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[Bateluer]

A co worker of mine is looking to have a computer built. She wants to keep it as close to 500 USD total as possible. Since she said she wasn't going to do any gaming on the system, using it mainly for internet use, email, etc, I opted for a motherboard with Integrated Video, Sound, and LAN.

I've got two pretty solid systems spec'ed out, I think. I loath to cut corners on motherboards though, so both the Intel and AMD motherboards cost close to 100. I know there are cheaper budget boards available, but they usually lack AGP slots and/or are crappy brands.

CPU ? P4C 2.4Ghz ? 160 http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-116-157&depa=1

CPU ? AMD Sempron 2800 ? 107
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=19-104-213&depa=1

Mobo ? Asus P4G800-V ? 95 (Integrated Video, Sound, and LAN)
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=13-131-439&depa=0

Mobo ? Abit NF7-M ? 95 (Integrated Video, Sound and LAN)
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=13-127-150&depa=1

Case ? PowMax Mid Tower Black w/ 400W PSU ? 35
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=11-145-032&depa=1

HDD ? WD 80GB ? 63
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=22-144-122&depa=1

RAM ? Kingston ValueRam ? 128x2 DDR400 ? 60
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=20-141-421&depa=1

RAM Alternate ? Corsair ValueSelect DDR400 ? 256x2 ? 90
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=20-145-477&depa=1

Monitor ? Generic 17? - 100
Best Buy, CompUSA, or Fry's

KB+Mouse ? MS Black KB+Mouse Combo ? 35
http://www.newegg.com/app/view...=23-109-122&DEPA=1

WinXP Home Edition ? 90
http://www.newegg.com/app/View...=37-102-141&depa=6

Graphics ? IGP ? 0

Audio ? IAP ? 0

LAN ? INP ? 0

Intel Total
Total ? 638
Total with 512MB of RAM ? 668

AMD Total
Total ? 586
Total with 512MB of RAM ? 616

Oh, I also spec'ed it with both 256MB of RAM and 512MB of RAM. Given that the system will be running XP with Integrate video, I thought'd be a good idea to add a little more RAM to it. I gave the totals for both 256 and 512.

I also checked to see if the Sempron was supported by the Abit mobo, and with the latest BIOS update, it is.

What do you all think?

 

[dickie1900]

Definitely get the 512MB of RAM. If you're on a tight budget I'd look at www.pricewatch.com for some better deals. Newegg has some good ones, but not always the best. Word of warning, watch out for shipping, it can bite you in the ass. But yeah, that should do the trick if she's not into anything gaming wise. Something else to consider, unless you've got extras lying around or they come with the product is cables, thermal paste (if there isn't thermal tape on the heatsink already), etc.

 

[Schnook121]

Definitly go with the 512mb of RAM. also, you might think about just getting a Dell. They come with moniter, and OS and a warranty for $500. Just a thought...

 

[epsilon9090]

Originally posted by: Schnook121
Definitly go with the 512mb of RAM. also, you might think about just getting a Dell. They come with moniter, and OS and a warranty for $500. Just a thought...

Concur. Dells are the bestway to go for abudget system.

 

[imported_whatever]

atm, my local bb has an emachines box for $350 after mir. that includes a 2.53 Celeron D (slow, but should be fast enough), cdrw/dvd, 256MB ram (which you could upgrade), a 40GB hdd, a 17" CRT, and a printer. for another $100 you can get a 2.66, 512MB of ram, an 80GB hdd, and sperate dvd and cdrw drives. dunno about your area, but $450 for that sounds like a pretty good deal if it doesnt need to be too fast a machine.

 

[lobadobadingdong]

biostar mobo $63 I've had excellent luck with these, they are stable and very fast.
OEM XP-M 2600+ $103 (cheaper, faster, and cooler than the 2800+ sempron)
speeze hsf $16 for a queter system...WAY better than AMD stock cooling.
crucial memory 128 x 2 for $58
OCZ memory 258 x 2 for $84

along with the components you already picked out.

$505 + $58 for 256MB memory = $563
$505 + $84 for 512MB memory = $589

you can save $9 on your keyboard combo by going with logitec for $26

You'll want dual channel either way you go for maximum video responsiveness. I wouldn't go Intel with integrated video at all. Extreme Graphics is Extremely slow.

for a baseline system that's actually upgradeable (only reason you wouldn't go dell for a low end system, aside from them killing the tech sector pay of course)

 

[ampiere]

I saw somekind of mobo that even have cpu integrated sell for on 60+, with build in video, sound, modem & lan.. something like this -> "PC CHIPS (M789CLU v1.2) VIA CLE266 + 8235 (VIA C3 2000+ CPU)".. If the computer purpose is just for internet and email why don't try that? (Of course this is not an upgradable solution, but it is really cheap!! you can just throw the board away when u want to upgrade )