Critique Budget System please ;)

[Red]

AN35N motherboard retail, $52 (newegg)
AMD Sempron 2200+ retail, $60 (newegg)
Ti4200 128mb $60 shipped, used (for sale/trade)
40gb $34 shipped, used (for sale/trade)
$55-$65 for 2 x 256, used (for sale/trade)
Apex Case (PSU) $35 shipped, retail (newegg)

Total: $301

missing? CD drive and floppy drive. Can reuse parts from old PC my friend is replacing. He is trying to build a tower decent enough to play modern games (Roller Coaster Tycoon 3) at lower resolutions. This was the best I could do for $300 I think. One thing I wasn't sure about was the Sempron 2200+. Not sure if I should go that route or go for an Athlon 2000+ (Tbred B?) and overclock it from 266 FSB to 333 to get 2800+ performance.

Your thoughts?

 

[Regs]

I believe the Sempron 2400 is available at zipzoomfly for 61.00 I believe. ZipZoomFlyI just think you are really limiting yourself by not spending a extra 20 dollars for a 2500 Barton.

I would also get the CaseEdge TS1 Mid Tower case for 45 dollars that comes with 300 watt PSU or the Aspire ATXB2KL for 52 dollars that comes with a 350 watt psu.

What type of Ram did you pick up for your CPU/Mobo?

Edit: Because if you are only getting PC2100 Ram you're not going to be able to overclock it. Plus when you add in the cheap case, PSU, and stock HSF unit , you may come across a little more difficulty holding the Tbred stable.

 

[Red]

Nothing yet, Regs, but I scanned FS/FT and it looks like I can pickup 2 x 256 of PC2700 for roughly $55-65 shipped. Another question I had was about the CPU and cooling. Most of these super cheap cases have no fans so that's why I know for sure I'm not going to overclock. Will all the CPUs mentioned so far (Sempron 2400+, Barton 2500+) operate ok in a case with no fans (besides the PSU fan) ? Thanks Regs.

 

[Regs]

The cases I listed above have at least 1 exhaust fan, and I wouldn't even bother buying a case that doesnt come with at least one fan. Even cheepo' cases should come with at least one exhaust fan, and if you wanted to add more air flow later you can just stick in a 20 dollar 35dba fan in front for intake.

Sites like Newegg will list if the case includes a fan in the product description. If it doesn't come with a fan, don't buy it.

I use to run a Athlon XP 1800 in one of those cases with temps around 55c-65c during load perfectly stable. The operational tempature for most AMDs go up to 85c. Not exactly a recommended temp., but Tbreds and other Socket A AMD's were made to run hot.