System advice for a friend

[Slammy1]

My friend has an OLD PC. Not a lot of salvage from it, except Win XP Home, an 80GB IDE drive (WD Caviar SE), mouse, keyboard, and monitor. I was wanting to get him something upgradeable, but he doesn't have a lot of money (using the tax return). His goals are to do legal backups of his DVDs (his kids are ROUGH on them), light gaming, and maybe plunk in a CPU/drive down the road for whichever HD standard becomes the norm. I was also wondering how limited he'll be in games with the integrated graphics. Here's what I have (price includes s/h), anything to cut price or improvement for slight price increase advice would be appreciated.

ASUS M2NPV-VM Socket AM2 GeForce 6150 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $91.12

AMD Athlon 64 3500+ Orleans Socket AM2 - Retail $89.00

G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) System Memory $119.98

Antec SONATA II Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 450Watt SmartPower 2.0 Power Supply $115.98

NEC 18X E-IDE DVD Burner - OEM $28.99

Total = $445.07
He really don't want to go higher, preferably lower. Memory seems to be the spot to hit, but from what I'm reading the MoBo is picky and I didn't want to end up with problems. TIA for any help.

 

[bamacre]

Dell E521, even if it's a refurb.

I have found them with X2 3800+, 1GB DDR2, DVDRW, GF 7300 LE, and XP MCE, for less than 400 shipped.

4 dimm's, supports 4GB DDR2, PCIe x16 slot, and PSU capable of running X1950 Pro or 7950 GT.

 

[Slammy1]

It would be nice, but standard sources (Dell refurb, EBay, a certain deal site...) didn't give me anything close to those specs or price. I have nothing against Dell, esp for a friend build, just since he has a usable OS and a couple items it seemed best bang-for-buck going this route. I'll keep an eye out for deals. Thanks for the advice!

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Slammy1
It would be nice, but standard sources (Dell refurb, EBay, a certain deal site...) didn't give me anything close to those specs or price. I have nothing against Dell, esp for a friend build, just since he has a usable OS and a couple items it seemed best bang-for-buck going this route. I'll keep an eye out for deals. Thanks for the advice!

PM me, I'll help you.

 

[moosey]

What if you went with this and just changed a few things up?

This is a Biostar (ATX) on the NF4 Ultra chipset which should be a good value board for you + it has a combo with the A64 3500+
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138041
$150

1GB Gskill DDR2-800 (5-5-5-12)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820231099
$95
(or if you want the 4-4-4-12 timings go with what you had if you can afford it)

Samsung DVD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151133
$30

Antec Sonata w/ PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129155
$80 after rebate

TOTAL = $355 w/o shipping

Edit: Sorry forget video
Biostar GF6200 LE (or the 6200A version is $38)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814141035
$33

Total w/o shipping = $388

 

[Slammy1]

The downside of the Biostar board is the lack of integrated video. I figure with rapidly changing status of tech/prices (are GPUs ever stable?) I wanted to save a few bucks and let him upgrade later. I like the memory, changed the build for that ($20 savings, not bad). Is the Samsung $7 better than the NEC? I'm just used to NEC drives (bought a couple now), but I haven't researched them lately. That's actually the same case, I just listed price with shipping without rebate. Thanks for the advice, I'm happy for some memory recommendations.

EDIT: Wrote before your edit .

 

[moosey]

Originally posted by: Slammy1
The downside of the Biostar board is the lack of integrated video. I figure with rapidly changing status of tech/prices (are GPUs ever stable?) I wanted to save a few bucks and let him upgrade later. I like the memory, changed the build for that ($20 savings, not bad). Is the Samsung $7 better than the NEC? I'm just used to NEC drives (bought a couple now), but I haven't researched them lately. That's actually the same case, I just listed price with shipping without rebate. Thanks for the advice, I'm happy for some memory recommendations.

I noticed with the video, but anything is gonna be better than integrated and it was only a $30 addition. I did that because you listed a need as "light gaming" and I figured that would have to help. Plus, it's a full ATX board, if that even matters to you.

I'm not sure what you mean by the Samsung being $7 better as the difference is only about $1. Yeah, I did keep the same case as you also.

 

[Slammy1]

The NEC is free s/h and $1 cheaper, difference = $6.64.

I was worried about the integrated graphics, maybe I can get him to put a bit more in. Aside from the DVD, it's about $13 more going that route. Not too bad at all. Thanks again for the help.

EDIT: And yes, I do prefer ATX.

 

[moosey]

Oh, I didn't notice with the shipping, if it's a problem with the drive then go with what you were initially if you're familiar with the NEC drives.

 

[stogez]

I'd say look for a nice Dell refurb E521. You have to keep checking because they go out of stock fast.
If you do build, why not get a cheaper case since this is a budget build?
Also, no such thing as a "legal dvd backup"

 

[Slammy1]

Originally posted by: stogez
I'd say look for a nice Dell refurb E521. You have to keep checking because they go out of stock fast.
If you do build, why not get a cheaper case since this is a budget build?
Also, no such thing as a "legal dvd backup"

bamacre has helped me out with advice on the Dell, I think we'll try that a bit (my friend's wife loves bargain shopping). And, I mean, backup of purchased DVDs (but point taken ).

EDIT: at $96 shipped (AR) I thought the case was a bargain price.

 

[stogez]

Good luck. Theres some good deals on there if you're patient
I know what you meant. I have a lot of backups too. Either way, its still illegal from the MPAA's point of view lol

 

[Slammy1]

Thanks for the help!

EDIT: So no one thinks I'm being rude, time for bed so I won't be here to answer until tomorrow.