Best bag for my $230.00 ( 1 Views )

1. I know you guys are SO sick of these kinds of threads, but.. Anyway if you can help I'd appreciate it. To clarify some things, this computer would be used to download music, chat online, and E-Mail. No gaming, so with that in mind, look at what I've got.
   
   So far:
   Seagate 80GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model ST380011A, OEM
   $65.50
   
   Kingston ValueRAM 184 Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700
   $40.00
   
   ASUS "A7V400-MX" VIA KM400A Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL
   $55.00
   
   AMD Athlon XP 2400+, 266 FSB, 256K Cache Processor - OEM
   $69.00
   
   Now if you're any good at math, you'd see that's $229.50 problem is, shipping charges, and the fact that I don't have a HSF. So... What should I do? I don't need a floppy drive, or case/psu, or CD drive since I've already got it all.
   
   What I was thinking, was dropping the HDD to either a 40GB or a 60GB, and with the cash saved, get either a retail 2400, or a retail 2500, depending on how much was saved. The reason I went with the 80GB Seagate was for the 5 year warranty. Since this PC won't be in my possession, I don't know how it will be treated, and I knwo if anything ever happens with it, I'd be the one they would come to. And a simple RMA would be great.
   
   
   (arakadaþ aranýyor, Guadeloupe)


2. heh you said fart
   
   
   (BÜÞRA, Zimbabwe)


3. hehehe whooops :o
   
   
   (melike, Guatemala)


4. spelt Bang* wrong in the topic too :o damn I'm losing my mind.
   
   
   (leylam, Kuwait)


5. I've been using the Abit VA-10 KM-400 Chipset Motherboard almost exclusively for my cheap builds. The nice bennie about it is that his has all 5 audio jacks/optical port required for 5.1 sound built into the back, making for a nice non-audiophile music system.
   
   Consider bumping it up to 512 MB RAM though - 256 MB + onboard video shared memory + WinXP = molasses performance. Consider dropping the processor to an Athlon 2000+ retail to help pay for it. The tradeoff is definitely worth it, it will clearly feel faster with MUCH less swapping to disk. And you can always overclosk the 2000+ a bit to get some processor speed back.
   
   I also tend to use Mushkin Basic Green for my cheapie RAM
   
   BB
   
   
   (ferhat, Cocos (Keeling) Islands)


6. I'd only be saving like 10 bucks going with the 2000 rather then the 2400. Not sure if it's worth it? She won't be Overclocking, so. I think the newer the proc, the better. 512 RAM is out of the question, since it's $85ish
   
   
   (ali, Indonesia)


7. Is this the mother-in-law you were talking about yesterday?
   Anyway, you could get away with a 60gig or even a 40gig HDD, and save the money and buy a retail CPU with HSF. Thats probably the best solution. And you can get away with 256MB of RAM, if she won't be playing serious games or using memory-draining apps, even with onboard graphics and XP.
   
   
   (yýldýrým, Croatia)


8. 4keatimj, Yep, same person :p
   
   Just trying to get everything settled before I actually order.
   
   
   (sinem, Sao Tome and Principe)


9. What program will she be using do you think? I would drop the HDD down to 40gig and use the extra money for a retail Athlon with HSF. That would be the best idea.
   
   
   (beytullah, Tajikistan)


10. Muskin Basic Green 512 MB of PC2700 is currently 74 bucks.
    
    VA 10 = 52 bucks
    
    Athlon XP 2000 = 61 bucks WITH HSF
    
    HD = seagate 40 GB = 53 bucks
    
    Total = 240 bucks.
    
    If you ABSOLUTELY need it to go for 230.00 - the ASRock KS741GX is 44 bucks.
    
    Total = 232 - not quite 230.00, but damn close. I really think the extra 256 MB of RAM is more important than the extra 500 MHz of clockspeed. IMO, of course.
    
    BB
    
    
    (yusuf, Lao People's Democratic Republic)


11. Quote:

    Originally Posted by BB Gun I really think the extra 256 MB of RAM is more important than the extra 500 MHz of clockspeed. IMO, of course. BB

    Do you really think so? For most of us here in these forums, yes, but for a simple computer that probably won't be playing games (apart from solitare :p ) and being used for e-mail, word processing etc. (as i've gathered, i might be wrong), 512MB is really too much. XP can survive on 256 pretty well as long as it isn't being pushed by games and bid apps. You can save money by not going for the extra 256MB, simply because it won't be needed.
    
    
    (zir, Madagascar)


12. you can save a bunch of money oh HDD by going to http://www.fatwallet.com/c/18 and look for HDD threads. you can usually find 120GB for around 50 bucks or less after rebates.
    
    
    (mustafa, Dominica)


13. Quote:

    Do you really think so?

    For WinXP, yeah, I think so. :)
    
    Looking at my Task manager right now, with PC Cillin, Cybersitter (disabled), ATI utility and sound utility in the taskbar, and one Mozilla Firefox window open, I have 303 MB free. opening the calculator and Win Media player drops it to 280 (though as I type its climbing back to 300 MB). Add onboard video at 32MB and real player, and any number of dumb taskbar utilities that people seem to always add to their system (Real Player, weather crap, P2P file sharing, yahoo messenger, MSN messenger, etc etc etc etc) and you are in swapfile territory. Hell, I opened up 2 more windows of Firefox, started outlook and free RAM dropped to 260 MB for a bit, now back at 270.
    
    If there was no onboard shared memory, then 256 MB would be fine, IMO.
    
    BB
    
    
    (harun, Bangladesh)


14. It HAS to be $230.00 because that's what the money order is made for, Like 4keatimj said, it won't be used for gaming, and if she does find it's not fast enough, she will tell me and I will order more RAM for her. But for now, I'd liek to just get 256MB. It's a HUGE upgrade for what she's used to having. She was on a 633MHz Celeron, 64MB Ram, and 15GB HDD, so this is a HUGE step in terms of performance. I'm thinking about keeping her at the 80GB Area, and just getting a Retail 2000+ or a 2200+ depending on what the prices are. She doesn't know how to format, so I'd liek there to be as much room as possible for her to be able to download *ahem* things..
    
    Tomorrow when I go to order, I will see if there are any HDD deals on the Daily Deals for the Egg, if there is, I will get that and upgrade the CPU. I will let you know what I do before I actually order. And, once again, thanks for all your guys' help.
    I love [H] :D
    
    PS: She will only be using Internet Explorer, and MAYBE AIM :p I don't think that will be using much RAM space. However, she might be using Kazaa or another P2P client, but.. like I said, she's goign from 64MB to 256MB, big step for her. 4x the RAM :p
    
    
    (hakký, Albania)


15. Okeydokey.
    
    Yeah, you/she can always add RAM later.
    
    But to include shipping, I think you're still gonna have to go retail 2000+ or 2200+.
    
    2200+ is 69 bucks
    2000+ is 61 bucks
    VA-10 is 52 bucks
    KS741GX is 44 bucks
    80 GB is 65.50
    40 GB is 53.50
    RAM is 40 bucks
    
    to include shipping, it looks like your combo choices are:
    
    256 MB RAM and VA-10 and 2000+ and 80 GB (218.50)
    256 MB RAM and VA-10 and 2200+ and 40 GB (214.50)
    256 MB RAM and KS741GX and 2200+ and 80 GB (218.50)
    
    Since she's probably gonna be loading music, either of the 80 GB solutions is probably the better tradeoff. So then the question becomes - Abit 5.1 sound and 2000+ or ASRock 2.1 sound and 2200+.
    
    BB
    
    
    (esra, Iraq)

Related Topics ... (or search in 1.720.883 topics !)