budget system help

[VH]

budget system

Building a budget system for the inlaws. I'm looking at the Asus A7N266-VMAA motherboard due to built in sound, video, and lan. First of all, any bad experiences with this board? It is a Micro ATX board and goes for $64 free shipping. Also considering Athalon XP1800,$57 retail, 256mb Crucial pc2100 DDR, $44, Foxconn Mid tower 350W, $25 + $15 ship. Lastly W/D 40gb hard drive $63.50. Any thoughts on compatability? I've seen references to the MSI K7N2G-L referb @ $59, but am concerned about missing install CD for setup, and It doesn't list onboard video as a feature. Thanks

 

[mechBgon]

The A7N266-VM/AA makes a great budget board. Here's some owner testimonials, and I did a brain dump here with my info on the board: thread I use one at home, and maintain a couple dozen of them at work.

I recommend getting a high-quality case and power supply, not the Foxconn. Maybe an Enlight 7237 with an Enlight 300W or higher PSU. I'd go with an Antec SLK3700AMB, which has the Antec SL350 power supply and a 120mm cooling fan in the rear, if you don't mind a case with a door over the drives. It would look nice with black drives. If you don't want a door over the drives, the Antec SX635IIB is another one to look at (black case, use black drives).

The rest is good, Crucial PC2100 is what our A7N266-VM's use and they like it

 

[optimistic]

There's another chipset you might want to consider. Though not as mature as the nforce1, VIA has been making quality chipsets for a long time. The Abit VA-10 uses the KM400 chipset and is going for $53 (bundle) at www.mwave.com.

Notable differences between the KM400 and the nforce1:

- 333fsb CPU support
- DDR 400 compatible
- USB 2.0 instead of 1.1 with the nforce1.

- Both provide onboard video/sound/lan.

And if you live by a Fry's Electronics, you can pick up one of their 80GB Hitachis for $65 or their 60GB Hitachi for $50.
It was on sale last week. Should go on sale again. But if the inlaws will be using dialup, the 40GB should be fine.

 

[fell8]

I use that MB/CPU combo as the heart of my portable rig, and they have proven to be the most stable, trouble-free PC I have built to date. I used the Aopen H340D case with zero problem (in both set-up and with the 200W PS), and as an added bonus , it's Dell-quiet (to use popular parlance).

Going retail with the CPU is also a good decision as you get the HS/F and 3-year warranty for an extra $5-10. I would suggest a bigger HDD as you can double the capacity for around $20 and it's easy to fill rather quickly (the 80 in my box is already 3/4 full). Memory should not be a big issue as mine has liked everything thrown at it.

All in all your in-laws should be getting a solid, reliable (if not ultra-powerful) rig they'll enjoy for a long time. Good luck!

 

[VH]

Thanks for the input. I'll check into the other cases.