With the pricing structure on lower end systems these days, you should
consider buying a complete new system. Check out ads from Best Buy, Comp
USA, Staples, Office Depot, Office Max. Just last week Staples was
selling an AMD 64 with 512MB RAM, 100GB hard drive, 17" CRT monitor,
CDRW-DVD, Windows XP, etc. for $199.99. Not only do you get a working
system with no labor, but also a warranty on the complete system. I like
building computers but you can't beat the new system pricing unless you
are building a high end system.
If you are still interested in building a system, look at
TigerDirect.com for motherboard/CPU/RAM combos and/or motherboard/CPU
combos. They specialize in products with rebates which they stand
behind. I have never had a problem. NewEgg is also very good. Also I use
Buy.com.
For your use 512MB of RAM should suffice. I just purchased a 512MB stick
of Elixir PC3200 DDR 400MHz for $15 net from TigerDirect and it is
working fine on its own and in combination with other manufacturers'
RAM. I would have bought two, but the rebate is one per family.
I also purchased a Celeron D340 2.93 GHz for $23.33 net; Ultra heat
sink/ fan for $12.99; a MSI PM8M-V motherboard for $46.66; a Seagate
160GB hard drive for $29.99 net; a Lite-on CDRW-DVD combo drive for
$25.99; and four case fans for $2.99 each. All from TigerDirect just
before the Staples ad came out.
Hope this helps.
Tom Mayer
Peetie Wheatstraw wrote:
> Re: Choice of cpu and Mboard for new build
>
> I will soon build a lo-end pc for home. Use will be mostly garden-
> variety: browser, word processing, Email, etc. A tiny bit of number-
> crunching with a programming language. No gaming, video editing or
> anything extra-demanding.
>
> I haven't built a pc in about 5 years. Lots of things have changed ...
>
> I've picked up a little Antec case with 350w power supply. Major
> components i.e. motherboard and cpu have yet to be chosen. Budget
> is very, very tight.
>
> Possibility #1:
> Intel Celeron D 310 Prescott 2.13Ghz/FSB533 Socket 478 Retail $45.50
> Retail means the heatsink/fan is included.
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819112208
>
> MSI PM8M-V Socket 478 VIA P4M800 Micro ATX Retail $44
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130519
> AGP 4X/8X or use built-in graphics. 2 DDR memory slots.
> Realtek 10.100BT LAN chip. The Newegg reviews show only 3% gave it
> a poor or very poor rating.
>
> Possibility #2:
> http://www.ascendtech.us/itemdesc.asp?ic=DTMBMID2C28NOK
> INTEL D865GV S.478 W/CELERON D335 2.8GHZ $125.99
>
> At present, I hope to use existing IDE (PATA) hard drives on the new
> system, and
> need 2 IDE channels. No SATA for the foreseeable future.
>
> Both cpu's have Prescott core? Any reason to avoid Prescott?
>
> I assume Newegg is a safe vendor. Anyone have experience with
> Ascendtech?
>
> Circuit City has Kingston 512MB PC3200/2700/2100 DDR SDRAM Desktop Memory
> on sale for $20 (after rebate). I'm thinking 2 of those ...
>
> Anybody evaluated Socket 478 P4 vs. Celeron for price/performance?
>
> Any/all help/ideas/considerations would be much appreciated.
>
> Cheers,
> Peetie
>
> Visit our website regularly for FAQs,
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>
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