Yet another:Help me build a (practice) computer - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Pellaz · 03-01-2004, 09:02 PM

ok, little bit about my situation. I'm planning on building a new computer later in the year, and I'd like some practice. Meanwhile, my in-laws are rolling along on a superhighspeedoutstanding Celeron 333 with 64 mb of ram. So, I was thinking, be a good son in law and get my practice in, killing two birds with one stone.

I know what I'm thinking of would probably be cheaper to buy right now from dell or the like, but if I can do it for not too much more (say, a hundred or so), than the practice and fun of it will be worth it to me.

First and foremost, no games are going to be on here. XP will be the most intensive thing being run on it, followed by outlook/IE and some digital camera stock software, so powerhouse beast it doesn't need to be. What I do want out of it is reliability (in terms of parts quality, I guess), and some speed on the aforementioned applications. Right now, their computer takes something like 60 seconds to load IE.

I'm woefully ignorant of the market right now, so I'm not even sure where to start. I was thinking somewhere in the 400-500 dollar price range max for hardware, but is that even doable?

Gotenks · 03-01-2004, 10:20 PM

Anything is doable! (and it will be good practice)

Case - Antec Solution Series (beige) + 300wt PSU - $45
HDD - Western Digital 40gb 8mb cache - $64
Mobo - Shuttle AN35N Ultra - $60
Chip - Barton 2500 - $75
Memory - Corsair Value Select 256mb DDR 400 - $46
Video - Geforce4-TI-4200 - $120
Speakers - Any Cheapies 2.0/2.1 - $15-25
Cooling - Volcano 7+ (lowest speed setting for less noise)/2x TT 80mm Fans - $30
Heatsink Paste - Arctic Silver 5 - $8
Keyboard/Mouse - Cheap Logitech/Cheap anything - $20-35

Total: $483-$508(ish)

Given you can pretty much degrade anything in this list to the bottom of the barrel type equipment. This computer, would last a damn long time for the casual people.

*EDIT*
The mobo has onboard sound, and lan. (forgot to add that)
*EDIT Again*
I'm not sure if there's anything reusable in their system, In my mind I figured that floppy/cdrom would be reusable, hence I didnt add either.

VF19 · 03-01-2004, 10:32 PM

You dont really need AS5 for anything but O/Cing.
Get a cheap(er) Geforce4 MX or something, a Ti4200 is too good to just sit and run IE all day (well come on I have a little geforce3 and its a god to me) and use the saved money on more HDD space.
And considering the age of the current system, youre better off just buying a $15 52X CDROM than sitting with a slow POS.
You could get a 2500 Barton but why? XP2200-1800 should be all that they need.

I dont understand why people put these good parts into a little IE and Outlook system. And dont tell me it's stability, I know and you know it's not.

Destrox · 03-02-2004, 04:54 AM

Pretty much just as the previous poster stated, GeForce4 MX or a ATI-Radeon7000 both are in the 50$ range.

Just use the normal HS&F on a system like that.

I my self think its foolish to NOT get a dvdrom so they dont need to upgrade later on. Liteon 16x - 29$ @ newegg.

Anyways, heres my recommendation:
AMD XP 1800+ - $49
Abit NF7-s $92
Corsair Value PC2100 512MB - $82 (Not sure if you really want this much memory)
Liteon 16x DvdRom - $29
Case - Anything under w/300watt $50
Windows XP Home - $89
Wd 40Gb 7200 8mb Cache - $55
GeForce4 MX 440 - $50~ (brand specific really changes prices, such as I prefer gainward over any)

Total: $496.00

Vanquish · 03-02-2004, 06:38 AM

One nice thing about going with the Barton is that your only spending another $30 for something that you WILL notice a difference on especially with the Digital Camera stuff. Also, if you are just getting started with Digi stuff, you will have a growing need for more ram and better processor power when you want to edit some pics.

