Need Inexpensive computer

[agathodaimon]

I'm about to build my sister a new computer, and I need to keep the budget within around $400.00 including an OS.

It's not going to be a gaming rig or anything, she just wants a computer that will boot every time and that "doesn't suck" like her old Pentium2.

First off, it will probably be an athlon XP1800 or 1700 processor and I'm thinking it needs to have:
1. integrated video
2. onboard sound
3. ethernet 10/100
4. usb 2.0
5. AGP slot
6. DDR Support

Doesn't matter which brand, but I just want something that's good to go right out of the box... i.e. NO BIOS FLASHES.

Anyone have any good BUDGET motherboard experiences?

[Redwolf]

An original nForce motherboard with an integrated Geforce2 chip might just be what the doctor ordered. Not sure about nForce2 tho.

[agathodaimon]

any particular brands to stay with or stay away from?

I'm kind of leaning towards MSI at the moment... Maybe BioStar

[Redwolf]

I'm not too familiar with all the 'el-cheapo' manufacturers, so you'll just have to read all the reviews yourself, unfortunately. A good place to start is Tom's Hardware, at http://www.tomshardware.com/ .

If you stick with the big companies (aka MSI, Gigabyte, Asus, Abit, etc), then odds are the board will be good. I suggest reading reviews though.

[highrock]

msi i boards are good i have one in mine from this company called cyberpowerinc.

here is a link to a configured system at default selections for $398:
http://www.cyberpowersystem.com/high...ertainment.htm

shipping: $65 ups ground for just system w/out monitor
other shipping options:

http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/shipandhan.html

[RAR]

Agathodaimon, you can get a Dell Dimension 2350 with a Celeron 2.2 GHz, 128 PC2100 DDR, keyboard & mouse, Windows XP Home Edition, WordPerfect Office Suite, 40GB ATA/100 (7200RPM) hard drive, 16mb usb memory key (instead of floppy drive), 48X24X48 CD-RW Burner, Integrated Intel Extreme 3D Graphics, Integrated Audio, and integrated 10/100 Ethernet nic for $399 shipped free. When I checked it out and there was $23.94 tax so the grand total was $423.00. Not too bad a deal, plus it is supported by Dell and you don't have to build it!

[agathodaimon]

RAR - Where can I find more info. on this computer?
She doesn't really care where it comes from, just as long as she gets one that's faster than the one she has now...
That would be a great deal.

I suppose I could just go to dell's website, but I'm kinda limited on my time here at work to surf much...

[tmx468]

Please don't get a Celeron. I know they are tempting, but their performance is so poor that it is truly not worth it! Stick to P4's and Athlons.

[discreet]

I dont know if you can squeeze a little more out of your budget but heres what I recently built:

Dynapower (I think) Black ATX Case
AMD Athlon 1700
Thermaltake Volcano 7+
Refurbished Asus A7N8X Deluxe Mobo
Maxtor 40GB Hard Drive
Kingston 512 MB PC2700 RAM
64 MB PNY GeForce Ti4200
Lite-On 52x Burner
Dell 17" 1025TM Monitor (.25)

Everything was bought off newegg, the monitor for $84 off ebay. Take out my vid card and get something like a GF2 or 4 MX, 256 MB RAM (I had those already) and you have a nice budget PC. All that should be just a hair over $400 or maybe less. I misplaced my receipt so sorry I cant provide the exact prices

[agathodaimon]

i should have mentioned that it DOES NOT need a monitor.... That will save on costs.
It also DOES NOT need a keyboard, mouse & speakers.

Right now I'm looking at $424 shipped on newegg.com for an MSI KM2M mobo, xp1700 processor, 40-gig Samsung HD, 52x24x52 CDRW, floppy, Allied 300w PS with black & silver Foxconn case, 256 megs Crucial pc2100 and Windows XP home full edition.