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Inexpensive Starter System for kids

I

Innova

Junior Member
I had an old socket 939 system (2ghz, dual core Athlon, 2GB memory), that I was going to reformat for the kids. Unfortunately the power supply was bad. I got a new power supply but could not get the machine to POST, so I assume that the MB also got fried.

I would like to build an inexpensive system, reusing as many parts as possible.

I figure I need a new MB, CPU and memory for sure.

Hard Drive and Video card are hopefully still ok. Video card is nVidia 6800GS, PCI-E. It has both IDE and SATA hard drives in it, I figure I would only need the SATA in the new system.

The case is still usable, but it had a funky power supply....a replacement would be hard to fit in there, but I could make it work. Basically, if I could get a good deal on case/PSU I would consider getting it, otherwise I just need a PSU.

This machine is going to have Linux (edubuntu) on it. I would like the kids to use Scratch, and some flash based games. It will also be used for research, schoolwork, etc.

I thought a SFF pc would be nice, but I do not know very much about them. Do they cost more/less/the same for similar power? The small form factor would be nice, but not if I have to pay more for it.

Finally, I think I will go with 4GB, but am not sure what MB/CPU combo is a good deal right now at the low end. I would like to keep everything I need under $200 if possible.

Any suggestions you can offer would be much appreciated. My daughter is old enough now, where I think I will have her spend her own money on this system, and we can build it together.

Thanks in advance!
 
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...0%20-%20%24200

Under 200 you are pretty much stuck with used computers. Even a barebones SFF with minimal specs will probably cost close to 300 new.
Or check Dell Outlet or HP Outlet and hope to get lucky.

For a kid I would actually recommend one of those slim net top systems but they are also close to 300.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883108535

As for building from scratch: Check out anands main page, look at the system builders guide for Entry Level, and strip out the heavy-duty stuff to get down to 200 dollars.
 
If she is already spending HER money then can you match her funding? She puts in 200 you put in 200, 400 bucks would give you a lot more room to breath.
 
computergeeks and tigerdirect have some pretty cheap stuff. or craigslist.

you can get a pretty good $300 laptop so dont spend too much on old stuff.
 
I was poking around the CPU Benchmarks and newegg this morning and came up with this:

MicroATX AM3 motherboard: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813128469

AMD Athlon X2 265 CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103910

2x2GB DDR3 1066 Memory: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820313100

Micro ATX case w/ power supply: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811164131

Grand total of $200, $217 shipped.

Do you see any problems with this? Does it even pay to use my GeForce 6800GS vs the onboard Geforce 7025?
 
Thanks for the response. I ordered the parts already...half will be here tomorrow, the rest on Friday...just in time for a weekend build!
 
i agree, i think you should match whatever your daughter is forking over. or just buy her an external bluray player for it, or something nice.
 
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