Buying a computer for son, please help with low cost suggestions:)

[Noob10]

I have a 15 year old son. He's never had a computer before. He likes video games, and I'd like to get him a computer that won't break the bank. I want his computer to be able to play the latest video games, but not necesarrily at the highest video settings. He will mainly be playing games and browsing the web for video game cheat codes And the cheaper the better. We already have a monitor he can use. So we'd like to keep the cost in the 300-400 range. I've assembled many computers before, so that's not a problem. I just haven't kept up with the computer market, so I don't know what's a bargain, what's worked for others, etc. That seems like a job in itself. I've tried reading the Anand guides, but there's an assumption there of some knowledge of the current market, which I don't have because I'm so busy with my job.

So any advice here would be well appreciated. The main things I assume I have to worry about are the motherboard/processor/graphics card. Thanks.

 

[jimbob200521]

welcome to the forums

building a computer for 300-400 that will play all of todays games is gonna be tricky. i would say no less than 1gb of ram, which can be had for 80 (corsair value select) the mobo and cpu i wont comment on, ill leave that to more knowledgable others. as for graphics, id say a 6600gt would be suitable for todays games, those can be had for under 150. if you get those two things i suggested, that leaves you with about 230 to spend on cpu/mobo/case/psu/hard drive/optical. (assuming you spend 400)

edit: this thread may help you

http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=27&threadid=1751453&enterthread=y

 

[Porter21]

What I did when I was looking for something low-cost about a yr or so ago, which is still a great deal now was I bought a 2500 mobile from newegg. Not sure if they still sell them their. I overclocked it to 2.4ghz. Running with a volcano 12, the temps stay stable. I bought a cheap dvd burner off of someone on the forums. Purchased 2 sticks of 512mb crucial RAM pc3200 which has dropped in price significantly. Stick in a mid-range video card. I have a 9800pro, which is still about mid-range or so. I can run Counter-Strike source very well at all high as well as COD 2 at almost all high-med. Just downloaded Need for Speed Most Wanted last night, ran amazing with all high textures, AA halfway. Purchase a cheaper case, from either a local store or off the internet. I prefer newegg.com without a doubt for all computer purchases. Get at least a 350watt powersupply, preferably name-brand. Many cases come with psus already. Then buy a cheap harddrive. I would chose a western digital or a seagate, probably aobut an 80gb or more. I have a raptor, wd special edition, and a seagate running at once. As far as mb's. I have an nf7-s from abit, not sure if they're still selling and it is amazing. OC's very well and has sata connections for my raptor as well as im running my RAM in dual-channel. Not sure on cost of all that but it wouldn't be too bad. The only thing is the fact of o'cing and the possibly of frying cpu. But i can always buy a new one.

 

[Lasthitlarry]

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp...s/hp_pavilion&storeName=computer_store

or that link mentioned in the post above

 

[mrmann14]

MSI K8N Neo4-F ATX AMD Motherboard
$81
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
$166
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
SDRAM</a>
$73
HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 80GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$54
XFX Geforce 6600GT PVT43GNDF3 Video Card - Retail
$119

That there is still over $450, but I guess you get get a sempron 64bit, 512mb memory if you want to save money. It was harder than I thought it would be

 

[unfalliblekrutch]

~200 to 300 dollar emachines/hp/dell on sale with amd processor(because many budget intel OEM mobos dont have agp/pci-e slots) and 1gb ram.
~100-200 dollar video card.

 

[Hacp]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138266

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819104245

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820227039

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814150098

There. Should be 120+60+75+71

326. Get a cheap case with power supply included. ( try fs/ft here http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=45&threadid=1738339&enterthread=y ) and maybe cheap HD/DVD/CDRW combo.

 

[keeleysam]

Foxconn NF4K8AC-RS-1.0 ATX AMD Motherboard
$65
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ 1GHz FSB Socket 939 Processor
$135
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
SDRAM</a>
$73
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - OEM
$54
XFX Geforce 6600GT PVT43GNDF3 Video Card - Retail
$119


$446, but you get pretty high performance.

 

[mrmann14]

I'll try again... This time it's under $400

MSI K8T Neo-V ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Processor
$54
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor
$87
HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 80GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$54
CHAINTECH Geforce 6600GT SA6600G Video Card - Retail
$119
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
SDRAM</a>
$73

 

[keeleysam]

Originally posted by: mrmann14
I'll try again... This time it's under $400

MSI K8T Neo-V ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Processor
$54
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor
$87
HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 80GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$54
CHAINTECH Geforce 6600GT SA6600G Video Card - Retail
$119
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
SDRAM</a>
$73

$413

 

[thecrecarc]

Originally posted by: keeleysam

Originally posted by: mrmann14
I'll try again... This time it's under $400

MSI K8T Neo-V ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Processor
$54
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor
$87
HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 80GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$54
CHAINTECH Geforce 6600GT SA6600G Video Card - Retail
$119
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
SDRAM</a>
$73

$413

pwned

 

[leigh6]

Originally posted by: thecrecarc

Originally posted by: keeleysam

Originally posted by: mrmann14
I'll try again... This time it's under $400

MSI K8T Neo-V ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail Processor
$54
AMD Sempron 64 3000+ 800MHz FSB Socket 754 Processor
$87
HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 80GB 3.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
$54
CHAINTECH Geforce 6600GT SA6600G Video Card - Retail
$119
<a target=_blank class=ftalternatingbarlinklarge href="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145440">CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB (2 x 512MB) 184-Pin DDR
SDRAM</a>
$73

$413

pwned

Hmmm. And what operating system is going to run this?