Any way to make this computer cheaper without sacrificing too much performance?

[TripleJ]

*UPDATED DOWN THREAD*


These are in Australian $ so halve the prices to convert into US $ if you want.


CPU: AMD Duron 1000MHz $155
Heat Sink/Fan: GlobalWIN FOP32 $35
Motherboard: MSI K7T266 Pro2 KT266A $269
RAM: 256MB DDR SDRAM $109
Video Card: 64MB Geforce2 MX 400 with video out $139
Monitor: 17" ADI M700 $289
Hard Disk Drive: Quantum AS 30GB, 7200rpm $219
Case: Aopen KF45B midi tower (PSU: FSP 300-60BT) $100
CDRW: Ricoh 7163 16x10x32 2MB JustLink/Nero $199
DVD-ROM: Samsung 16x $129
Sound Card: Onboard $-
Speakers: Generic $40
Keyboard: MS Internet keyboard $35
Mouse: MS IntelliMouse $35
Floppy Disk Drive: Sony $30
Modem: Netcomm PCI internal 56k modem $45

Operating System: MS Windows XP Home Edition $225
Basic Applications: MS Office XP SBE(Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher) $399
Norton Antivirus $77

Total: $2,529


These are basically the best prices available. I'm trying to make sure it is quite easily upgradable in the future but with intial outlay at a minimum.

Any suggestion would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[blstriker]

It looks pretty good. If you want to shave a few dollars, maybe a ECS K7S5A will work for you. It's about $60 US and has onboard LAN.

 

[sohcrates]

<< It looks pretty good. If you want to shave a few dollars, maybe a ECS K7S5A will work for you. It's about $60 US and has onboard LAN. >>



yeah, i was thinking that too

 

[Adul]

dont bother with then ecs MB. Enough people have had problems and ECS isn't really somethng I would subject a user to use. looks pretty good, thought I would check on whether the fop32 will work ok ona duron.

 

[TripleJ]

Thanks guys.
I was thinking about the ECS mobo but I've heard about a few probs with them and the computer is for my brother so I don't wanna get a flakey.

I've got an FOP32 on my Duron 800MHz and it runs good. The apparent 20% heat reduction with the Morgan core should help. I've seen people use them on 1.33GHz Athlons!


What about an N-Force? Mobo-and-vidcard-in-one would save me at least AU$40. Haven't really heard any feedback about them.

 

[Budman]

FOP-32's not a problem,i run 1 on my T-bird 1.4ghz & it's doing great.

 

[TripleJ]

Thanks for the confirmation Bud.

 

[GoldenTiger]

Don't make your whole system be gouged on performance with a GF2MX... spend the extra $10 US and get a GTS-based card. It will be *much* faster...

N-force based boards are very good if you can live with the low-end video performance . The top-notch sound, speedy memory controller, and a low entry cost make for a very nice board.

 

[TripleJ]

Will the video card performance be that important? I doubt very much my bro playing games on it. He said he'd mainly use it for word processing, excel etc and maybe MP3's. And I can only find GTS's that cost AU$269(US$134).

Thanks for the input.

Any more on the N-Force?

 

[DSTA]

Basic Applications: MS Office XP SBE(Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher) $399

Save those $399 and get Star Office from Sun.

 

[TripleJ]

Thanks DSTA, I'll have a look into it. As long as it's similar to MS Office it might be good. Don't want too much of a change. I've never been a big fan of Office, but it's basically the only thing I've known.

 

[Sp3nce]

Warez?

 

[TripleJ]

Warez isn't an option.

 

[DSTA]

Thanks DSTA, I'll have a look into it. As long as it's similar to MS Office it might be good. Don't want too much of a change. I've never been a big fan of Office, but it's basically the only thing I've known.

Same for me really. I've tried SO about once a year since version 3.0 or earlier, and I found it either too unstable, confusing, incompatible or all at once compared to the MS-Office flavour of the year.