Anyway heres my suggestion. All prices are from NewEgg

Barton 2500+ - $80
512mb DDR333 Kingston Value Ram - $77
Abit NF7-s v2.0 - $92
Antec SLK-3700BQE - $79
Liteon 52x32x52 Burner - $39 (I would suggest this over a DVD for the backup of your digital pics.)
Western Digital WD800JB 80gb Drive - $79
MSI GF4 MX440-8x - $45

=$491

This system will be extremely good, and if you found the need later on to use Paint shop PRO or Photoshop, you will have the Processor power and the RAM to do just about whatever you want. This is assuming that you already have a copy of Win XP, Speakers, Monitor, Mouse and Keyboard.

sailor · 03-02-2004, 07:31 AM

I was going to make a list, but everyone beat me to it

Good advice yall... I do think that a 2500 is overkill for a web machine, and like others said, get the cheapest vid card you can find. GF4MX, Radeon 7000, something like that.

Avoid ECS mobos though. They are cheap, but they cost so little for a reason. I had one and it was the biggest POS I have ever seen. Had to be RMAs TWICE, and still never worked right.

Lasereth · 03-02-2004, 08:31 AM

Everyone has good suggestions so far, but I still think it's overkill for the most part. A cheap $40 mobo from NewEgg will do the trick, just make sure it has onboard LAN and onboard sound. An Athlon XP 1700+ or 1800+ will do fine with the mobo and give more power than any non-gamer will need for years to come.

Graphics? Hell, a GeForce 4 MX 440 is overkill for non-gamers, but it's a good choice for the price. I'd recommend it.

For non-gamers, more of a slower type RAM is better than less of a faster type. 512 MB of PC2700 will do fine, but you could save even more money and get PC2100 without a noticeable difference for non-gamers.

A cheap $20-$30 case will do good as well. No need for a durable flashy case for people that are gonna use it for regular use. NewEgg has some EXCELLENT cases for $30 with 350w PSU's.

-Lasereth

Pellaz · 03-02-2004, 10:02 AM

Thanks for the advice, everyone. Gonna delve into newegg tonight and try and work from your suggestions and come back with a final list and probably a lot of questions. For posterities sake, nothing from their old cpu case (drives etc) is usuable, as they're 600 miles away and I'd like it to be a surprise.

heyal256 · 03-02-2004, 05:09 PM

I'd suggest that you might want to look at some mobos with integrated video as well, if the pc isn't being used for gaming, build it like a "business" pc where everything is integrated onto the mobo, it can make things easier to solve because you get all the drivers from teh mobo manufacturer. Also a mobo with integrated video may be cheaper then getting a geforce4mx.

VF19 · 03-02-2004, 05:56 PM

Onboard video is fine for non-gamers (I _had_ a Asus A7V8X-MX with 1337 onboard VIA Unichrome which sucked at games but was bearable for non gaming) however make sure the board has an AGP slot so you can upgrade later on if you wish.

merkerguitars · 03-02-2004, 10:06 PM

Get a shuttle mini kit....small...quiet...inexpensive..and reliable...nuff said

jvwgtr · 03-03-2004, 11:16 AM

I agree with merkerguitars, a shuttle barebones would be great- your in-laws will find it adorable, and it has everything they'd need.
Assembly on your part will be a breeze, and if you want to challenge yourself a little more, maybe pull the PSU and sleeve it (you might want the practice).

Lasereth · 03-03-2004, 11:40 AM

The Shuttles are awesome, but Pellaz says that he wants practice building a PC. The Shuttles come nearly completely built, so it wouldn't give much practice (if any). They're a decent deal, especially for how small and space-converving they are, but when it comes to custom-built PCs, they're simply already built.

-Lasereth

03-01-2004, 09:02 PM	#1 (permalink)
Pellaz Addict Location: Texas	Yet another:Help me build a (practice) computer ok, little bit about my situation. I'm planning on building a new computer later in the year, and I'd like some practice. Meanwhile, my in-laws are rolling along on a superhighspeedoutstanding Celeron 333 with 64 mb of ram. So, I was thinking, be a good son in law and get my practice in, killing two birds with one stone. I know what I'm thinking of would probably be cheaper to buy right now from dell or the like, but if I can do it for not too much more (say, a hundred or so), than the practice and fun of it will be worth it to me. First and foremost, no games are going to be on here. XP will be the most intensive thing being run on it, followed by outlook/IE and some digital camera stock software, so powerhouse beast it doesn't need to be. What I do want out of it is reliability (in terms of parts quality, I guess), and some speed on the aforementioned applications. Right now, their computer takes something like 60 seconds to load IE. I'm woefully ignorant of the market right now, so I'm not even sure where to start. I was thinking somewhere in the 400-500 dollar price range max for hardware, but is that even doable? __________________ " ' Big Mouth. Remember it took three of you to kill me. A god, a boy, and, last and least, a hero.' "

