Bargain Computer for Sims 2 & schoolwork?

[Caly]

Hi, what would you guys suggest if I was going to build this machine from
monarchcomputer.com parts?

Would something like this do?
AMD Athlon 64/FX (939)
Case: 100524 - No PS - Aerocool JetMaster Jr Mid Tower A $69.00
Power Supply: 100916 - PS 350W - SPI Sparkle FSP350-60BN 350 Wat $43.00
Case Fan: 100873 - 80mm - Antec 80mm Quiet Case Fan $15.99
Motherboard: 110228 - MSI K8N Neo2 Platinum Audio/GB-LAN/USB/IE $139.00
Processor: 120421 - AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 512K 90nm (939) $140.00
Heatsink Fan: 130129 - Thermaltake A1838 AMD Opteron/Athlon 64 H $25.00
Thermal Grease: 800018 - Shin-Etsu G675 Thermal Grease $14.00 
Memory: 140915 - DDR (400) 3200 - 512 MB Corsair $119.00

Or should I just be getting a Dell pre-made?
Or something from Compaq/Hewlett-Packard?

She just wants to play Sims 2, listen to music, surf the web, and do papers for school.
I'd love to keep this around 600$.

Thanks!

 

[tdawg]

Don't forget the graphics card. I'd go after either of the mid-level, current-generation cards from ATI or NVIDIA.

Also, check out Newegg for a couple of decent looking cases with 350W+ power supplies included for $70 or less shipped.

Motherboard-wise, you may also want to look at the ABIT A8V or whatever it's called; it's cheaper than the MSI.

You could probably get away with cheaper ram. Some of the Cas 2.5 2x256 kits from Corsair and Kingston are selling at Newegg and Zipzoomfly for about $80.

You could also probably cut the extra case fan out to save a couple of bucks.

 

[TimboAA]

I'd go with a socket 754 Athlon if it's just for school & Sim's 2.

Socket 939 is a little more expensie...and if you're on a budget...I'd stay away from it unless you think she really needs it.

You could easily knock off $30 if you used the socket 754...even more if you went socket A

 

[MrCodeDude]

I like how you say bargain and Athlon 64 FX

While I agree to stay away from Semprons, Durons, etc. Go with Socket 754 cause it's cheaper and if it is for your sister, there will be no difference to her. You can also cut expenses by losing that mobo, $140 mobo for a budget system. Why get a feature-full mobo when the user will not take advantage of it?

I'd go Socket 754 and get an A64 3000+ or 3200+ and pair it with the stable (and still feature-full) Epox 8KDA3J.

 

[TimboAA]

Edited: Sorry, double post.

 

[mechBgon]

My little sister plays Sims 2 on an AthlonXP 1800+ with 512MB of RAM and a Radeon 7000, and she is enjoying that, so it looks like you're well beyond the minimums If it were me, I would get an Antec Sonata with its quiet-running 380W PSU and 120mm rear exhaust, and a Seagate 7200.7 ATA/100 hard drive (also pretty quiet), and a retail-boxed Athlon64 with its own heatsink/fan included. For a motherboard I would lean towards an Asus K8N and get one or two 512MB Corsair PC3200 ValueSelect modules for it, depending on the budget. If she'll have a roommate at school, quietness will be a good idea.

As part of the plan, can I suggest getting a router to provide a perimeter firewall, and some current-generation antivirus software. And if you want some further security ideas, there are some under the Ongoing prevention header here. I see a lot of people getting spyware and junk nowdays, and it is so preventible (unless they are deliberately installing it out of ignorance, in which case they need some edumacation ).

The security suggestions are going to pay off especially if someone else uses her computer when she's not watching. If you get her properly set up with a Limited-class account and lock down the Administrator-class account, then no one's going to come along and install junk behind her back.

 

[Caly]

Thanks guys.