Sempron LE-1300 worth considering?

It's an low end single core processor. If you're comfortable with building, post a budget and people here will make suggestions for parts.

The part in question is designed for low energy consumption, not performance. I'd be wary for even low demanding gaming.

Whats the cost of that PC? Bytch is right about duel cores being better... but then again, better usually costs more. Usually with X2 type CPU's I like the even multis. Like 10,12,14... That helps out with the memory devider. It makes sure you get the full speed of the ram.

My guess why he is not talking about building...  

Well the computer is only $270 at dell outlet which is a pretty damn cheap computer w/ OS included (and installed). I ran WoW on my P3 256 mb+64 mb pci card so i mean it can't be THAT bad, but it sounds like it's pretty bad from what you guys are saying.

I know I can mash everything together but i'm not very confident on troubleshooting. The whole reason I'm in this mess is because my old computer's AGP card started messing up w/ the ole ATI2dvag bug and when I went to screw around with it I believe I zapped my mobo (won't post anymore   ) The computer is for my gf and for a budget pc that will at least run wow and sims I was hoping this would fit the bill.

So dell outlet is probably bad as is the sempron, but for $270 and my needs what do you guys thing?

(computer has 2 gig ram too)

hard to beat for the money... still, its hard to reconsile the idea of gaming and a lower end CPU. In all reality, it sounds like it will play what you want to play. The problem is this... it won't really go forward much at all. Any newer games are going to choke it. Buy it for word processing, checking e-mail and playing old games. Don't think you'll be doing any intensive apps, though... like newer games. It just won't go there.

Dont do it. Chek Ebay. If you have your own OS I could build you a good Dual core for $300. I'm sure you can find similar deals on Ebay.

It's too hard for me to know what to trust and to spend money not knowing I can trust it.

As far as going forward I'm not too concerned. In like 2 years I will just buy a new computer for myself and give my gf my current Q6600/8800GTS.

I'll have to think about this for a bit more either way.

roadrunner probably could build a nice low ender for close to three bills. I could too. The issue here is that the OP doesnt want a homebuilt. If this is for your girl and she isnt into tougher apps, then the cost is worth it. Simply put, if 270 bones buys a computer that will do what you want it to, then why spend more? Only other consderations should be warrenty and upgradability. Niether seem to apply here. Its not a long term service life with only 2 years projected.

Is it safe to assume that the cpu is at least the equivalent of a 2.0 GHz P4 processor?

Spore is the only other game that would be nice for her to be able to play even if everything is on low settings. Dell outlet has like 14 of these in stock so I can take a day or 2 to think it over.

Yes. It would faster then the 2.0 p4. OS is also important, though. I would stick with XP for that computer. Vista is an ok OS, but it is more power hungry then XP... like XP was over win 9X.

Well the sempron is based on the old Athlon Xp architecture , but with the cache removed, so it will run wow just fine, and if your gf is a noob, she wont know it's sloooow. Now if you wanna play supreme commander or crysis, or company of heroes and have it be fast, forget it ! Other than that, make your GF very happy   an get her one !

I'd like to see that, or you have a different ebay from the one I use where ppl pay almost full price for used gear ? hehe

I used to love ebay back then, but now power sellers and noob bidding and reselling resold crap ruins the bargains imho.

No. The Sempron LE-1300 is a single-core 65 nm K8, NOT a K7 Athlon XP. It's essentially half of a Brisbane K8 with half of the L2 cache. The Sempron will not be all that slow compared to a dual-core in all but the newest and most-demanding games and will be MORE than fast enough in office apps and general usage (I use a 1.067 C2D ULV and a 1 GHz Coppermine Celeron for those tasks and they are plenty. The Sempron is far faster.) The 45 nm Semprons are very efficient and run very cool and quiet, which is far better for a mostly general-usage desktop machine than being able to run a little faster some of the time but being hotter and noisier all of the time.

just a thought on this... bet the dell has a crappy via chipset...

You're right, I see they did switch from k7 based to k8 based with socket 754. I am impressed that you got a 45 nm one though as they are all 65 atm  

He meant 45w

He's from the state of misery, who knows what he meant.  

Ya, but I had ta needle him some...hehe

Sorry, I think he actually literally memorised "What would happen if I was CEO of AMD"... 45nm Sempron dual-core @0.1 TDP =P

Sweet, this thread actually took a turn of encouragement. The computer comes w/ XP, I'm staying away from Vista as long as I can afford. I'll plan on buying this thing after work.

Thanks for all the feedback!

Yes, it was a 45-watt, 65 nm processor.


I take it you are from Kansas?  

Yes I am from Kansas. In Lenexa right now (near Kansas City). I'm not anti MO. My wife is from there. Not pro KU either. I mean, I like to drink and all, I just can't make a life out of it. That's why I went to K-State.

I know the OP doesn't want to build, but why not get some experience in doing something, just not too overwhelming.

I think he could build a very decent shuttle barebone for his g/f, with perhaps a AM2 5000+ chip, 2gigs ram, for a lil over $320, of course buying a XP Home OEM disk.

Shuttle SN68SG2 AMD Socket AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7025 2 x 240Pin GeForce 7 Series $175 - $50 rebate = $125

Ewwww..... Via chipset.....

BTW what video does this thing have? IGP or discrete?

If you have it list the full specs or model number of the PC.

probably integrated for that price. If it is discrete, it aint top end. Grimmy's got a really good deal there.

