New Computer Needed

[nochay]

I have a friend who needs a new computer. What is the reason you ask? This should be reason enough:

"Packard Bell"

Yep, he has a packard bell computer. What would you recommend for a bargain computer? He is just looking for a simple computer to play games on, print files, and maybe get on the internet using dsl/cable. Nothing too fancy. What would you recommend for say under $600? They have a small budget for the computer probably, so price is important. AMD or Intel, doesn't matter. What would be suitable parts to put together? Building one for them I think would save them money. No E-Machines trash. I have never heard a good story about a E-Machines computer I think building one for them would be the best bet.

Dane

[haxxorpoop]

Firstly, you should build your own computer. It will save you money. Secondly, what types of games does he/will he be playing? HL2? Doom3?

600 bucks is a good budget for a decent computer.

[washe]

just started a similar thread but less budget hope it helps..

http://www.techimo.com/forum/t90039.html

[omalleytrading]

Well, everyone has the love 'em / hate 'em viewpoint, but for a good all around computer, it's hard to beat Dell.

http://www.dell.com

$600 should buy him/her a decent machine for the average user.

[nochay]

He might get into some of the current popular games, I am not sure. How is this for a system? I just went to newegg, and threw all this together.

PREMIER CP0-PR-TM206350 350W Mid Tower ATX Case $35.00 (1)

ASUS A7V8X-X AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Socket A, Processor Motherboard Retail $61.99 (1)

KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2100 DDR RAM CL 2.5- OEM (2) $42.00

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ "Barton", 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor – Retail $81.00 (1)

Lite On LTR-52327S Beige 52x32x52 CD-RW Drive, 2MB, Retail $39.99 (1)

PANASONIC JU-256A798P 1.44 MB 3.5 INCH HIGH DENSITY FLOPPY DISK $6.00 (1)

Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive 8MB OEM 6Y120P0 $105.00 (1)

Total: $370.98

Or with a good video card:

PREMIER CP0-PR-TM206350 350W Mid Tower ATX Case $35.00 (1)

ASUS A7V8X-X AMD Athlon/Athlon XP/Duron Socket A, Processor Motherboard Retail $61.99 (1)

KINGSTON KVR266X64C25/256 256MB 32x64 PC2100 DDR RAM CL 2.5- OEM (2) $42.00

ATI Radeon 9600XT 128MB DDR VGA/DVI/TV-out – RETAIL $189.00 (1)

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ "Barton", 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor – Retail $81.00 (1)

Lite On LTR-52327S Beige 52x32x52 CD-RW Drive, 2MB, Retail $39.99 (1)

PANASONIC JU-256A798P 1.44 MB 3.5 INCH HIGH DENSITY FLOPPY DISK $6.00 (1)

Maxtor 120GB 7200RPM Hard Drive 8MB OEM 6Y120P0 $105.00 (1)

Total: $560.97


Seems powerful, and should last him for years to come. Did I design a good system, or should I stick to installing copies of apache?

Dane

[haxxorpoop]

You can save a few bucks by dropping the HD to 100 gb, taking out the floppy (really, who uses these things now?!). With the saved money, you should get a no name CD rom Read only drive, so you can do disk to disk copys. You might want a bit more ram too, but for 600, yea, thats one nice computer.

You might need a spare PSU too, as PSUs that come with cases tend to be crap.

[slinky]

Dell has a P4-2.53Ghz deal going on for only $279. cant get any more bargain than that.

[iseeu_3]

i'm with omalleytrading, go with a dell. and some of them come with a monitor. dell's gaving some kick butt deals for buying online.

<shad>

[nochay]

Originally posted by haxxorpoop
taking out the floppy (really, who uses these things now?!).

He does. I insist he gets a portable USB hard disk (I have a 64 mb one) but he won't get one. His other friends also have usb drives, but he is content with floppys until they fail on him.

Oh well. What would be a good power supply then? Wish I had still had that working floppy drive from comp usa's trash. Nothing wrong with it at all.

Dane

[JPMiller]

Shuttle Motherboard for AMD processors Micro ATX, Model MN31N =$86 shipped and you can skip the video card...
the case you selected is 53 shipped and youll most likely need a new power supplyas well...
$26 shipped ...or
$27 shipped
Unfortunately if it comes with a PSU...they are known to be garbage...for $22 shipped you can get a quality 500watt dual fan from Here...
TOTAL...under $50 shipped
plus if you go with black....you can get this for $35 shipped.