Computer For 2-500$

[Storm1234]

I'm looking to build a comp eventually for anywhere between 2-500$ such big gap meaning the less the better.

It'll mainly be used to do everyday stuff no gaming. Internet // Documents, nothing major


Any help would be great with builds of AMD and Intel.

Mobo
CPU
Memory
Hard drive
VideoCard only if mobo doesn't have on board.
Wanna leave as much room as possible for a monitor.

Thanks for any help. Much appreciated. Storm~

 

[g-paw]

I'd probably go with AND AM2 mobo with onboard video just because AMD is a bit cheaper than Intel. Check out the CPU chart on tomshardware. Once you know if you want AMD or Intel, you can start looking at mobos $500 may mean dropping done to a 2 generation old CPU but I'd at least look at the AM2

 

[Storm1234]

Could you give me a suggested product list with links. I'm looking for different suggestions with Amd or Intel and then ill pick which one will best suite my needs.

Thanks again. Storm~

 

[Storm1234]

Not really, just looking for some suggestions // help.

 

[tool_462]

Don't pay attention to the Bytch.

I suggest a cheap Dell/HP/Compaq for that price range and performance level.

Find one with a Cedar Mill Celeron 35x and 1GB of memory with whatever size HDD you need.

Ultra-budget, non gaming systems can be had for less from the big companies than you can build yourself, they pay a lot less for parts than we do

If that doesn't float your boat, I can help you find a cheap setup after I get back from bowling.

 

[zjohnr]

Ultra-budget, non gaming systems can be had for less from the big companies than you can build yourself, they pay a lot less for parts than we do

I tend to agree with this point of view ... to a point. I probably wouldn't buy a pre-built even if I was just looking for basic web-surfing, email computer. But that's just me. I'd rather pay a little more and know what I was getting (and get to play around with the hardware).

What are your feelings on the matter, OP?

Mobo
CPU
Memory
Hard drive
VideoCard only if mobo doesn't have on board.
Wanna leave as much room as possible for a monitor.

I'm not sure I understand your situation so I'm not sure I understand what you're thinking of doing. If you're still thinking of building your own system (see above) then if you could also answer a few more questions it might help to better focus possible suggestions.

First question is if you plan to replace an existing computer with this ~$500 one. If so, what if anything do you plan to salvage/migrate from it? Or do you also need to get a case, keyboard, mouse ... whatever?

Would you consider going with parts that have been discontinued (i.e. a socket 939 AMD system) to save money or would you rather use the current generation of hardware?

For example, newegg has a combo deal of
AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Venice 2.0GHz retail (inc HSF)
BIOSTAR NVIDIA GEFORCE 6100-M9 Socket 939 Micro ATX
for ~$113 including shipping. It has integrated video and 16x PCIe video slot.

1GB of DDR-400 RAM should be well under $100. For example,
Kingston ValueRAM (2 x 512MB) DDR-400 (PC 3200) for ~$76 shipped.

Total price for motherboard, CPU, RAM is ~$189 shipped.

BUT the above system would be a "dead end". There will never be any new socket 939 AMD processors or motherboards since AMD is discontinuing them. When the ones out there now are sold the only place you can get them will be eBay. And the DDR SDRAM is less expensive because everyone is using DDR2 these days.

The above is just an example I threw together on the fly. It is not a suggestion. Just was wondering if you would even consider going that route for a basic system or not.

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[Storm1234]

@ tool462

I looked @ dell.com to see the possibilities, I do like that idea on low budget systems.

But if you could would still like a setup suggestion after bowling if you could, thank you very much.

@zjohnr

I agree with Tool with low budget systems on buying pre-built computer from a manufacture to a certain point, I still like building them tho so I know whats in the computer as you said. So I agree both ways.

To your first question I wont be salvaging any parts, other then keyboard and mouse.

I basically need help on Mobo // CPU // Memory // Case // hard drive that'll all be compatible and work well. I probably have hd's picked out tho, i'll probably put a 80GB IDE for main, and a 250GBish Sata2 for files.

About discontinued parts that particular mobo that you told me about supports X2 also, they should still be around for awhile. And by the next upgrade i'll prob redo everything anyway.


If you need to know anything else ask. Thank very much for all your help already. Storm~

 

[zjohnr]

About discontinued parts that particular mobo that you told me about supports X2 also, they should still be around for awhile. And by the next upgrade i'll prob redo everything anyway.

Yes and no. New retail dual core socket 939s are getting harder to find as each day passes. If you go with a single-core 939 and then later decide to move to dual core the upgrade path may only run through eBay.

If you want to guarantee some sort of CPU upgrade path then a better bet is to go with either Intel LGA-775 or AMD socket AM2. Either one will also require DDR2 RAM and the resulting combination will likely cost more than a system put together out of previous generation parts.

Not sure which way I'd come down on this decision myself.

Fortunately (???) when I upgrade in February I know I'll be going with some flavor of Core 2 Duo so I don't have to make decisions like this.

I probably have hd's picked out tho, i'll probably put a 80GB IDE for main, and a 250GBish Sata2 for files.