Well the model listed is Inspiron 531s, but it's definitely not exactly that since it doesn't have half the stuff the 531s lists if you google it. The specs that they do give you are:

Operating System
Genuine Windows XP Home
Memory
2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 677MHz (2 DIMMs)
Hard Disk Drive
160 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Modem
56K DataFax Modem
Certified Refurbished
Certified RefurbishedBase
Inspiron Desktop 531s Slim Tower: AMD Sempron LE-1300 (2.3GHZ)
Media Bay
16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capabilitySoftware Upgrade
Microsoft Works 9.0Hardware Upgrade
USB Keyboard
No Floppy Drive
Dell Optical USB 2-button Mouse

While I'm interested in what grimmy listed I really don't want to mount a CPU after zapping a mobo swapping out agp cards.

I will call the sales people at dell and ask about the onboard along w/ the PSU.

PSU will likely be... um... less then awesome. I would consider a bare-bones, if you can stomach the idea of piecing in the optical drive, hard drive, ram and CPU. You'll likely get a better end product... and you will know what you have. All in all, though, the dell will probably be enough for your needs and it is easier then piecing together one.

Go with the dell. Just know that the PSU will not likely be enough to power much in terms of a descrete video card.

I was told it's an intel media accelerator, can taht even exist on an AMD mobo?

                Intel integrated graphics on a mobo with an AMD chip. I love those guys at Dell. They may not know dog dropppings from peanutbutter, but they can sell anything. I seriously doubt Intel is able to pull that off. If it isn't an ATI/AMD graphics, then the mobo is probably a VIA chipset. Via does make integrated graphics chipsets also.

Really, you are hoping to do some gaming with this 'puter... Grimmy's suggestion is starting to look pretty smart. It could do light gaming with that Nvidia graphics integrated and it does have a X16 PCI-E slot. The PSU is weak, but you might be able to find something that it would power... something with more guts then a VIA graphics controler.

Well 125 for that + 100 for xp leaves me w/ $95 for RAM and a HD and a cpu? (to be at $320)

Ouch.... wait a day or so. Let me look into this. I'm not so sure now on the dell. The CPU is cabable... that is certain, but the rest... meaning mainly the video concerns me.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E168...


More money... for sure. But the graphics is Nvidia and it looks like (from the pictures) that it has a free X16 PCI-E slot. 1 year warrenty.

vista though.. =(

5000+ - $66
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP3 English - $90
Kingston 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 - $44
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160815AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb - $47

$372

I didn't think about the HD. Sorry. Also I didn't add up shipping.. So its a lil bit more, but it will be allot more decent then the Dell.

Doh... I guess I forgot the dvd/cd player.  

^You can't beat Dell on cheap. You can beat them on pricing a gaming system but cheap they win. They have their own $5 dollar mobos, $0.10 cent dvd drives and so on.

They are cheap. Only thing cheaper is a eMachine and thats like the 99cent store bargain PC there (you know looks like a transformer but is cheaper, crappier and called changing car thingy majig?)

I'm not knocking the Dell on cheap. Fact is for office apps and regular stuff, it would work fine. Problem is, is that the OP wants to run some games. Even old games require some graphics power. I'm not sure this computer has much of any. I don't want him to spend more then he needs, but he needs a computer that will do what he wants. I don't think anyone here is sold on that fact. Very skeptical of the integrated graphics chip on this el-cheap-o model.

If its a VIA chipset then we can deduce the IGP is more than likely utter crap. It will even do worse than a Intel IGP.

What makes me wounder though since its a VIA..... if its even worth anything.....I mean its VIA....

Actually, we have no idea if its a via.

Boozie, I don't know what to tell you. CPU wise, you are fine. Graphics wise, I have no idea how this would do. ~ 280 bucks is a lot to gamble. Especially when 150 more would ensure you against the risk and you would know what you have and that it would work ok for what you want to do. At this point, its your call. I can't find anything cheaper... or close.

Ok the salesmen basically can't tell me anything so I did my own digging and it appears that this computer comes w/ either:

NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE
or
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE

I have no idea the difference between LE and SE other than one being a possible typo nor do I know which it actually comes with.

In other news, the case is a "slim" so I pretty much can't buy an actual pci-e card after the fact. This is ok since I figure in 18 months or so I'll be buying a new computer for myself and will have 2 solid computer and can toss this one.

The main factor here is I want to spend as little money as possible since I plan to buy another computer in 15-18 months anyways. I could get something pretty nice for 400-500 I realize, but I will have 0 use for it once I do buy another computer.

So can I trust my wow and sims w/ a GeForce 6150 onboard? Is it a safe bet that it will never run spore?

So it is a nVidia 6150 built in IGP. Its not bad but to say the truth it wont play Spore, The Sims 2 (I am guessing Sims 2 as the original is way outdated) or WoW at decent settings. Maybe at low.

I say its kinda bleh really. Not what I think is a good low end but not as bad as I was thinking.

Ew....... VIA..... Good thing its not them.

there are 2 problems with those dell mini towers and discrete graphics. 1. no room for card 2. power supply is prob 250 to 300 Watt. but the 6150 onboard should play sims 2 and wow decently you just are going to go in the bios and bump up shared video ram
and damn toms is acting a$$ today

so, you are currently playing those games? What is the current setup that you have playing those games?

i am a system builder/Tech and i have numerous customers playing those games on far less hardware. and my girlfriend plays sims2 on a p4 2.0 512MB 128mb FX5200. I have one customer in particular who plays wow on a radeon 9250

sounds good to go then. Go for it, boozie.... I think we are all more confident now. Any objections?

Awesome thanks for all the help guys!

I have an LE-1300 Sempron.

Its VERY quiet. You have to get with in an inch or two to hear anything.