Socket 754 or 939 for Parents Budget System?

[Fenixgoon]

754 - mobos run very cheap, especially refurbs.. i got mine for $30 shipped

 

[frostedflakes]

I'll second (12th, something like that) the recommendation for Socket 754. Just get them an inexpensive board with integrated graphics, a Sempron64 2500+, 256MB PC3200, and w/e else they need. I can guarantee it'll be plenty for what I'd expect parents to do (eBay, word processing, listen to music, etc.). I also think Linux would be a great idea if you can find something with a Windows-like interface that your parents would be familiar with.

 

[Zap]

If you want to go a bit below a Geforce6100 chipset, SiS 760GX chipset boards have been seen at about $40 (past weekend ECS @Newegg). Sometimes you can get K8M800 chipset boards for that cheap. We're talking new.

All kinds of ways to shave a buck here, a buck there. Buying used will make it cheaper too. Check For Sale/Trade, Ebay, Newegg refurbs... YMMV on used/refurbs, just gotta test them IMMEDIATELY after receiving them.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

The Biostar GeForce 6100-M7 can overclock, making it worth the extra $10-$15 or so. You can run a Sempron 2600+ or 2800+ at 2.4 GHz on retail cooling with that board. That's the same speed as an Athlon 64 3300+.

 

[Zap]

I usually don't mention overclocking if someone's building a system for someone else. I know that overclocking these Semprons is a no brainer these days (I have a 2600+ on an Nforce3 board) but if one time the guys parents get a BSOD or lockup for whatever reason, he'll have that doubt in his mind.

 

[Calin]

But you can underclock it - and have it almost dead silent.

 

[Icepick]

I agree with all of the above posts suggesting to go socket 754 motherboard and a sempron.

$75.00 Sempron 64 2800+ (1.6GHz, 256K L2 cache). That will be an excellent CPU for web browsing, e-mail, word processing, spreadsheet, etc...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819104245

$60.00 Get a motherboard with on-board video. I'd recommend the Biostar 6100-M7.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138266

$39.00 512MB Corsair value RAM. (one stick is sufficient since there is no dual channel support with socket 754.)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820145026

$53.00 80GB hard drive: Western Digital 7200RPM 8MB cache
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144122

Total: $227 - $173 for case & power supply, keyboard & mouse.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: Calin
But you can underclock it - and have it almost dead silent.

To underclock you need a CPU with Cool and Quiet, not a CPU with BIOS adjustments. Also, my Sempron running at 2GHz is almost cold to the touch (retail heatsink) so it isn't too difficult to run them silent.

 

[Zebo]

You need a Gig of ram since parents are usually retarded and install the kitchen sink in every folder on startup. No calls asking them about slowdown due to disk hashing..

 

[RobDMB]

How big of a performance difference is ti between the regular athlon 64's and the new sempron 64's?

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: RobDMB
How big of a performance difference is ti between the regular athlon 64's and the new sempron 64's?

Well, guess it depends on what you are doing. Some people feel that there is an average 100MHz equivalent between a 512k cache A64 and a 1MB cache A64. AMD claims there is anywhere from a 200MHz to a 300MHz difference between the two. Guess it depends on which side of bed marketing woke up on.

AMD also claims 200MHz difference between 128k cache and 256k cache socket 754 Semprons. Let's just say 200MHz is the difference ±100MHz depending on what you are doing.

The Semprons still are a good value because they potentially can clock higher (depending on your motherboard) plus they run cooler at any equivalent clock speed and they are cheaper by a hair to the equivalent true clocked A64.

 

[leigh6]

$30 generic case/PSU combo

This is a no go. Spend $70.00 on the case and power supply. Try finding something decent together.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: leigh6
$30 generic case/PSU combo

This is a no go. Spend $70.00 on the case and power supply. Try finding something decent together.

Word.. Building a good PC starts with case and PSU IMO, not an after thought cheap rattle trap junk with unstable power.

I'd get
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119047

Then
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16817182012

Just a bit more but 50x better.

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou
$65 Biostar GeForce 6100-M7
$65 Sempron 64 2600+ retail
$55 Western Digital 80GB SATA
$38 512MB DDR SDRAM (generic)
$42 NEC ND-3550A
$30 generic case/PSU combo
$10 floppy drive
$10 modem
$90 Windows XP Home
Total: $405

If you don't need Windows, try this....
$65 Biostar GeForce 6100-M7
$75 Sempron 64 2800+ retail
$55 Western Digital 80GB SATA
$90 generic 1GB DDR SDRAM (single DIMM)
$42 NEC ND-3550A
$20 generic case
$38 Fortron Source PSU
$10 floppy drive
$10 modem
Total: $405

That's a pretty decent build bottom one but I would'nt get WD too loud.

I like to save more too. What his parents need DVD buring for? And I'd prefer a better case as well.. And I don't understand buying high end semprons when all will do 2200Mhz.. here just bump HTT to 240, use 166 mem setting and that's not even Ocing really. Running at measly 1920 Mhz and memory is perfect stock.. Floppies not needed at all unless you're a tweaker...this is for his parents.

Anyway slight adjustments and I think he's well in budget shipped.

LITE-ON Black IDE CD burner $21.99
COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 $44.99
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 ST380011A 80GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra $56.50
Rosewill Value RV450S ATX 450W Power Suppl $26.99
Memory - 2 x pqi POWER Series 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 400 (PC 3200) $67.98
AMD Sempron 64 2600+ SDA2600BXBOX $64.00
BIOSTAR GEFORCE 6100-M7 $60

=$342.44

 

[gotsmack]

939 has more life in it. it'll be cheaper in the long run since you might get another 2 years of life out of it before the system gets scrapped.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: gotsmack
939 has more life in it. it'll be cheaper in the long run since you might get another 2 years of life out of it before the system gets scrapped.

