Help Me Build a Base Computer

[DrumminBoy]

I'm going to build a base computer that i can add to/upgrade this summer. I'd like the whole thing to cost around $ 350 w/o s&h from NewEgg.

What I've Decided on already:

Maxtop Case w/ 350 Watt - 49$
Pioneer 106S - 48$
Linksys NIC - 15$
256mb Kingston ValueRAM DDR - 65$

What I need:

AMD Processor around 1 ghz (Retail)
Mobo w/ onboard video and sound
40 GB 7200 HDD
2 80 mm fans

Any suggestions would help!

 

[Jizzler]

MSI K7N420 Pro

Can't beat the onboard video and audio of an nForce board!

Also comes with onboard nForce 10/100 Ethernet.

 

[StattlichPassat]

I second going with an MSI nForce board- they're awesome and unbeatable for features/quality/price. Don't get the ASUS nForce, as it uses a craptastic Realtek 10/100 chipset. Anyhoo...

Go for a 1GHz Athlon- you'll just be that much happier.
Western Digital for that hard drive
I like Enermax 80mm fans.

You can get all of the above at excellent prices at NewEgg.com- I think the MSI nForce is $125 (make sure you get the one WITH on-board video), WD hard drive is $76, and each Enermax 80mm fan is $6. That would be an EXCELLENT base computer. Sell that Linksys NIC and free up some more capital.

 

[StattlichPassat]

Jizzler? The Jizz I know? Is that you?

 

[chucky2]

DrumminBoy- First, if your going with onboard video and teh nForce, you'll want to try and run with 2 sticks of RAM. If you think you'll only ever need 256MB for the foreseeable future, then just get 2 128MB sticks of RAM. If you thnk your going to need more, then get the 1 stick of 256MB and plan to upgrade with another 256MB stick when you want average performance from your onboard graphics. Or, if you can come up with the money, get the 2 256MB sticks of RAM right off the bat and be done with it. If your not going to be using this thing for medium-heavy gaming, then I'd just stick with the 1 stick of 256MB.

As for Kingston, I've personally had only bad luck with their stuff. I'm sure many people have had no problems with them, so maybe its just my bad luck. But, for like $10 USD more, you can have Crucial, so why even go with Kingston? Mushkin makes some true CAS2 DDR RAM, but its $99 USD per 256MB stick (currently), so again, go with what you can afford. If it was me, I'd be going at least Crucial.

Good luck!

Chuck

P.S. What kind of power supply is that your going to be using?

 

[RanDum72]

You can get an OEM AMD XP1500+ (1.33ghz) for $85 over at Newegg. They are a better deal since they usually run cooler and have SSE/ other CPU enhancements. Do you have to buy a retail CPU?

As for the mobo, I'll go with the recommendation for the MSI nForce board. For the harddrive, I'll go with Maxtor, just unbeatable reliability and service. 80mm fans? I like Sunon fans but you can go with basically any ball-bearing fan as long as the airflow/loudness ratio is up to your preferences.

 

[Migroo]

Good suggestions here so far.

Just think about what you want to do with the upgrades in the future. If you buy an nForce, you are already stuck with the video - although you might be (i'm not sure) able to add in an upgrade card of your choice (like a GeForce 4 or something) you wont be able to sell the video part. That would leave you with the only other majorly significant upgrade being the CPU:

SO: If you go with an nForce, get a decent CPU to start with, definately an Athlon over a Duron.