a new computer configuration 400-450$

[Daversinger]

im am building a computer for a friend so, what would be the best configuration CPU,MoBoard,Videocard,mabey case,and ide hard drive, (only these areas, im not really asking for deals) for 400-450$
i was thinking of a cpu mobo combo, but those are mainly high end processors. feedback plz...

if this belongs in the "need deals" catigory....opps. :|

[AlpineJay]

Get him a Dell. I would personally be hard pressed to figure something out in a 400 dollar range for a system I can recommend to build. If you really wanted to build him something yourself then you would be looking at an AMD Athlon XP series with a Gigabyte/Soyo(no longer in business, their mobos are dirt cheap) and such companies for a motherboard with an IGP and sound.

You can go the Intel route and get your friend a mid-2GHz P4 along with a motherboard combination. ZipZoomFly as I've said before is an excellent place to start putting pieces together. One thing to note is that HDDs are generally cheaper AR from retail stores so you're best off looking there if you're under a tight budget.

Bear in mind that the parts you named do not constitute a full system and again, I reiterate that it would be a difficult task to build a system within that range that would be comparable to what Dell would be able to offer in performance and support.

[Daversinger]

lol
i am an expert,(partly) at building, i already have most of the parts, this person isn't exactly computer literet so im just wondering what should i get her* lol an AMD or Intel, obviously a 478 or soket A (xp) and what company ie. type of mobo would be cheapest and best. i guess i've got all the other stuff covered.

[Daversinger]

i neew a little feedback! :)

[_=DeltaForce=_]

go to outpost and they got some nice bundles...

[revil]

mac mini....

[Kevster]

Seriously, a lot of us have been in this situation (myself included). If you want to be your friends' tech support, by all means then build her a computer. Otherwise, get her a good dell deal off the deals page (when a good one comes up). A lot of my family ask me what to get for a computer and I simply tell them, "Dell" because I don't need the 2-hour "Help!" calls.

[nate el bueno]

mac mini....
hahahah
athlon gives more bang for the buck, but i wont say anything else for fear of darkfury

[Daversinger]

yeah, im thinking of going amd just to see how long it lasts, almost like a test, but free cause its someone elses money. :)
(i havent owned a previous AMD system or boght one but nate seems to like them

If anyone thinks Intel has better deals on cpus (bang for buck) let me know!

[nate el bueno]

If anyone thinks Intel has better deals on cpus (bang for buck) let me know!
here comes darkfury....

[SmokeyDP]

Get him a Dell. I would personally be hard pressed to figure something out in a 400 dollar range for a system I can recommend to build.

Yeah its just not worth it for that price. Unless you find some super deal on all the parts you will be getting some crappy parts and will end up playing tech support or just having hardware issues when building it.

[Daversinger]

Thanks for the info guys :)
I'll keep that in mind. nate you'll probly help to build it won't you? for Karen H.

[bachviet]

For $400-$500 computer, Dell offers the best deal.

[Cantacuzene]

Dell SC420. No doubt about it in terms of bang for buck.

[Dman33]

Dell SC420. No doubt about it in terms of bang for buck.
I agree. I have the SC420 and I added the 128MB Radeon X300 (PCIe) for a total of about $425. Had to mod the mobo to take the PCIe card but that took only about 10 minutes.

SC420 came with P4 2.8Ghz, 512MB ram, 80GB S-ATA drive and DVD-ROM.
I added my old DVD-R and an old 100GB IDE drive and a SBLive card.

Rock solid box with 1yr parts/labor. I highly advise this for any friends/family. Great mid-range gaming and general use rig.

[nate el bueno]

Thanks for the info guys :)
I'll keep that in mind. nate you'll probly help to build it won't you? for Karen H.
naturally. i wouldnt be very happy with a pentium 200 megahurt cpu either

[Daversinger]

"sc420" is that a 2.8gigahurts celery (celeron lol :heh: :lmfao: ) im going with amd b/c i want to build it myself. but i'll tell her about this sc420 if its not a celeron. :)

edit: im just joking. :)

[Dman33]

"sc420" is that a 2.8gigahurts celery (celeron lol :heh: :lmfao: ) im going with amd b/c i want to build it myself. but i'll tell her about this sc420 if its not a celeron. :)
No, I stated P4 2.8Ghz. It is a hyperthreaded Pentium 4 with the 1MB cache.

[SecretIkon]

Dell is usually the way to go for this type of budget. But if you have parts laying around the house which you don't use anymore such as a Floppy, DVD-Rom, Vid Card and etc. You can pick parts and build. You can always spend money on MOBO, CPU, HD and RAM, if you have those parts lying.

[Daversinger]

yeah thats basically it.

[SecretIkon]

spending money on MOBO, CPU, HD and RAM will be around 400-450 depends on the brands you buy. You can always find a MOBO and CPU combo at Frys/outpost.com. RAM depending on the brand and HD depending on the size. You should be able to spend around 400-450 with ease like this hopefully.

[Kevster]

Considering what you just did to your main system, do you really want to build it and support it yourself? You have to remember, when there's a problem your friend is going to have only one phone number - yours. If you get her a SC420 from Dell, she'll have Dell Tech support to help her out. Also, think about the warranty support as well. Components do go bad. It happens. Building it for yourself is one thing, but building a system for someone else is another. I'm not doubting your 7337 skillz, but you really need to pay attention to things like proper grounding, not unplugging things while the system is on, etc.

