Newbie configuration questions

[JuanCamaney]

Guys,

I am new to this forum, but have read the other ones for a good while now. I have never put together my own computer before, but am pretty confident I can do it. I work on laptops all the time. Anyway, here's my dilemna, a few years ago I bought my cousin in Mexico a generic computer built there for her studies. It is a 400 Mhz celeron, and is obviously very outdated for todays applications. My original plan was to send her an updated MB and processor bundle, an older lite on cd burner, and she would be on her way to update it herself. Since she isnt very harware literate (neither am I), I have now chosen to instead buy a MB/CPU bundle here, install it in an older comp I have lying around, install the cd burner, install a test OS on the the old HD currently on this comp. Then ship the whole thing via UPS. She can swap the HDD with her stuff when it gets there.

My doubts lie in identifying the right motherboard size ATX, ATX micro etc, How do I know what will fit this old tower? I'd like to use an inexpensive AMD XP processor. I am open to any reliable inexpensive MB. I will also need to know whether the Power supply in the old tower, which is for a pentium 2 comp will work on this new AMD compatible MB and CD burner. What kind of pwer do i need to run the comp with the cd burner? I can live with good quality on board video as opposed to a seperate card. If I'm not mistaken I think she's learning C++ and that kinda stuff. Any recommendations made in that direction would be much appreciated.

Any particular vendor you guys suggest? I live in southern california, and have used MWAVE inthe past with good sucess. Anyone else out there worth recommending?

Any advice would be much appreciated.

Juan

 

[Matthias99]

Welcome to AnandTech. Good luck.

Any particular vendor you guys suggest? I live in southern california, and have used MWAVE inthe past with good sucess. Anyone else out there worth recommending?

MWave is OK; however, almost everyone on here will agree that newegg is awfully hard to beat in terms of price, selection, and especially customer service. They ship from CA as well.

Comments:

Then ship the whole thing via UPS. She can swap the HDD with her stuff when it gets there.

Just sticking her hard disk into a new system and trying to boot it will likely cause problems (if it works at all). Windows (especially Win95/98/ME) does NOT like to have its hardware switched out from under it. It would be better if you shipped it with a hard disk with the OS on there, then had her install her HD as a secondary drive and transfer her files over. All you need to do is plug in the drive and the OS should see it just fine.

My doubts lie in identifying the right motherboard size ATX, ATX micro etc, How do I know what will fit this old tower?

Odds are an ATX board will fit. I've seen older towers that were *larger* than ATX (they probably had AT boards originally), but I would be amazed if an ATX board didn't fit whatever case you have.

I'd like to use an inexpensive AMD XP processor. I am open to any reliable inexpensive MB.

I would suggest one of the Shuttle NForce2 motherboards. Cheap, rugged, reliable, fast. The MN-31 is good if you want onboard video; otherwise, the AN-35N Ultra is very tough to beat in terms of price/performance. The high-quality ASUS and MSI boards (such as the NF7-S) are great, but probably overkill for you; I doubt you need SATA RAID, gigabit ethernet, or onboard Soundstorm audio.

I will also need to know whether the Power supply in the old tower, which is for a pentium 2 comp will work on this new AMD compatible MB and CD burner. What kind of pwer do i need to run the comp with the cd burner?

I would NOT use the old power supply; even if it's in the 200-300W range, it's a big risk. You can get a very good quality Sparkle, Fortron, or Antec 300-350W power supply for $30-50, which will be plenty for this system. You do NOT need a 400W or higher power supply; just be sure to get a brand-name one (and 'PowMax' doesn't count!)

One thing you *didn't* mention was RAM; if you don't have some already, you'll want to buy probably 512MB of PC2700 RAM. You don't need the super-expensive low-latency CL2 stuff, but try to go with a reputable company (such as Kingston, Crucial, Buffalo, Geil, OCZ, or Mushkin).

If I'm not mistaken I think she's learning C++ and that kinda stuff. Any recommendations made in that direction would be much appreciated.

Well, unless you want to buy her a copy of Visual C++ or Borland C++, I think she or her teachers will be able to handle that. Perhaps you could send copies of "C For Dummies" volumes 1 and 2 and "C++ For Dummies" along with the system? (I'm serious, btw; they're good books)