What do I build with 500 bucks?

[jl123]

My cousin and her husband are stuck with a slow 100mhz pentium computer. They were planning on buying a HP or something. But then they asked if I would build it for them. I said I would. They want to keep it around 500 bucks. That budget is a rough estimate.

I was thinking of:

A duron 700-800/motherboard combo(actually i recommended a 600 but they insisted on the 800mhz http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif)
15gig ata66 7200rpm(5400rpm if i have to cut cost), 52XCDROM(maybe they would like a burner later on), antec case, possibly a voodoo3 3000 if they want to game a little. The modem is coming out of thier old computer. Possibly the cdrom(they are gonna donate the old computer to someone). I would also install a nic for when they get dsl.

What do you guys think? Sound good? I have a friend who has a similar system and he likes it. I know I would be doing them a great favor because they get so fustrated with that computer they have.

All they will be doing is surfing the internet, maybe a little gaming(they have a PS2 so i don't know), typing out papers, essays, etc., listening to mp3s. I'm sure when they get this new computer they will spend more time on it and begin to learn how to do more stuff using a computer http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif...so I'm pretty sure I'll be upgrading this beast later on. I'm pretty sure I can keep thier system under 500 easily. I need to get some prices on this stuff. I just found out I was building it for them 20 minutes ago.

Take care,
~Joel

[GroundZero3]

since its an older motherboard your ram will be most likey useless in the new board. and what better time to get RAM. its so cheap right now its not even funny. what os are they planning to run? what about a soundcard?


overall nice system
Jason

[captpete]

Being a novice to the pricing question, I still have to wonder if you can do this for $500. I wouldn't even know where to look if someone were to ask, so if you compile some figures, it would be nice to see.

[jl123]

Well Pricewatch (http://www.pricewatch.com) is a good tool for pricing computer components and accesories. That's what I use.

Here is what I came up with:

Duron 900mhz w/FIC AZ11 Socket A (462) KT133 ATX 5P/4xA/3D 200mhz VIA133 w/AUDIO Retail Box 2yr warranty $164

Cpu cooler $10-$15

Maxtor 7200RPM UDMA 100 15.3GB EIDE Ultra 66/100 7200RPM White Label - 1 Year warranty $79

Creative 52X ATAPI IDE CD-ROM 5.25HH w/ Volume & Headphone adapter *White Label*$25


128MB PC133 (RAM) $50(yes it is very cheap right now Here's a link (http://www.verasoft.com/verasoftcomputers/12pcmic75sdr.html) )

Antec Case (from compusa) about $60

Video Card $30(They are not gonna play games much)That's what their PS2 is for http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif

Sound Card $20(Their old one is a ensoniq i think-not a bad card)

Modem(use old one or $20-$30 for a new one)

Network card$20 (you can use your old one)

[flash4master]

Originally posted by jl123.
128MB PC133 (RAM) $50(yes it is very cheap right now Here's a link )


that micron from them is what i bought...bought same thing from that company 5 months ago at $50...lowest i kept up to it was $32-34 then it went back up...

[This message has been edited by flash4master (edited 04-28-2001).]

[Kuasimodem]

Got this list from www.newegg.com (http://www.newegg.com) , saved on shipping by getting all from one place.




Enlight Medium Tower Case Model EN-7237OX3 with 300Watts Power Supply, 4 5.25" Bays and 2 3.5" Bays $50.00
Micro-Star K7T Pro2-A KT133 1 AGP 4x, 6 PCI, 1 CNR, 4 USB, Onboard Audio. $90.00
Leadtek WinFast GeForce2 MX 32MB SDRAM 4X AGP Video Card with TV Out. $92.00
AMD Duron 850MHz $69.00
Kingston 256MB PC133 $82.00
Western Digital CAVIAR 3.5 inch EIDE Hard Drive WD200BB 20GB 7200rpm Ultra ATA 100 - $87.00
Sony 52X Max EIDE Internal CD-ROM Drive CDU5211, $33.00
Thermaltake VOLCANO II Heatsink + Dual Ball bearing Fan, for AMD socket A up to 1.5GHz. 60x60x69mm. DU0462-7 $8.00


Subtotal: $511.00
Shipping: $ 50.06
FedEx Express Saver
Grand Total: $ 561.06




[This message has been edited by Kuasimodem (edited 04-28-2001).]

[ragtop]

Hey jl123:
My new system is very similar to what kuasimodem is proposing, and it works extremely well. You won't go wrong with what he is proposing. In particular, the MSI K7T pro 2A is a much better choice than the FIC AZ11 you were looking at. The on-board sound on that MSI board is actually pretty decent and will be OK unless they really want to do serious gaming or audio work.

You would have to spend at least twice as much money on a Compaq or HP to get the same performance. (The biggest problem with those brands is that you get real crappy on-board video on everything but their top of the line models - that's where the GeForce II MX will blow them out of the water)

[Richard_Cranium72]

Gateway AMD K7-950MHz/128MB/40GB/DVD TNT2 AGP 16MB Card Creative Sound Card(Refurb)
Warranty 90 Days P & L (use AMEX Blue to double Warranty)

$549.99
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?sku=G150-2016

[saint999]

hi guys
i have a better suggestions.
go for SIS730s chipset motherboard, it supports 200/266mhz amd cpu
comes with on board VGA sis300, since they don't play game, but its good quality(as good as (TNT m64).onboard 56k modem,onboard network lan card 10/100mb,onboard sound card,
it costs less thASUS A7S-VM an 100us
for example:
ASUS A7S-VM is based on SiS 730S which supports 2GB PC133/VC133 SDRAM, integrated VGA, 4 PCI, 6 USB ports, UltraDMA/100, AGP Pro/4X, and JumperFreeTM mode and optional Realtek RTL8100 LAN.

[randy48]

jl123 - Staples flyer has a 15gig Maxtor for $79 with $20 rebate ($59) for this weekend!

[CtrlCXV]

I would stay away from the sis730 chipset for now. It is not as stable as the i810 chipset so the on board components are not as solid, plus they take away from CPU performace (Durons).

[jl123]

Wow thanks for the replys guys. http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif Yeah I guess your right on the motherboard. The Microstar is much better motherboard than the FIC. I have a friend with the FIC motherboard and it works fine for him. I'll talk to them to see what they want. I'll get back with ya.

Thanks,
~Joel