Need to make a computer for mom for as little as possible.

[Piano Man]

I'm so sick of the computer my mom has. It is a crappy Pentium 60 from Gateway. The hard drive is only 400MB and it crashes all the time. However, reinstalls on this machine are the biggest pain in the ass. I'm going home again today to fix it, however, I want to suprise my mom next time with a new computer. It has to be cheap, though. Luckily, she already has a monitor, CD-Rom, Speakers, Sound Card, and video card that are fine. So with that in mind, I need to build a VERY CHEAP computer. Here is what I'm thinking so far.


CPU -$98- 1 Ghz Athlon 266Mhz with no HS/Fan.
HS/FAN - - Don't know, I won't overclock it.
MB - - I just need a basic board, I don't need overclocking capabilities.
Memory -$34- 128MB PC133 Crucial Cas2 Ram
PS - - Not sure here either, just need the basics
HD -$68- Maxtor 20.0GB 5400RPM EIDE Ultra DMA
Case - - Again, not sure. If there is a cheap case that comes with a good
PS, then I'm all for it.


Could use some help. If possible, I want to keep it around $350-$400 dollars.

 

[Piano Man]

Come on. This is for my mom guys!!

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

First of all


<< CPU -$98- 1 Ghz Athlon 266Mhz with no HS/Fan. >>


not the best idea Unless you want to donate a fried chip to my make-a-keychain foundation, ALWAYS use a hs/f.

 

[Hoober]

Why use an Athlon when a Duron would be just fine for her. You could probably get a Duron w/ stock HSF for the price of an Athlon. That's what I'd go for.

 

[Piano Man]

I was just mentioning it didn't have a HS/Fan becuase it was an OEM part. IF you look under that, I mention that I'm not sure about what type of HS/Fan I should get. Keep in mind that I don't want to overclock, so nothing fancy.

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

Second, what is she using it for? If you want to keep it cheap, it'd probably be better to get a celeron/mobo combo. The combo would cost less than your Tbird &amp; HS/F(which like I said, you NEED!)

 

[CrackRabbit]

Dude, why would you pair up a ghz Athlon with an old PCI vid card?
get a lower end duron! and a cheapy tnt vanta vid card and your set!
or go integrated and get something with a KM133 chipset!


CrackRabbit

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

Oh, cool. Misunderstood

 

[dkozloski]

Who wants to be a partner in crime with a cheapskate that won't build a top-of-the-line computer for dear old MOM.

 

[Fuzzmuncher]

Edit: my momma got a tbird

the tbird doesn't exactly scream &quot;budget&quot;

Unless your momma is a kick-ass CS player(or you find extra money and want to spend the extra bucks on your mom), she won't need the extra oompf. Durons work fine.

 

[wviperw]

My dad also has a 60mhz computer. He says its just fine for what he does, but I think I am slowly convincing him to upgrade. He would need all the stuff your mom needs except for a new HD. The HD that you listed looks good. Here is what I told him:

Go to Pricewatch

Look at their mobo/cpu combos. If you want cheap then those are the best deal.

You can get a motherboard and an 800 mhz processor w/ HSF for around $100 I think.

For a case, just buy some 40 or 50 dollar one, or cheaper if you can find it on pricewatch.

That just leaves you w/ buying memory. - look on the Hot Deals forum. Atleast once a week there is a really good deal on RAM. Last week it was 128mb of Infeon for $15.

Add it all up: $165 before S&amp;H and HD

 

[HamHam]

First off I would get my mom a duron 700 (retail), she does not need a t-bird 1ghz but, its ur call.


MSI K7T TURBO Retail Version $95.00 newegg.com

AMD Duron 750MHz Socket A PGA Processor 34.00 newegg.com

Thermaltake VOLCANO II Heatsink + Dual Ball bearing Fan, for AMD socket A up to 1.5GHz. $8.00 newegg.com




go to directron.com to look for a case.


hopes this helps

Hamham

 

[wviperw]

Man... I am SLOW! 8 people posted in the time I was typing my message.

Oh, and I think the 750 or 800 duron has the best price/performance ratio.

 

[ERJ]

FIC AZ11 $60
Duron 800mhz $40
HS/Fan $10
Enlight Mid Tower $50
Memory 256mb $60
HD $68
Shipping $30

Total: $318

Good Luck,

ERJ

 

[Piano Man]

Did I say cheap, I'm sorry. Its just that I'm a college student, so money doesn't come naturally to me as of yet. I just want to get a computer that can do the basics.

 

[ERJ]

Alright, I just went to newegg to price out:

Enlight Medium Tower Case Model EN-72370X3
FIC AZ11E
AMD Duron 750MHz Socket A PGA Processor-OEM
Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 60 Ultra DMA 100 20GB
Thermaltake VOLCANO II Heatsink + Dual Ball

With shipping (to wisconsin): $287.60

Add $60 for 256mb of crucial PC133 for a total of:

$347.60

Right around your budget

ERJ

 

[Piano Man]

Well, thanks for all the replies so far. I'll be on the road for the next 6 hours, so I won't be able to respond till then, but keep up the replies. The duron is sounding more reasonable, but I will have to give it some thought.

 

[SUOrangeman]

What's the latest on the TigerDirect BlasterPC for $150?

I'm considering this one for the g/f. I have a Celeron 300A and pull the drives out of her existing system.

Anything I should know? Is it truly delayed a few months?

-SUO