HELP!!! Need to build the GF a system for Christmas for < $400

[JimRaynor]

Ok some cheap case is ok and all but if you give her some decent comp in a pos case what's she gonna think? All she can see is the crap outside and that's what she's going to judge it by. Keep that in mind, plus, she's a girl, she probably wants something pretty.

 

[JimRaynor]

My suggestion:

Antec solution series - $59.99

Shuttle MN31N (IGP) - $86.99

Kingston PC3200 256mb - $42.00

Athlon XP 1900+ (Retail) - $62.00

Lite on 52x32x52 (Black) $32.00

Samsung black floppy $5.99

Altec Lansing 2.1 - $56.00

WD 80gb Special Edition $72.00

Logitech Cordless Duo $58.00

Total = $474 + shipping (If you order during Newegg's one day sale you can save some money on shipping) Monitor and OS supplied by you. Need for video card is absent due to the IGP on the shuttle board. Total is without any rebates needed. You quote your price as $420 without the video card but then you will have no video, you have to take into account the higher cost of a mobo with IGP. 512mb 3200 for 60 bucks? Where is this? I don't know where you are getting your maxtor or cdrw but you need to take into account your prices before rebate. You can get an $85 dollar barton OEM at newegg, how you gonna cool it? The retail is $90 bucks. I think your price estimates are unrealistic, I think if you try to think more practically and get some hard numbers down you will see you are aiming too high. If you are looking for a comp under 400 and you want a barton 2500, 512mb ram, and a 120gb hard drive it ain't gonna happen. You are gonna have to make sacrifices, but you have to make the right sacrifices. The words "POS" or "generic" shouldn't be in a system you are building for your girlfriend. This should be meant to be a quality machine, that shouldn't require your support. Because, when the thing breaks who is she gonna call? What do you think is gonna happen when your POS case can't supply enough power cause it has a POS power supply. Or what happens when she can't burn a cd with her generic cdr. This is not YOUR computer, it is HER computer; you need to keep that in mind. A computer doesn't "suck" if it's not a barton 2500. A computer doesn't "suck" if it only has 256mb of ram. Contrary to what people say 256mb will be fine for her usage under windows xp.

 

[Zepper]

Or how about this:
Athena 101 elegant, compact barebones (case/PSU, mobo, custom Samsung floppy drv. - black w/silver eject button, and custom cables), etc. $130. +sh. Linkage
AMD Duron 1600 OEM $42. Good HSF (e.g. Speeze) ~$12. (very good as is - see latest comparison review on Anandtech.com, and easily OCd).
or AMD XP 2000 Ret. $68.
Apacer or DaneElec 256MB DDR PC-2700. $37.
MSI X48 CDRW/DVD Combo drive (Retail kit) - $55.
WD 80GB - $72.
A4Tech cordless kbd/opt. mse. $38.
Spkrs - $52.
Most to here are prices from newegg incl shipping. (but you will have to pay tax on ne stuff since you live in Ca.)
17" CRT Monitor (Envision or Mag) less than $100. AR at big box stores any given week.
.bh.

 

[JimRaynor]

That athena case is fugly. And $130 +sh???? lmao

 

[Zepper]

j.r.,
Pictures don't do it justice - some people just can't appreciate it's understated quality, but I'm sure his GF would! And it's not just the case, it's a complete barebones assembly with extra fans etc. besides what I listed above. There's more there than you normally get with a SFF barebones.
.bh.