But with the 6.0 Beta (don't let the "beta" scare you, no crashes here so far) things are looking good. SO likes a lot of memory though - but with the 256 Mbytes RAM you'll be fine.

 

[Alex]

J:

dude like get an epox mobo = cheaper and just as good, if not faster

WTF? $230 for 30gig 7200 quantum hd

yeah... now thats just dumb, no offence... 40gig ibm dstar 60gxp for $100 at newegg or 40gig wd 7200 drive for $90 at newegg....

 

[Alex]

ooooops!!!
MY BAD DUDE i overlooked the ozzy dollar thing...

well my prices are in usd...

 

[DN]

<< Don't make your whole system be gouged on performance with a GF2MX... spend the extra $10 US and get a GTS-based card. It will be *much* faster...

N-force based boards are very good if you can live with the low-end video performance . The top-notch sound, speedy memory controller, and a low entry cost make for a very nice board. >>



The above would be my only comment also.. Save a couple of extra dollars and get a better video card, otherwise it'll be a major bottleneck..

 

[TripleJ]

Thanks all. Just down to the choice of mobo and GPU.

The problem is that a GTS GPU costs twice as much as a MX. Crazy I know, but I can't do anything about it. I'll have a bit more of a look around but at twice the cost I'd say it wouldn't be worth it for mainly 2D operations.

Well, about 10 hours 'till we venture to the store so if you've any more info then come forward or forever hold your silence.

 

[Woody419]

<< Basic Applications: MS Office XP SBE(Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher) $399 >>


Microsoft is running a promo on MS Office XP for only $149US ($129US at Costco). This is for students and teachers, so buy a copy for your kids. Here is an article about it. Maybe the same deal is available on your island.

 

[TripleJ]

lol, my "island". I'll walk along the beaches and see what washes ashore.

Thanks, I'll see about that too.

 

[TripleJ]

I think I might go with the MSI K7N420 N-Force mobo. Is that a good board?

 

[wasamicron]

Why not a Shuttle Ak31? Low price & has good reviews. I had absolutely no probs setting this motherboard up. I had to Rma my ECS pos.

 

[TripleJ]

I don't think Shuttle has made it to Aus.

I went and bought nearly everything on the list, but made a few changes. I've got them to order in the MSI K7N420 N-Force mobo. I know the graphics aren't too good, a restricted GF2 MX, but he really doesn't need it, at least for now. In another half a year we can whack in a nice card.

CPU: AMD Duron 1000 $155
Heat Sink/Fan: Coolermaster EP5-6l11 $40
Motherboard: MSI K7N420 N-Force $~360
RAM: 256MB DDR SDRAM $99
Video Card: GF2 MX onboard $-
Monitor: 17" ADI M700 $289
Hard Disk Drive: Maxto Viper 40GB, 7200rpm $229
Case: Aopen KF45 midi tower (PSU: FSP 300-60BT) $115
CDRW: Ricoh MP7200A 20x10x40 2MB JustLink/Nero $239
DVD-ROM: Sony 16x $129
Sound Card: Onboard $-
Speakers: MS-697 $30
Keyboard: MS Internet keyboard $35
Mouse: MS IntelliMouse $35
Floppy Disk Drive: Sony $30
Modem: Netcomm PCI internal 56k modem $40

Operating System: MS Windows XP Home Edition $219
Basic Applications: MS Office XP SBE(Word, Excel, Outlook, Publisher) $399
Norton Antivirus 2002 $50

Total: $2493 (US$~1250)


If anybody has anything to say about the N-Force, had any probs etc, please let me know. It wont be 'till later this week that I'll be picking it up so I can still change my mind.
Thanks.

 

[duragezic]

You should get a Radeon LE instead if you can find one that is the same price because the 2d quality would be good and the 64mb on the MX is put to a waste so why pay for it.

 

[TripleJ]

nVidia seems to have taken this countries videa card market over. It is hard to find ATI cards and then they're overpriced.