Barebones <$300 Advice?

[LeetestUnleet]

The lower price the better, but <$300 is the goal (which should be more than enough). It's a Win98 machine that will be used for internet and photo sharing... he's a stereotypical "elderly" computer user.

All I need is the mobo/CPU/RAM. It's just a barebones upgrade, so he already has the HDD, PSU, Floppy, Optical drives, case, etc. Mobo should have onboard sound and video.

This is what I have selected, but it may be a little overkill for what he needs... I have no experience with Sempron processors, though... is it just worth it to push out a little extra for a Barton? Thoughts on components below?

Crucial 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700 - OEM $55
ASUS "A7N8X-VM/400" nForce2 IGP Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL $78
AMD Sempron 2200+ 1.5GHz, 512KB L2 Cache Processor - Retail $54

Total shipped:
$190

 

[ScrapSilicon]

if using onboard video a pr 0f 256mb sticks helps..gl

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Hrm... I'll consider a pair of 2x256, but I must admit your post was a little hard to understand the first few reads 😛

 

[MercenaryForHire]

Dude, get him a Dell. Should be ~$300 for a full machine.

- M4H

 

[Tostada]

I think what he is alluding to is the fact that the integrated video on NF2 boards sometimes gets a little flaky if you don't have your memory running dual-channel.

There's nothing wrong with a Sempron for that system. If you use 512MB, the weakest link is definitely going to be your used hard drive.

ASUS boards are almost always a good choice, but given the track record of Biostar's NF2 IGP board, there's no reason not to be saving another $14:
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...description=13-138-234

Also, the price of that RAM is a little crazy. Nothing wrong with this:
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...description=20-141-302

 

[LeetestUnleet]

K, new specs:

BIOSTAR "M7NCG 400" nForce2 IGP Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL - $61.90
AMD Sempron 2200+ 1.5GHz, 512KB L2 Cache Processor - Retail - $54.00
2x Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700 - $82.50

+shipping: $15.45

Total: $213.85

Only slightly more than my original quote, only it's double the RAM and a different mobo... any other changes?

 

[piasabird]

I think there are new Semprons coming out in January both for XP and for Athlon 64.

 

[Lyfer]

www.aolpc.com.


Not only he will get a fully decked out 2GHZ celery, but a printer AND 17inch phillips monitor.🙂

 

[LeetestUnleet]

Heh, $300 for a complete system if you sign up with 1 year of AOL service... they must be getting desperate 😉 He's already in a contract with Verizon DSL, though.