Page 1 of Home-build PC advice...

Hi all - can you help?

I`m going to build a PC...

VERY low budget...but so far I have chosen the following...

2 x 512Mb PC3200 (DDR400) 184-pin RAM from Crucial = £118
Maxtor 160GB SATA 7200rpm 8MB cache Hard Drive = £60
x16 dual-layer DVD writer, all formats = £45
AMD Athlon 64 3000+ socket 939 512Kb including fan = £98

Total so far = £321

I need a motherboard to fit the above processor with 4 or 6 USB 2.0 ports, a case & a power supply....can you recommend/tell me the ones I need to fit the above stuff.

I think that`s everything - I can`t afford a graphics card yet but will get a 128Mb card at some point - the only graphics stuff I`ll be doing is digital photos (Adobe Elements/Photoshop and the Nikon software).

I can`t go over £400 total so have £80 for a motherboard & case - is that reasonable?

Have I forgotten anything? I already have XP Professional & Office XP and will get a cheap TFT monitor when it`s built.

Many thanks in advance

julianf

That MS will flag up the same OEM license number & the wide disparity in PC specification, when it goes to register. ;)



I enjoy being wrong and clueless on other subjects - My wife usually alerts me to which ones, as there seem to be an awful lot around the house.

This item was edited on Saturday, 15th January 2005, 11:00

JB

mobo here, but looks like you will break the £80 limit if you still require
a case.

Ste.

...hey, who nicked me hat and JD??

What are you looking for it to do for you? Unless you want to keep up with playing the latest games you could set your sights a bit lower.

Starting off with 512 stick of Ram will set you back £42 - freeing up 70 odd quid, you could then add more in when you`re feeling a bit flush.

This could cover you for an Abit Radeon R9200SE Graphics Card AGP 8x, 128mb, DVi which is in the £34 range (or you could spend more)

ASUS K8N-E Deluxe, 8xUSB2, Firewire, Serial ATA, Raid, blah,blah, blah. = £74

Nice case at around £30.

7 in 1 Card Reader built in about £15 or less.

Job done and enough left over for a brew.

Depends on what you want to do with it - anything you build will be out-dated within a few weeks anyway.

Used PCIndex to get these prices.

If it ain`t broke hit it harder
Damn Nicotine

This item was edited on Thursday, 20th January 2005, 23:22

Novatech Athlon Pentium4 MidiATX Tower Case 300W PSU 3x5.25", 2x3.5" (1 Int.) In Black £19.98 inc .vat
Rated:

I can honestly say that this is the easiest case to build with that I have even seen. All the building can be done with the MOBO tray lying flat on your work surface, and then you just tilt it up and it slots in - brilliant! Excellent price too!

(not my review by the way)

If it ain`t broke hit it harder
Damn Nicotine

Or at Savastore:

Radeon 9250 SE 128MB DDR DVI TV Retail £30.54inc. Itemcode: 10279300

£4 more saved.
;)

If it ain`t broke hit it harder
Damn Nicotine

Try Novatech for their mobo bundles too. I`ve had a couple and are excellent. Come with all documentation/CD`s etc..

Ste

Thanks guys - exactly the kind of responses I was hoping for...

I`m not going to be playing any games on it at all - got my XBox for that!

It`s going to be a standard home PC used for email, the internet and mostly for storing and manipulating 5MP digital photos. Possibly a bit of DVD creation/burning too.

julianf

All - given that my component list adds up to £400 or just over without a monitor, and given how closely this spec resembles my own wishlist, does anyone think that I`d do as well to go for this in the current Dell sale?

Dimension desktop 5000:
Intel P4 Processor 530 with HT technology (3GHz, 800MHz fsb, 1MB cache)
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition SP2 & MS Works
FREE Dell 720 Inkjet Printer
512MB Dual Channel DDR2 400Mhz (2x256)
160GB (7200rpm) Serial ATA Hard Drive with 8MB cache
128MB PCI-Express ATI Radeon X300SE™ with TVout & DVI
15" Value Flat Panel Monitor (I`m used to a laptop so the display size is fine)
16x max. DVD+/-RW with double layer write capability
Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers

£541 inc VAT & Delivery.

thanks

julianf

Hello

It started out with:

Quote:
I`m going to build a PC...VERY low budget...I can`t go over £400 total.
I already have XP Professional & Office XP and will get a cheap TFT monitor when it`s built.


Its now moved to £541 - for a tight budget that`s quite an increase.

The dell option is by no means a bad offering, it uses up £180 more than the components suggested. You miss out on the fun and experience of building your own. (TFT monitors are now coming in around the £160 mark)

In exchange you have a warranty to fall back on. I gave up on customer service depts, enhanced cost telephone support numbers many moons ago and have been doing my own ever since. If a part fails I can get it replaced and running within hours if so needed.

But don`t let me influence you :D

As ever, its your money, your choice.

Shaun

If it ain`t broke hit it harder
Damn Nicotine