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r-486

Gawd
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Nov 9, 2006
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My housemate needs a computer. He’ll primarily use it just for school work something along the lines of a grandma system, that is, nothing fancy or special.

No operating system and no software is needed. Little or no gaming and no overclocking will be done.

He’ll need a screen, mouse, keyboard, etc. His desk is a bit small so I’m thinking about getting an LCD screen.

I don’t know his budget off hand; I assume around $800 for everything. I’ll find out and post back. I’m more focused on value than anything else. I’ll stick with onboard audio.

Changes will probably be done after I consult with him. I haven’t done too much research, but here’s what I got so far.

Motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra ATX Intel
$80

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775
$146

RAM: G.SKILL 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400)
$47

Video Card: EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16
$65

HDD: WD Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
$51

DVD Drive: LITE-ON Black 2MB Cache E-IDE/ATAPI
$31

PSU: Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W 115/230V
$40

Case: COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel, SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower
$50

Monitor: Hanns·G JW-199DPB Black 19" 5ms DVI Widescreen LCD 300 cd/m2 700:1 Built in Speakers
$160

Keyboard: LITE-ON SK-1688A/B Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Wired Standard
$7

Mouse: Hopefully selling my old one :D
$20

Printer: HP LaserJet 1020 Q5911A 15 ppm Laser Personal Monochrome
$109

System: $510
System and peripherals: $806

I might just get a higher capacity HDD, because they’re inexpensive. $110 for 500GB is rather cheap, but I doubt he’ll use up the space.
 
He'll be better off getting a Dell. Check gotapex.com for dell deals.

gotapex.com said:
Dell Small Business - Dell Vostro 200 Desktop with 1.8Ghz Intel Dual-Core E2160, 1GB DDR2, 80GB HD, 16x DVD-Rom for $399 with FREE shipping plus 19" LCD Monitor

A big $330 instant discount takes the price of this configuration down to $399 with FREE shipping. It comes with a faster 1.8Ghz Intel Dual-Core E2160, 1GB of dual channel of DDR2 SDRAM at 667mhz, 80GB hard drive, 16x DVD-Rom, Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100 video (there's a PCIe x16 slot free if you want to upgrade later), 1 year warranty, and your choice of Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic or XP Home. It also comes with a widescreen 19" Dell E198WFP LCD monitor ($229 value). Expires tomorrow, 8/29/07.

http://deals.gotapex.com/?E2LR4JIH

Update: If you're upgrading, the Vostro 200 for $469 is a pretty nice deal. For that extra $70, you get a faster 1.8Ghz Intel Core 2 Duo E4300, 160GB Hard Drive, and 16x DVD+/-RW dual layer burner. Just follow that link above and customize this one.
Click to expand...

In fact, he could get a laptop for that price. Would he be more intersted in a laptop?
 
r-486 said:
Motherboard: EVGA 122-CK-NF66-T1 LGA 775 NVIDIA nForce 650i Ultra ATX Intel
$80

CPU: Intel Core 2 Duo E4500 Allendale 2.2GHz 2M shared L2 Cache LGA 775
$146
Click to expand...
This is way overkill for grandma computer. Cheapest Sempron and budget motherboard will be fine.
Video Card: EVGA 256-P2-N541-T2 GeForce 7600GS 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16
$65
Click to expand...
Not only is this a waste of money, but it also unnecessarily kills the environment. Integrated video is more than sufficient for grandma computers, and actually even for very light gaming.

HDD: WD Caviar SE WD1600JS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s
$51

DVD Drive: LITE-ON Black 2MB Cache E-IDE/ATAPI
$31
Click to expand...
Here you are being too trifty, dvd burning capability is actually nice. If the person really doesn't need hard drive space then go for that, but as you said, 500gb doesn't cost anything.


Really, a low end mATX motherboard with integrated video and a low end Sempron will do great. That's what my laptop has, and it's great for everything, Vista aero included.
 
I concur with Enginurd, seems like a Dell or a cheap laptop is all your friend needs.
 
I won't bother building one. I talked to him this morning. He could get a computer from his dad's workplace.

enginurd said:
Would he be more intersted in a laptop?
Click to expand...

He didn't want one even though that would be ideal for college.
 
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