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Irishwhistle

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So my computer is so old it's not even funny and I really need a new rig. Thing is I need the money for other things, so I was thinking... I have this old broken eMachine (:rolleyes:) laying around doing no good (something went wrong with the mobo and then I accidentally broke the CPU.) I was thinking "maybe if I went on ebay I could get a mobo and a CPU for under $100 and then I'd be all set." Well, I'm not into gaming (I do a lot of photo editing though) so I don't need a gaming rig or anything, just something that runs smoothly. I have two or three working PSUs laying around, 512MB of DDR RAM, CPU fan, two or three hard drives, a DVD drive, and a bunch of other parts, so basically all I need is the mobo and PSU. Then I found this on newegg:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135060

My question is, is it too good to be true? 'Cause that would be awesome if that would work... I know the CPU is fine (as it's AMD), but what about the Elitegroup? Do they make good motherboards? Also, will I need a GPU? I know next to nothing about graphics cards... Thanks a lot! :)
 
Well, ECS is very low end, ironically, most eMachines today use ECS mobos :P And beware PC Chips, maybe for really tight and low budgets, but mmm I wouldn't buy them...

If I were you, I'd get a nice, trustable, budget motherboard and an Athlon 64 X2. And you'll be set ;)

*edit* Here are some nice options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186141

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131172

Depending on which one you get, it sits around the ~$140 line, but you will not be disappointed :)
 
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ramodkk said:
Well, ECS is very low end, ironically, most eMachines today use ECS mobos :P And beware PC Chips, maybe for really tight and low budgets, but mmm I wouldn't buy them...

If I were you, I'd get a nice, trustable, budget motherboard and an Athlon 64 X2. And you'll be set ;)

*edit* Here are some nice options:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103211

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813186141

+

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131172

Depending on which one you get, it sits around the ~$140 line, but you will not be disappointed :)
Click to expand...

OK, I'm thinking maybe I'll wait till Christmas and get that and maybe 2GB of RAM... Also, what's the cheapest way to buy Vista... I'm not sure if I'll get it or not, but I may want it.

And I think I'll go with the ASUS as I don't think the Foxconn will fit my case...


Thanks!
 
Well, if you have a Microcenter retailer nearby, they have some nice deals with operative systems sometimes. If not, newegg all the way! get an OEM version and it shouldn't be expensive:

Windows Home Basic OEM is the cheapest one @ $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116480

And about the motherboard, they're both MicroATX so the Foxconn should fit, eMachines cases are all microATX factor.
 
ramodkk said:
Well, if you have a Microcenter retailer nearby, they have some nice deals with operative systems sometimes. If not, newegg all the way! get an OEM version and it shouldn't be expensive:

Windows Home Basic OEM is the cheapest one @ $90
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832116480

And about the motherboard, they're both MicroATX so the Foxconn should fit, eMachines cases are all microATX factor.
Click to expand...

I'd definitely want Vista Home Premium at least... but I think I'll probably stick with Ubuntu for a while... I just can't justify spending $100 for an OS when Ubuntu is free and does nearly as good of a job.

What about the quarter-inch ports in the back though? My case has space for three of those, but the Foxconn has six ports.

Also, will I notice much of a difference between the X2 5000+ and an X2 4000+? The reason I ask is because I've had experience with an HP Slimline with the X2 4000+ and I'm not too impressed with it... of course that COULD be because it has 1GB of RAM running Aero. :P
 
Well about the OS, you're right. Since you're on a budget, it'd be better to stick with Ubuntu for now...

You mean the expansion card slots? MicroATX cases should have 4 spaces, and the Foxconn mobo has 4 slots, 2 PCI, 1 PCI-e x1 and 1 PCI-e x16.

Well, I'd say the problem was the RAM, 1GB with Aero could get a little slow if you did photo editing. 5000+ X2 + 2GB should do the trick ;) Or you could always go Intel :P But that's a little over the budget...
 
ramodkk said:
Well about the OS, you're right. Since you're on a budget, it'd be better to stick with Ubuntu for now...

You mean the expansion card slots? MicroATX cases should have 4 spaces, and the Foxconn mobo has 4 slots, 2 PCI, 1 PCI-e x1 and 1 PCI-e x16.

Well, I'd say the problem was the RAM, 1GB with Aero could get a little slow if you did photo editing. 5000+ X2 + 2GB should do the trick ;) Or you could always go Intel :P But that's a little over the budget...
Click to expand...

Yeah, but my old Sempron was good to me. :)
 
Irishwhistle said:
Oh yeah, one more question: this is one of the PSUs I have (the other is in the rig I'm using), will it be adequate? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Well, it only has a 20 pin main connector, that should be enough reason to get another one since new mobos require a 24 pin connector. It's also off-brand and only 200W, which could suffice but again, the 20 pin would not help! :P

Look, I recommend Rosewill power supplies. This one in particular seems to have excellent reviews, is relatively cheap and has Free Shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182074

Irishwhistle said:
Yeah, but my old Sempron was good to me. :)
Click to expand...

I agree! Semprons are hella nice for low-budget PC's! :)
 
ramodkk said:
Well, it only has a 20 pin main connector, that should be enough reason to get another one since new mobos require a 24 pin connector. It's also off-brand and only 200W, which could suffice but again, the 20 pin would not help! :P

Look, I recommend Rosewill power supplies. This one in particular seems to have excellent reviews, is relatively cheap and has Free Shipping:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182074



I agree! Semprons are hella nice for low-budget PC's! :)
Click to expand...

So will this one not be good enough either? :(

http://www.affordablesurplus.com/hipro-hp-p3527f3-power-supply.asp

EDIT: That Rosewell looks nice... nice and cheap, which is good! :D
 
Nope! :o That one doesn't have the 24 pin main connector either...

I'm telling you man! They are affordable and not bad quality. ;)
 
ramodkk said:
Nah, that PSU is so good, if it blew up, you'd blow up with it! :P
Click to expand...

:eek: There's just one thing I don't like about it... the name :P lol It sounds like somebody just died...

EDIT: Oh yeah, will I need a GPU? (I hope not...)

EDIT2: Kingston RAM is good, right?
 
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