Make me a budget system

[Alienwho]

I'm making my little brother a budget computer for christmas. I've been out of the hardware loop for a while, so I need a little help with this.

Basically I need everything except hard drives, help me out!

I'm thinking XP 1400, compatable motherboard, Geforce TI4200, and whatever else. I'm thinking cheap here people, it's going to be disguisting that this cheap computer is going to be better than my former top of the line computer of 9 months ago. Newegg me.

 

[DT4K]

What is your budget ?
Some peoples idea of a budget system is $1200, others is $400.

And what is it going to be used for?

Answer these two questions and we can give you much better advice.

 

[ahyel]

Here is a good budget setup:

Athlon XP 1600+
Asus A7V266-C
256MB DDR266 (PC2100)
Inno3D GeF4 Ti4200/64MB memory
17" Samsung 753DFX monitor
52x Lite-On CDROM
A good case such as Enlight 7237
Sound card is integrated on the mobo

If you are really on a tight budget, you can get generic KB & mouse & speakers. Else, go with logitech/microsoft KB & Mouse and Altec lansing speakers.

 

[Alienwho]

400 or 500 dollars excluding moniter.

I see Athlon XP 1600 - $50
Not sure on a motherboard
I'll find a vid a card
Some PC2100
I'll find a sound card.

Okay basically I need to know what motherboard I should get.

 

[WTT0001]

ENERMAX Model# CS-003-01WB ENERMAX 300W POWER SUPPLY - RETAIL : $55
Lite On 48x24x48 CDRW Model LTR-48246S Retail : $60 OR
LITE-ON LTD-166S16X DVD ROM Drive - Retail : $46
PANASONIC 1.44 MB 3.5 INCH FLOPPY DRIVE : $9
CRUCIAL MICRON 256MB 32x64 PC 2700 DDR RAM - OEM : $75
Epox Motherboard for AMD Socket A Processors, model EP-8K5A2 Retail : $94
AMD Athlon XP 1700+/266 FSB Thorougbred Processor CPU 1700+/ 1.47GHz -Retail : $62
ABIT SILURO GF4 TI4200 64MB DDR TV/DVI RETAIL : $121

Total with CD-Burner : $488 including S&H
Total with DVD : $474 including S&H

All from newegg, the case is really whatever you want to put there (The price will fluctuate accordingly though (duh, lol) ). I like this one because it included a "name-brand" Power Supply. The Processor is a Thorougbred NOT a Palamino.

Good luck in your endevers

 

[DT4K]

nForce 2 mobo roundup

Accordint to this article,

One thing is clear however; if you're going to be purchasing an Athlon XP motherboard in today's market, you'd be insane not to choose a motherboard based on NVIDIA's nForce2 platform.

Read the review, but I'd go with Epox 8RDA+.
It's like $130 at Newegg, but has onboard sound and LAN.
But, to take advatage of the dual channel DDR, you'd have to get 2 sticks of RAM.

 

[compudog]

Get a cheap case, a good power supply, ram, cpu, CD/DVD/CDRW, vid card and an Asus A7N8X. I got all of the above for $700. You can lighten the price tag with generic RAM, generic optical drive, and different vid card. Check out Googlegear as well as newegg. They shipping at googlegear was a little less and I had absolutely no problems with anything. Packaging was very nice.

 

[Bovinicus]

If you're making a gaming system, then the Radeon 8500LE is a good balance between price and performance. Otherwise, any video card will do, as long as it has good 2D quality (Radeon 7500 Maybe).

An nForce2 based motherboard is a good idea. It has onboard sound and LAN that are both good. Asus's board isn't overpriced and is available at Newegg.

PC2700 memory is probably a better idea unless there is really a large price disparity.

Any old cheap case is good. If there ever was an area to skimp, the case is it. Just make sure the cooling inside the case is halfway decent. A 300W power supply will probably be sufficient. However, 340W might be a better idea. Just make sure the 12v rail gets a good amount of power; many cheap PSUs have trouble providing 12v power.

I like the Seagate Baracuda IV drives because they are totally silent and very reliable.

Lite-On is the best CD-RW drive you can get if price is of concern. Same for DVD drives.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Originally posted by: Alienwho
400 or 500 dollars excluding moniter.

