School budget system

[vike105]

Yea i know most of you are going to say dell but i want to weight my options. I'm looking to build a pc for 600, i need a mb, cpu, case+psu, ram, hd, dvd burner, monitor, case (pretty much everything lol) This system is going to be used mainly as a media center type where i will be doing office projects, watching movies, music, burning etc. No overclocking going to be done and no real gaming either. Here is what i'm looking at so far:

Mobo: ASUS A8N-VM CSM Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 $87
Cpu: Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 512K 2.00GHz $161
Ram: 1gb pc3200 Corsair Value Ram $80
Hd: Western Digital 80gb Sata 1.5 $55
Dvd: Nec 3550 Dvd burner $42
Monitor: 19inch crt insignia $100
Case+Psu: ????? (something that's not too flimsy with a psu that will handle this system)

That's $525 not including the case/psu...Now I have to debate whether or not i should downgrade to a 2800 but i seem to like the system so far

 

[ElFenix]

corsair value select for ram, about $80
antec sonata II case, about $100

 

[lefenzy]

get the antec slk3800B instead, it's cheaper with psu too.

 

[suicidalpigeon]

a school computer doesnt need 1gb unless its doing heavy programing. probably will fair with a sempron, too.

 

[vike105]

there's no point in building a system without 1 gig of ram these days imho, plus i got the 600 and i wont be able to update this system for a while so might as well put what i can into it now

 

[funkrocker049]

Definitely go with the 1gb RAM. My old system only had 512mb and it almost wasn't enough for general school stuff combined with music and movies. Might want to look at this power supply by Fortron. You can probably find something cheaper, though.

 

[phaxmohdem]

I noticed there's no integrated grafix on that motherboard, do you have a PCI-E card already? or will that need to be worked into the budget as well? You might also consider a board with the GeForce 6100 Integrated graphix. It should do well for movie watching and even basic gaming. how about this setup:

MSI K8NGM2-L Socket 939 Mobo [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130041 ] $70.85
1GB Corsair VS (2x512MB) [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440 ] $81.06
Athlon64 3200+ Venice [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535 ] $164.99
WD 80Gb HDD [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144122 ] $55.99
Antec SLK3800B Case + PSU [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129163 ] $115.98
NEC 3550 black [ http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152058 ] $42.88

Total $531.75 Shipped (Still Needs Monitor, KYBD & Mouse)



Or something like this:

http://www.e4me.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T6524

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

All prices NewEgg, except for the case/PSU

$115 17" CRT display
$90 Windows XP Home
$76 G.Skill 1GB PC3200
$69 Sempron 64 2600+
$56 Western Digital Caviar SE 80GB PATA/100 hard disk
$52 ECS 755-A2 motherboard
$43 NEC ND-3550A black
$30 case/PSU combo (from cablemart)
$29 ASUS V9400-X/TD/64 Geforce MX4000 64MB video card
$23 Logitech keyboard & optical mouse combo
$12 black floppy drive

 

[vike105]

For some reason i thought that msi board had onboard...thanks for pointing that out, will probably go with ASUS A8N-VM CSM Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 $87

I dont need the os or keyboards and stuff, just the parts i have listed above. Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[poisonthewell]

Originally posted by: vike105
Yea i know most of you are going to say dell but i want to weight my options. I'm looking to build a pc for 600, i need a mb, cpu, case+psu, ram, hd, dvd burner, monitor, case (pretty much everything lol) This system is going to be used mainly as a media center type where i will be doing office projects, watching movies, music, burning etc. No overclocking going to be done and no real gaming either. Here is what i'm looking at so far:

Mobo: ASUS A8N-VM CSM Socket 939 NVIDIA GeForce 6150 $87
Cpu: Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 512K 2.00GHz $161
Ram: 1gb pc3200 Corsair Value Ram $80
Hd: Western Digital 80gb Sata 1.5 $55
Dvd: Nec 3550 Dvd burner $42
Monitor: 19inch crt insignia $100
Case+Psu: ????? (something that's not too flimsy with a psu that will handle this system)

That's $525 not including the case/psu...Now I have to debate whether or not i should downgrade to a 2800 but i seem to like the system so far

Not a bad start. You don't need that fast a processor to do the things you list. Try this (prices include shipping):

$69 - Sempron Palermo 1.6GHz
$54 - Chaintech VNF-250
$80 - value ram pc3200 from Corsair/Kingston/Mushkin/G.Skill
$60 - whatever hdd you like
$30 - cheapest video card with DVI
$44 - NEC 3550A
$68 - Antec SLK1650B

That puts you at $405, with enough of a cushion to perhaps get in on a flat panel deal. I know yuo said you don't want to overclock, but the setup I suggest will definitely give you the option to do so. Or you could buy the CRT you want and get some better speakers, or simply add the case I suggested to all the components you've picked. In any case I hope this helps.