Need help spec'ing a PC for my mom

Viper007Bond

Viper007Bond

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My mom's on a P3 450MHz Dell from 1998. It has a TNT2 and a 9 gig hard drive. Time to get her a new PC.

So, can someone help me spec out a PC? All parts need to be available (waiting list is okay) on Newegg.

Thoughts:

  • I'm much more familiar with Intel than AMD, so probably best to get an Intel chip
  • Thinking 6600 GT for a video card. It's cheap, but can run The Sims and stuff for my little sister.
  • Gig of RAM is probably good
  • Cheapo Soundblaster audio card would probably do
  • DVD burner
  • No speakers, at least for now
  • LCD monitor if possible, 17" will do
  • Don't need a case and don't spec a PSU for the time being (I have one that came with my current case)

Remember -- as cheap as possible!
 
http://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/wishlist/PublicWishDetail.asp?WishListNumber=3493874

-I went with an AMD 64 system because the chips are now about the same price as the old & crappy Celewrong D.
-The motherboard has onboard video and sound for about the same price as others (which don't have onboard video).
-RAM prices are ridiculous, but whatever.
-NEC 18X DVD-+RW, need I say more?
-19" widescreen monitor for a few bucks more than a standard 17"
 
:thumbup:

  • 6100 seems a bit wimpy, but then again, she plays The Sims on my dad's GeForce 4 and it runs pretty good.
  • RAM is cheaper elsewhere?
  • I think I'll steal that LCD and give her my secondary monitor :lol: j/k
Thanks for the suggestions. :)
 
^I was going to suggest that when I read viper's post as well, when I was building a budget system a couple of years ago for a cousin, I chose everything onboard (Video, LAN, Sound), saved quite alot of $$ (If you are afraid that it might die after a few years, don't worry, just buy a PCI Graphics card, LAN Card or SOundcard when it dies)... and looking at cvg's order, it seems like AMD64 is the way to go, way more value than the Celeron D's... the rest of the stuff are pretty standard and won't make much difference.
 
Onboard audio is fine. This PC is mostly for browing the web and such. I'm just a bit worried about the power of the GPU for the occasional 3D game.
 
Viper007Bond said:
  • I'm much more familiar with Intel than AMD, so probably best to get an Intel chip
  • Thinking 6600 GT for a video card. It's cheap, but can run The Sims and stuff for my little sister.
  • Gig of RAM is probably good
  • Cheapo Soundblaster audio card would probably do
  • DVD burner
  • No speakers, at least for now
  • LCD monitor if possible, 17" will do
  • Don't need a case and don't spec a PSU for the time being (I have one that came with my current case)

Remember -- as cheap as possible!
Click to expand...

1. Intel and AMD are both competent, go with whichever is cheaper. (probably amd at this point)
2. Video Card seems ok.
3. RAM seems ok.
4. Cheapo Audio card probably unnecessary, onboard motherboard audio is good enough unless you are an audiophile.
5. Yeah, get a dvd burner.
6. Get speakers. Computers are great for music, at least get something unless you already have an old set lying around.
7. I think motherboards recently changed spec to 24pin ATX main cables, rather than the 20pinner you probably have at the moment. So get a new case and psu.

What I would do:
Find well built, not too expensive case. I don't know if Chieftec is still around, they used to make decent ones.
Then, spend about $60-100 and get a decent power supply. They're about as important to your computer as tires are to a car. An Antec TruePower 380 or higher should do just fine, Enermax also makes good units.
Then, pick your processor, pick an appropriate motherboard with the features you want, and the rest of the parts come easy after that.
 
Yeah, got an old set of speakers in all likelihood. Sister is gonna pass down her's and trade up.

Case would be my sister's old one if possible as she wants a cooler looking one. :roll:
 
I think you confused me saying cheap with "overly expensive". ;)
 
Sorry to disappointed you, but Macs have viruses too. Macs only have few viruses because they have such a tiny market share and it's pointless for coders. The more people you convert to Macs though, the more viruses you'll start seeing. ;)

And I dunno about you, but I've never, ever gotten a virus except due to my own stupidity. It didn't infect me though of course as my virus scanner caught it.
 
Viper007Bond said:
Onboard audio is fine. This PC is mostly for browing the web and such. I'm just a bit worried about the power of the GPU for the occasional 3D game.
Click to expand...

Don't be, my GF has a GF6150 (=6100 with DVI-plug, might be a better choice when buying a TFT) aswell, and the sims 2 runs perfectly fine on her PC
 
Adunaphel said:
Don't be, my GF has a GF6150 (=6100 with DVI-plug, might be a better choice when buying a TFT) aswell, and the sims 2 runs perfectly fine on her PC
Click to expand...

Ah, good to hear! And yeah, I need DVI out.
 
^^okay boys, lets not turn this in the mac vs. pc war like they have on the comments page of the youtube mac ads :lol:

as this guy said, both of them are computers and have their pros and cons, just learn to accept it :D
I am a user of both and honestly, all thats keeping me from completely switching to mac is the fact that I can't plan games. (ps. I have an iBook so I can't realy dual boot yet, but when I upgrade to a macbook soon, I think my laptop would be traded in and my PC will just be left there to be used once in awhile)
 
what do you guys think of the Athlon64 dual core? i fitted the 4200+ to my new PC on an ASROCK board, and it seems pretty good. it means i can run azureus and other programs at the same time. i don't think i will ever go back to Intel. and macs can stuff off, i can't stand them. i saw a mac that couldn't read Verbatim CDRs :-x

we must slowly sift out the crap...
 
I have a dual core intel that will anally rape your athlon dual core (Core 2 Duo E6600 :thumbsup:). And besides, ASROCK sucks ass, they have a nasty habit of popping capacitors after a year or 2.
 
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