Building a new computer

[sarotara]

I'm building a new computer for a family with several young (7-9 year old) kids. The computer will be used by the kids mostly for things like web browsing, kids' games, some word-processing, etc. The only catch is that the price has to be in the low $400s (the lower the better), which does present a slight problem... Anyway, here is what I came up with.

AMD Sempron 3000+ Palermo 400MHz FSB Socket 754 - $95.00
EPoX EP-8KDA3J Socket 754 NVIDIA nForce3 250Gb - $68.99
Corsair ValueSelect 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM - $42.50
MSI RX9550-TD128 Radeon 9550 128MB - $61.00
NEC DVD Burner Model ND-3520A - $47.00
Hitachi Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 80GB Hard Drive - $60.00
Antec SLK1650B w/350W PSU - $55.00

Please let me know what you think of the above build.

 

[mettleh3d]

You're gonna need a monitor and a kb/mouse too =]

 

[cpals]

I'd say go with one of the Dell deals they have a couple times a month... $300-$400 and a lot of times come with monitors! Check out the Hot Deals area.

 

[sarotara]

They're providing the monitor, mouse, and keyboard.

 

[sarotara]

Also, as far as the OS goes, I'll install Linux.

 

[shud]

Linux for the kids? You sure you want to expose them to command lines this early?

Just kidding. I assume you're installing a GUI over it.

 

[KayKay]

looks good to me

 

[DanDaMan315]

Got for a A64 2800 versus the Sempron 3000, $20 will be worth the upgrade.

 

[The Pentium Guy]

Originally posted by: DanDaMan315
Got for a A64 2800 versus the Sempron 3000, $20 will be worth the upgrade.

 

[boomerang]

ASRock Socket A w/ OB Video

Sempron 2400+

Rosewill 512MB PC2700

Seagate 40GB

LG DVD-ROM

Athenatech Case w/300W PS

XP Home

$349.08

Kids games = O/B Video
Smaller than 40GB HD would suffice if available.
DVD Burner for pre-teens?
I've built a lot of machines with the Athenatech cases.
Linux? I hope you're kidding.

Just my opinion, flame if desired.

 

[sarotara]

MS Windows doesn't exactly come free and I rather spend the money on hardware. Besides, I intend to set up Linux in a way so that the kids don't do too much damage. I don't intend to expose them to a command prompt

I think spending an additional $6 for an extra 40GB of hard drive space is definitely worth it. The burner is mainly due to the kids' college-age step-sister who is occasionally home. The on-board video suggestion is a very valid point though.

 

[t3h l337 n3wb]

Yeah, I would go with onboard video. Other than that, everything looks great.