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Need help building budget system for co-worker

murphy55d

murphy55d

Lifer
One of my co-workers asked me if I could look into putting together a modest system , relatively inexpensive for him. No heavy duty gaming, but enough that if he wants to play Tiger Woods golf or something he'll be able to.

I figgur a Duron 800 or so would suffice. What do you think? Also would like some recommendations on a cheap yet stable motherboard. Doesn't need to be Asus or anything, just decent enough to get him going. DOn't care what chipset, long as it's for AMD. I suppose for him, onboard audio would be just fine... and maybe a TNT2, GF2 MX. (would an nForce be a solution ??)

Also, what is a good cheap 15 inch monitor?

TIA, as always.
 
Don't even THINK about a TNT-2. The nForce could well be a solution. I would think Duron 800 will be absolutely fine.
 
Reardless of what you build him my best advice to you would be to tell him well in advance that there could be problems, he may be stuck returning parts or even taking the computer to a shop to finish up if things don't work. Otherwise you will be responsible if it doesn't work and friends and family can be the most unforgiving in these situations...even when doing them a favor. I never build computers for anyone other than myself anymore. I refer everyone else to Dell.
 


<< Reardless of what you build him my best advice to you would be to tell him well in advance that there could be problems, he may be stuck returning parts or even taking the computer to a shop to finish up if things don't work. Otherwise you will be responsible if it doesn't work and friends and family can be the most unforgiving in these situations...even when doing them a favor. I never build computers for anyone other than myself anymore. I refer everyone else to Dell. >>



Ditto, but it's still alot funner to build! It would be alot cheaper to build the system you wanted for them if RAM prices weren't so high, when I built my budget system it came to under $470, now your close to $540 trying to build the same thing 🙁 with 256MB of RAM.
 
There are dozens of on-line shops catering to specs such as the ones you are looking for, if on-line purchasing is an option. Check here for an example.
With 128meg mem, under $200 for 900mhz Duron, add hd and cd drive for ~$130 and there ya have it....
If no serious gaming is needed, most onboard video will be more than adequate, if the need may arise in the future, make sure to get a mobo that has an AGP slot just in case then...
Look around BB or CompUSA for monitors. My suggestion, DO NOT skimp on a monitor! Pay the bit extra for a pleasing to your eye monitor, its what you look at all the time and if its sub par, it drags the whole experience down.
Happy hunting!!
😉
 
now's as good a time as any to be building a computer. parts are cheap and fast (except for memory, *sigh*). Just like snatch said, take into consideration that not all the parts may work when you get them, and that there probably will be problems down the road for your friend, and you're the first one he's gonna call, expecting some help.

other than that, i think you may as well get him a 1ghz duron. for a few bucks more, he gets a few extra mhz, and an anhanced, cooler running core. any vid card past the gf2mx will do fine.
 
Defineitly go with an nForce.

If you decide to go with a Duron I'd go with a 1GZ considering the difference between a 800MHZ and 1GHZ is only $10 on www.pricewatch.com.

RAM is cheap so go with 256MB or so.

Maybe get him a CD/DVD/CD-RW combo drive? They can be had relatively cheap (Toshiba or Ricoh's are about $150 on pricewatch) and he'd have the best of all three worlds - especially if he doesn't plan on using them really often.

Then just get a mini-atx case from newegg.com or a local store along with your misc. stuff like keyboad/mouse/etc. and you should be pretty much all set.
 
nForce Solution:

$42.00 EVERCASE E4252WEF5, Intel P4 / AMD, 10-Bay, 300W P4, Truely Screwless ATX MID Tower Case.
$152.00 MSI K7N420 PRO nForce MCP 200/266MHz FSB DDR ATX SOCKET A MOTHERBOARD
$43.00 AMD DURON 950MHz
$33.00 KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/128 128MB DDR PC2100
$70.00 Seagate Barracuda IV 20GB 7200rpm ATA 100
$28.00 Sony 52X MAX CD-ROM DRIVE
$9.00 MITSUMI 1.44MB Floppy

Total: $377

Non-nForce Solution:

$42.00 EVERCASE E4252WEF5, Intel P4 / AMD, 10-Bay, 300W P4, Truely Screwless ATX MID Tower Case.
$80.00 SHUTTLE AK31A AMD K7 VIA APOLLO KT266A SOCKET A ATX MOTHERBOARD
$43.00 AMD DURON 950MHz
$33.00 KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/128 128MB DDR PC2100
$70.00 Seagate Barracuda IV 20GB 7200rpm ATA 100
$28.00 Sony 52X MAX CD-ROM DRIVE
$45.00 CardExpert GeForce2 MX 200 32MB SDRAM AGP - RETAIL
$9.00 MITSUMI 1.44MB Floppy

Total: $350

All the products above were from Newegg, and you need to add shipping and tax if you live in California. Or you can go with Dell when they have one of their super deals. Either solution is pretty good, at very affordable prices.

By the way, I would recommend to your friend to spend a few more bucks. If his budget were like $500, he can get a better processor, 256mb of RAM, and a better video card. This way, he can get a system that should last him even longer. Of course he can get what he has now, and just upgrade later.

Good luck and have fun!
 
Thanks everyone, I appreciate all the feedback. I completely understand about all the tech support for him but I don't mind.

ahsia, the nForce solution you posted looks promising. That combined with a decent monitor may be the route we go, unless I can find something at Dell which just is too good to pass up.

TY again. 😛
 
Non-nForce Solution:

$42.00 EVERCASE E4252WEF5, Intel P4 / AMD, 10-Bay, 300W P4, Truely Screwless ATX MID Tower Case.
$80.00 SHUTTLE AK31A AMD K7 VIA APOLLO KT266A SOCKET A ATX MOTHERBOARD
$43.00 AMD DURON 950MHz
$33.00 KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/128 128MB DDR PC2100
$70.00 Seagate Barracuda IV 20GB 7200rpm ATA 100
$28.00 Sony 52X MAX CD-ROM DRIVE
$45.00 CardExpert GeForce2 MX 200 32MB SDRAM AGP - RETAIL
$9.00 MITSUMI 1.44MB Floppy

Total: $350


Why not use the ECS K7S5A board for $57 from Newegg instead of the KT266A after all this is a budget system and i doubt anyone could really tell the difference in performance between the ECS and the Shuttle. plus the ECS has been SOLID for me.
 
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