Not gaming rig adive.

[Montek]

Hello, my mom wants pc though she does not need very much of it, just basics, she needs just internet and misc stuff like movies, music, voice chat, video conferencing and other misc stuff, no 3D gaming.

What you thinking would be the best and cheapest choice for such PC, without upgrade capability, when i want new one i buy new one from scratch.


I think to run Windows XP on it, i need at least no lag when opening browser along with few more applications, i remember times when i was on ~700Mhz PC with 512MB SDRAM, and GF2 video card and everything were running just fine, you think stuff have not changed much since then and this pc will work find with anything except games?

 

[imported_flounder]

As much as I hate pre-built pcs, you might be able to spend less money by getting her one of those $300 value deals in the sunday paper

 

[Montek]

Yeah forgot to tell that i am from Europe and we have slightly different prices here, what pc can you buy for 300$ in United States?
BTW my target budget is about 300$ + LCD screen, i only need used parts except cheap ones like network card.
And i am good with PC software and Hardware and theres a lot of cheap parts selling here, and i really like to build it myself because i hate pre-built rigs myself.

What PC is suitable for today + 3-5more years of non-sluggish experience (under windows xp) without considering running 3D gaming and resource hungry applications like 3DMax, though maybe few processes like internet explorer+winamp+icq+anitivirus+firewall, main question i think is CPU speed. Not like i don't know it myself, just want to hear your opinions.

 

[AnitaPeterson]

ugh... European prices...

1) Where are you, exactly?
2) Do you already have any spare parts available?

 

[BurnItDwn]

I know you don't care about upgradability, but I'd go for a cheap AM2 board and a cheap AM2 Sempron CPU. Add 1GB of ram. Then pick up an optical drive of some sort. Just use integrated video, sound, network on the board. In the USA, you would be able to build new with low end components and a good deal for under $300. Used, you could maybe get lucky and spend around $200.

Also, with AM2, you've got the option to upgrade to a much faster dual core for more $$$ down the road ....

You may be able to find a better deal on a 939 setup, but DDR costs quite a bit more than DDR2, so that may offset the savings ....

 

[crimson117]

With x2 processors so cheap right now, I'd skip the Sempron at least get a Athlon x2 3600+, which goes for about $65 in the US.

 

[jpeyton]

I'm going to take adive in the pool after work today.

 

[Montek]

<div class="FTQUOTE"><begin quote>Originally posted by: AnitaPeterson
ugh... European prices...

1) Where are you, exactly?
2) Do you already have any spare parts available?</end quote></div>


1) Finland
2) My old Old 128 MB SDRam, Hdd, GeForce 2 Video, CD-Rom. guess overall rough price would be less than 40$

Maybe i haven't checked prices for few years, but for god sake - i did not plan getting anything faster than 1GHz + 512MB SDR-RAM why would i go for x2 3600+MHz and 1GB DDR2-RAM, its just darn internet surfing PC.

It would cost me 126$ only for CHEAPEST AM2 mobo, 500GB of DDR2 RAM and CPU.
MSI Socket AM2 K9VGM-V Pilt
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ AM2
Kingston DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-3200 400MHz 1GB NON-ECC CL3

 

[crimson117]

Minimum config options (US prices):

$40 for new retail sempron
$70 for mobo with integrated sound, video, ethernet
$20 for 512mb DDR2 ram
$40 for 40gb WD SATA hard drive
$60 for Case with PSU
$25 for DVD drive
$20 cheap keyboard/mouse
--------
$275

Add $20 to get 1 gig total ram
Add $30 to get a much better processor (Athlon 64 x2 3600+)

 

[crimson117]

And install Ubuntu on it Cost of a Windows XP license would be about $100 more.

 

[Montek]

Damn i rethinked and understood that 300$ was exceeding my budget correct in USD would be 250$ with CRT display.
Give me minute to check how much it will cost here.

 

[crimson117]

movies, music, voice chat, video conferencing and other misc stuff, no 3D gaming...

...i need at least no lag when opening browser along with few more applications

Then you'll need a better processor than a Sempron 3000. With the 3000, you'll definitely have some lag firing up IE7 or Firefox. Moreso if you have music playing and a few other apps open.

Kingston DDR2 SO-DIMM PC2-3200 400MHz 1GB NON-ECC CL3

That's laptop memory and won't fit in the motherboard you chose.

