Is it possible to build an Intel Celeron system for ~$400??

[SLPFirehawk]

Help me out guys!

I wanting to build a low-end box with good stability.
Here are some of the parts requirements...
Intel Celeron 400
128MB RAM
Motherboard (which one?)
ATX case
6-10 GB hard drive (which one?)
AGP video
CD-RW drive (at least 8x4x32x)
sound card
56k modem
2 speaker system w/ subwoofer

Please give me some ideas of some stable, possibly outdated parts that would help me fulfill my requirements.

Thanks!
Hawk

 

[GremlinHater]

Instead of Celeron, I'd go duron with a FIC mobo or something, with that you could get better and stay under.

 

[Blayze]

duron would be cheaper and you would get a much faster chip

 

[joohang]

Motherboard: ECS w/SiS730S chispet. Comes with integrated video, sound, LAN.
CPU: Duron 750-ish.

 

[SLPFirehawk]

Will the Duron need a special AMD-approved PS?

ALso what motherboards are recommended for the Duron? I don't follow AMD very much...just Intel.

 

[zzzz]

If you want to buy used parts then you can easily make a good box for under 400.
Go to sale/trade forum

 

[Zach]

Just get whatever board you can if you are going cheap. My wholesaler likes Gigabyte baords though, they seem cheap enough, $80 ish with only audio built in.

As for the PS: Most decent ATX cases will be AMD approved.

 

[magicknight0233]

I don't like using AMD systems too much here but if you still want to build a celery system for under 400 then go with an Asus CUSL2-C mobo or the microatx version (CUEP2-M) of it if you don't need that many expansion slots. They are really stable even when overclocked, support ata100 for future use, and run for ~100 bucks since they don't have the intel 815 integrated video. If you want ide drives, I can't help you since I haven't used an ide drive since my old 2gig seagates but I would suggest IBM or Maxtor since they are the best (and since the drives are small they should be sub $50). An RW drive (especially IDE 8X) should be dirt cheap (sub $75). FOr reliability, try Plextor though they may be more expensive. If you still have money left over, you can still upgrade the processor to a higher celeron or a P3.

 

[TunaBoo]

Do you care if it sucks?

Try here.

 

[WetSprocket]

Soyo SY WIM\L ($80)
ATX Mid Tower ($35)
Celeron 566 ($44)
128mb Ram ($17)
10.2 Gig ($68)
CD R/W ($80)
Modem ($10)
Speakers ($20)
$354 It looks possible. Most of this stuff can be found all over example Computer Super Sale . Hope this helps.

 

[HaroldW]

How about a Duron 800/30Gig HD system for $426(plus postage)?
Listed below are all the components you had in your original list.

Motherboard/CPU Combo:

ECS K7VZA w/Duron 800Mhz CPU from http://www.econopc.com/ $90.00 (ask for Pricewatch Price)
(Motherboard has built-in sound)
Here are some URL's of reviews for this motherboard. The general gist of these reviews is that providing you are not trying to overclock, it's a good stable motherboard.

http://www.active-hardware.com/english/reviews/mainboard/k7vza.htm
http://www.rolotech.com/reviews/motherboards/ECS/K7VZA/K7VZAp1.htm
http://www.tweaktown.com/reviews/ecs_k7vza/
http://www7.tomshardware.com/mainboard/01q1/010117/kt133-02.html


All other parts are from http:/www.newegg.com

Western Digital 30Gig WD300AB 5400RPM drive $78.00

Lite-On 12x10x32 CD-RW Rewriter $87.00

ZOOM 56K V.90 Data Fax Voice Win Modem $23.00

Kingston Value RAM 128MB PC133 168Pins SDRAM 16x64Chip 7.5ns $26.00
Speed RAM Lifetime Warranty

Altec Lansing ACS33 3 pieces speaker system $30.00

Gigabyte GA-622-32C 32MB TNT2 M64 4X AGP Video Card -
Retail Box Version - NVIDIA RIVA TNT2 M64 graphics
processor 32MB, 64-bit frame buffer interface SDRAM
AGP 4X/2X interface $42.00

Enlight Medium ATX Tower Case Model EN-72370X3
with 300Watts Power Supply, 4 5.25" Bays, 2 3.5" Bays &
1 Hidden 3.5" Bay recommended by AMD $50.00

 

[apoppin]

You can buy a brand new Celeron 500 system from the Hot Deals Forum for about $200.HOT!!! Celeron-500MHz 40X CD, 10GB Hard Drive, 64MB More! $195.75 + S/h
The computer comes with modem, onboard sound and video (which can later be replaced via PCI card) - even keyboard, mouse and speakers.

I just bought 64MB PC100 for $15 at OD yesterday.

The rest of what you require should easily fit in your budget - an inexpensive CD-RW to replace the CD-ROM (check Hot Deals - there's a new 8x Philips going really cheap - $42 after MIR) and a speaker system with sub with the $185 left from buying the computer system and RAM upgrade.

 

[SLPFirehawk]

Gettin' some great replys! Any other ideas?

 

[SLPFirehawk]

bump

 

[jeri534]

i got my system for 300..but of course i got extremely special deals from friends..

1.1 GHz T Bird
Asus A7V Mobo
512MB PC133 SDRAM
15.3 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive
SB Live! MP3+
Creative 52x CD-ROM
ATX Case w/ 300W PSU
Prophet 2 MX

 

[Lvis]

I bought a couple of these awhile back, both worked fine, nothing fancy though. link Can't beat the price.

 

[NelsonMuntz]

I just went all through one site because they had a good price on the motherboard here. They also had a 750MHz Duron for $34.81,Coolermaster CPU fan for $9.86, 128 Mb of Micron brand PC133 RAM for $20.21, the FIC AZ11 motherboard for $67.95, Aopen mid tower ATX case with 250W PS for $34.88, Maxtor 10 Gb 5400 RPM ATA100 hard drive for $70.53, 32Mb MSI TNT2 for $42.62, Samsung 8X8X32 CD-RW for $77.51, the sound is built into the mobo, Encore 56K modem for $10.96, and Labtec 3 pc speakers for $33.28. That totals out to $402.63 and has shipping of $90.67 for everything, so total cost is $493.30 Not too bad considering what you're getting. You could cut costs on the video card and the CD-RW but the rest is about as cheap as they had at that site.

 

[NelsonMuntz]

At newegg.com the price was a little higher, but the stuff is better. For instance, same processor was $32, same fan is $11, Kingston RAM is $26, Gigabyte GA-7ZMM is $80, Enlight case w/300W PS is $50, 30 Gb Western Digital HD is $78, same video card is $38, Lite-on 12X10X32 CD-RW is $87, sound is built into mobo again, Zoom 56k modem is $23, and altec lansing speakers are $30. This comes out to $455 and with $51.44 shipping the result is $506.44. Not much more than the other solution I listed but it has a better CD-RW, a better case, and 3x as much space on the HD. That is a vast improvement for less than $14.00 extra.