Cheap computer: socket A/Sempron or 478/Celeron D

[swanky]

So, I guess some of you might recognize this situation:
Sister: ?Can you buuild me a computer??
Me: ?Mmm, what do you need it for??
Sister: ?Uh, email, office and stuff?
Me: ?How much money have you got??
Sister: ?Nothing. Well, a couple of hundred?
Me: ?I?ll see what I can do?

There you have it. One sister with little or no cash seeking new PC for ?Office and stuff?.

It gets more complicated. She wants it to be small as well. OK. Together we?ve narrowed it down a bit further, and I've got two setups to choose from:

1) Socket A, Sempron 3000+
This would be built around a Aopen Barebone XC Cube EX18 with integrated "Pretty-much-everything" and 512MB RAM

2) Socket 478, Intel Celeron D 340 (2.93 GHz)
These would go into an Asus Pundit-R together with 512MB RAM. VGA integrated on mobo.

I know neither Socket 478 or Socket A is "The way to go", but the key thing is that I can get the two different barebones "dirt cheap" here in Norway.

Upgradability means absolutely nothing, this computer will be replacing an 8 yo Celeron setup.

Does it really matter which one I choose? Price is almost identical. Like I said, this computer will not be used for gaming. Office, email, some basic Photoshop Elements, MP3, a DVD every once in a while (she's already got herself a Nec 17" LCD). That's it.

 

[Chode Messiah]

go amd they are better

 

[Appledrop]

The celly D 340 seems the better choice. Source.

 

[swanky]

Yes, the Celeron D actually seems to be half decent. And I'm pretty sure that my sister wouldn't notice difference.

 

[swanky]

Any other points of view from the evening crowd?

 

[DaveSimmons]

Get a cheap Dell with a legal copy of Windows XP and put OpenOffice on it. Small quiet case and you don't need to be hardware tech support. Plus you can have her use the restore CD when she trashes it with adware, spyware, etc.

(Edit) Oops, Norway, eh? Then either of the systems should be fine, I like intel chipsets so I'd probably pick the Celeron D.

 

[Zepper]

A like the Socket A choice - can't see spending more than necessary and Intel almost always loses the value race.

.bh.

 

[ts3433]

Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
Get a cheap Dell with a legal copy of Windows XP and put OpenOffice on it. Small quiet case and you don't need to be hardware tech support. Plus you can have her use the restore CD when she trashes it with adware, spyware, etc.

(Edit) Oops, Norway, eh? Then either of the systems should be fine, I like intel chipsets so I'd probably pick the Celeron D.

That sounds plausible; IIRC the way that Celeron D speed compares to SktA Sempron ratings would put the CelD a bit ahead. No use really debating this, though--toss a coin. However, a prebuilt's probably still a good option if you can find a decent one from a good manufacturer with okay support for a reasonable price; that way you don't have to act as tech support, as Dave said.

That OpenOffice suggestion is good for whatever you end up getting, too. If you don't already have Photoshop Elements, you can also take a look at The GIMP (GNU Image Manipulation Program--free, open-source).

 

[cubby1223]

Hefty "no" on the socket A/Sempron combo, the s754/Sempron 2600+ is a much better value, and a bit cheaper atleast here in the states.

 

[formulav8]

Definitely get the 754 Based Semprons. Do not get Celeron anything, and at this point I would not do Sempron Socket "A" either.

You can get retail 2600+ Semprons based on the A64 for $70-$80 almost everywhere now. Cheapo s754 fully integrated mobo's can be found for $55-$70.

The performance is very nice too

Edit: Also if it has to be between the 2.9ghz Celeron and Barton based 3000+ Sempron, I would definitely get the Sempron if it was me.



Jason

 

[Tostada]

It's funny how many people respond without reading/understanding the OP.

Given that you can get either system "dirt cheap," it certainly looks like the Intel is the way to go.

 

[Away]

I just built a system for someone with the barton based sempron and it works really well. That cpu is just a little slower than a 2800+ and I know the person I built the system for uses it to game. I'd definitely go with the sempy.

 

[Tostada]

All you guys saying the Semron is better ... are you disputing xbit's benchmarks?

 

[Away]

Yes I'm disputing their benchmarks.

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041221/cpu_charts-13.html

If you look through all the benchmarks I think you will see that they are alot closer together than Xbit led one to believe. Not bad for years old technology (the barton core) vs. Intel's latest and greatest (the prescott core).

 

[Tostada]

Originally posted by: Away
Yes I'm disputing their benchmarks.

http://www.tomshardware.com/cpu/20041221/cpu_charts-13.html

If you look through all the benchmarks I think you will see that they are alot closer together than Xbit led one to believe. Not bad for years old technology (the barton core) vs. Intel's latest and greatest (the prescott core).

Do you know how to read?

He's asking about the Sempron 3000 Barton vs. the Celeron D 2.93 Prescott. That benchmark you linked doesn't have the 2.93, but it shows that the Sempron 3000 Barton is slower overall than the Celeron D 2.8 Prescott.

 

[shoRunner]

yeah at that price point the celerons the way to go...and even though upgrading wasn't an issue. you always have the possiblity to upgrade to a 3.6p4 or so.

 

[RobCur]

In the end it is his decision what to get but if it were me
duron 1800 defnitely and overlock this sucker to 2050-2100mhz and you have a killer amd cpu at next to ntohing costing now only 42.00 vs xp2600 for 87.00
this requires a little mod btw, like changing the v core

 

[Zepper]

Oh, and the shoebox style barebones are usually full of proprietary parts so there is no upgrade path and replacement parts will be more expensive. If the Athenatech (may be sold under some other name) A100 series cases are available there, that's a good starting point for a compact system. Just make sure your mobo has the P4-12V (4-pin square) socket on it. Your computer will run better on the fairly puny PSU that comes with that type of case.

.bh.

 

[swanky]

I've been reading up a lot the last day, and it seems like the Celeron is a good choice. I'm a Mac man myself (don't shoot!), but my computer at work is a P4 2.4, and the fastest Celeron D's looks like they actually rival that CPU. Well, that is good enough for me.