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Build for a Good Friend and Student That is Poor

J

Jimbo

Platinum Member
His computer is on it's last legs and it has now actually cost him a lower grade in one class.

Unknown to him, I am going to build him a decent and reliable computer so he can now spend ALL of his money on Top Raman.

I have poked around Newegg until I am blue in the face, but I can't make it match the spare funds I have available to build this for him, that does not suck.
I already dumpster dived for the monitor and I had a spare keyboard and mouse to throw into the mix and a DVD burner. I also have a refurbed WD HDD (3rd gen Raptor) that WD returned to me under RMA, and two stray sticks of DDR2 667.

He needs a: quality MoBo, a chassis (micro or miniATX would be best), a CPU (that fits the motherboard) and some appropriate RAM. But if having the build use DDR2 makes too many sacrifices to old technology, then we will skip it.

Sooo... can we do the rest of this build for less than a $100?
What would it look like?

Can anyone please help him?

Things he needs:
Motherboard
Processor
Graphics card (any 4000 series Radeon would be pleanty)
Chassis
Power Supply - unless chassis has one
RAM
 
Your not going to be able to fit that all into $100, if you want/need discrete graphics.

I built some dual-core E5200/S775/DDR3/onboard video rigs for $208 + OS recently.

$100 is a bit too low IMHO.

If you have a Microcenter nearby, at one point they had an Athlon II X2 250 + DDR2 micro-ATX mobo for like $62 + tax.

Unsure if their bundles include a DDR2 mobo anymore, this was a year ago.

You could get a case+PSU for $30-35.

Foxconn A74ML-K AM2+/AM3 AMD 740G Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186188
$40

AMD Sempron 130 Sargas 2.6GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM3 45W Single-Core Desktop Processor SDX130HBK12GM - OEM
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103944
$30

Sentey Classic Series CS1-1398 Mid Tower Computer Case w/ Power Supply, SECC 0.5mm / 2x USB / 80mm Fan, ATX / MICRO ATX / ITX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811322034
$35

$105, and the mobo uses DDR2. CPU is OEM, so you would still need a heatsink, perhaps you could find an AMD heatsink for free?

Here's a heatsink/fan for $13, FS, on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMD-Socket-...342?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43a39288e6
 
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The FoxCon looks good as it has onboard video.
Not 4000 series, but good enough.

Thanks VirtualLarry!
This is very good.

I have no problem using used or refurbished hardware, as long as it all works.
 
Another agree. And, give yourself a gold star for doing something for someone less fortunate. I respect that!
 
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The TigerDirect $200 combo build was your best bet for a budget build. It now shows as as unavailable on the site, but they periodically refresh the components and re-offer it:

AMD quad core:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5233241&CatId=3508

AMD dual core:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=199666&SRCCODE=LINKSHARE&cm_mmc_o=-ddCjC1bELltzywCjC-d2CjCdwwp&AffiliateID=isIkAyUyNbM-Gjn9qRkBK_V4F5JCMPEOBQ

I'd go with Larry's build, as its always best to hand pick individual components, but you can get an idea of what you can get with the down and dirty quick builds too.
 
The San Diego "CraigsList" is reasonably active - it might be worth your time to scan it several times a day looking for a good deal on someone's replaced computer.

Art
 
OP, I need friends like you 😛. In all seriousness, I have an old 7900 GTX just sitting on my desk at home. If it will help, I will donate it to your cause. Its a beefy card though so you will have to find room for it in whatever you end up with.
 
If you're in San Diego, I have an extra ATX case sitting around. I would be more than willing to donate it to the cause.

The only downside is that I custom modded it for my ex, so it's painted red and black with Horde logos on it. But it's a nice Antec case at the core. (I think it was an Antec 300.)

If you're interested feel free to pm me.
 
T_Yamamoto said:
fs/t best bet. 100 bucks can go a LONG way there
Click to expand...

Another good idea, but keep in mind FS can be a crapshoot (with no warranties on most stuff) and it takes time to find each item on the list. I scan those forums on a daily basis and finding an AMD AM2(+) or S775 DC capable board these days is harder than you'd expect.

Don't let it deter you, just keep in mind its a virtual PC hardware flea market.

PS - I bought both an AMD AM2+ and Intel 775 board in AT:FS in the past two days, so ya better be quick ! :sneaky:
 
WT said:
Another good idea, but keep in mind FS can be a crapshoot (with no warranties on most stuff) and it takes time to find each item on the list. I scan those forums on a daily basis and finding an AMD AM2(+) or S775 DC capable board these days is harder than you'd expect.

Don't let it deter you, just keep in mind its a virtual PC hardware flea market.

PS - I bought both an AMD AM2+ and Intel 775 board in AT:FS in the past two days, so ya better be quick ! :sneaky:
Click to expand...

click the refresh button every 5 minutes
 
I want to thank everyone for their help on this one.
One of my neighbors found out about my plan, so he he gave me a few hundred dollars and now my friend is the happy new owner of a decent rig and printer!
I would have posted this earlier but I was on my way out of the country to go to England for almost month.

Thank you everyone!
 
This

Wish List:
Qty. Product Description Savings Total Price
1 HP Deskjet 1000 J110A CH340A#B1H ISO Mono Print Speed (ppm): 5.5 4800 x 1200 dpi InkJet Color Printer
Item #: N82E16828115821
Return Policy:*Standard Return Policy -$40.00* Instant
$69.99
$29.99
1 Intel Core 2 Duo E6550 Conroe 2.33GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Desktop Processor E6550-R
Item #: N82E16819116419
Return Policy:*Limited Replacement Only Return Policy -$50.00* Instant
$129.99
$79.99
1 APEX MI-008 Black Steel Mini-ITX Tower Computer Case 250W Power Supply
Item #: N82E16811154091
Return Policy:*Standard Return Policy -$6.00* Instant
$55.99
$49.99
1 Rosewill RCX-Z90-AL 92mm Sleeve CPU Cooler
Item #: N82E16835200054
 
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The mobo and the ram and the dvdburner I already had, and they worked fine, so off they went to their new home!
 
Jimbo said:
The mobo and the ram and the dvdburner I already had, and they worked fine, so off they went to their new home!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I was about to ask "you paid $80 for a Conroe??" If you already have a mobo though, I suppose it could make sense.
 
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