I'd probably go with just the 250GB and cut separate Windows and data partitions. But it sounds like you might belong to the "a separate drive for the OS is faster" school of thought. To each their own and the world is a better place for it.

The only other thing I'd say on this is that judging from some of the recent drive special offers I've seen, 160GB has become the new 80GB. Don't rule out going with the larger drive if you can still get it for a good price.

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[g-paw]

This would be a possible system based on the AMD AM2. Given I have no life, I put systems together when I'm bored. The 2 places you could reduce cost would be getting a different case but the advantage to this one is that it has a good PSU and could be used for years. The other area of savings, which I think makes more sense, would be a less expensive CPU.

Case http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16811129155 $99
Mobo http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16813131014
$85.00
CPU http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16819103735
$135
RAM http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16820134045
85.50
Floppy http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16821104101
$7
DVD Burner http://www.newegg.com/product/product.asp?item=N82E16827106013
$28.00
HDD http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148149
$58

Total $497.50

 

[FingerMeElmo]

everything this guy config'd is spot on but dont change the case/power supply because its a great deal. that and its from a great maker. you'll have a cheap computer but at least it doesnt look cheap . now when it comes to the cpu you can save a ton buy going with a budget sempron here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103032 (money saving option) or get a basic athlon 64 here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103031 (better long term option). since you computer cant handle vista premium then you can probably go with vista home basic. theres no aero glass feature but most of all the other features are the same.

ps oh and if no ones seen it, newegg has started to sell vista

 

[g-paw]

everything this guy config'd is spot on but dont change the case/power supply because its a great deal. that and its from a great maker. you'll have a cheap computer but at least it doesnt look cheap . now when it comes to the cpu you can save a ton buy going with a budget sempron here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103032 (money saving option) or get a basic athlon 64 here http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103031 (better long term option). since you computer cant handle vista premium then you can probably go with vista home basic. theres no aero glass feature but most of all the other features are the same.

ps oh and if no ones seen it, newegg has started to sell vista

I agree, for the extra $10 you'd be much better off with the Athlon 62 3200+. Running the previous version, i.e., 939, on my office machine and it works well Even did some video capturing, editing, and burning with it. Also agree on the case, I have 2 and not only do they look good but more importantly, at least for me, they are very easy to work with. Again, the case can be used for many future builds.

 

[s4fun]

Last I checked 2-500 = -498.

You want someone to pay you $498 to build a machine? :?:

 

[g-paw]

Last I checked 2-500 = -498.

You want someone to pay you $498 to build a machine? :?:

Actually, this is from the original poster but sure, I'll take $498 to build a computer. In fact the figure is negotiable.

 

[Storm1234]

Love all the suggestions and help, thanks allot.

Only thing is id like to keep it between $200-350, so there is room to buy a monitor.


Thanks allot. Storm

 

[Noya]

Don't forget about Windows XP, I think it runs like $90 for the Home edition.

Craigslist is your best bet for a cheap CRT.

 

[Noya]

$59 AMD Athlon 64 3200 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535

$59 Biostar mobo w/onboard video
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138269

$75 1gb Kingston memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141437

$30 DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152076

$52 Hard Drive 160gb WD SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144415

$60 Tower w/Power Supply Unit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129150

$90 Windows XP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116169

That's about $425, leaving a little for a used Monitor & Keyboard/Mouse.



On second thought, I notice a HP or Compaq with a Pentium D (dual core) 805, 1gb RAM, with monitor and all of it for around $500 after a rebate. That's probably your best bet. The DIY market is mostly for people who want mid-high to high end performance and want it for half the price of a retail system.

 

[GeorgeH]

I would not worry about upgrading.

I find that any upgrade that is noticable ALWAYS requires new motherboard, cpu, and memory.

 

[zjohnr]

Hey, storm1234! Does this look familiar? (Good list, Noya)

$59 AMD Athlon 64 3200 CPU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103535
$59 Biostar mobo w/onboard video
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813138269
$75 1gb Kingston memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141437

So I guess I take back what I said earlier. This is now a suggestion. Actually, I do think your best performing lowest cost system would come from finding a combo or other deal on a socket 939 setup. It's going to be hard to find an AM2 or LGA775 system that you build yourself for under $350.

$30 DVD burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152076

Whatever NEC is selling for ~$30 has pretty much become the de facto budget DVD burner of choice these days. I don't think you're going to get a better low-cost DVD suggestion (unless NEC comes out with a new model to supercede this one ).

$52 Hard Drive 160gb WD SATA
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822144415

Don't know if you do rebates but FWIW OfficeDepot.com currently lists the Western Digital 160GB EIDE Internal Hard Drive for $80 - $50 rebate [Exp 1/28] = $30 + sales tax, but shipping is free and it's the retail packaged drive. EDIT: Curse me for my stupidity! This drive I pointed to is a PATA drive. Ignore this suggestion. If you're buying a new drive you want a SATA drive. Sorry.

$60 Tower w/Power Supply Unit
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811129150

Cases are such a personal choice thing I never know what to suggest. Hard to know what your preferences would be. Antec is a good name though.

