As low as I can go: Cheap build for my Parents!

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football76

Gawd
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
854
I just finished putting this stuff together for my parents new "rig." They were getting sick of the fussy old eMachines so they contracted me to build. They are coming from an old Celeron and 256MB of ram so this should be a kick in the pants for them. It's mostly going to be used for internet,E-mail,Word processing, Solitaire, DVD Movies and some mild photo editing. The eMachines has served them well for the past 5 years, they are hoping to get another 5 out of this build.

Motherboard
Did some research, this seemed to be a solid Low-end Mobo, plus I've had good experiences with Gigabyte.

CPU
What more is there to say, it's one of the best price/performance chips out there (especially after I overclock it a bit :p).

Memory
2GB of Decent, cheap ram.

Case
Micro ATX, I'm adding a 2nd 120mm fan in the front and we should be good to go.

GPU: Onboard (unless my little brother decides to kick in for a dedicated card)
HDD: 160GB Western Digital SATA
CD/DVD: Lite-On 20X DVD
PSU: 500W (already own)


I pushed the very limits of the budget coming in at $247 after all applicable mail in rebates and before shipping (not too bad if you ask me). I will be installing Vista Ultimate 32-bit (it's the only OS I have on me right now while I'm away from school). Let me know what you think. I appreciate your input before I finalize. :)
 
since it seems like mail in rebates dont bother you, maybe u should look at the cooler master 690 at microcenter for 19af+shipping. id be better than the rosewill and closer to lasting in ur parent another 5year
 
You can save $19 (with Google Checkout) by going with GIGABYTE GA-MA78GM-S2H + Athlon X2 BE-2300. That combo will hit about 3.0Ghz on the stock cooler (45W TDP ftw) and you get a much nicer mobo in the process. While the E2180 will be a bit faster overclocked, I think your parents will appreciate the advantages of the 780G mobo more. You get better graphics (DVI + HDMI connectivity, far better IGP for Vista DX10 interface and full accel for HD movies), better sound (Realtek ALC889A vs Realtek ALC662, SPDIF out), and better connectivity (Firewire + eSata).

As for your little brother, if he wants to play some games the 780G IGP will smoke that crappy onboard Intel GPU. And what's more, you can get nearly a 100% overclock on the 780G IGP for some fairly nice low-res gaming :D
 
I wouldn't overclock for someone unless they were a gaming freak with performance more important than reliability. Running stock with the onboard VGA will provide them with a decent computer for most tasks.
 
Heading to MC to pick up a CM 690, thanks guys.

I think I'll stick with the E2180, my buddy has one and it seems to be holding up well. (your input didn't go un-considered, I spent a good amount of time researching the AMD options)

Thanks again!
 
No pre-rebate budget, but after MIR and before shipping I'm trying to keep it close to $250. It's not much, I know.
 
so did you end up getting the cooler master case, and if you do have a microcenter nearby the e2180 is 59.99 there
 
football76 said:
You called it, in and out for ~$80 (befor tax/after mir). :)
Click to expand...

haha glad you/your parents like it, the cooler master case is a huge upgrade from that rosewill. i just love having b&m stores around, i got a frys and microcenter down the street
 
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