Rookstar5

Ok so my mom said i could build her a computer if it was below like 500$ I suppose i could ask her for a bigger budget but unless i have something to really convince here it's not happening.

I am seriously thinking bout it since our current tower glitches up every week

Ok Ive benn looking at processors and the like and it looks like AMD gives you more bang for the buck but im not sure

I will post my current layout in a little bit but it looks like itll be over 500$ by a fair margin...

We will use it as a family computer and it will run everything from mmorpgs like WOW to multiprocessing school projects music and internet..

I also have an upsettable dad who kinda gets pissed off if the comp freezes up or goes slow.

Also It should last for a while or

Yah.... ok any suggestions would be helpful!

diduknowthat

Does the $500 include monitor, keyboard, mouse, OS and stuff like that? If so, you're going to have some trouble pulling this off.

__________________

Dell Latitude XT Convertible Tablet
Intel Core 2 Duo U7600 1.2ghz CPU
3GB DDR2 677 Memory
120GB 1.8" PATA Hard Drive
ATI Radeon Xpress 1250 Graphics
12.1" WXGA LED Touch Screen
N-Trig Capacitive Touch/Active Digitizer

Rookstar5

not the monitor/speakers and stuff but she wants a new keyboard/mouse set and ill probably get basic or windows xp home and if possible that could be integrated in to price but it probably won't so yah

JlCollins005

ive had no probs building comps for that budget, i built my friends mom and dad to sep comps and that was with monitors and everything for a lil over 500 each

__________________
My Latop
Hp zv6000
AMD Athlon 3200+
2GB Ram
60GB Hdd
Cdrw/DVD rom
Ati 128 Vid
15.4" Glossy Widescreen

Rookstar5

BTW can you show me some of your configurations>?

Ok
this is current setup

AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ Brisbane 1.9GHz http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103046

ECS GeForce6100SM-M2 (V1.0A) AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813135067

A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory http://http://www.newegg.com/Product...82E16820211066

Asus Dvd Burner http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827135163

COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 ATX Mid Tower Computer Casehttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811119068

Scythe "NINJA MINI" CPU Cooler http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835185046

Thermaltake ATX 430W Power Supply 115/ 230 Vhttp://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817153023

Western Digital 250GB 7200 RPM ATA100 Hard Drive http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822144171

That ends up to about 400$ with shipping

With the OS around 500$
I'm not sure if i should get Windows xp home, media center, windows vista home premium, or basic

any suggestions?

vonfeldt7

Well usually I'd recommend Vista...but seeing as how this is a family computer, and your family may not want to get used to Vista, AND you have lower-end hardware, I'd recommend some distro of XP.

__________________

Rookstar5

Why would you reccomend vista? and i think i might pay an extra 50$ for 2.6ghz instead of 1.9ghz

daisymtc

ECS is not a really good brand. May be getting ASUS M2N-MX SE

DVD burner: Get SATA!

PSU: The +12V of the Thermaltake PSU seems a bit weak.
hec HP 585DR ATX12V 585W Power Supply - Power Cord Included - Retail is a good cheap althernative

HDD: You would probably need a SATA Hard drive instead

CPU fan: Stock heatsink should be alright for low budget one. Spend the money on CPU.

CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz

By the way, I personally prefer intel set-up
E2160 + GIGABYTE GA-G31M-S2L

Rookstar5

OK with what you said it lowers down to 345$ witha a mail in rebate.

And wouldnt the E2160 be a worse processsor then 4800?

BTW I'm feeling kind of lazy right now and won't put up links

Current Setup -

Case - COOLER MASTER Centurion 5 CAC-T05-UW Black Aluminum Bezel , SECC Chassis ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail

PSU - hec HP585DR ATX12V 585W Power Supply - Power Cord Included 100 - 120 V/ 200 - 240 V UL, cUL, FCC, CSA - Retail

MB - ASUS M2N-MX SE Plus AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail

CPU - AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+ Brisbane 2.5GHz 2 x 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail

RAM - A-DATA 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

HDD - Western Digital Caviar SE WD1600AAJS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM

OD - SAMSUNG Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 12X DVD+R DL 20X DVD-R 6X DVD-RW 12X DVD-RAM 16X DVD-ROM 48X CD-R 32X CD-RW 48X CD-ROM 2MB Cache IDE 20X DVD±R DVD Burner - OEM


And if i put all this together I should have a working computer?
Should I have anything else? besides like OS/Monitor/keyboard/mouse?

daisymtc

AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800 is better than E2160 at stock.
http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu_20...=883&chart=416

However if you Ocing E2160, it should outperform AMD x 2 4800+
To keep it simple, just get AMD.

Apart from OS/Monitor/keyboard/mouse, you could get better thermal compound, e.g. Arctic cooling MX-2, but not necessary.
Or may be an internal card reader
Also, if it is the second home PC, you may need to get wireless adaptor for internet