Need help building new PC, please help me...

[edwelly]

OK, I know this question has been asked before but I really need some expert help here. I need to build a system to support Windows 2000 Advance Server for my home use. I am studying for my MCSE and need to put server on a PC. I read M$ site and they say, 133 Mhz, 128 MB ram and 2 GB of hard drive space in the bare minimum. I figure I should do with a 500 Mhz, 256MB and 10 GB drive. I already have a mini tower case, power supply, CD-ROM and Floppy. So what should I look for in the way of a mobo, hard drive and ram? I want to go as cheap as possible. Money is real tight right now. And no, I have never built a system before so keep that in mind. You guys/gals are the greatest!!! Thanks for the help…… http://www.sysopt.com/forum/smile.gif
---erik

[Apostle 83]

I'm not going to pretend to be an expert-I just put together my first computer from scratch less than two weeks ago.

But I will tell you that you don't need to worry, just check and make sure your processor and mobo have the same connection before you buy them, etc. Everything is standard, and it's a lot easier than you're thinking right now.

But my main reason for posting is that you seem to be forgetting about a grfx card. I'd say for this you'd do nicely with just an old ATI Rage Fury, and I'd go ahead and go with a 32meg.

Also, if you're looking to go cheap, Price Watch (http://www.pricewatch.com) has a used section on their board that online vendors post things to. Look around there, and you should find a good deal, unless you can find a better one in the user to user forum.

-Apostle

[daverme]

If you want REALLY cheap, go with a Socket 7 mobo and an AMD 500 MHz K6-2 processor. TCCOMPUTERS has two Soyo boards, one an AT and one an ATX; the AT is $76 and the ATX is $71. MemoryMan has the CPU for a startling $38. MemoryMan also has good prices on hard drives. If it were me, I'd go with a 20 Gig drive, just in case you decide to get serious about sharing files. However, the difference is about $20 - MemMan has a 5400 RPM 10 Gig Seagate for $74. Memory is dirt cheap everywhere these days (or so it seems to me). TCCOMPUTERS also has an Aopen PA3200 VGA card for $40. It's based on the nVidia Riva TVT2 chip. I have a couple of cards using that chip and they all work fine, and were no hassle to install (no compatability issues).

Have fun!

[edwelly]

Ahh yes, Apostle 83, you are a wise one. Thanks for the help. But how good is Pricewatch? Some of that stuff seems to good to be true…
---erik

[edwelly]

Thanks for the reply daverme… What did your guys systems costs? Not trying to be personal, just trying to get an idea. And thanks again!
---erik

[Apostle 83]

Pricewatch.com and pricescan.com are two legitimate sites, ask anyone who's been around long enough.

My system? I'm just a poor high school student that buys and sells what he can. When I got it it cost me about 1600 to put together, now it's worth maybe 500, without my monitor.

[daverme]

The cost depends on how many toys you want in it, and whether you buy "top of the line" of just something that works, or if you buy used or new. You can get everything you want on eBay. You can also buy a BRAND NEW HP system at Office Depot for $700 (without the monitor, of course) that will exceed your requirements.

The last time I priced a system was December of last year and the total (including monitor) was a scosh over $1K. This is from a spread sheet I did at the time:

Case $60
Motherboard $70 Jaton J993AN
Processor $110 P-III 450 Mhz
Cooling fan $15
Memory $20 32MB
Hard drive $100 10.2GB WD
Floppy drive $17
CD-ROM drive $50 Toshiba 48X
Video card $60 Daytona TNT2 16MB
Sound card $50 SB Live!
Speakers $60
Modem $130
Monitor $250
Keyboard $25
Mouse $50

Total cost $1,067

If you leave stuff out, like sound (do you need sound on a server?) and the modem and get the cheapest monitor you can (maybe used), you can get the price down. You will need more memory and a network card but CPU prices and memory prices have dropped so that will be a trade-odd.

Once again, good luck.

[DemonKnight]

A 750Mhz duron is only 34$ from newegg.com a cheap socket A motherboard and some PC-100/133RAM add in a 10-20gig HDD and an older video card. I've got an ati Xpert 2000 with 32megs of RAM from price watch for like 47 total I think.

[Goldwingnut]

Edwelly - you seem to misunderstand Pricewatch.

Pricewatch is a forum for sellers. You don't get stuff from Pricewatch, you find vendors through Pricewatch. It directs you to people who list with them.

You type in what you want. It tells you where to get it. If you are looking for a Canon N1220U, and one source is cheaper than another - it's the same scanner.

Then you go to
http://www.resellerratings.com

and see what other users have to say about a vendor. I look for at least 35 ratings of a vendor, and a score above 5.6 out of a possible 7. No problems yet.

I have used
www.jazztechnolgy.com (http://www.jazztechnolgy.com)
www.krexdirect.com (http://www.krexdirect.com)
www.mwave.com (http://www.mwave.com)
www.voltexcomputers.com (http://www.voltexcomputers.com)


With no problems. I found them all through Pricewatch.

I also found good prices at
www.teamexcess.com (http://www.teamexcess.com)
www.shentech.com (http://www.shentech.com)


but I haven't bought anything from either, yet.

[This message has been edited by Goldwingnut (edited 07-28-2001).]

[Scorpio69]

Pricewatch is definitely okay. Don't forget to calculate shipping costs. If you are buying different parts from different sellers, those shipping costs can add up quickly. This negates the whole purpose of shopping around for price.

I have had some problems with a couple of advertisers on pricewatch (certainly not the fault of pricewatch.) If you complain about this, they will help to resolve the dispute.

Definitely compare websites. A company with a quality web site (usually) will give you quality service. It's not worth saving a couple of bucks to get the run-around treatment.

[edwelly]

I just wanted to say thanks to everybody that posted. I really appreciate your help. However, I bought a used PC this weekend. I got an older style ATX, with a 3GB drive, 256MB and 233Mhz processor for $200.00. It has all of the drives and cards that I will need. I wish it wasn't ATX but hey, $200.00.
Thanks again...
---erik

[Axel]

Why don't you wan ATX?

First thing I'd do to that system is replace the hard drive with a Quantum Fireball 20GB drive - ATA66 or 100 - 7200 RPM with a 2MB on-board cache - That will drastically speed up your system and allow you to expand the swap file space for the operating system -

You can get one of those for about $120.00 new - you might be able to find a used 10GB HD for around $80.

[edwelly]

I think I have gotten my ATX and AT mixed up. It is an AT. It has the huge mouse plug and stuff. I have never been accused of being extremely smart.
AXLE: can I still do what you suggested or will I need use a different hard drive?
---edwelly

[This message has been edited by edwelly (edited 07-30-2001).]