. My daughter is old enough now, where I think I will have her spend her own money on this system, and we can build it together.
Thanks in advance!
I would like to build an inexpensive system, reusing as many parts as possible.
I figure I need a new MB, CPU and memory for sure.
Hard Drive and Video card are hopefully still ok. Video card is nVidia 6800GS, PCI-E. It has both IDE and SATA hard drives in it, I figure I would only need the SATA in the new system.
The case is still usable, but it had a funky power supply....a replacement would be hard to fit in there, but I could make it work. Basically, if I could get a good deal on case/PSU I would consider getting it, otherwise I just need a PSU.
This machine is going to have Linux (edubuntu) on it. I would like the kids to use Scratch, and some flash based games. It will also be used for research, schoolwork, etc.
I thought a SFF pc would be nice, but I do not know very much about them. Do they cost more/less/the same for similar power? The small form factor would be nice, but not if I have to pay more for it.
Finally, I think I will go with 4GB, but am not sure what MB/CPU combo is a good deal right now at the low end. I would like to keep everything I need under $200 if possible.
Any suggestions you can offer would be much appreciated. My daughter is old enough now, where I think I will have her spend her own money on this system, and we can build it together.
Thanks in advance!