Advice for budget system

[hopster]

Hey Everyone,

I am looking to put together a new computer for the least amount of money possible (less than $200 if possible). My requirements are that it can run windows xp and surf the web.

I would like advice picking a decent low budget motherboard, ram, and cpu. I am thinking small form factor and Intel Celeron or Amd Sempron. I have no preference, which is why I’m here asking what any of you guys would recommend. I have no problem with a micro atx motherboard either.

Thanks,
-Hopster

 

[rockyjohn]

I don't think you are going to build anything for that price.

Does the $200 include monitor, OS, speaker, KB, and mouse or just the basic system?

I suggest either buying the cheapest pre-bilt system you can find or finding something used at eBay.

Here is the cheapest I could find retail - although I only checked a few sources - it is $279 and refurbished

http://shop1.outpost.com/product/5450359

 

[hopster]

No, monitor, keyboard, and mouse would not be included.

I would like to include:
Motherboard,
Case,
PSU,
Hard disk drive,
Ram,
CPU,
CD/DVD-rom

Just looking for recommendations on mobo/cpu mainly since I have never bought budget cpus like celerons or semprons, and I've always stuck to atx motherboards when i'd settle for a micro atx in this case. Thanks!

 

[rwpritchett]

Is the $200 only for the motherboard, ram, and cpu? I hope so, since a copy of XP will eat half your budget.

If $200 is for motherboard, ram, and cpu only, then I suggest:

GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L LGA 775 Intel G31 Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail $67
Kingston ValueRAM 1GB (2 x 512MB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model KVR800D2N5K2/1G - Retail $26
Intel Pentium E2200 Allendale 2.2GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80557E2200 - Retail $94
Total = $187

If you need EVERYTHING, then check out eBay for older s939 complete systems, eMachines at Walmart for a special, or maybe Craigslist. Starting from scratch, I don't think it can be done for $200. Maybe $300-400 would be possible. If you need an operating system, Linux is the only way to go in this situation (free).

If you really want to build with everything, then maybe this:

Rosewill R220-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail $15
FSP Group ATX350-PA ATX 12V (v 2.2) 350W Power Supply - OEM $30
AMD Sempron LE-1150 Sparta 2.0GHz Socket AM2 45W Single-Core Processor Model SDH1150DEBOX - Retail $36
MSI K9VGM-V AM2 VIA K8M890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $45
ASUS Black ATAPI/E-IDE DVD-ROM Drive Model DVD-E616A3 OEM - OEM $16
WINTEC AMPX 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model 3AXT6400C5-512 - Retail $13
Western Digital Caviar SE WD800JD 80GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM $43
Ubuntu Linux FREE
Total = $198 (Sorry, no monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers)

 

[hopster]

rwpritchett,

Thank you very much for the advice. I look closely at these parts. I think I can use what you suggested and save a little more with a case/psu combo for $22 I saw on newegg.

I appreciate the time you put into your response. I will continue to add/remove items from cart looking for a good build for my budget.

Any other suggestions and advice is welcome.

Thanks again.

 

[rwpritchett]

Here's a little bit better board (brand, chipset, and onboard video are better) for a little more:

GIGABYTE GA-M61SME-S2 AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail $47

If you decide to go with a case + PSU bundle, maybe you could move up to 1GB RAM with the money saved. Beware of bundled PSU's though, they're cheap for a reason.

 

[hopster]

Good call! I had noticed the brand and chipset were better, but didn't recognize the onboard video (which I will be using) Thanks, I really like this Gigabyte, it looks like it has everything I need.