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some microATX help?

Z

ziv1173

n00b
Joined
Dec 9, 2007
Messages
37
Hey guys,

Looking for a small, minimal build for the girlfriend. Definitely budget, as we're having a little one soon. :) This is kinda my nerdy way of thanking her for carrying it out for 9 months, hehe.

1) What will you be doing with this PC? Gaming? Photoshop? Web browsing? etc
Mainly web browsing, she uses photoshop some, most gaming is 2d, however I might meddle some source games on it eventually. Looking to use onboard video for the most part though.
2) What's your budget? Are tax and shipping included?
Around 300-350. Preferably closer to 300
3) Where do you live?
TN. So newegg charges tax :(
4) What exact parts do you need for that budget? CPU, RAM, case, etc. Please be very specific.
Case, CPU, RAM, CD/DVD, MOBO.
5) If reusing any parts, what parts will you be reusing? Please be especially specific about the power supply. List make and model.
I have this PSU saved from along time ago, never used:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?Sku=ULT33134
I know it's pretty crappy, but I am looking to use onboard video for now, so I figured it might be OK.
6) Will you be overclocking?
Probably not, but if it's possible without having to buy an aftermarket cooler..who knows :)
7) What size monitor do you have and/or plan to have?
She's going to use my old samsung syncmaster 19in.
8) When do you plan on building/buying the PC?
Kinda whenever, just depends..
9) What features do you need in a motherboard? RAID? Firewire? Crossfire or SLI support? etc.
Onboard video, preferably mATX - unless there is a good cheap ATX board with onboard.
10) Do you already have a legit and reusable/transferable OS key/license?
yes

Ok, so, here is kinda what I have, this is on newegg, so I have to pay tax, but I *might* be able to get it shipped to a state where they don't tax..

http://secure.newegg.com/WishList/PublicWishDetail.aspx?WishListNumber=10754792

I'm not sold on the case, at all, but it has free shipping. I don't know much about the mobo, and am open to suggestions here, as well as for the hard drive. I skimmed through the HD's quickly. RAM and DVD burner were cheap + free shipping. And last of all the CPU looks nice for the price, I was considering going slightly higher but I really don't think this system is going to even be pressed much. I could downgrade if needed.

Let me know what you all think :)

Edit: What does everyone think of a cheap small graphics card, something like..this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814187064

There is also this combo, just noticed: http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.191022
And I was going with AMD simply because of price, I'm open to Intel as well.

Thanks,
Kevin
 
Last edited:
Definitely go for that combo deal. It's an excellent price.

As for the PSU, even a small cheap GPU like the 9400GT would be not be a good idea to use. Basically if you want a dedicated GPU, get a new PSU. But for that planned setup, it might be ok to use. Just don't add any more hard drives, a dedicated GPU, etc. If you do want a new PSU, I highly recommend the EA380 for $45 w/ free shipping:
$45 - Antec Earthwatts EA380 380W PSU

For $5 more, I'd go for the faster WD3200AAKS drive:
$55 - Western Digital WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive

You might want to pick up a Dell or some other prebuilt instead. Hit www.gotapex.com for Dell deals and www.delloutlet.com for refurbished, returned or undelivered Dell PCs.
 
Thanks Danny.

Not fishing for a Dell really, I wanted to build this for her, even if it is a very basic build. I know the PS might be pushing it here, but I really think it can handle such a minimal system, I hope.

The only thing I've come across is some some different motherboard options, like an nvidia 8300 vs the 760G I've selected. From what I've looked into about this though, is the only main difference is doing HD stuff, which I am not worrying about right now. On in the future, if she wants it, I might throw a new video card in there (and a new power supply). I've found some better deals, and ways to minimize newegg tax charges -

NewEgg

DVD Drive - better priced than the TigerDirect version. (+ lightscribe, for what it's worth)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827136153

Mobo + CPU combo - keeping this the same. I was considering going after the 90 dollar phenom on TD, but then I lose a sweet combo + she doesn't really need quad core. A high clocked dual core will more than satisfy her (she's use to my old laptop with a 1.5ghz proc (dual core) and 1gb ram..and even worse integrated graphics)
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.191022

edited - wrong link

Grand Total: $166.68 (after shipping and tax)

TigerDirect - I don't get charged tax plus they have a nice 1.99 shipping and handling on all orders over 100$ and less than 20 pounds.

HardDrive - they don't have the WD, or atleast for as cheap as NewEgg, but this shouldn't have any problems, right?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4233835&sku=TSD-320AS2

RAM - The DDR2 800 kits, beside rebate (which I really don't want to deal with) are mainly ~32 bucks. 3 dollars more nets 1066...this is decent RAM, right?
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2701646&sku=O261-8064

CASE - MUCH better than what I had before, and don't have to worry about getting free shipping. So light it won't make it over 20 pounds.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4434994&sku=C283-1207

Total: 129.96

166.68 + 129.96 = 296.64 overall.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Kevin
 
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Good choice on the case. I can vouch for that. :D

(Get a second fan. It'll really help with airflow.)

If overclocking's really not a priority, I suggest that you eat the tax and get a simple 2x1GB kit from NewEgg instead. A-DATA, though it isn't as well-known as some of the others, is just as good as G.Skill and/or the other "major" brands.
 
tiraides said:
Good choice on the case. I can vouch for that. :D

(Get a second fan. It'll really help with airflow.)

If overclocking's really not a priority, I suggest that you eat the tax and get a simple 2x1GB kit from NewEgg instead. A-DATA, though it isn't as well-known as some of the others, is just as good as G.Skill and/or the other "major" brands.
Click to expand...

The only problem with that is I go under the 100 bucks for 1.99 shipping and handling. I guess I could always buy another fan (I have 1..maybe 2 yate loon's sitting around here) to throw the price back up on TD. Any recommended "small" stuff on TD, fan or otherwise? I'd need to spend like 11-12 bucks to push it back up to 100.

I got out the old monitor (samsung syncmaster 730B) that was going to be hooked up to this comp. and it appears it's dead/almost dead. As soon as I plug in the power cord, the power LED continually flashes. I can sometimes get it to do long flashes instead of short flashes, but only if I am lucky. Either way the screen never turns on. I read about the problem here (although it seems to be for another model, this is what I am guessing):

http://www.fixya.com/support/r2056582-monitor_led_blinking_or_steady_but

So there is a monitor repair place around here I'm going to contact tuesday before I go ahead and order anything. I want to see if I can get that monitor fixed for a decent price. If I can't I'll have to look into ordering a monitor as well.

Thanks for the help :)

kevin
 
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