Jump to content

Home

a computer from scratch


K_Kinnison

Recommended Posts

thinking of getting a computer after chistmas with the extra money i am getting. from work.

 

I am hoping to spend less then $1500 on the computer. and i need your help

 

What i need:

 

CD-R (maybe DVD player)

Scanner (flatbed)

Printer (color, nothing too fancy)

Vid card

1000Mhz processer

2 HD, 20 Gig? each?

USB ports

Sound card

Loads of memory

 

any suggestions?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok, my recommendation:

 

MSI K7T266 Pro2 alias MS-6380 with a KT266A chipset mobo - @ $125 with shipping. (comes with lots of USB 2.0 ports)

 

if you want IDE RAID, get the Soyo SY-K7V (Dragon Plus!) for around $150

 

2 128 MB PC2400 DDR-SDRAM DIMMs - @ 60 bucks

 

30-40 gig Seagate or Maxtor 7200 ATA/100 Ultra DMA hard drive at around 100-150 apiece.

 

Plextor CDRW drive 24x/10x/40x for around 200 bucks.

 

16x DVD drive plus decoder card will cost around $130

 

expect to spend about 100 bucks on a Creative SoundBlaster Audigy card, either the XGamer or the mp3 one.

 

GeForce3 video card will cost anywhere from 160-300 or more if you get it from retail.

 

a USB scanner can run you anywhere from 20 bucks to over 100. i would recommend spending around 60-80.

 

for a color inkjet printer, it averages around a hundred bucks.

 

Add at least 50-70 for a good case and power supply, about 40 bucks for a NIC and a modem

 

Processor must be an AMD Athlon XP! Accept no substitutes!

 

You can get an Athlon XP 1500+ for $108, and the top of the line Athlon 1900+ for $244.

 

Most expensive version will cost you over 1700 bucks, and that doesn't include a monitor.

 

if you don't do RAID, get a cheaper video card, a slower CPU and the MSI mobo, it will cost you around 1300, maybe a bit less if you get a slower CDRW drive and a lower end video card. But these are all name brand parts and you can get generic ones for cheaper and most of the time they work just as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Kyp Durron

Just make sure you check the BIOS on the MOBO because, I believe, a 4.* or earlier won't boot with the higher end Athlon XP's. You'll need to boot with an older processor, flash/upgrade the BIOS, then put in your new CPU. I encountered this when I bought a MOBO and cpu for a friend. He was very specific with what he wanted (at the time, he wanted the Athlon XP 1800 and an ASUS mobo) and luckily Fry's had a big note outside of the mobo box that the above needed to be done.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

from scratch?

 

Sounds fairly complex. Are you going to be injection molding or vacuum forming all the plastic for various casing pieces? What process will you use to make the metal parts for the case and the frame? I recommend stamped metal because it's easier for one person to do. Also it may prove difficult to make the wire.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm going to be upgrading as well. Need a new motherboard, CPU, and memory. Memory isn't a problem, as I can get 128MB for free at Best Buy smile.gif

 

Anybody have any ideas for the best value of a 1 gig CPU and a motherboard to power it?

 

------------------

"Here, people don't lock their doors, they deadbolt them, and then stick a chair under the knob."

ThRaWn90,RAL_Thrawn,SOB_Thrawn

Rogue 6

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Definitely an AMD processor, either Athlon T-bird or XP, and probably an MSI mobo. MSI is good quality, and their prices are usually decent.

 

saw a MSI mobo/athlon 1 Ghz combo for about $178 on pricewatch.com

 

[This message has been edited by Ike (edited December 02, 2001).]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...