[Jeffbx]

:stupid:


This is the reason I will never, EVER build a system for anyone. Send them to Dell unless you want an urgent call at 11PM one night because she just lost a term paper she was working on that's due tomorrow & can you come over and help her recover it because otherwise she's going to fail English Literature 201 and then she won't get that internship this summer because she'll be in summer school and she won't be able to save up enough money to move out of the house next semester and she'll just DIE if she has to live one more year under that roof?

Do you really want that responsibility on your hands? Let Dell deal with it.

[billxp]

Considering what you just did to your main system, do you really want to build it and support it yourself? You have to remember, when there's a problem your friend is going to have only one phone number - yours. If you get her a SC420 from Dell, she'll have Dell Tech support to help her out. Also, think about the warranty support as well. Components do go bad. It happens. Building it for yourself is one thing, but building a system for someone else is another. I'm not doubting your 7337 skillz, but you really need to pay attention to things like proper grounding, not unplugging things while the system is on, etc.
Don't have her get a SC420 from Dell unless your gonna provide the support.

"The PowerEdge SC420 is ideal for your first server & network.
Note: For server use only; CANNOT BE USED AS A DESKTOP.
Dell does not support the use of a graphics card on the SC420."

[Daversinger]

listen guys, i've never had any problems with any self made amd system, they work fine + my system won't need tech suport, and this lady ihardly uses a computer don't worry guys the system that kevster is talking about was made of a p4 and it was almost all refurbished crap.... plus she live so close i will save here more money than buying a dell. believe me i have the hook ups and it will probly perform better than a dell, and :kaching: shes paying me... (thats the only way she may lose money.)

[SmokeyDP]

listen guys, i've never had any problems with any self made amd system, they work fine
How many systems have you made total? 3? :disa:

[Daversinger]

lol! 1 is enough, theres no such thing as luck either its just skill, or no skill. (I've made more than 4)

[SmokeyDP]

Ive build over 100 and even after they go together fine and everything installs find you can still have problems down the road. Hardware is not perfect, but most problems are user error. The system's I have the most trouble with are *SURPRISE* the cheaper built ones.

[Daversinger]

so why don't you stop building them? mine last untill new technologhy is worth the upgrade. lol if you want to send me a pm (this thread is to dumb to keep it up)

[sbp]

My fellow old fogies:

Ah to be 16 years old and know everything again. Oh well the young man doesn't want to listen to the voices of experience who have been there {or aged egos as was stated in another thread (http://www.gotapex.com/forums/showthread.php?p=793571#post793571) that he got owned in}, let Dave learn the hard way. Sometime in the future this young man will post a suckage thread bemoaning being someone's tech support for life.

Sincerely yours,

-old timer sbp

PS do you know where me dentures are? One of those darn younguns must have hid them again.
http://compucheap.com/fungraph/manrock.gif

[Jeffbx]

listen guys, i've never had any problems with any self made amd system, they work fine + my system won't need tech suport, and this lady ihardly uses a computer don't worry guys the system that kevster is talking about was made of a p4 and it was almost all refurbished crap.... plus she live so close i will save here more money than buying a dell. believe me i have the hook ups and it will probly perform better than a dell


Hahahaha!! That's good stuff.

[Daversinger]

hey you can't be the smartest in the world, but i never said i was smarter than you, alls im saying is that i like building, and if tech support is the only reason no to, then i'm not buying a dell. mmmmk? :)

[Jeffbx]

Hey, no problem. I can respect someone who sticks to their convictions.

:cheers:

[Markel]

My fellow old fogies:

Ah to be 16 years old and know everything again. Oh well the young man doesn't want to listen to the voices of experience who have been there {or aged egos as was stated in another thread (http://www.gotapex.com/forums/showthread.php?p=793571#post793571) that he got owned in}, let Dave learn the hard way. Sometime in the future this young man will post a suckage thread bemoaning being someone's tech support for life.

Sincerely yours,

-old timer sbp
Ahhh, wisdom from good old DEPENDable sbp! ;)

[Daversinger]

Ahhh, wisdom from good old DEPENDable sbp! ;)

so, did you want to give me any advice, or is this a suck up contest. lol!!!! :laugh:

[Markel]

so, did you want to give me any advice, or is this a suck up contest. lol!!!! :laugh:
OK. Here's some advice. Run to your local Fry's (you know where that is, I hope) and pick Karen up one of the "Great Quality" brand AMD 2600+ systems that are on sale today for $280. This includes XP Home. Add in another 512MB of ram (available for $70 after rebate) to create a $350 system.

p.s. While you're there, pick Nate up the 1GB Kingston PC3200 ram that's $120 after rebate. Just don't ask me to reimburse you! :hihi:

[nate el bueno]

OK. Here's some advice. Run to your local Fry's (you know where that is, I hope) and pick Karen up one of the "Great Quality" brand AMD 2600+ systems that are on sale today for $280. This includes XP Home. Add in another 512MB of ram (available for $70 after rebate) to create a $350 system.

p.s. While you're there, pick Nate up the 1GB Kingston PC3200 ram that's $120 after rebate. Just don't ask me to reimburse you! :hihi:
"GREAT QUALITY"
or not

[Daversinger]

OK. Here's some advice. Run to your local Fry's (you know where that is, I hope) and pick Karen up one of the "Great Quality" brand AMD 2600+ systems that are on sale today for $280. This includes XP Home. Add in another 512MB of ram (available for $70 after rebate) to create a $350 system.

p.s. While you're there, pick Nate up the 1GB Kingston PC3200 ram that's $120 after rebate. Just don't ask me to reimburse you! :hihi:

i like it.