Help Tass find a better computer

[Urban Ranger]

Why bother buying Dell?

[Neutrino]

$99 - Epox 8RGA+ motherboard
$56 - AthlonXP 1800+ w/ heatsink and fan
$60 - 2x GEIL 256MB PC-2700 (333MHz) DDR RAM, 6 Layer Ultra Low Noise Shielded PCB, 32x8 Low Density/Unbuffered, Model# GE2562700
$99 - AOPEN A50P 15" White CRT MONITOR - RETAIL
$81 - Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200RPM ST380011A Hard Drive OEM
$15 - NEC 52X CD-ROM Drive CD-3002A/MXL - OEM
$25 - FOXCONN SUPER CASE MID TOWER CASE PC-115 w/ 350W PSU

Total: $435 not including shipping

$93 - WinXP Home

prices from newegg.com

If you want more speed the other CPUs aren't that much more expensive.

[monolith94]

What if he wants to play DVDs?

[Neutrino]

Replace the CD-ROM drive w/
$29 - Aopen (GREY) 16X DVD-ROM Drive MODEL DVD-1648/BKH - RETAIL

only $14 more

[MattH]

The Epox 8RGA+ has a geforce 4 MX, otherwise it would be perfect...

A7N8X del ($30 more, refurbished for $69) has a 400mhz fsb (that means upgradability to 3200+ Barton chips), 6 usb 2.0 (!), firewire (for digital camera/etc.), Dolby Digital, 2 LAN ports. It does, however have some BIOS issues, witch shouldn't be a problem unless you're a super overcolcker
prices from newegg.com

[MattH]

Howabout you send us your money, and we buy the little bits for you?

[Neutrino]

The Epox 8RGA+ can support a graphics card too - doing so just disables the onboard chip. Supposedly the 2nd revision of this mobo was released so that it can support 400MHz FSB, but I haven't seen any here in the US yet and newegg doesn't have em.

That Asus board has received pretty good reviews too.

[MattH]

I'd say they're pretty evenly matched. Tass, you still out there?

[MattH]

Also: Don't skimp on the DVD/CD player-- I did, and every time I put in a disk it sounds like a tornado. You might say that "the cost makes up for the noise". After a few months, it doesn't. Trust me.

[Nubclear]

Originally posted by MattH
I'd say they're pretty evenly matched. Tass, you still out there?

Pardon me, I have a life

What if he wants to play DVDs?

Nope

Also: Don't skimp on the DVD/CD player-- I did, and every time I put in a disk it sounds like a tornado. You might say that "the cost makes up for the noise". After a few months, it doesn't. Trust me.

It can't be much worse than what I already have. (It sounds like the CD-ROM is being raped in there!)

$99 - Epox 8RGA+ motherboard
$56 - AthlonXP 1800+ w/ heatsink and fan
$60 - 2x GEIL 256MB PC-2700 (333MHz) DDR RAM, 6 Layer Ultra Low Noise Shielded PCB, 32x8 Low Density/Unbuffered, Model# GE2562700
$81 - Seagate Barracuda 80GB 7200RPM ST380011A Hard Drive OEM
$15 - NEC 52X CD-ROM Drive CD-3002A/MXL - OEM
$25 - FOXCONN SUPER CASE MID TOWER CASE PC-115 w/ 350W PSU

Total: $336 not including shipping

I already have a monitor Is there any way I could get an INTEL with 1.5 (or preferably 2) GHz? I hear Athelons suck bad. Also, I dont need such a large Hard Drive. I hate my current 15 GB hard drive, but 80 GB is a bit much

I already have a nice monitor, as well as Windows XP. And then...Once I get all this stuff, how would I ever put it all together? What would I require?

[Neutrino]

Actually AthlonXPs are comparable performance-wise to the lower-mid tier P4s, and they are much cheaper. If ya rummage around the site a bit I'm sure you can find the exact things you want

Oh.. and if you choose a P4 you'll need to get a that motherboard supports it. The P4 and Athlons use different types of slots.

All you'll need to put it together is a screwdriver (and hopefully the mobo has a good manual).

[MattH]

Athlons don't "suck bad". AMD has a reputation of being a (slightly) more honest corporation- it doesn't lie about speeds that much. I suggest an Athlon XP because the cost is generally lower.

Putting the parts together requires one tool: A screwdriver.
You screw the motherboard to the case (there's only one way that it fits in). The processor just clips in on top- illustrated instructions provided . The ram clips into little slots. You screw the CD drive into the bay, you screw the hard drive in, you connect the power cables (they only fit into the correct slot), you screw the cards in, you connect the CD and HD (again, only one way to fit in), close the case, plug it in, and power the baby on.

After that, the BIOS loads, and you press the proper key to get into the settings. Set the CD drive as a boot drive. Save, exit, and reboot with the operating system disk in the drives and follow the instructions .

edit:crosspost with Neu- good answer

[Urban Ranger]

Make sure the screw driver is Philips head