Basic system recomendations please

[StrangeRanger]

Hey ya'll,
I haven't been tracking hardware much lately and my father has asked for advice in building up a new system for him and my mother. They do not want or need a blazing system. All they really do is email the grand kids and a little surfing.
I was thinking, and I'm looking for ideas for like a stable main board with on board sound, video and usb. They don't even need a LAN connection so it doesn't matter if it's there or not. I was thinking like a decent little stable PIII 800 system or something.
Any ideas or suggestions greatly appreciated. Thanks,
j

 

[Smilin]

I would take Anands latest recommendation for a value gaming system (did through the articles it's about a month old). Start with that system and then drop down to a cheaper video card and you should be set.

 

[dbwillis]

Well for simple emails and surfing.....this is what my mom used for a while..before I made it my server

Biostar M6VLQ (onboard Video, Lan, sound)
Celeron 1.0a
256mb PC133
AOpen case w/250 watt PS
Nice, stable, cheap PC for $200 or so

 

[miken]

ECS K7S5A $55
256M Crucial PC133 $35
Athlon XP 1600+ $60
GF MX video card $60
20G Maxtor/Seagate 5400 rpm $60
use onboard sound/LAN/usb 1.1 $0
Cheap case $35
330W+ power supply $35
KB/Mouse $25
floppy $10
17" monitor $100
CD-ROM $30

 

[Ilmater]

Here's an idea:

FOXCONN SUPER CASE MID TOWER CASE w/ AMD Listed 300W Power Supply
AOPEN CD-956 56x CDROM - RETAIL
Arctic Silver 3
COOLER MASTER DP5-6I11A CPU HEAT SINK
SONY 1.44MB 3.5 INCH INTERNAL FDD DRIVE
KB-2000 107-KEY WIN98 PS/2 KEYBOARD
Crucial 256MB 32Meg x 64 PC133 SDRAM
Futura LDF770 17" CRT Monitor True flat screen - Retail
ECS K7S5A SiS® 735 SOCKET A MOTHERBOARD - RETAIL
Logitech S48 Wheel Mouse - PS/2 OEM
AMD Athlon 1600+/266 FSB XP Processor CPU OEM
ATI OEM RADEON 7500 64MB SDR DVI/CRT/TV BULK

$394.48 Subtotal
69.77 Shipping
----------
$464.25 Total

For speakers, either get the:
180Watts PMPO Computer Stereo Speakers Model EP-691 ($7.99 shipped)
or, if your dad's like mine and would be pissed if you skimped here, get the incredible
Logitech Z-340 3 Piece Speaker System ($46.00 shipped)

Need a modem?
Diamond Supra SST 56K V.92 PCI Modem - OEM ($19.00 shipped)

So, if you want crappy speakers and a modem, the total comes to $491.24. Not too shabby if I do say so myself.

The only other thing you need is a hard drive (I knew I was missing something), and newegg isn't cooperating right now, so you'll have to pick one out for yourself. I don't think it will matter what you get, just get some name brand hard drive spinning at 5400 RPM at the size you want and add it on. Hope that helps.

EDIT: Wouldn't you know it, Newegg started working right after I posted this. The cheapest hard drive they have is this:
MAXTOR 40.0GB 5400RPM Model # 4D040H2 -D540X OEM ($63 shipped)

That brings the whole system to $554.24 shipped with crappy speakers and modem.

 

[EKAtBzboyz]

how about nforce 1, duron, and some ram
it has pretty much everything onboard