Please help me build a CHEAP computer for my sister

[ibex333]

All she needs is basic word processing, internet, chat, watching DVDs, and e-mail.
She will never play 3D games, use Photoshop or do video encoding.

The computer must be as cheap as it possibly can be, but it must last for the next 2-3years at least. By "last" I mean that I dont want to get a call from her a year from now, saying she cant access the internet or send e-mail because her computer cant handle that.

1)I am somewhat tech savvy, and I already built a rig for myself 2 years ago with the help from anandtech. Now I need your help again guys.

2)I am ok with using outdated parts for this PC, but they must be new. Do you know any sites where I can purchase cheap, outdated parts?

3)I cant decide on the characteristics of the system.
I'm thinking:

a) 2 year old AMD/INTEL CPU/MOBO (but which one to pick, and where to buy I dont know)

b)80gig HD

c)1gig cheap ram

d)some cheap CD/DVD burner - mabe LiteON?

e)Some bargain video card

f)She wants a small case. As small as possible, and as cheap as possible. I never seen small cases that would be cheap too. Have you?


Please advise me on what parts I need, and link me to some websites where I can buy them.
The total price of the computer must not exceed $300-400. Preferrably A LOT less.
My sis already has a monitor, speakers, mouse and keyboard.

 

[whubbard]

I hate saying this...but for you...you will be best off getting a dell

http://www.dell.com/content/products/pr....aspx/dimen_e521?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs $329

 

[Ayah]

You should put together a Shuttle for her.
Something like
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16856101483

 

[brikis98]

yeah, unless you have lots of extra parts lying around, you can usually get an entry-level cheap prebuilt from dell, gateway, HP, etc. i would especially keep my eyes open during black friday - lots of decent systems are going for just a few hundred dollars then (i think i saw best buy or circuit city selling an x2 3800+ system, with monitor for < $500)...

 

[hoorah]

I'm getting my sister the Emachines from Best Buy for $189 with no rebate on black friday (its on all the blackfriday ad sites). If you can get one, you cant beat that for a cheap PC.

If you don't get that, its still probably cheaper to get a prebuilt dell.

 

[Slowlearner]

A64 3200 with monitor for 400 +sh&tax

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/....aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DDDWCR1&s=dhs

Free shipping, with tax 417$

 

[chrisrod01]

On black friday Bestbuy is having an awesome deal on a laptop for less than 400. You might want to check it out dud

 

[kuqdew]

Yeah, its not worth building at that price point

 

[ibex333]

Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is BLACK FRIDAY? I did a search on google and I got some sites that have "black friday" in their name. Is black friday a special day when the store gets rid of old inventory? Is it a sale day? Please explain.
I wasnt born in America...

 

[secretanchitman]

Originally posted by: ibex333
Excuse my ignorance, but what exactly is BLACK FRIDAY? I did a search on google and I got some sites that have "black friday" in their name. Is black friday a special day when the store gets rid of old inventory? Is it a sale day? Please explain.
I wasnt born in America...

http://blackfriday.gottadeal.com/

 

[chrisrod01]

Either this or the black friday laptop at bestbuy http://forums.anandtech.com/messageview...atid=40&threadid=1957405&enterthread=y

 

[ibex333]

I like the black friday deal on emachines desktop, but I have to be in Bestbuy from 5am to 12pm. That's impossible since I work on friday, and I can only drive to best buy in the evening.

The $400 Dell is a great deal, but unless it's my only option, I'd really prefer something even cheaper. (Since my sis already has a monitor, I was thinking that if I do get a dell, I could then sell the LCD monitor on e-bay and get a part of the price back. However I'm not sure anyone will want to buy that LCD.)

 

[Slowlearner]

Its very hard to aseemble a pc with a legal copy of OS for less than 400$. And picking up parts from ebay is not a good idea. You are better off looking at craigslist, newspaper classifieds, garage sales for a name brand operational pc. Even there you are looking at a minimum of 250$ for an usable system.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Guys, this isn't as tough as you're making it. Try this:

MadDog 16X DVD±R DVD Burner With 5X DVD-RAM Write Black IDE Model MD-16X3DVD9-8X - OEM
Linkworld 617-C2628-P4 Silver/Black Metal MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 300W Power Supply - Retail
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
ASRock K8NF6G-VSTA Socket 754 NVIDIA GeForce 6100-405 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
G.SKILL 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory Model F1-3200PHU1-512NR - Retail
AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Palermo 1.6GHz Socket 754 Processor Model SDA2800BXBOX - Retail
Microsoft Windows XP Home Sp2b 1pk w/Upgrade Coupon for Vista - OEM
TOTAL AFTER SHIPPING: $352.80

That's less than three dollars more expensive than Dell's dirt-cheapest offering, and yields much better performance and a few more features. If you don't mind bumping the total up to $358.21 you can get a Lite-on retail DVD burner with Nero and WinDVD instead of the MadDog. That software might be worth the extra $5.41. A 56K modem and 3.5" floppy aren't bad ideas, either; getting both of those plus the retail burner brings the grand total to $373 even. Install OOo and you've got yourself a speedy little system for only $23 more than the crappiest Dell. And remember that ASRock board should be able to overclock the Sempron somewhere between 2.0 and 2.4 GHz, giving her A64-caliber performance. It also gives her a very simple, cheap, yet meaningful upgrade path: if she ever needs a speed bump, just pop in another 512MB DIMM!

If you can get the $190 eMachines on Black Friday, that *might* be worthwhile, but keep in mind that price is after rebate and does not include tax. Also remember rebate redemptions have a nasty tendency to fail.

 

[Slowlearner]

This is the Dell configuration for 389 + tax

AMD Athlon? 64 3200+
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
No Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Selected
512MB Single Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz - 1DIMM
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache?
48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
17 inch E773 (16 inch viewable) Conventional CRT
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Includes keyboard/mouse/modem, and 1year at home warranty, + some useless software, upgrade to Media Center for 10$ (also qualifies for Vista upgrade).

IMHO thats a better deal

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

I don't see that deal available; even if it were, it doesn't look like a better deal, since it is more expensive yet doesn't have a DVD burner or floppy drive.

 

[theprodigalrebel]

I vote for Dell.

 

[ibex333]

thanx guys. I now know what I will do.

I'll ask my sis which of the 2 options she would prefer, and I'll either build a rig according to hurtstotalktoyou's specs, or I'll buy that dell.

As always, anandtech's #1

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Glad to help!

If you do get a pre-built, I suggest the Dell E521 base configuration:
Windows XP Home OEM
Sempron 64 3400+
512MB DDR2 SDRAM
80 GB SATA hard disk
integrated graphics
CD-RW/DVD-ROM combo drive
integrated 5.1 audio & 10/100 LAN
56K modem
keyboard & mouse
NO monitor, speakers, floppy drive or DVD burner
TOTAL PRICE (after tax and shipping): $356.56

If you need a DVD burner or floppy drive, I suggest getting them from Newegg and self-installing them in the Dell.

Oh, and just one other thing: Since you seem a bit concerned about the size of the case...
size of Dell E521 case: 18.0"x16.3"x7.4"
size of Linkworld case: 15.0"x14.0"x5.3"