jaibot18

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hi, my dad an existing system which is an old gateway with p4 at 2.4, 160 gig ide hd, geforce 4, and 3/4 of a gig of ram. Lately it has started to lag and at 4 years I think it is time to replace (believe me its a hardware problem) He uses it for home use (no gaming) and wants to spend as little money as possible to get a good system. The cd drives and case will most likely be kept.
my build
500 black edition 80 dollars
or
4850 e x2 80 dollars

ASUS M3A78-EMH 780G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
90 dollars or any other 780g mobo

ram my old 2 gig stick 667

SILVERSTONE ST350 ATX12V 2.2 350W Power Supply 115/ 265V - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256019
35 dollars

hd http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148140
75 dollars

any recommendations? remember keep it cheap
 

boonality

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his existing computer isn't so bad for not gaming you know. I still use a P4 2.4 northwood with 2GB of DDR 400 every single day. Anyway if you want the truth, if this computer is for your dad and he does not even think of gaming let alone try it. Dell is your best bet because you can get a dual core celeron (which is still a fair jump from a P4) for about $350. Under $500 with a nice new LCD monitor. And it comes with tech support...trust me this will come in handy if your experience is anything like my family!
 

jaibot18

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while i see your point you have not used the computer and with trend micro virus protection it is actually quite slow, Furthermore he uses it for work so if it dies he is screwed. no comment about the celeron.
 

pous

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Seems like a pretty good set up for just basic use, I'd go with the 5000 AMD cpu because I like nice even numbers... but I don't know enough about AMD to suggest one over the other.

As for the PSU and RAM... that should be fine for the intended usage.
 

boonality

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1. Your right I haven't used the computer, but the hardware is nearly identical to mine so the problem probably lies in a software/configuration issue.

2. If any computer dies he'd be screwed right? not just that one, or a dell, or a homebuilt.

3. The celeron dual core is an excellent option for someone wanting a cheap computer to surf the net with

BTW you specifically stated "home use (no gaming) and wants to spend as little as possible"

So HTF was I supposed to know he used it for work and wanted to spend more than as little as possible?
 

snajper69

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For processor go with AMD 5000BE great performer, you could even overclock if you want it in the future, with cool and quite it will use less energy and generat less heat when just doing smaler things. For motherboard I would go with Asus M2Slie-E decent for just about 99.00 only con for that mobo is location of the power connection right smack in the middle, but overall good performemr. If going with this mobo you need to use lover power DDR2 so go with Patriot 800mhz is a very good quality ram for resonable price. Graphic card anything cheap will do just fine I belive you can get 8600GT for like 69.00 will be enough. For case well if you not going with SLI than any case with decent 400W PSU will do the trick. Good luck. I still belive that for budget PC AMD makes great chips.
 
The techreport link that Evongugg posted is your best bet in this case. Go for the alternative AMD configuration which uses the 780G chipset, because on a non-gamer this will allow you to ditch the graphics card completely and go with onboard video. Use an X2, don't bother with Phenom. The 5000BE is a good choice.
 
Oh, and since this is also a business PC, don't risk it on a cheap PSU (such as most of the ones that come with cases). Choose one from tier-3 or better from the list at http://www.tomswiki.com/page/Tiered+PSU+Listings?t=anon. Allowing for the possible addition of a decent graphics card later, 400W-500W should be sufficient; 300W-400W if you'll never add a GPU. The Silverstone you linked should be good if you aren't adding a graphics card; it does not have a PCIe connector on it.
I'd suggest a UPS also, or at least a good surge supressor. A tree fell on my street just last night and killed my power, but I had plenty of time to shut down my PC thanks to an APC UPS.
 

snajper69

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I agree with this if on board graphic will do the trick for you dad no point of adding a GPU but if he wants extra horse power just in case then the 8600GT is a decent card for the money.
As well do not ever cheap out on a PSU its just not worth it. I did and I regreat but I use my PC for entertainment so safety is not a big concern. But I know I want to upgrade my PSU soon the sooner the better. So be smart and invest little more $ now. Good luck.
 

jaibot18

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ok, thanks, maybe ill get this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256032
and maybe switch the mobo to this
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813128090&CMP=OTC-TechReport&ATT=13-128-090&nm_mc=OTC-TechReport&cm_mmc=OTC-TechReport-_-NA-_-NA-_-NA

one question, will a matx mobo fit in any atx case? The existing case is a 5 year old gateway (pretty sure atx when i paint my antec 900 ill put my mobo in) and if i can re use it that would be great.

So for the cpu i should go with the 5000 black? Oh and about over clocking he is totally against it but maybe you could persuade him.

oh and the hd. i think 300 gigs is a good size, so what would be the best hd for the money? (excluding the veloci raptor, it costs as much as the build.)
thanks for all your help
 

cliffro

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If you are not opposed to Intel.....this is a decently priced setup.

Includes CPU/MB/RAM/HDD/PSU total:$281.21 (Shipped to my zip)
https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/Wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=11348067&WishListTitle=Cheap+Build

MB has Onboard Video(since original list did as well)

Breakdown
E2180 69.99
Gigabyte NVIDIA GeForce 7050/nForce 610i MB 54.99
OCZ Gold Series 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 35.99
Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD3200AAKS 320GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s 69.99
Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W 34.99