03-01-2004, 10:20 PM	#2 (permalink)
Gotenks Crazy Location: In a house	Anything is doable! (and it will be good practice) Case - Antec Solution Series (beige) + 300wt PSU - $45 HDD - Western Digital 40gb 8mb cache - $64 Mobo - Shuttle AN35N Ultra - $60 Chip - Barton 2500 - $75 Memory - Corsair Value Select 256mb DDR 400 - $46 Video - Geforce4-TI-4200 - $120 Speakers - Any Cheapies 2.0/2.1 - $15-25 Cooling - Volcano 7+ (lowest speed setting for less noise)/2x TT 80mm Fans - $30 Heatsink Paste - Arctic Silver 5 - $8 Keyboard/Mouse - Cheap Logitech/Cheap anything - $20-35 Total: $483-$508(ish) Given you can pretty much degrade anything in this list to the bottom of the barrel type equipment. This computer, would last a damn long time for the casual people. EDIT The mobo has onboard sound, and lan. (forgot to add that) EDIT Again I'm not sure if there's anything reusable in their system, In my mind I figured that floppy/cdrom would be reusable, hence I didnt add either. __________________ Mors ultima linea rerum est. Last edited by Gotenks; 03-01-2004 at 10:22 PM..

03-02-2004, 04:54 AM	#4 (permalink)
Destrox Metal and Rock 4 Life Location: Phoenix	Pretty much just as the previous poster stated, GeForce4 MX or a ATI-Radeon7000 both are in the 50$ range. Just use the normal HS&F on a system like that. I my self think its foolish to NOT get a dvdrom so they dont need to upgrade later on. Liteon 16x - 29$ @ newegg. Anyways, heres my recommendation: AMD XP 1800+ - $49 Abit NF7-s $92 Corsair Value PC2100 512MB - $82 (Not sure if you really want this much memory) Liteon 16x DvdRom - $29 Case - Anything under w/300watt $50 Windows XP Home - $89 Wd 40Gb 7200 8mb Cache - $55 GeForce4 MX 440 - $50~ (brand specific really changes prices, such as I prefer gainward over any) Total: $496.00 __________________ You bore me.... next.

03-02-2004, 07:31 AM	#6 (permalink)
sailor beauty in the breakdown Location: Chapel Hill, NC	I was going to make a list, but everyone beat me to it Good advice yall... I do think that a 2500 is overkill for a web machine, and like others said, get the cheapest vid card you can find. GF4MX, Radeon 7000, something like that. Avoid ECS mobos though. They are cheap, but they cost so little for a reason. I had one and it was the biggest POS I have ever seen. Had to be RMAs TWICE, and still never worked right. __________________ "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws." --Plato

03-02-2004, 08:31 AM	#7 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	Everyone has good suggestions so far, but I still think it's overkill for the most part. A cheap $40 mobo from NewEgg will do the trick, just make sure it has onboard LAN and onboard sound. An Athlon XP 1700+ or 1800+ will do fine with the mobo and give more power than any non-gamer will need for years to come. Graphics? Hell, a GeForce 4 MX 440 is overkill for non-gamers, but it's a good choice for the price. I'd recommend it. For non-gamers, more of a slower type RAM is better than less of a faster type. 512 MB of PC2700 will do fine, but you could save even more money and get PC2100 without a noticeable difference for non-gamers. A cheap $20-$30 case will do good as well. No need for a durable flashy case for people that are gonna use it for regular use. NewEgg has some EXCELLENT cases for $30 with 350w PSU's. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert

03-01-2004, 10:32 PM	#3 (permalink)
VF19 Banned Location: back to my old location	You dont really need AS5 for anything but O/Cing. Get a cheap(er) Geforce4 MX or something, a Ti4200 is too good to just sit and run IE all day (well come on I have a little geforce3 and its a god to me) and use the saved money on more HDD space. And considering the age of the current system, youre better off just buying a $15 52X CDROM than sitting with a slow POS. You could get a 2500 Barton but why? XP2200-1800 should be all that they need. I dont understand why people put these good parts into a little IE and Outlook system. And dont tell me it's stability, I know and you know it's not.

