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hejlik · Fri Mar 24, 2006 6:30 pm

A friend of mine is looking at buying a new pc. The problem is he doesn't have a lot of money to spend right now. He has been looking at Gateway. He is looking at spending about $450 without a monitor.

The problem is I don't think he will be happy with a pc that has integrated graphics, and a sub par cpu. Any suggestions?

I am helping him pick one out. I have built several computers in the past, and I am a bit more knowledgeable about computers than he is. I guess that is why he asked my opinion.

I know I can build him a decent pc for about that money, but not with windows xp installed. That adds another $100. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Thanks.

nishto75 · Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:00 pm

What will he be using it for? You'd be surprised at how little graphics power you need to just surf the internet, listen to mp3's, and work with Word and Excel.

hejlik · Fri Mar 24, 2006 7:15 pm

He uses it mostly for the internet, but I think he would also want to do some gaming.

Fri Mar 24, 2006 10:53 pm

hejlik wrote:
He is looking at spending about $450 without a monitor.

That's a pretty brutal price point. Integrated graphics are probably the best choice to begin with. Consider Hewlett-Packard if you are looking at one of the big OEMs. They have some decent low-priced socket-939 and socket-754 systems built on ASUS motherboards with the ATI Radeon XPress 200 chipset. If you want to spec out your own parts and have someone build it to order, consider Monarch Computer Systems. If you want to build it yourself, take a look around our System Builders Anonymous forum.

A value-crazed lunatic wrote:
For those on a smaller budget, I worked up a decent entry-level system that is easily expandable if your needs grow. Inexpensive integrated graphics are suitable for most applications, including gaming at low resolution. For a good 3D gaming experience, the motherboard has a PCI-Express X16 slot for an add-in graphics card when your needs and your budget allow it. All prices include shipping.

$ 84 ASUS A8N-VM CSM with NVidia GeForce6150+nForce430 chipset
$154 AMD Athlon64 3200+ Venice 2.0GHz 512KB Level2 cache 64-bit socket-939 processor w/ HSF
$ 65¼ 2x512MB Corsair Value Select PC3200 CAS2½ unbuffered DDR400 SDRAM
$ 50 80GB Western Digital WD800JD Caviar SE 7200rpm SATA hard-drive
$ 38 LG GSA-4167B DVD burner, black
$ 11½ Mitsumi 3½" floppy drive, black
$ 41 Cheap ATX case with power supply, black
$ 22 PowMax keyboard + optical mouse + crappy speakers, black
$ 32AR 19" KDS X-Flat 9S CRT monitor (well-suited to 1280x960 @85Hz)

Prices updated March 24, 2006.

Fri Mar 24, 2006 11:25 pm

hejlik wrote:
He uses it mostly for the internet, but I think he would also want to do some gaming.

Solitaire doesn't need all that 3d power. What kind of games are we talking about?

And yeah, hop on to SBA, it's where all the cheap guys show off how low they can go.

Usacomp2k3 · Sat Mar 25, 2006 1:59 am

Flying Fox wrote:
And yeah, hop on to SBA, it's where all the cheap guys show off how low they can go.

No prompting needed :wink:

hejlik · Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:56 pm

Thanks for the help guys.

Sat Apr 01, 2006 8:26 am

Presario SR1750NX is $600-50MIR at your friendly neighborhood brick and mortar store.

Fri Apr 07, 2006 7:45 pm

Presario SR1720NX is $500-50MIR at Staples.

I'd like to get twice as much as the 2x256MB of RAM included with this system, but the Socket-939 Sempron 3500+ at 2.0 GHz with 256KB of level 2 cache (a processor not available in retail) should be powerful enough and the Presario SR1720NX meets the originally-requested $450 pre-tax price point (including WinXP Home).

CampinCarl · Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:34 am

I think it's time to update the sample config. prices

Sat Apr 08, 2006 10:47 am

CampinCarl wrote:
I think it's time to update the sample config. prices

Why? The only price that has changed significantly is that of the RAM, and the link still goes to the cheapest place to buy it.

Usacomp2k3 · Sat Apr 08, 2006 3:09 pm

We just updated it like a week ago. Sheesh. You gerbils think I like running in my wheel not going anywhere :wink:

Sat Apr 08, 2006 3:11 pm

Don't feed the gerbils.

CampinCarl · Sat Apr 08, 2006 4:01 pm

Oh...wait...do those prices include shipping?

Usacomp2k3 · Sat Apr 08, 2006 7:15 pm

CampinCarl wrote:
Oh...wait...do those prices include shipping?

Yeah. JAE instilled that quality in me at an early age :wink:

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