I see Athlon XP 1600 - $50
Not sure on a motherboard
I'll find a vid a card
Some PC2100
I'll find a sound card.

Okay basically I need to know what motherboard I should get.

What about a monitor? When budget restrictions come into play a monitor can be the most expensive item. Do you have one already or does this need to be included in the $400-500 price tag?

 

[Jittos]

Originally posted by: Shanti
nForce 2 mobo roundup

Accordint to this article,

One thing is clear however; if you're going to be purchasing an Athlon XP motherboard in today's market, you'd be insane not to choose a motherboard based on NVIDIA's nForce2 platform.

Read the review, but I'd go with Epox 8RDA+.
It's like $130 at Newegg, but has onboard sound and LAN.
But, to take advatage of the dual channel DDR, you'd have to get 2 sticks of RAM.

I also think nforce2 is a way to go for a budget system, coz of its integrated everything.

 

[optimistic]

NVIDIA NFORCE 2 System:
$104.5 EPOX EP-8RDA+
$60 AMD ATHLON XP 1700+ 1.47GHZ RETAIL
$52.5 256MB PC2700 DDR Memory
$100 MSI GeForce 4 Ti4200 @ Fry's
$59 LiteOn 48/12/48 CDRW
$30 Mouse Keyboard
$8 Floppy
________________
$436 w/o CASE & s/h + tax


VIA KT333 System:
$72 MSI KT3 ULTRA2
$60 AMD ATHLON XP 1700+ 1.47GHZ RETAIL
$52.5 256MB PC2700 DDR Memory
$100 MSI GeForce 4 Ti4200 @ Fry's
$59 LiteOn 48/12/48 CDRW
$30 Mouse Keyboard
$8 Floppy
________________
$381.5 w/o CASE & s/h + tax

 

[optimistic]

Here's so recent deals that might interest you.

ANTEC PERFORMANCE II Model# SX630II with FREE SHIPPING:Q
edit: use to be free shipping

Liteon 48/24/48 for $48

PNY PC2700 Memory: 256MB for $39

 

[DT4K]

Don't go ultra-cheap on the case. Some are a pain to work with and they usually come with no-name PSU's that may cause you trouble down the road.
Enlight makes nice affordable cases with good quality psu's. I've got a 7237. It's very easy to work with.
You should be able to get a mid-tower w/ 300W for $50 - 60.

If you need to cut down the price a little, look for deals on stuff that is a little bit older.
You could go with a KT266A setup.
The Abit KR7A and Epox 8KHA+ are cream of the crop for KT266A boards. I've owned both and they are excellent boards. I have a slight preference for the Abit only because I like the layout of the board a little better.
I found my KR7A for $64 at Directron about 4 months ago.
If you go this route, you could save some money on cheap PC 2100 RAM. I got 256 MB of PNY from Circuit City a couple of months ago for $49.99. And it runs fine, even overclocks to 150 FSB.

It's really up to you if the performance increase of the newest chipsets is worth the extra money. It all depends on what the system will be used for. At the moment, I doubt most people would notice a difference between a KT266A board and an nForce 2. But you are also paying for longevity. Buying the newest means you will be able to upgrade easier in the future. XP 3000+ anyone?

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Here's what I came up with...$20 over budget though...it's all black though so it should look cool


<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?style=album">CODEGEN Model# 6066L-CA (BLACK) MID-TOWER CASE
W/350W P4 READY POWER SUPPLY - RETAIL</a> $47

Lite On 48x24x48 CDRW Model LTR-48246SBlack OEM $66

<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=23-137-003-01.jpg/23-137-003-02.JPG">***BLACK*** Chieftec Wireless Keyboard
and Mouse Combo, PS2 Model PT2001 Retail</a> $25

KINGMAX Memory 256MB PC2700 DDR RAM $65

Viewsonic E70B 17" - Retail $135

<a target=new class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=13-131-435-04.jpg/13-131-435-05.jpg/13-131-435-06.jpg/13-131-435-03.jpg">Asus Motherboard for AMD Athlon/XP/
Duron Processors, Model# A7N8X</a> $131

AMD Athlon 1600+/266 FSB XP Processor CPU OEM $51.99



TOTAL: $ 520.99

This is all from Newegg to reduce shipping costs, but I don't know if they will ship to the Marshall Islands...good luck mate!