Hey, you're not building this system for yourself. What you would choose for yourself is not always the best choice for others. Shocking to hear, I know... It's like telling someone to get a Honda Civic because they're reliable and have good resale value, not to mention they can be "upgraded" in the future for more power to get another 2 years of life out of it before it gets scrapped - regardless that you're recommending this to a parent with a spouse and four kids who would be better served with a minivan.

How many parents go about upgrading their computer CPUs so that their email can be sent faster?

My mom would still be using a Celeron 366 and happily sending emails and browsing web pages with WinME if I hadn't come across a near giveaway Dell computer deal on Hot Deals while I was trying to find something to give her for Christmas a few years back. Now she's happily using a Celeron 2.4GHz sending emails and browsing web pages... just like she did with her old Celeron 366. Will upgrading her to a socket 939 dual core help her get out emails faster or read web pages faster? Oh, but wait, I'll spend the extra few hundred just "in case" it needs to be upgraded so that it can be used another two years - afterall we know that computers magically stop working 2 years sooner if the CPU has the word Celeron or Sempron stamped on it. Oh yeah, and my mom's ePeen will be 6% longer. :Q

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: gotsmack
939 has more life in it. it'll be cheaper in the long run since you might get another 2 years of life out of it before the system gets scrapped.

Hey, you're not building this system for yourself. What you would choose for yourself is not always the best choice for others. Shocking to hear, I know... It's like telling someone to get a Honda Civic because they're reliable and have good resale value, not to mention they can be "upgraded" in the future for more power to get another 2 years of life out of it before it gets scrapped - regardless that you're recommending this to a parent with a spouse and four kids who would be better served with a minivan.

How many parents go about upgrading their computer CPUs so that their email can be sent faster?

My mom would still be using a Celeron 366 and happily sending emails and browsing web pages with WinME if I hadn't come across a near giveaway Dell computer deal on Hot Deals while I was trying to find something to give her for Christmas a few years back. Now she's happily using a Celeron 2.4GHz sending emails and browsing web pages... just like she did with her old Celeron 366. Will upgrading her to a socket 939 dual core help her get out emails faster or read web pages faster? Oh, but wait, I'll spend the extra few hundred just "in case" it needs to be upgraded so that it can be used another two years - afterall we know that computers magically stop working 2 years sooner if the CPU has the word Celeron or Sempron stamped on it. Oh yeah, and my mom's ePeen will be 6% longer. :Q

WOW, just wow. You come across as such an ignornat prick.

Let me tell you what the deal is.

1. It was asked 754 or 939, so saying 939 would be a valid and reasonable response provided I gave a fair reason.

2. To sugest a s939 platform for reasons of extended useful life would not be unreasonable because since the OP is building the computer he would be able to perform an upgrade sometime in the future.

3. How do YOU know how much and in what way his parents use the compuer? When I was an undergrad, I sold computers at trade shows. Most people getting the low end systems for themselves wanted something cheap that worked so that they could day trade and/or do online billpay along with emails and other day to day activities. For them useful life was determined by how long it could run the newest version of the software they wanted to use.

4. I estimate the extra cost of going with s939 over s754 to be below $100.

in conclusion, your parents are not his parents, and no one has the right to tell my that my position is wrong except for the OP.

 

[BlingBlingArsch]

i agree with godsmack.
And there are decent S939 boards from Asrock that will serve most needs and is upgradable, at least a bit. And they are cheap. The problem with Socket 754 has never disapeared, eg it was never significantly cheaper than S939.
So even if ur on a tight budget u can always go S939.

 

[Markfw]

Get a Sonata case or a an Antec 1650B for the case (depending on price)

 

[Zebo]

Originally posted by: gotsmack


4. I estimate the extra cost of going with s939 over s754 to be below $100.

.

You'd estimate wrong. Go ahead and try less than $400, complete setup in 939.. And no $23 case/PSU does'nt cut it.

 

[gotsmack]

Originally posted by: Zebo

Originally posted by: gotsmack


4. I estimate the extra cost of going with s939 over s754 to be below $100.

.

You'd estimate wrong. Go ahead and try less than $400, complete setup in 939.. And no $23 case/PSU does'nt cut it.

Explain to me how the cost of going with s939 will cost $400 over a s754 platform?

The cost of going s939 in my estimates for the $100 are acurate. If you want to bring in the cost of getting a case with a better psu then that raises it another $10-$30 maybe, but we don;t know if the ps that comes in a $35 case wil support a s939 platform.

the difference in cpu and mobo would be less if you used better parts for both, but thats a given, but for both parts the cpu would be a few bins faster and the mobo would be of higher quality.

here is how I did the quick comparison, I used pricewatch to get my numbers so don;t fault me if you know of some obscure deal that would lead to better pricing.

These prices include shipping.

s754

mobo
http://3btech.net/msik8so754mi.html
MSI-K8MM-VS
VIA® K8M800 Chipset
$50.99

CPU
$67
1.4GHz 256K
http://www.ajump.com/ajump/product.asp?dept%5Fid=2510&pf%5Fid=5740347

This one showed up as $64 on pricewatch but when I clicked on it it was $68 after shipping.
1.6 ghz 128KB L2
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a...=OTC-pr1c3watch&ATT=Microprocessors+PC

S939
72.48
ASUS A8V-MX AMD Socket 939 VIA K8M800
http://usa.asus.com/products4.aspx?modelmenu=2&model=743&l1=3&l2=15&l3=0

or
Asus A8N-VM Socket 939/GeForce 6100
75.49
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?p=MB-A8N-VM&c=pw

CPU
$138
1.8 ghz 512KB L2

http://www.******/store/item.asp?key=CU-131-110

the link keeps getting screwed up, the store is BUY XG .COM