Hey guys the old celeron 500 just isn't cutting it anymore, it was an HP, go figure :disgust:. So yes my family needs a new cheap comp. Mainly for dl'ing/viewing pics from a digital camera and internet usage. I would sorta like it to be able to play CS. Cost i would like to keep it around $300 cdn if i could. So case, psu, cpu, ram onboard nic, cd-rw. I already have a seagate barracuda IV on there but i think it's sorta slowing down the system. What would be a good fast HD? If i go this route i plan to use the seagate as a backup on my own comp. 256 ddr sound sufficient? Is there a need to get something more than pc2100 (i havn't been in the computer scene for the past couple of months so bare w/ me lol). CPU is probably going to be a 1800+ since i can't seem to find a 1700+ locally. What's a good cheap MB and Videocard also. Thanks!
Need new cheap comp for family.
- Thread starter JoPalm
- Start date
I don't know the prices but in your situation I would tend towards following:
Cheap Case with PSU
512MB RAM
Epox 8RDA
Radeon 9100
Aopen or LiteOn CDRW
Cheap Case with PSU
512MB RAM
Epox 8RDA
Radeon 9100
Aopen or LiteOn CDRW
How much is the Epox? Would you recommend the ECS K5...something i can't remember the rest of it. Ok yea the epox is out of my range i looked at the price :frown:. So what about the ECS K7S5A?
the k7s5a is a very good cheap board, but isn't as upgradeable as the epox due to its age. Otherwise there is nothing against it and I have sold quite a few systems with that board inside.
for $300 CDN maybe you should jsut see if you can put a P3 or celeron 800-950 into the HP. A cheap P3 700e or Cel800 would be 75%-100% faster. Add a PCI graphics card and maybe a 128 MB stick of PC100 and you're good to go.
The problem is will the mainboard take the newer CPUs? Especially the higher rated Celerons. The P3 would probably work allright but I think that just getting the full upgrade is a better way to get the performance up to respectable levels.
Heck,
256MB RAM is enough if you aren't into real hardcore gaming stuff and if you want it even cheaper get a Duron 1300. Fast enough for Word, a bit of light Photoediting and CS.
Heck,
256MB RAM is enough if you aren't into real hardcore gaming stuff and if you want it even cheaper get a Duron 1300. Fast enough for Word, a bit of light Photoediting and CS.
K7S5A would be a good choice...as would Biostar M7VIG Pro...similar boards...Biostar has onboard VGA...with 512MB memory could handle CS with no problem...not good for higher end games tho. Both boards have USB 2.0.
Don't get anything higher than PC2100 DDR if you get either of these boards...its the highest they can handle...better memory will work, just not to its potential. GET 512MB. (period).
Can you get/afford 2100+ Athlon XP? Barton 2500+??? Remember, if you get the Biostar, you wont need video card!
For the system you are talking about...any 7200 RPM HD will be fine...if you want the best IDE, get the 8mb cache version. But again, this is not meant to be a high end PC, right?
The above setup will be great! Esp coming from 500Mhz celery.
Go with a Biostar M7VIT with a Duron 1.3 GHz CPU. Could have for around $111 USD. Add Case, RAM, Drives and good to go. Has decent integrated sound and LAN. The Biostar M7VKG is also OK with integrated video.
Good luck with your build!
Good luck with your build!
Here's what I can get at Newegg, Fry's, Best Buy, and such with these July 4th Rebates:
Epox 8RDA+ - $90
Athlon XP 1700+ - $44
2x Kingston 256MB PC2700 - $36
80GB WD 7200RPM 8MB Cache - $50
BFG Ti4200 128MB - $90
Well that's $310. If you want to OC, get a good fan & heatsink like an SLK or something.
Epox 8RDA+ - $90
Athlon XP 1700+ - $44
2x Kingston 256MB PC2700 - $36
80GB WD 7200RPM 8MB Cache - $50
BFG Ti4200 128MB - $90
Well that's $310. If you want to OC, get a good fan & heatsink like an SLK or something.
Errr Randumb, don't want to be mean but:
He who can read is at an advantage: He's canadian, so no new-egg and no July 4 rebates
That setup will blow his budget out to Mars and beyond, besides there is no case and no CDRW in that price. Nice setup though but it does not cater to his needs.
The suggestions above are all OK, K7S5A or Biostar with or without onboard video (personal taste and budget).
He who can read is at an advantage: He's canadian, so no new-egg and no July 4 rebates
That setup will blow his budget out to Mars and beyond, besides there is no case and no CDRW in that price. Nice setup though but it does not cater to his needs.
The suggestions above are all OK, K7S5A or Biostar with or without onboard video (personal taste and budget).
Why don't you wipe the HDD on the computer and do a fresh install of Windows2k. Get some RAM and maybe a fast HDD? A clean install on an old computer brings it back to life!
OverVolt
Lifer
- Aug 31, 2002
- 14,278
- 89
- 91
Would u be using your old computer anymore then?
Maybe you can try taking out it's old HD vid card if it has one, all of that good stuff. a R9100 or a GF3TI would be good for CS. A Faster HD would help, i'm assuming you don't need the space, so maybe a 40GB WD Cavier would do.
