PC for 13 yo grandson

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Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo grandson
for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his father
isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video (built
in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old NEC monitor,
which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep. Should I
consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with the
SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.
 

jad

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any Dell with 3 year support and 3 forms of spyware protection +
antivirus with... parental controls fully explained to you ;^)


"RA" <roberta@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:uqm0d.5882$Wg.3830@news02.roc.ny...
> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo
grandson
> for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his
father
> isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video
(built
> in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old NEC
monitor,
> which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep.
Should I
> consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with
the
> SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.
>
>
>
 

Fitz

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I have 2 computers built for a 5 yr old and a 12 yr old- both using the same
motherboard and processor. Have had absolutely no problems or complaints.

Biostar Motherboard with integrated video and audio (with 8X AGP slot for
video upgrade)
http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/mainboard/board.php3?name=M7NCG%20Pro

AMD Athlon XP 2500+ (you can get faster for the same price now, when I
bought, the 2500 was the price jump point).

DVD/CD RW of your choice (Lite On is reliable and cost competitive)

For your requirements, I don't think SATA is needed (I use it on my machine
for a RAID 0 config, but my kids don't have it). Get a good quality 7200 RPM
IDE HD in the 80GB range and partition it into 2 drives (one for system, one
for storage and backups).

Minimum of 256 MB of PC 2700 memory, would suggest 512MB.

Look at MWave and Newegg for decent prices and delivery- good RMA policy.

Good Luck,
Fitz
 

jk

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Dell? UGH! They use Intel processors. For a low priced system
with good performance, one should want a computer with an Athlon XP
(or Sempron) processor.

JAD wrote:

> any Dell with 3 year support and 3 forms of spyware protection +
> antivirus with... parental controls fully explained to you ;^)
>
> "RA" <roberta@citlink.net> wrote in message
> news:uqm0d.5882$Wg.3830@news02.roc.ny...
> > Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo
> grandson
> > for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his
> father
> > isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video
> (built
> > in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old NEC
> monitor,
> > which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep.
> Should I
> > consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with
> the
> > SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.
> >
> >
> >
 
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"JK" <JK9821@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:41421CEA.8B379A06@netscape.net...
> Dell? UGH! They use Intel processors. For a low priced system
> with good performance, one should want a computer with an Athlon XP
> (or Sempron) processor.
>
> JAD wrote:

<snip>

I thought you left, troll boy.

MC
 

jad

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how's the stock doing these days........?

"JK" <JK9821@netscape.net> wrote in message
news:41421CEA.8B379A06@netscape.net...
> Dell? UGH! They use Intel processors. For a low priced system
> with good performance, one should want a computer with an Athlon XP
> (or Sempron) processor.
>
> JAD wrote:
>
> > any Dell with 3 year support and 3 forms of spyware protection +
> > antivirus with... parental controls fully explained to you ;^)
> >
> > "RA" <roberta@citlink.net> wrote in message
> > news:uqm0d.5882$Wg.3830@news02.roc.ny...
> > > Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13
yo
> > grandson
> > > for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two
(his
> > father
> > > isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?),
video
> > (built
> > > in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old
NEC
> > monitor,
> > > which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep.
> > Should I
> > > consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar
with
> > the
> > > SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.
> > >
> > >
> > >
>
 
G

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RA:

> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo
> grandson for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or
> two (his father isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard
> (built in?), video (built in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as
> well? He has an old NEC monitor, which is still working on his PI
> machine, would like to keep. Should I consider IDE harddrive, or
> something newer? Not too familiar with the SATA's. I'm still using
> IDE. Thank you.

Ditch the old monitor... What is your budget? Are you buying or building?

building:
http://arstechnica.com/guide/system/index.html

buying:
Dell 4600 or 8400
http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/category.aspx/desktops?c=us&cs=19
&l=en&s=dhs

--
Mac Cool
 
G

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RA wrote:
>
> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo grandson
> for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his father
> isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video (built
> in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well?

IMHO, you can get a superb NFORCE2 motherboard that has build-in
sound/video, as long as you preserve the upgrade options. Get a mobo
that has built-in video PLUS an AGP slot. Get a mobo that has onboard
sound PLUS a PCI slot for a better soundcard. That way, he can hit the
ground running, and upgrade later. That's what I did for my teen
daughter.

Start the kid off with a fully upgradable NFORCE2/AMD system, and grant
him a minimum of 512 MB DDR RAM (2 sticks of 256 each) to start. That is
the best bang/buck ratio you will find.

To read DVDs *and* burn CDs you need a combo drive, but they are not
expensive anymore.
 
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"JAD" <Kapasitor@coldmail.com> wrote in news:10k3uuaat75c8f5
@corp.supernews.com:

> .. parental controls fully explained to you ;^)
>

13 year old boy doesnt need parental controls! Education at this age
They spend all day masturbating anyway!

--
Lordy
 
G

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Are you looking for an appliance PC or a homebuilt?

Some thoughts:

In the DVD/CD area, you can choose between a "combo" drive, that is a CD
burner with the ability to read DVDs. DVD burners are getting to be cheap
enough that I'd recommend going for one of those, as they can read and write
DVDs and CDs. The main question is to whether to get a drive that supports
dual-layer DVD+R. (Dual layer gives over 8 GB.) Incidentally, 8X DVD burning
gives a data rate of around 11 MB/s, equivalent to roughly a 73X CD burner.

