performing budget computer

[anabellita]

this is a follow up to this thread. As you can see, I have an idea of what I want as far as components go, and am only missing case and psu at this point.

However, before I go there, I thought I'd run the system through you to see what you thought of it (performance, cost, value). This is going to be a home system for my husband and me. We don't play games nor intend to start doing so. His knowledge of computers is very limited and will probably be using it mostly for surfing the web and writing emails. I hope to find some time to dedicate to video-hobby, occasional encoding and editing of home videos; nothing too fancy, but capable of doing the job.

How does this look?

Processor: AMD Athlon 64 socket 939 Venice (approx. €165)
MoBo: ASRock 939dual SATA2 (approx. €65)
Graphics Card: ASUS EAX1300/TD/128/Radeon X1300
Memory: Kingston DIMM DDR 400Mhz PC3200 Kingston, 184-pin 512M (approx. €50)
HDD: I'm keeping my two current Maxtor Diamond 9 (80GB + 120 GB)
Optical Drive: Still have to figure out the DVDR, but I've seen NECs that look OK at around €50
Any old floppy drive (approx. €15)

 

[Pepicek]

guess wat u have now is pretty good... I would use it!
PSU's: u get wat u pay for.
I went low budget on a PSU (although new) and it lasted a year. I am now proud owner of Enermax (not modular) but should satisfy current and all future needs.

 

[zunaro]

Honestly I would suggest a Dell if you are just going to be using it for surfing, etc. The hassles and difficult warranty situations of a self built rig aren't worth it. And Dell's are a dime a dozen. So unless you are bent on an AMD processor, I reccomend a Dell or such.

But if you're determined to build your own, it looks good! You might want to check out Corsair ValueSelect RAM, Kingston is usually a bit over-priced :roll:

 

[anabellita]

Thanks for all the feedback. I guess I need to start my research on PSUs then! thought that at least would be one of those things where there wouldn't be much difference...! How much power do you gather I would need for this system (bearing in mind that I plan to upgrade over the years and will hence be adding a few new components).

As for kingston v corsair... I really haven't given it much thought, to be honest. Figured that as long as it PC3200 and well-known brand, everything would do, and looking at these prices, kingston seemed the way to go for 512 MB. But I'll look closer into it.

As for building or buying, truth is, I guess I fancy the idea of buying, have found that for the €600-700 that I have for a budget, ready-made computers are even lower-end than what I'm looking at right now, and also figure that I will have an easier time upgrading down the road if I'm more familiar with what I have. Also, by the looks of things, AMD seemed to have better processors for equal prices, but perhaps that was just me. So no, no particular preference for AMD except for the price/performance ratio, and the satisfaction of having a computer that is fully mine.

What about cases? I read things about form factors being a problem sometimes. Is there anything in particular I need to be looking for when getting a case for these components?

 

[dvdpiddy]

Honestly I would suggest a Dell if you are just going to be using it for surfing, etc. The hassles and difficult warranty situations of a self built rig aren't worth it. And Dell's are a dime a dozen. So unless you are bent on an AMD processor, I reccomend a Dell or such.

But if you're determined to build your own, it looks good! You might want to check out Corsair ValueSelect RAM, Kingston is usually a bit over-priced :roll:

dell dell are you crazy they suck! man you dont wanna deal with crappy tech support now do you? look you want budget get a sempron it will perform better than the dell!

 

[anabellita]

dell dell are you crazy they suck! man you dont wanna deal with crappy tech support now do you? look you want budget get a sempron it will perform better than the dell!

Sempron? rather than the Athlon? I thought that as long as I could afford, I would always be better off with an athlon, especially when thinking about future upgrades. :? I must say I'm very satisfied with that choice in particular, but of course, willing to change if properly argumented.

Now, about PSUs... I've read a few articles, and came to the conclusion that I probably need 350w-400w to be on the safe side (actually, it may be a bit of an overkill, but I'm not sure I'm ready to take risks, especially if I choose to upgrade some components in a few years). I think I understood ATX12v is the way of the future. BTX too, but not carried by newegg, so couldn't check available models (weird?). Do you agree?

As for the connectors, not sure what I need. One connector for each component? If so, then 3 SATA (to cover my back in case I buy a new HDD), 1 optical drive, 1 floppy, 1 IEEE, at least 4 USBs, anything else?

It is vital that the system is quiet. My current one is driving me out of my mind!

Budget is about €50-100, but preferable below €80. Newegg prices have tended to correspond to Italian ones, I have noticed.

So what would you recommend?

 

[anabellita]

yeah, thought as much. I'm making these choices very slowly, and can't remember all the reasons anymore, but I remember it took me a few days to make my mind, and there were lots of reasons for choosing the a64.

any ideas about the psu? can't seem to find a lot of clarity out there...