Part Selection Help for a new PC

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Senior member
Nov 7, 1999
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Hello. I am having some trouble selecting a motherboard, CPU & RAM for a new PC for my sister. I haven't been paying attention to new offerings and now I am lost as to what I should get :)

I am thinking an AMD CPU with 512 MB RAM. However which CPU/motherboard I have no clue. Are motherboards with integrated video any good these days? What would you say is the most stable / reliable board out there for less than $100?

Thanks for your help
 

DaveSimmons

Elite Member
Aug 12, 2001
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To give a good answer we need to know what programs she uses, and whether she needs any gaming capability beyond solitaire and bejewled.
 

timelapse

Senior member
Nov 7, 1999
401
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Sorry!

No gaming beyond solitaire ;)

Uses MS Office a lot and browsing as well as cd burning and watching videos/movies
 

Mik3y

Banned
Mar 2, 2004
7,089
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hey, go for:

this AMD Athlon XP 2500+ "Barton", 333 FSB, 512K Cache Processor $80

and

this EPoX nForce2 IGP Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "EP-8RGMI" $78

and


this Corsair Value Select 184 Pin 512MB DDR PC-3200 $80

the processor is great, just set fsb to 200 in bios and ur set with 3200+. also, the video for the mobo is not bad at all, assuming ur sister does not play games. also, this is a very good brand motherboard and is very reliable. if u want a board w/o video for under $100, go for the abit nf7-s. that is one of the best boards u can get for socket a.
 

Mik3y

Banned
Mar 2, 2004
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wow, solitare has crazy graphics....i'm not sure even the 9800xt can process it! :p
 

timelapse

Senior member
Nov 7, 1999
401
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LOL!

You definitely need a lot of 3d power when you win and the whole deck starts to bounce! :)