 

[Montek]

Originally posted by: crimson117
Then you'll need a better processor than a Sempron 3000. With the 3000, you'll definitely have some lag firing up IE7 or Firefox. Moreso if you have music playing and a few other apps open.

By lag i meant that i don't want to wait ~10 seconds while browser starts, i now using P4 2400Mhz@2700Mhz and have like 10 applications including winamp running and start browser without any lag maybe 2 seconds lag max. Dies Sempron 3000 slower than intel 2700MHz?

Heres my calculation using cheapest new parts for AM2.

AMD Sempron 64 3000+ AM2 - 34$
Kingston DDR2 PC2-3200 400MHz 512MB CL 3 -29$
Foxconn Socket AM2 K8M890M2MA-RS2H -61$
Gigabyte RADEON 9250 128MB AGP, DVI, - 35$
Western Digital Caviar WD400JD 40GB 7200rpm 8MB SATA 3Gb/s - 63$
Case + PSU - 60$
Lite-On DVD-ROM SHD-16P1S-01C OEM - 21$
Keyboard - 9$
Mouse - 17$
Total 329$

P.S. Could not find AM2 mobo with built-in video at moment.


And my budget changed its 250$ with CRT or 300$ with LCD.

 

[Roguestar]

Dude, you may well be best off ordering a Dell. To get an LCD, operating system and warranty with it you might get the best deal at that price range.

 

[Montek]

No dells in Europe/

 

[Roguestar]

www.dell.eu

 

[Montek]

Price way to high, around 500 bucks for cheapest.

 

[coolpurplefan]

Dood, consider a motherboard with integrated video. It's cheaper than buying motherboard + video card.

Of course, for a simple computer, I like the socket AM2 4000+ single core at 2.6 GHz. That's plenty fast for people who want to do simple stuff. Plus, I would get 1GB of RAM.

My personal choice is I would not go under 1GB and would not get a Sempron. But, that's just me. And I'd get a reliable power supply, not something you'd want to junk. Of course, some people used to say they like a cheap Antec case that has a 350 watt PSU.

Anyway, the subject of really, really cheap computers is kind of strange.

 

[Montek]

Hmm 4000+ for simple computer, i would say 1-1.5GHz Celeron is enough for simple computer, anything more is just waste of money because anything more than is for gaming.

I use 30$ 350W PSU and it runs perfectly, on Intel 2700Mhz with Radeon 9800 Pro and 2 HDD's.

You watch way to much advertisement or victim of PR campaigns.

 

[duragezic]

Yeah I don't see why you would need a 4000+ or something anywhere near that.

My work laptop last year was a P3 ~1.2ghz, 256mb RAM, with XP. Ran OK for internet, email, and some development tools. My parent's computer is my old Athlon 1.2ghz, 512mb RAM, 10GB hard drive... that thing is surprisingly quick (although I made sure it was configured for speed) for simple tasks like Montek will need.

Just go used if you are able to get the stuff where you are located.

As a comparison, my brother was looking to sell his old computer. It was a Athlon XP 2500+, NF2 motherboard, 512mb ram, ~120gb hard drive, 9800 Pro, 350 W PSU, and maybe another thing or two for like $150 or something ridiculously cheap. Add the needed parts and a cheap monitor and that system would play HL2 @ 1280x1024. So I don't know why people think such a powerful computer is needed, and 512MB ram is adequate for XP as long as 10 useless programs aren't running in the system tray.

Montek: Definitely find a motherboard w/ integrated video (and audio, ethernet) as it will definitely be cheaper than the $96 you would spend on a mobo + separate video card. $63 for a 40GB hard drive seems extremely high. I swear the ~250gb were that price by now (unless you aren't using US prices, then ignore that). I know with hard drives, every increase until high capacities is only a small increase in $$, so you need to stop somewhere, but I'd think a 80gb and especially a 40gb so would have to be much less than $60 if a 250gb is about that price.

So again, look into used if possible. My grandma might be still using my old Celeron 366@550 (though I don't think she rolls with it overclocked heh).. that thing worked perfectly after all these years and handled basic usage perfectly. So you don't need anything new on that budget. In the US, a prebuilt w/ LCD can be had for $300, but you should be able to find a little bet less of a computer for a similar price.

 

[Montek]

Thanks for support duragezic.

Originally posted by: duragezic...So I don't know why people think such a powerful computer is needed...

People watch to much advertisement and use emotions when choosing stuff not common sense.