Back-to-School System recommendations

[fedude]

So, my niece is starting her junior year in HS. She has an old Dell that is too slow and obsolete. Like many of you her father asked me for a system recommendation and like a fool I suggested my niece and I could build one from scratch. I could really use come recommendation from this esteemed community on which components I shoud go with. I've been happy with newegg in the past.

Requirements:
surfing, email, MS office, possibly writing some simple VB apps.

Looking to spend $500-600. Keyboard, mice, speakers and monitor will be reused. Just need the tower.

And if this makes any difference, something simple to assemble since I'd like to actually have my neice assemble it herself with my counsel.

Recommendations will be greatly appreciated. TIA>




Newbie from NY

 

[dmroeder]

What about software, do you have that already? Do you need the OS?

 

[dmroeder]

Here is something to get you started. Can't go wrong with a socket 939 system. Not sure what she was interested in for a video card, but I figure the x600 would get her by. The case is and PSU are up to you and her. There are a million to choose from with all different price ranges. Personally I kind of like this <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811119080" target="_new">case</A>, but it's up to you. It has excellent airflow and it's not too big. It's $75 plus $16 shipping (it comes with a 380W PSU). This is just my suggestion, there will probably be someone that will chime in with a better suggestion.

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813130491" target="_new">MSI K8N Neo4-F</A> 82.99

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103537" target="_new">AMD Athlon 64 3000+</A> 146.00

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141164" target="_new">pqi POWER Series 512MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400</A> 41.75

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144102" target="_new">Western Digital Caviar WD800BB 80GB 7200 RPM 2MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive</A> 51.75

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16814102393" target="_new">Radeon X600PRO 128MB 128-bit DDR PCI Express x16 Video Card</A> 83.00

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047" target="_new">NEC DVD-RW (Black)</A> 39.99

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16821152005" target="_new">NEC Floppy</A> 8.49 (probably don't even need this one)

You could probably save a few bucks on the MB if you wanted to upgrade something else (HDD or video card). I choose it because I've used it before and the setup was really simple. Plus it has a lot of features that could be used down the road if she chooses to upgrade.

The total without the case was somewhere around $470 with shipping. With the case that I suggested it's about $560. Sometimes it's worthwile to buy the case locally because shipping is a lot. Up to you though. Hope this helps.

Oh, by the way, if you need to buy software that will change things. I would try to go with an A64 system because they are cheaper and they run a lot cooler.

 

[fedude]

Thank you.

I have all the software so the cost is strictly for the hardware.

Thanks for the recommendations. I've read a lot of good things about the K8N Neo4-F mobo. It's good to see this in your recommendation.

One thought to run by you. Since she's not really a gamer, is there a mobo you would recommend with onboard video, or is it just so much better to buy the card externaly? Might be able to put the extra into a bigger HD.

One other question: I've heard that it's impossible to reuse the Dell case for standard ATX motherboards. Just might be able to reuse what she has. True?



Newbie from NY

 

[dmroeder]

I wouldn't bother with the Dell case. A lot of times they are made specifically for the hardware that comes with them, so standart hardware won't fit. I don't know if that is the case with yours or not, but I wouldn't deal with it.

You could go with onboard video, but in a quick search, I only found MicroATX boards. There might be ATX ones out there, but I didn't see them. You could search around at other computer stores to find out.

Your other option to save some money would be to go socket 754 instead of 939. Here's an example:

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813123240" target="_new">EPoX EP-8HMMI-A Socket 754</A> 55.00 with onboard video

<A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103483" target="_new">AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Newcastle</A> 193.00

You would eliminate the video card and the motherboard is way cheaper. I think that this setup would put you under budget. Just use the other hardware that I suggested. Keep in mind that this board doesn't have as many features as the socket 939 board. But if you weren't going to use them, then they would be wasted money anyway.


Also, the motherboard above has a AGP slot, so if you wanted to add a better video card down the road then you could.

The graphics are probably horrible, but if you not playing games then it won't matter. Just keep these suggestions in mind and do a little research.

 

[Rugger]

Even is she doesn't game, I would still recommend a separate low-end vid card.
1. Experience for when she does start gaming.
2. Takes a load off CPU and system memory.
If anything take the first suggestion and put in an X300 or GF 6200. For the price difference you can get a larger HDD. For deal s you can also search on <A HREF="http://www.bensbargains.net" target="_new">bensbargains.net</A>. There are some great deals there at times. Like this <A HREF="http://www.compusa.com/products/product_info.asp?&ref=cj&pfp=cj&product_code=309209" target="_new">Seagate 200GB</A> for $70 after rebate.

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[Crashman]

I posted a link to a base platform from Tigerdirect using the Abit IS7-V2 and Celeron D 2.93GHz for $80. That's about the best deal out there to get you started.

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