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another cheap specs thread

L

laban

[H]ard|Gawd
Joined
Feb 28, 2001
Messages
1,278
I'm looking at putting together a computer for a co-worker of mine, who wants to spend as absolute little as possible (it's for her nephew) maybe $250-$300. This is just for the tower, no monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers. The comptuer will just be used for email, internet, and microsoft office.

The specs need to include: Case, CPU, Memory, HDD, CD, Floppy, and probably a 56k modem :)

I figured I'd get a mob with onboard Lan, Video, and Audio.

Last night I specs out a Celeron 2.0 system for just under $300, but I know you [H]ocp'ers can probably do better than that.

The cheaper the better :)

Thanks

Laban
 
so no OCing, i take it...

Pro Source Full Tower Case Model 606LUNA(Blue) Retail (300W PSU) $22.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-132-001&depa=1)

BIOSTAR SiS 740 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "M7VKQ PRO" -RETAIL $47.00 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-138-229&catalog=22&depa=1)

Mushkin Basic Green 184 Pin 128MB DDR PC-2100 $27.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-218&catalog=147&depa=1)

Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD400JB, OEM Drive only $63.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-126&catalog=14&depa=1)


Sony 52x24x52 CD-RW Drive, Model CRX225E1, OEM $34.99
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-813&catalog=5&depa=1)

NEC FD1231H-304/FD1231H-305 1.44MB Floppy Drive, OEM DRIVE ONLY $6.99
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-152-001&catalog=13&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1)

Apollo 56K V.92 PCI Fax Modem, Model ENF656-GHW-INPR $16.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=25-132-002&depa=1)


AMD Athlon XP 2400+ "Thoroughbred" 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor - Retail $80.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-336&catalog=343&depa=1)

TOTAL==$296.98

beat that, anyone! ^_^

i hope you get more responses, laban. I know how frustrating it can be for no one to give a shit about your thread...good luck! I hope that helps. :)
 
oh yeah, what are you going to do about Windows!? maybe you have an old copy of 98SE (ahhh...) lying around...or perhaps you'll just go Lindows or Mandrake or etc. etc....
 
Ah I would just suggest throwing in at least 256 ram. Please do it for the children! Even 256 is pretty bad in Windows.
 
Thanks for the input Carnival. I'm probably going to put on Windows 2000, or Windows XP. The futuer owner of this pc is a student at a university where they sell Microsoft software for $5 for Windows & $20 for Office XP.
 
yea windows xp boots with 128. I know because ive seen a bunch of HP/compaq pcs with that low, btw then shave off a few megs for shared video (ick!)

It may be a good idea to see what local pc stores have in the way of used pcs. If you want it brand new, pricewatch sells barebones probably in the neighborhood you're lookin for for under 200 bucks.
 
win xp pro will not only boot on less then 128 megs of ram, it will install on 48 megs of ram (on a p133 to boot) yes it took about 2 hours to install, and took a 2 minutes to boot, but it ran fine on a p133 with 48 megs of ram. I did it more then once, just to prove to people that it can be done. Now i would not build a machine with less then 256 of ram, because less ram is just painfull, and for my machiens i dont run less then 512 for gamers/workstations 1 gig for photo/cad machiens, and 4 gigs for servers, but thats just me.


and Carnival Forces i take your chalange and present you with this

ASPIRE Case (Beige), Model "ATX918" -RETAIL 22.00 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-144-052&catalog=7&depa=1 )

ASRock KL133A Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "M810LMR" -RETAIL 43.00 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-157-010&catalog=22&depa=1 )

Kingston ValueRAM 168 Pin 128MB SDRAM PC-133 - OEM 22.00 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-133-116&catalog=147&depa=1 )

Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model 6E040L0, OEM Drive only 54.00 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-140-133&catalog=14&depa=1 )

Sony 52x24x52 CD-RW Drive, Model CRX225E1, OEM 34.00 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-813&catalog=5&depa=1 )

SAMSUNG SFD321B/LEB 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, OEM Driver Only 5.59 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-103-202&catalog=13&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1 )

3NET Internal 56K PCI Fax Modem, Model AMI-IA56 - Retail 10.00 usd
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-137-102&catalog=18&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1 )

AMD Athlon XP 2400+ "Thoroughbred" 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor - Retail 80.00 USD
( http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-336&catalog=343&depa=1 )

price with 128 megs of ram 270.59

price with 256 megs of ram 292.59


hope that helps :D
 
yeah it will run it fine, the VIA KL133A is the nb chipset and it will support a 266 cpu fine, it will not be as fast as a pc2100 machine, but then again for email/web/office stuff it is plenty fast.
 
Originally posted by Carnival Forces
so no OCing, i take it...

Pro Source Full Tower Case Model 606LUNA(Blue) Retail (300W PSU) $22.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=11-132-001&depa=1)

BIOSTAR SiS 740 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "M7VKQ PRO" -RETAIL $47.00 (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-138-229&catalog=22&depa=1)

Mushkin Basic Green 184 Pin 128MB DDR PC-2100 $27.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-146-218&catalog=147&depa=1)

Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD400JB, OEM Drive only $63.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=22-144-126&catalog=14&depa=1)

Sony 52x24x52 CD-RW Drive, Model CRX225E1, OEM $34.99
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-813&catalog=5&depa=1)

NEC FD1231H-304/FD1231H-305 1.44MB Floppy Drive, OEM DRIVE ONLY $6.99
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-152-001&catalog=13&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1)

Apollo 56K V.92 PCI Fax Modem, Model ENF656-GHW-INPR $16.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=25-132-002&depa=1)


AMD Athlon XP 2400+ "Thoroughbred" 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor - Retail $80.00
(http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-336&catalog=343&depa=1)