Onboard sound is probably OK at this time. I think that my Audigy 2 card
gives better sound than the onboard sound on my Asus P4P800 board, but the
onboard sound isn't bad.

Avoid onboard video if he wants to play any 3D games.

I believe that SATA drives don't offer much performance gains over parallel
ATA (IDE) drives at the moment, unless you're prepared to pay for 10,000 RPM
Western Digital Raptor drives (36 or 74 GB). (I'm using a couple of SATA WD
160 GB drives in RAID 0, but I doubt that there's much advantage for most
purposes.)

If his monitor is as old as a PI machine, it's probably a low-resolution
piece of junk by current standards. Monitors are much cheaper than they were
a few years ago, so you might wish to shop for a new one.

For a build-it-yourself system, here's a relatively high-end system (For
$1700US):

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1644411,00.asp

"Build the Most PC for Your Money"

Some might argue for other pieces, but nothing here is bad.

For a real cheapie,

http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1558,1585316,00.asp

"Build It: A Web-Surfing PC for $500 "

If you have $1000 to spend, want an appliance PC, and insist on Intel
hardware, I suggest a Dell Dimension 8400 (www.dell.com). It uses all the
latest (Intel) hardware (Socket T CPU, PCI Express video, SATA drive, etc.)
If it's to be used for serious gaming, I suggest switching to the 19" CRT
monitor. Going to 1 GB of RAM would add $100, and might be worthwhile. The
graphics card upgrade may be worthwhile for gaming. This system is
relatively future-proof: it may not be obsolete for 3 months or so.
(Disclaimer: I have a close relative who works for Dell. I own no Dell
hardware, or Dell stock, though.)

Have fun.

Bob Knowlden

Address may be scrambled. Replace nkbob with bobkn.

"RA" <roberta@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:uqm0d.5882$Wg.3830@news02.roc.ny...
> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo
> grandson
> for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his father
> isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video
> (built
> in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old NEC
> monitor,
> which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep. Should I
> consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with the
> SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.
>
>
>
 

Fitz

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Ok, I was wrong...at Newegg, the AMD 2600+ is $1.00 more and the 2700+ is
$4.00 more.
If you want to argue semantics over a buck, you win.
At one time MWave had a run on 2600's and they were a couple bucks less than
the 2500.

Fitz
 
G

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Guest
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If he's going to want to play any modern games, avoid getting on-board video
at all costs. The current state, and speed, of on-board video is that it is
too slowww to play modern action games.

--
DaveW



"RA" <roberta@citlink.net> wrote in message
news:uqm0d.5882$Wg.3830@news02.roc.ny...
> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo
> grandson
> for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his father
> isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video
> (built
> in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old NEC
> monitor,
> which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep. Should I
> consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with the
> SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.
>
>
>
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

"RA" <roberta@citlink.net> wrote...
> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo grandson
> for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his father
> isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video (built
> in?) and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well? He has an old NEC monitor,
> which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep. Should I
> consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with the
> SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.

For a 13-year-old, keep it simple and inexpensive. If he wants/needs to replace
or upgrade it later, he can save up his pennies.

For a low-end machine, you can probably do as well pricewise with a Dell
special -- $700 or less complete. If you want to build it anyhow, or want to
have him help build it, look at some barebones packages and pick the popular
components.

Built-in sound is fine for most purposes; built-in graphics are weak. DVD+/-RW
will burn CDs, too. IDE is fine; SATA if the price is right.
 
G

Guest

Guest
Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.pc-homebuilt (More info?)

RA wrote:
> Would appreciate any suggestions for a basic computer for my 13 yo grandson
> for school, homework, reference material, maybe a game or two (his father
> isn't THAT strict!). Motherboard, cpu, soundcard (built in?), video (built
> in?)

I wouldn't go onboard video for any sort of pleasant games performance.

> and does a dvd read and burn cd's as well?

A dvd BURNER does, a DVD PLAYER doesn't.

> He has an old NEC monitor,
> which is still working on his PI machine, would like to keep.

I think that's a mistake. Those usually have low refresh rates and often
aren't and it's also a tad small. It's easier to work with a larger
monitor that can actually refresh at 85hz.

> Should I
> consider IDE harddrive, or something newer? Not too familiar with the
> SATA's. I'm still using IDE. Thank you.

Without your price range, we're trying to help you hit a bullseye at
night with no flashlight.



--
spammage trappage: replace fishies_ with yahoo
 

jk

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Matt wrote:

> Fitz wrote:
> > Ok, I was wrong...at Newegg, the AMD 2600+ is $1.00 more
>
> That's worth it.
>
> > and the 2700+ is
> > $4.00 more.
>
> Not worth it since the 2700+ (Thoroughbred) has half as much cache as
> the 2500+ (Barton).

The 2700+ has a much faster clock speed though(2.166 vs 1.833 for the 2500+)
Many applications don't benefit that much from the larger cache, and the
higher clock speed of the 2700+ is much more important.

>
>
> > If you want to argue semantics over a buck, you win.
>
> What's that supposed to mean? :)
 
G

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>> If you want to argue semantics over a buck, you win.
>
> What's that supposed to mean? :)

it means he can't come right out and admit a mistake even something so
petty
 

Fitz

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I think I already did that. See previous post:
"Ok, I was wrong..."

The point being that "same" price and a dollar difference is hardly
worth being challenged on.

Fitz