03-02-2004, 06:38 AM	#5 (permalink)
Vanquish Insane Location: Truro, Nova Scotia	One nice thing about going with the Barton is that your only spending another $30 for something that you WILL notice a difference on especially with the Digital Camera stuff. Also, if you are just getting started with Digi stuff, you will have a growing need for more ram and better processor power when you want to edit some pics. Anyway heres my suggestion. All prices are from NewEgg Barton 2500+ - $80 512mb DDR333 Kingston Value Ram - $77 Abit NF7-s v2.0 - $92 Antec SLK-3700BQE - $79 Liteon 52x32x52 Burner - $39 (I would suggest this over a DVD for the backup of your digital pics.) Western Digital WD800JB 80gb Drive - $79 MSI GF4 MX440-8x - $45 =$491 This system will be extremely good, and if you found the need later on to use Paint shop PRO or Photoshop, you will have the Processor power and the RAM to do just about whatever you want. This is assuming that you already have a copy of Win XP, Speakers, Monitor, Mouse and Keyboard.

03-02-2004, 10:02 AM	#8 (permalink)
Pellaz Addict Location: Texas	Thanks for the advice, everyone. Gonna delve into newegg tonight and try and work from your suggestions and come back with a final list and probably a lot of questions. For posterities sake, nothing from their old cpu case (drives etc) is usuable, as they're 600 miles away and I'd like it to be a surprise. __________________ " ' Big Mouth. Remember it took three of you to kill me. A god, a boy, and, last and least, a hero.' "

03-02-2004, 05:09 PM	#9 (permalink)
heyal256 Not so great lurker Location: NY	I'd suggest that you might want to look at some mobos with integrated video as well, if the pc isn't being used for gaming, build it like a "business" pc where everything is integrated onto the mobo, it can make things easier to solve because you get all the drivers from teh mobo manufacturer. Also a mobo with integrated video may be cheaper then getting a geforce4mx.

03-02-2004, 05:56 PM	#10 (permalink)
VF19 Banned Location: back to my old location	Onboard video is fine for non-gamers (I _had_ a Asus A7V8X-MX with 1337 onboard VIA Unichrome which sucked at games but was bearable for non gaming) however make sure the board has an AGP slot so you can upgrade later on if you wish.

03-02-2004, 10:06 PM	#11 (permalink)
merkerguitars Buffering......... Location: Wisconsin...	Get a shuttle mini kit....small...quiet...inexpensive..and reliable...nuff said __________________ Donate now! Ask me How! Please use the search function it is your friend. Look at my mustang please feel free to comment! http://www.tfproject.org/tfp/showthread.php?t=26985

03-03-2004, 11:16 AM	#12 (permalink)
jvwgtr Completely bananas Location: Florida	I agree with merkerguitars, a shuttle barebones would be great- your in-laws will find it adorable, and it has everything they'd need. Assembly on your part will be a breeze, and if you want to challenge yourself a little more, maybe pull the PSU and sleeve it (you might want the practice).

03-03-2004, 11:40 AM	#13 (permalink)
Lasereth Knight of the Old Republic Location: Winston-Salem, NC	The Shuttles are awesome, but Pellaz says that he wants practice building a PC. The Shuttles come nearly completely built, so it wouldn't give much practice (if any). They're a decent deal, especially for how small and space-converving they are, but when it comes to custom-built PCs, they're simply already built. -Lasereth __________________ "A Darwinian attacks his theory, seeking to find flaws. An ID believer defends his theory, seeking to conceal flaws." -Roger Ebert