TOTAL==$296.98

beat that, anyone! ^_^

i hope you get more responses, laban. I know how frustrating it can be for no one to give a shit about your thread...good luck! I hope that helps. :)
Click to expand...
Great setup with a few minor exceptions. Check out these substitutes:
Maxtor 40GB 7200RPM $54
Crucial 256MB DDR PC-2100 $39 WinXP with less than 256megs is painfully slow, and extra few $$$ buys a ton of speed here, especially with onboard video sucking up~16-32megs.
Samsung floppy disc save a couple $$ over the NEC drive

I really stress the 256megs ddr aspect. If you stick only 128 megs DDR with WinXP it'll feel like a p3 700mhz with pc133 sdram.
 
actually, dagamore, your setup has 1/2 the storage space, and SDRAM as opposed to DDR, which means even if you do double your RAM it'll only then be equal to my setup; however, it is a lot cheaper, kudos to you :)

i think SJetski71 really hit the sweetspot though, i did splurge a little :rolleyes: , but, the reason i suggested the Apollo 56k card (and i strongly suggest it) is b/c it is reputed to be one of the best and fastest 56k cards out there...so spend the extra $6.00...

oh yeah, and the see time on the NEC is faster then on the Mitsumi, but i didn't check Samsung (and well, i guess seektime doesn't really matter... it is a floppy...)

hope that helps....
 
Originally posted by Carnival Forces
actually, dagamore, your setup has 1/2 the storage space, and SDRAM as opposed to DDR, which means even if you do double your RAM it'll only then be equal to my setup; however, it is a lot cheaper, kudos to you :)
Click to expand...

how do you figure you have more storage? 40 gig hd to 40 gig hd, 128 megs of ram to 128 megs of ram? granted ddr is faster then sdram, 128 megs is still 128 megs. but keep in mind this is for a light work machines (office applications, email, web surfing) all of that could be done great on pc133 ram (rember a few years ago that was faster then all get out). and if i was building this, i would have gone with this setup (granted its alot more)

ASPIRE Case (Beige), Model "ATX918" -RETAIL 22.00 usd same case dont need a good one for the office.

Asus nForce2 Ultra 400 Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU, Model "A7N8X" -RETAIL(New Version, now support AMD Barton 400MHz) 87.99 usd (i like the nforce chip set, plus the 400 fsb will allow an upgrade later)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=13-131-455&catalog=22&depa=1

GAINWARD GeForce4 TI4200 Video Card, 128MB DDR, 128-bit, DVI/TV-Out, 4X AGP, Model "GeForce4 PowerPack! Ultra/650 XP GS" -RETAIL 109.00 (need video non onboard)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=14-128-126&catalog=48&depa=1

Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-3200 - Retail 47.00 (at least 2)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=20-141-425&catalog=147&depa=1

Western Digital 40GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model WD400JB, OEM Drive only 63.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-144-126&catalog=14&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

Plextor 52X24X52 CD-RW Drive, Model PX-W5224TA-BPS, OEM Bulk pack 47.00 ( i love plextor cd-rw and you cant beat this price)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=27-106-241&catalog=5&depa=1

SAMSUNG SFD321B/LEB 1.44MB 3.5inch Floppy Disk Drive, OEM Driver Only 5.99 (same drive as below i only use samsung floppys the quality is hard to beat)

US Robotics 56K V.90 Internal PCI Modem, Model USR263090 - OEM 12.00 usd (again quality)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-104-141&catalog=18&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

AMD Athlon XP 2000+, 266MHz FSB, 256K L2 Cache Processor - OEM 62.00
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=19-103-420&catalog=343&depa=1

Zalman CNPS6000-Cu Pure Copper CPU Cooler for Socket A/370,Retail. 28.99 (need the hsf works better and is quiter)
http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProdu...-118-101&catalog=62&manufactory=BROWSE&depa=1

total with 512 of ram 532.97 but it is alot beter setup (imnsho) with more room to grow
 
Thanks for the input everyone!! I guess I'll have to put together an athlon, instead of the celeron that I was thinking of.

Laban
 
one point: does he really need a floppy drive? neither of my towers have them... only people i've talked to that really use them are for scsi drivers, or some jazz like that.

...everyone else i know that's a student, uses a USB Pen drive, as it's alot faster and can hold a whooole lot more then a floppy.

edit: also, i doubt he needs a 56k modem, if he's at college he'll be on the campus network, so just needs a mobo with built in LAN.
 
Originally posted by laban
Thanks for the input everyone!! I guess I'll have to put together an athlon, instead of the celeron that I was thinking of.

Laban
Click to expand...
....no you don't have to; you could put a Celery together. But - the only good reason would be to have a P4 upgrade path. At this end of the scale, the AMD stuff is darn hard to beat.

Originally posted by plot
one point: does he really need a floppy drive? neither of my towers have them... only people i've talked to that really use them are for scsi drivers, or some jazz like that.
Click to expand...
....for the eight or nine bucks they cost, they are way handy to have, IMHO....

Regards - B.B.S.
 
Originally posted by plot
one point: does he really need a floppy drive? neither of my towers have them... only people i've talked to that really use them are for scsi drivers, or some jazz like that.

...everyone else i know that's a student, uses a USB Pen drive, as it's alot faster and can hold a whooole lot more then a floppy.

edit: also, i doubt he needs a 56k modem, if he's at college he'll be on the campus network, so just needs a mobo with built in LAN.
Click to expand...

Good points, but I don't think he is very computer literate, and probably still does use the floppy drive. Also he commutes to school.
 
64ram ran fine with windows xp on a 700mhz celeron and junk emachine mobo :D
 
Originally posted by KoZLop
64ram ran fine with windows xp on a 700mhz celeron and junk emachine mobo :D
Click to expand...

until you open up notepad ;)
 
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