$90 Windows XP
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16832116169

We'll always have windows. Don't know if you're any better off buying in the near future. (Can you still get a Vista upgrade coupon? And if so is worth getting a Vista upgrade coupon? Don't know ...)

-john, the ostensibly clueless redundant legacy dinosaur

 

[g-paw]

Love all the suggestions and help, thanks allot.

Only thing is id like to keep it between $200-350, so there is room to buy a monitor.


Thanks allot. Storm

With a $500 budget that includes a monitor, I think you'd be much better off getting a system on sale at a big box like BestBuy, Cicuitcity, or CompUSA. eMachines are really inexpensive. While I would ordinarily advise building, with this budget I don't think building makes sense. A decent build with monitor will be about $600 or so and Windows would cost you an additional $90. A while back I ran a spread sheet to comparing the cost of buying a system to building and the the higher the price, the more you saved, which would be expected. When you're ready to replace the expensive off the shelf you'll at least have a monitor and likely could use the hard drive and optical drive and maybe even the case. If you want to build for the experience of building, it should be with the understanding that at this price it will not be a powerful as an off the shelf. These stores run specials every Sunday

 

[zenmaster]

I agree 100%

I did a quick check of adds and saw a couple complete packages that
included a monitor for about $450 and ran with an Athlon 3500 as much memory, larger HDDs, etc...

The off the shelf packages also come with a bit of a warranty, will have a nice finish look, come with an easy warranty, etc.. etc.. etc...

The memory in these systems can be upgraded.
You can also upgrade to some slightly better video cards, but dont expect to use cards that require external power.

 

[Rovemelt]

If you are ok with getting a used machine, go to Ebay. There will be many comptuers in that range. New is nice, but it really is difficult to get a whole machine, OS, and monitor together for less than $500.

 

[CompTIA_Rep]

For what you need, all computers are made equal these days.
You can get a brand new HP/Emachines(yes they are good now), for $200.
You can not build a complete computer for less.


These 2 machines are from COMPUSA for $300.

Emachines
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD+/-RW Drive, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

-----------------

Compaq Presario sr2020nx Minitower
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz Processor, 512MB RAM, 160GB Hard Drive, 16X DVD+/-RW Drive, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

---------------
And Best Buy

Compaq - Presario 3500+ Desktop SR2020NX
AMD Athlon™ 64 processor 3500+; DL DVD±RW/CD-RW drive; 160GB hard drive; 512MB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM; Windows XP Media Center 2005; LightScribe labeling

$500

 

[Inshali]

this is a thought

cpu http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819112206 45.00$

mobo http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813135196 57.99$ and a 20.00$ mir = 37.99$
total is 82.99$

everything else looks good ,just thinking of downing the price a bit to help

 

[unbiased4u]

hey zjohn...I'm from upstate NY as well! w00t for New Yorkers!

[/off topic]

A good system for cheap eh? Hmm...I'll see what I conjure up for you...

does it have to be very upgradeable?

AMD style:
Case + PSU: Antec Sonata - $90 see below for cheaper options
Mobo + CPU: ECS w/ Xpres 1100 onboard -$132 w/ Athlon 64 3200+
RAM: Super Talent DDR2 667 - $50
HDD: Seagate -$45

~$315 this gives you upgrade options, but you can go 939 and get a cheaper CPU. No monitor

Perhaps you can save more by getting a cheaper PSU+Case: here's a suggestion: Rosewill Case + 350W

New total: ~$265

Intel style:
Case+PSU: Antec Sonata II mentioned above - $90 or cheaper model: $26 (w/shipping $40)
Mobo: ECS Xpres 200 - $60
CPU: Celeron D 356 of if you want to save some money, get a Celeron D 347 These have 65nm process so they run cooler and use less energy (supposedly) $55-$63
RAM: Super Talent DDR2 667 mentioned above -$50
HDD: Seagate 80GB mentioned above - $45

total - ~$265 no monitor

Cheapo(ish) style:
Case + PSU: Powmax - free!
(although quite risky, I had a powmax fail on me) I'd go with the Rosewill for $27 (9999 limit per customer? lol)
Mobo: AsRock GeForce 6100 $45 although the Biostar for $66 or the Gigabyte for $55 are more reliable
CPU: Semperon 2800+ ooh...you get a free wallet! $35
RAM: Wintech Ampo DDR400 $37
HDD: WD 80GB $42

total ~$170 $200 with Rosewill case+PSU

Of course these are just suggestions, you don't have to follow a single one of them. They're just here to help you

Oh, and if you do decide to buy instead of build, there are some pretty good options out there. Dell has a $500 desktop deal here, although it can't be upgraded much because of the case.

I say build! Because it is more fun and you get to customize the parts that you like. Plus you can upgrade the systems more than you can with a Dell.

@g-paw yeah, the PSU's in prebuilts aren't very good, although they may work with an adapter if it is a low power card that requires a connector, such as an AGP ATI 9700 or an 7600GT AGP.

 

[Ensiferum]

I built my Athlon 4000+, 7900GS, 1gb corsair valueselect, etc system for $500. I'll post links to everything when I get home. Most people, myself included, would recommend going AM2 instead. An X2 3800 wouldn't be much more than the 4000+ (which I got OEM).