Suggestions on building a budget system

[Raincity]

I need to build a budget system for a friend but need to keep the cost down. Im thinking of going with a Duron but have no clue on the Mainboard since I admit to being a Intel platform guy and dont keep up with the other side of the spectrum. I need something with intergrated sound and nic and video if its decent to keep the cost down. Very lite gaming will be done on this machine. I call on you all for your wisdom on this issue. I want to hear about all the parts that give you the best bang for the buck, Modems,Monitors, video cards ect ect. the budget is 1200$ complete with 17" monitor and Windows 98. Thanks

Rain

 

[StickHead]

I would go Duron, slap it on the Epox 8KTA+($100) with a GeForce2MX. Right now Best Buy has a deal on Monitors, they have a 17" KDS for $120 after rebate. Ram and hard drives are dirt cheap so at this point you could probably go even T-Bird or GeForce GTS and still be under budget.

 

[Modus]

Base:

Duron 700
128M PC133 SDRAM
Gigabyte 7ZM Micro-ATX Socket A
Samsung 19" 955DF
Some kind of crappy 4M ATI video card
Lucent LT winmodem
Any cheap 10/100 PCI Ethernet card
Biggest 7200rpm drive you can afford under budget

Reasoning:

The D/700 is more than enough for any productivity application, and it also has the best price/performance ratio in the history of the universe. The Gigabyte board is cheap and stable. The Samsung monitor is great and that's where the money in any system should go -- the part that gets obsolete the slowest. Since they won't be doing any 3D gaming, a cheap 4M ATI Rage IIc AGP card for about $30 will give them great 2D picture quality at high resolutions and leave the door open for something with 3D capabilities down the line. The Lucent LT winmodem is well documented on this board and other prominent modem sites as being a gem that matches any expensive hardware modem in terms of ping times and throughput. The network card is pretty much irrelevant -- if it works, it works. The hard drive ought to be smaller and faster as opposed to bigger and slower, because the cost per meg is dropping so rapidly you don't want to invest in megs. So start with a 20G 7200 rpm Maxtor and work your way up depending on budget.

Modus

 

[Windogg]

Modus came up with a kickass config. Now lets add some numbers:

As usual I like Mwave:

Duron 700 w/ MSI 6340 Micro ATX Board w/ AC97 Audio - $174
128MB Corsair Value PC133 SDRAM - $77
30GB IBM DeskStar 75GXP ATA 100 - $139
48X Sony EIDE CD-ROM - $40
3.5" Panasonic Floppy - $14
8MB Matrox G200 Video - $59
56k Viking v.90 Modem (Lucent) - $32
10/100 Netgear FA311TX - $18.50
113 Key Microsoft Internet Keyboard - $20
MS Intellimouse w/ Wheel - $15
Altec Lansing ACS33 Speakers w/ Subwoofer - $38
Windows 98SE or Windows ME FULL - $99
Enlight 7237 Case W/ 300W Power Supply - $62
80mm Case Fan - $8

Total w/ Shipping VIA UPS Ground ($46.20) - $836

Monitor Via Egghead

19" Samsung 955DF - $338.99 + Shipping ($7 ???).

Total so far $1,182

Windogg


EDIT: Another $17 gets him a Duron 750 bringing the final price up to $1,199.00

 

[vi edit]

Windogg has a great config, but for $10 I would suggest going w/ the 3dfx V3-2000 over the G200.

Slightly lower 2d sharpness(but still superb), but incredibly higher 3d performance, just incase your friend wants to game

 

[Raincity]

Hey way to go Modus and Windog, Killer configs, I have been crunching the numbers for Intel cel 2 700 on a Msi 815e pro board and still didnt come up with a killer config like you two. I think I will go with Windogg config with a Voodo 3 2000 and go with a 17 " Kds Trintron for 240$ from Onvia and use the extra money towards a Cdrw drive since I think would be more benificial than the extra realestate on a 19" monitor. Thanks again. If anybody else has anymore feedback I would love to hear it.

Rain

 

[Modus]

Sounds good, but do get a nice 19" monitor. It will be staring your friend in the face long after his burner is obsolete.

Modus

 

[Rigoletto]

Get a flat screen trinitron, doesn't matter about size too much. My 15" looks big from 13" away, and I can run it at 1024x768 no problems.

 

[Windogg]

Ahhhh.... forgot my good friends at 3DFX. All this Nvidia talk has given me temporary amnesia. The V3 2000 would definitly be better than the G200.

Since Onvia has free shipping see if you can get an Antec case from them if you want to save a few more bucks. I personally like the Enlight but the choice is up to you Raincity.

Have fun!!!

Windogg

 

[whizler]

Do I not see a heat sink and fan? It's easy to miss, but absolutely critical, especially for Durons. Don't even THINK about running that cpu without a heat sink and fan plugged on top.

 

[Windogg]

The Mwave package comes with a heatsink and fan for a OEM Duron.

Windogg

 

[Raincity]

Thanks Windogg I am going to order the monitor from Onvia no matter what monitor she chooses since Onvia is tops on customer service, if the monitor needs to be rma due due shipping damage ,so I might as well order the case from them also. I use Addtronics cases for all my cookie cutter Intel gaming machines I build but the Addtronics are two pricey for this system build and overclocking wont be done so any mid tower case with good ventilation will do. I am excited about the Duron and am thinking of waiving the 100$ build fee in exchange for keeping the system for a couple of weeks to bench and test the system and see how hot this Duron really is. Thanks again for all your feedback.

Rain