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So my mom needs a new computer . . .

B

bigj3347

Senior member
Being the good son that i am, I thought about my options. I get around 800 from her to build it and i have maybe 200-300 of my own money i can throw in. My current rig is in my sig and here are the parts that I already have on hand.

30GB Western Digital HD
512 MB corsair pc2700 Valueram
athlon xp 2000+
athlon xp heatsink
antex truepower 380 watt psu
generic aluminum case

What can I uprade on my current rig and take from my current rig to build up this computer with the parts listed above?

I want to upgrade my grpahics card but if i buy a high end card, i'd want it to be PCI-E and my ak8 max doesn't supprots PCI-E. Is it worth it to buy a new mobo just to get pci-e? If so, any suggestions on what graphics card / motherboard to get? Ideally, I don't wanna spend over the 800 dollars she gave me to build it for her. But there is some leeway there.
 
i'm confused. your mom gave you 800 to build a PC, you are going to build her like a $400 pc and pocket the rest for upgrades on YOUR pc?

that just seems wrong...
 
haha pparantlye so. Personally I would just take the parts you have, and get a mobo with onboard video (nforce2 IGP or see if any KT600s have onboard video) and run with that. Will be much cheaper in the end, and maybe do it in under 100 dollars.

If you still want to upgarde, then tell her what you will do,and give your your parts if she lets you get a new video card? 😉

edit: make that under 200 since u don't seem to have a copy of XP
 
Being the good son that you are, you're going to rip your mom off with a second-hand PC and pocket the difference?

This PC should be a demonstration of your love and appreciation for your mom...the only thing you should skimp out on is the video card unless your mom is a CoH zombie.
 
Anything over a 2500+ is a waste of money for daily web browsing etc, the MOST I would get is a sempron even thats overkill, although I would tell her you got her a really good PC for less and ASK for the rest of the money.
 
buy prebuilt. you get a warranty, restore cds to simple format/system recovery and save time and money. i all the major manufactuers can probably build a system like you can for at least a neglible price difference if not cheaper.

edit: it's not like she wants to oc or play farcry is it?
 
Here is what you can give her

1) Asus Purdit-R Small Form Factor Case with MB
2) Celeron D 320 is sufficient
3) WD 80Gb 8mb cache HDD
4) Asus CD-WR drive
5) 512mb PC3200 Mushkin Green (cheaper than Kingston value ram)
6) Windows XP Home

Total $450 to $500

Spend the remaining $300 on a wireless keyboard/mouse and a SONY 17" LCD

If you are intent on getting the Antec 380 power supply, get here a nice case instead of a generic one, an Antec Overture with a 380w power supply for $69.99

http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?product_code=307307&pfp=SEARCH


 
If you Mom is going to be the typical web surfer, emailer, and java gamer, then all she needs is a budget system.

Biostar M7VIG400-COMBO w/ Sempron 2200+ $90
512MB PC2700 $65
Lite-On 16x DVD DL Burner $65
Athenatech Micro ATX Case $55
Seagate 120GB 7200 HDD $87
ACER AL1715b 17" LCD Monitor (12ms) $226



Total is roughly $588 shipped w/out an OS, keyboard, mouse, speakers.
 
Hey she may want to play her buttocks off gaming. Who knows why she wants the computer. Maybe she wants to take and digitalize all of her photographs and do some tremendous graphics work using them, so she can see her family morph in front of her. Knowing what she will do with the computer will be a big help meeting her needs. Putting grandma behind the wheel of Dale Earnheardts "BUD" nascar just doesn't seem right. But she may be the fastest grandma on earth.
 
'Yeah, I just got back from working on my grandma's computer. She bought an IBM Blue Gene to do her recipes on"

hehe
 
Originally posted by: bigj3347
30GB Western Digital HD
512 MB corsair pc2700 Valueram
athlon xp 2000+
athlon xp heatsink
antex truepower 380 watt psu
generic aluminum case
Click to expand...

I will assume that your mom basically just does daily email/browsing/MSWord kind of stuff, ie: not things that require anything near cutting edge speed. What you have is essentially sufficient.

Get a cheap KT600 or nForce 2 board (not that there are any expensive ones left), whatever cheapest ATI or nVidia card that has DVI on it (incase she gets an LCD), and maybe a bigger HD. Other than that all you need is the KB/Mouse/Monitor/Speakers, and I will leave that up to you.

Also consider a better/quieter HSF....Moms don't like noise unless they're the ones making it.

As for using some of the money for YOUR upgrades, I personally wouldn't.....but I won't judge.
 
Originally posted by: siyan
Originally posted by: bigj3347
30GB Western Digital HD
512 MB corsair pc2700 Valueram
athlon xp 2000+
athlon xp heatsink
antex truepower 380 watt psu
generic aluminum case
Click to expand...

I will assume that your mom basically just does daily email/browsing/MSWord kind of stuff, ie: not things that require anything near cutting edge speed. What you have is essentially sufficient.

Get a cheap KT600 or nForce 2 board (not that there are any expensive ones left), whatever cheapest ATI or nVidia card that has DVI on it (incase she gets an LCD), and maybe a bigger HD. Other than that all you need is the KB/Mouse/Monitor/Speakers, and I will leave that up to you.

Also consider a better/quieter HSF....Moms don't like noise unless they're the ones making it.

As for using some of the money for YOUR upgrades, I personally wouldn't.....but I won't judge.
Click to expand...



Someone who knows what hes talking about.
 
Just get a mobo , floppy, & dvd drive for your old stuff. And give your mom back her $800 & your rebuilt pc. She's your mom after all...

Then build your self a new A64 rig, both you and her will feel very happy... 😉

Regards,
Jose
 
Build her a computer with an M-ATX mobo, in a nice little HTPC case. She will love it. Spend only around $400 on it, and then give her the rest back, lieing to your mom for a few hundred dollars is just wrong.
 
my mom can barely open attachements on her email. She plays solitaire and that's about it. It's jus that our old family computer just died and she wants me to build her a new one. It's not like i'm gonna pocket the money for myself, its just that she doesn't need anything fancy and i can put one together that is more than enough for what she needs. I already told her that i won't need that much but she's giving it to me cuz my bday is coming up soon anyways. two birds with one stone. I'm not ripping off my mom. she knows about it.
 
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