Need to build cheap PC

[YoullMispronounceIt]

My mom and my sister are using an aging Dell Dimension 200Mhz MMX desktop, I've got a nice, new loaded Dell 8100 PC, and my dad has a 900Mhz Toshiba laptop. All three PC's are connected on our ethernet home etwork. I'd like to replace my mom's machine, but she refuses to spend $ on a new PC - she'd rather spend it on remodeling . So I'm looking to build a < $500 PC for her.

What kind of processor do you guys recommend? I'm looking at Athlon XP's but what speed is sufficient for just basic word processing and maybe some light gameplay?

What's a good motherboard to go with the Athlon XP?

What's the deal with all these different flavors of DDR ram? What goes best with Athlon's?

What brand of case should I look into?

Will my old Dell monitor work with the new setup? Standard connections and such?

I've got a spare copy of Win XP so I don't need to buy an OS, nor an ethernet card. - BUT I'll need to buy floppy and CD drives.

Which companies should I buy the parts from?

Thanks - Big Time!

 

[ElFenix]

cpu: duron ghz
board: ecs k7s5a or k7s6a if newegg isn't going to carry the first anymore
ram: 256+ crucial pc2100 DDR
case: enlight 7237 w/300 watt ps
monitor will work fine
grab a regular floppy, i think they're all the same
get it from newegg.com except the ram, which you get from the crucial anandtech link at the top of the forums.

 

[VicLavigne]

<< cpu: duron ghz
board: ecs k7s5a or k7s6a if newegg isn't going to carry the first anymore
ram: 256+ crucial pc2100 DDR >>


I agree with cpu and mobo. But if you use a Duron, you might as well go for the cheaper, standard SDRAM -- 256mb PC133. If you want to beef up the system for that "light gameplay", then get your ddram but bump up the cpu to an Athlon 1.2Ghz

 

[clumsum]

YoullMispronounceIt,
(Illprobablymispellittoo)

Looks like you may want to go for the ECS K7S5A ........... as it has onboard LAN and will use either type of ram............ (cheaper)!

I would recommend an Athlon 266/1.2 or 1.4 (or whichever XP suits your budget) ....... over the 1G Duron ..............

I usually use an ATI Radeon LE (OEM) 32MB DDR AGP card .............. about $70.

Case: Fong Kai 320 with 300W Enhance (ENP-0730) psu (minimum) .....................good buy if you don't mind having a large workstation size case............... or..............
Chenbro PC 61069 for a smaller case ......... (looks very interesting, I would try one, but I have no hands-on experience with it).......... I like the 120mm case fan size!

All the above items are available from www.newegg.com at very reasonable prices .......... I have had good service from them in the past.
(you may want to give the Dell to your Mom and keep this one for yourself ........!)

 

[TimeKeeper]

<< .........replace my mom's machine...... >>



AMD XP = Mother's PC ???????
Maybe you should spend money on remodeling?

 

[QTPie]

<< what speed is sufficient for just basic word processing and maybe some light gameplay? >>


Intel 200MMX CPU with 256MB ram is VERY sufficient.

 

[Mitzi]

what speed is sufficient for just basic word processing and maybe some light gameplay?

Intel 200MMX CPU with 256MB ram is VERY sufficient.

I'd say - I've just built a cheap, general purpose machine for a friend with half that amount of RAM and it flies along (granted its an Athlon 750@1000) running WinXP. 128Mb of RAM is sufficient for most tasks nowadays.

 

[kmike75]

My little rig below works pretty good for games and office stuff.....

 

[johndoe52]

I'd prefer the duron 1 ghz over the 1.2 athlon just because of the new core. Lowest stepping with that core would let you oc quite nicely IMHO. However that ECS board isn't much for options for ocing.

ECS K7S5A - $53
Duron 1 Ghz - $45 over the Athlon 1.2/266fsb $85

My $0.02

 

[YoullMispronounceIt]

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm sure I'll have some more questions. As for giving my Dell away, no way - 1.7 Ghz P4 + 512 RDRAM + GeForce 3 + 80 gig HD

 

[Athlon4all]

<< What kind of processor do you guys recommend? I'm looking at Athlon XP's but what speed is sufficient for just basic word processing and maybe some light gameplay? >>

A duron would be good for all that except for gaming. I would try go for a T-Bird 1GHz and then overclock it to something like 1.4GHz. 1.4 was easy to hit on AXIA 1GHz's and it can be had (the 266fsb version) for around $20 more than a Morgan Duron 1Ghz.

<< What's a good motherboard to go with the Athlon XP? >>

Well, I would say K7S6A, it has some light overclocking options and you should be able to decently overclock that T-Bird 1GHz with it.

<< What's the deal with all these different flavors of DDR ram? What goes best with Athlon's? >>

PC2100 DDR. Crucial's da best.

<< What brand of case should I look into? >>

Antec(expensive), Enlight, Enermax. Are the top 3. Enermax's Power supplys don't overclock the best.

<< Will my old Dell monitor work with the new setup? Standard connections and such? >>

It'll work fine.

<< Which companies should I buy the parts from? >>

Newegg.com, great prics, and allmsot everyone on Anandtech has had good service from them.

What about a video card though? Well I'd have to say a Radeon LE or MX. You might look into Abit's NV7m nForce motherboard. It has on-board GeForce2 MX video, better than Audigy sound, and the initial price is $144 which is jsut about the same price that it would cost to get a GF2MX plus the K7S6A. Plus nForce has on-board Ethernet as well.

 

[ahsia]

Everything is form newegg.com:

$40 EVERCASE 10-Bay 300W Truely Screwless ATX MID Tower Case
$57 ECS K7S5A SiS735
$52 AMD DURON 1.0 GHZ SOCKET A
$72 KINGSTON 256MB PC2100 DDR RAM
$71 Maxtor DiamondMax Plus D740X 20GB 7200RPM
$28 Sony 52x CD-ROM
$9 Mitsumi 1.44MB Floppy
$58 ATI OEM RADEON 7200 64MB 4X/2X AGP

Total = $387 before shipping and taxes

That will be a great system for what your mom needs. Plus you can upgrade the processor to an Athlon XP in the future if needed. That ATI Radeon 64mb card is a DEAL! Total should be less than $500....

 

[thraxes]

Ahsia has hit it right on the nail...

Looks very decent und should perform extremely well! Get that box, you won't be sorry