Maybe you can try taking out it's old HD vid card if it has one, all of that good stuff. a R9100 or a GF3TI would be good for CS. A Faster HD would help, i'm assuming you don't need the space, so maybe a 40GB WD Cavier would do.
Like others have posted, I think a reformat should be tried first on the old PC if it's just for internet usage and digital camera transfers.
Who's gonna be playing CS on it, I assume it's not you since you already have a nicer PC? Convince the person who's gonna be playing CS to upgrade the video card, tho this might not be feasible if there's no AGP slot in ur HP and the PCI vid card is already the best it'll take. But even without AGP, i think a celeron 500 could do okay in CS as long as the servers aren't all that big and resolutions aren't high, when i started to play CS, my friends had like 333 MHz pentium 2 or celeron, and it wasn't that bad (especially since i was playing on a pentium 233MMX with an 8 meg ATI all-in-wonder).
For just internet usage, i think the HP can still handle it, add more ram if you can, and for stability i'd install win2000 if you can get it. I'm pretty sure a celeron 500 can be made to be a decent machine for its intended purpose.
And just for your info, that P233 i mentioned is still my family's computer! It's slow but for just internet browsing it does the job for my parents. It has 128 MB of ram in it running win2000.
Who's gonna be playing CS on it, I assume it's not you since you already have a nicer PC? Convince the person who's gonna be playing CS to upgrade the video card, tho this might not be feasible if there's no AGP slot in ur HP and the PCI vid card is already the best it'll take. But even without AGP, i think a celeron 500 could do okay in CS as long as the servers aren't all that big and resolutions aren't high, when i started to play CS, my friends had like 333 MHz pentium 2 or celeron, and it wasn't that bad (especially since i was playing on a pentium 233MMX with an 8 meg ATI all-in-wonder).
For just internet usage, i think the HP can still handle it, add more ram if you can, and for stability i'd install win2000 if you can get it. I'm pretty sure a celeron 500 can be made to be a decent machine for its intended purpose.
And just for your info, that P233 i mentioned is still my family's computer! It's slow but for just internet browsing it does the job for my parents. It has 128 MB of ram in it running win2000.
Ok i guess i'll try reformatting the Barracuda when i put the new system together. I think i'm going to go w/ 512 ddr, liteon 52x cdrw, athlon 1800+ or 1700+ and what do you guys think of the powerman psu's that are in some cases; they should suffice right? As for mobo and vid card, i think it'll have to be integrated. So what's a good mobo for the amd w/ integrated video, the nvidia chipsets?
Might as well get teh 8RDA+ since it's the same price, there's good deals on AMD Athlon 1700+ tbreds u can OC big time on svc.com or newegg.com. Get a Thermalright SLK700 for 20 bucks at SVC, and put a nice quiet fan on it, get a seagate hd so it's low noise too, nonenthusiest computer users like quiet PC's generally more than a noisy fast one, in my opinion anyways, so keep that in mind
I already have a seagate in the old computer and i think it's slow. Or it could just be the whole computer. I don't want anything to do w/ my old HP anymore, the mobo is a major POS.
You are making the right decision. The options listed above are good choices, esp if you are tight on funding. Sure, it won't be the cutting edge machine, but who has one? Going from what you have to a low/mid range AMD Cpu will make a HUGE difference for you. The K7S5A, while not the most current mobo, it a decent, solid board that will get you great performance and some room to upgrade further if you like. If you got the Athlon 1800+ CPU (don't bother with a Duron, at these prices, get the best performance you can afford), some DDR memory (2100 is the max potential of K7S5A or M7VIG), a new HDD, and a new video card (GF4 4200 is nice for about 100-115 USD) you could still upgrade to a 2400+ or a 2600+ in the future WITHOUT changing the mobo.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Schadenfroh
Elite Member
- Mar 8, 2003
- 38,416
- 4
- 0
Can you recommend some nforce 2 igp boards? This computer isn't for me but for the family, i'm satisfied with what i have but not what my family is using lol. I'm on a 1700+ MSI K7T pro2a (i can't remember the whole title since i built it last year), 512 ddr, ibm 75gxp and an 8500 64mb ddr. My system is fine for me. I'm trying to build something low cost but still good enough for what they need. I'm basically set on most of the parts accept the mobo.
Schadenfroh
Elite Member
- Mar 8, 2003
- 38,416
- 4
- 0
nforce2 igp
built in LAN, geforce4, and good sound for 89 bucks shiped. also, if you want to try to get by with a nforce 1 igp (geforce2) here is one for 70, but your upgrade options with nforce1 is limited
built in LAN, geforce4, and good sound for 89 bucks shiped. also, if you want to try to get by with a nforce 1 igp (geforce2) here is one for 70, but your upgrade options with nforce1 is limited
Good choice, the Shuttle mobo (MN31N or something) is good also. Unfortunately, Newegg wont ship to Canada. But mebbe you can find one of them locally or at another online vendor that ships to CN... Again, these mobos will cost about 2x what the k7s5a or M7vig pro will...but they are more current.
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