building a computer

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Batoun

New member
Hi there..... I am planning to build a computer myself.

The key word is - ttl budget is $500 (or not too much over)

Any suggestions on what motherboard and somewhat decent sound card (must be full duplex), and what/how fast CPU and how much memory can one get (within the budget) and where?

Besides everything else that's needed I also need 2 hard drives (thinking at least 40G each). Cheap monitor and videocard (but something that would not slow the whole system down).

TIA and Have the best 2003.
 
...

and you need a monitor

i really dont see a way of doing that for 500 or a bit over
unless you go to some pawn shop and cop a old ass 15 inch monitor or someshit

and 2 40 gig hard drives is gonna run you like 150 alone
then you got 350 left for the puter
i dont see that happening

i would just look in the classifieds for computers that are like 2 years old or something
thats prob your best bet

peace
 
With shipping I don't think you can swing it. Your CPU will run around $70 if you go with a retail Athlon in the 1.5Ghz range. The motherboard will be in the $80 range...something upgradeable of course. You'll want 512MB of DDR which will run around $120 maybe. Two 40GB hard drives will set you back around $140. A little cheap Geforce2 MX card will cost around $35. A budget 17" monitor will be $120 (depending on your area, and you definately want to go local for the monitor). A name brand (sony, yamaha) CD burner will cost you $80 (no reason no to get a one anymore). A case & power supply with a floppy drive will set you back $60 for a piece of junk. Mouse + keyboard = $50. Some sort of network connection...ethernet or modem = $20 (you'll really want some connectivity, saves a lot of hassle).

Shipping if you got all this from one place might be $100 assuming you get the monitor locally. Although you can really save if you look for free shipping specials, especially for the case & power supply.

All in all you're looking at $700-850 with shipping for a complete system that's pretty average, and you haven't even bought your soundcard yet!

Here is the one online store that will NEVER let you down. I often pay a little more just to buy from these guys...and no I don't work for them :) http://www.newegg.com - any company that puts up real pictures of each and every product has my business...plus they deliver on time, all the time.

Slackmaster 2000
 
I always tell folks who ask me to build one for them not to skimp on the monitor. We can cut corners elsewhere if needed. The monitor is the visual interface between you and the pc. If it is unpleasant to look at,you wont you it to its full potential.
 
Slackmaster2K said:

Here is the one online store that will NEVER let you down. I often pay a little more just to buy from these guys...and no I don't work for them :) http://www.newegg.com - any company that puts up real pictures of each and every product has my business...plus they deliver on time, all the time.

Slackmaster 2000
Click to expand...

i gotta second the props for newegg. i ordered my complete system parts from them recently and was amazed at how fast they shipped it.
 
Batoun,

if you're looking to cheap out (which is what I did), one place to start is ubid.com. I picked up a refurb Sony Vaio there, and have retrofitted it to suit my needs (added 2nd HD, upped the RAM, etc) as $ allows. It's not a bad way to go if you want to start small (and cheap), and expand.

As far as a monitor, you can find really cheap 15" CRT's at most electronics chains now. I'd go local, to save yourself the shipping costs (monitors are heavy!).

Good luck!

-mg
 
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