Very tight buget

[Dr DMoney]

Mom got her tax returns and wants a computer...
She said that she would put $600 at first into it, but turns out that she can only put in about $400. This makes it very difficult for me. This is however only the tower.
Can anyone help me pick parts? Would it be better to go AMD because of cost.

 

[mcovalt]

Minus the monitor and with the rebates this is well under four hundred and will overclock like mad, reliably too.

Wish list details

I would stay away from amd right now. Intel has them beat in just about every point of the consumer market.

 

[Dr DMoney]

This is what I got so far. The 4gb is going to be for my computer. I am going to give her my 2gb.

https://secure.newegg.com/NewVersion/WishList/MySavedWishDetail.asp?ID=6200971

 

[B.S.O.D.]

Minus the monitor and with the rebates this is well under four hundred and will overclock like mad, reliably too.

Wish list details

I would stay away from amd right now. Intel has them beat in just about every point of the consumer market.

Not true mcovalt. Amd definitely has the price to performance ratio advantage. Intel overprices their products.

 

[Puddle Jumper]

Not true mcovalt. Amd definitely has the price to performance ratio advantage. Intel overprices their products.

Actually Intel does have a better price to performance ratio if you are willing to overclock. A Pentium Dual Core E2180 only costs $80 and can overclock as high as an AMd Atlon X2 5000+ Black Edition costing $20 more. Also Intel processors are faster than Amd processors clock for clock.

 

[mcovalt]

Thats what I was talking about. Intels oc like mad. AMD is not the best route to go right now unless you have your reasons. Some people do.


@Dr DMoney, your wishlist isnt fully public yet.

 

[B.S.O.D.]

Well, i dont think this guys mom needs the next supercomputer, she needs a mid range dual core processor, thats affordable, comes fast put of the box, and thats amd.

 

[Nohbahdee]

what is she using the system for? if she just wants to check her E-mail, go to wally world and pick up a cheap pre-built. you can cover anything over $400 because, well, she's your mom. she gave birth to you for 36 horrible hours, haha. unless moms is throwin down the gauntlett on CoD4 or Bioshock, what's the point in building a custom job? Save yourself the headache of building and loading and finding drivers and waiting for updates to DL. that's what i'd do anyways.

 

[Dr DMoney]

My birth was special and it was more like 72 hours. Seriously!!!
Anyway I don't think that going to walmart is the best answer. They have decent computers, but the parts they use are not so post to last 5+ years. They are for the stupid people who want to buy a new computer every other year, because it is less expensive to fix their old one.

Here are the specs because you guys can't see them.
DVD - Newegg.com - LITE-ON Black 20X DVD+R 8X DVD+RW 8X 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 SATA DVD Burner - Retail
Case - Newegg.com - POWMAX MM3800 Beige SGCC Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case - Retail
HDD - Newegg.com - Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3160815AS 160GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
PSU - Newegg.com - Thermaltake TR2 W0070RUC ATX 430W Power Supply 115/ 230 V - Retail
M&K - Newegg.com - Logitech 967973-0403 Black 104 Normal Keys PS/2 Standard Deluxe 250 Desktop Mouse Included - OEM
MOBO - Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
CPU - Newegg.com - Intel Pentium E2180 Allendale 2.0GHz 1MB L2 Cache LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor - Retail
RAM - Newegg.com - G.SKILL 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

That is the ram that I have. She is going to buy me the ram below because I am building her the computer. She get my old ram (Still great) I get more ram for my computer. Don't worry I am going to run linux 64bit and vmware a windows computer for games. My computer will be like it is on fire. Just don't know it I am going to vista or Xp 64 bit yet. I love you mom!!!
Newegg.com - G.SKILL 4GB(2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory - Retail

 

[saltynay]

xp 64 bit doesn't have the greatest support whilst vista does so go vista if your choosing between the 2 with no real need for xp. The case is very boring are there no better ones that are more jazzed up??