Building a decent P4 system for under $350. Can it be done?

[s7ryk3r]

Hey guys,

My roommate is looking to build a new computer system to replace his PIII 450 and he'll only consider P4 systems. I myself love AXPs for their price/performance ratio and I know I can build him a kickin' AMD system for under $350, but a P4 system? I just don't know. Has anyone had experience in building P4s that could steer me in the right direction? Is it even possible? or reasonable?

My main problem is finding a good cpu/mobo combo; everything else should be the same as building an AXP system. Any suggestions on a cheap but reliable mobo and cpu?

I was thinking about just waiting for the weekly Fry's ad to come out; usually they will have a P4/mobo combo for sale each week.

-=s7ryk3r=-

[thePh@r@oh]

depends on how high he wants the speed im sure it can happen..................with alot of onboard stuff...................so if he doesnt plan on gaming much i think it can be done

[thronka]

Its possible is you comparison shop and find a deal and natch it when you see it. I don't think its possible for under 350 for all UP TO DATE STUFF.. but its possible with older p4s like the 1.8 ghz version and some ddr memory. RAMBUS is so expensive so thats counted out. Just take a look around.

[Omardeth]

if you are going to use old stuff from another pc yes it can be done easy . but if you need a hd case mb cpu and ram i think you would be VERY hard pressed to do this . Even witha frys deal . a p4 2.4 frys combo is 200$ give or take 20$ .that leaves 150 dollars for a vid hd case cd mem . to do all that for under 150 $ would be tuff . and as thronka said i doubt it will be UP TO DATE stuff.

[slinky]

this is surely not the "latest and the greatest" but it fits quite nicely under that budget u had in mind: http://secure.newegg.com/app/WishHis...VIEW&ID=316602
probably could save up to 120 dollars if u take out the unecessary parts and reuse video, floppy etc.

the p4 mobo combos on sale in fry ads arent usually that great of brands (ECS...) and u can probably find it cheaper online. wouldn't want that opened fry's stuff would we

[Omardeth]

your right the frys combos are ecs most the time but you can't beat them online EVER on the sale combo's .... i would like to links for that . also if you have shoped at frys then you know that returned items have that little sticker on them and you don't grab them .


matter of fact i have the frys add for today in front of me they have a combo onsale 2.4 533fsb p4 with a ecs l4vxa2 mb 159$ thats like getting the motherboard for free...........

newegg has the mother board for 58$ and the cpu for 154$

cheapest on pricewatch with shipping is 54.90 for the motherboard and 154 for the chip .

thats alot more than what fry's wants for it .

[Zenara25]

For cpu go with www.googlegear.com P4 1.8 $121 retail or the P4 2.4b northwood 533FSB $162 retail

Motherboard VIA chipset www.googlegear.com ECS L4VXA2 for $54.50 or the Chaintech 9VJL3 for $54
SIS chipset www.newegg.com MATSONIC MS9337C for $59

I don't have any experience with these specific boards though.

Hope you find what you want

[HaroldW]

I just tried over at Newegg and excluding monitor, operating system and shipping I came to $333. CA shipping was an additional $33.64 and then there would be sales tax (if delivered to CA.)

I included:

Intel Pentium4 1.8A GHz 512K Socket 478 Processor 400MHz Processor Bus -Retail (includes HSF)

VGA CHAINTECH AG-SI40 SIS 305 32MB 2X VGA & TV-OUT. RETAIL BOX

MATSONIC MS9327E+(USB),SIS 650GL chipset for Socket 478 P4 motherboard

Apacer 256MB DDR PC2100 RAM 32X8 Nanya Original Chipset CL=2.5 - OEM
184-Pin, DDR266

KEYBOARD-2000 BLACK KB/MS-RETAIL BOX Designer Mouse and Keyboard in black color

WESTERN DIGITAL WD400EB 40GB 5400RPM CAVIAR - Hard Drive OEM

SAMSUNG 1.44MB FLOPPY DRIVE Model# SFD321B/LEB - OEM, DRIVE ONLY

Dynapower Model# METIS CS-I3ASB.701 (Silver Black) ATX MID-TOWER CASE w/ 300W POWER SUPPLY - 2 x USB RETAIL

Of course other components could be selected to drive down the price maybe $20-$30. Keep in mind I tried to balance actual cost with performance and shipping cost.

[HELPlittleOl'Me]

where can u buy nanya ram?? and www.cyberpowerinc.com is the best place to buy computers, a little more than $350 though.