Barebones system

[DrHibbert]

Please help. I'm putting together a computer for my parents. I've done this but it's been about 7 years.

I'm looking at this one:
http://www.partspc.com/Recommend.asp?Qty=1&ProdID=15713&imageField3.x=53&imageField3.y=12

I need help knowing what sort of upgrades are necessary or recommended. I'd like to keep total costs under $250-300. They don't need anything real fancy, but I want it to be very fast and reliable.

I will get a hard drive/monitor/keyboard/mouse/OS separately. If anyone has any advice on the stuff on that page above, please let me know.

[Nak Nak]

Herro. I'm having a look now.

OK:

With the default motherboard, you won't get any old style connections for mouse, keyboard, and printer, you'll only get USB ports. This is ok as long as you've got USB stuff already/are planning on getting USB stuff.

I notice the most expensive motherboard upgrade has an integrated video card. Not a very good one, mind, but it would be ok for your parents. Alternatively you could go with the default motherboard and get one of the cheapo videocards.

I take it that your parents won't be using this machine for much other than internet/office stuff? If so, you could probably get away with the celeron, although it'd probably be a good idea to go with one of the lower pentium Ds.

RAM is very important, I would go with at least 1gb of 366mhz stuff.

You say you can get a hard drive separately?

Here is what I came up with:

Intel D101GGCL 775 ATI Radeon Xpress 200 800FSB DDR-400 PCI.e Motherboard +$44.05 - Alternatively get the default and the cheapest video card.

Intel Pentium D 805 2.66Ghz Skt LGA775 2X1mb 533Mhz Processor Retail Box +$48.13

Thermal Paste for Processor Core - 1 Packet (Wise Investement) $2.46 - This is a wise investment, it will keep the processor a bit cooler for less than $3, a bargain, although I don't know how good that paste is. Anyway, paste is always good because the cooler the processor, the slower the proc. fan can spin and thus the quieter. It will also last a bit longer without any problems.

1GB PC3200 400Mhz DDR Certified Dual Channel Memory Module - MicroX $50.00

Sony 16x DVDROM Drive (Black) Beige Is Also Available $20.63 (Do you have one already? Do you need a DVD drive?)

The price with these upgrades would come to $322.27. You could save some money by not upgrading the processor, but I wouldn't recommend a celeron to anyone.

ALTERNATIVELY:

http://www.partspc.com/ProductDetails.asp?CatID=621&ProdID=6531#

MicroX AccuSys LA-CSBW2044HA-BK W/450W P.S. Case (Black)
Asus M2A-VM Socket AM2 AMD 690G DDR2-800 PCI.e Motherboard
AMD Athlon64 X2 3800+ Socket AM2 Dual-Core Processor (blows away the options on the other machine)
Heatsink & Fan to Keep the Processor Cool (Required item for the Processor)
Assemble and Test it

You could get this system + 1gb of ram for $270.51!
That's a very good deal. I would recommend it. Nice processor, fast memory, integrated graphics that look pretty solid, nice Asus mobo.

[DrHibbert]

Awesome, that info is incredibly helpful. Thank you so much. I'll let you know what I end up buying.

[i]

A handy place for some quickstart shopping:
http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCategory.aspx?SubCategory=3&name=Barebone-Computers

There are some very decent sub $100 barebones kits there (case, cables, power supply, motherboard - usually with integrated audio/video/network) and the reviews left by builders are pretty good indicators of what you can build with them. Pick a CPU, RAM and hard drive for your price points and you're set. The MSI ones seem highly recommended there.

[DrHibbert]

Hey there, :)

You guys are incredibly helpful. I put together a computer for my parents (actually it came almost totally put together), and it works great.

Now I want to do another one for myself. All I need is a server case and motherboard bundle. I want it to go fast and have decent (but not great) video capabilities and good (but not spectacular) sound capabilities.

I am looking at this server case:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA23892

And this motherboard:
http://www.mwave.com/mwave/viewspec.hmx?scriteria=BA24564

I reeeeeeally need help with the mother board upgrade options.. I selected, pretty much at random, the following:
"Athlon 64X2 4800 5.2G - Brisbane $84.00"
"Mwave 2GB DDR2 667 = (1GBX2) $31.00"
"High Performance" = no idea :darn:

Any suggestions?

[Nak Nak]

Well, what's your budget?

The case you chose is a pure classic, by the way, one of the best cases ever.

About the upgrades:
Processor: The 4800 is well balanced.
RAM: I would pay the extra few $s and get the Crucial 667 2gb kit.

The "High Performance" thing refers to the higher spec, more expensive RAM that they have. If you have a big enough budget, one of the OCZ kits would serve you well.

You will need to buy a videocard if you want good video capabilities.
If you tell me how much you can spend, I will pick one out for you.

By the way, what sort of computer did you end up getting your ma and pa?

[DrHibbert]

I didn't know that tower was a classic. Sweet. All I know is my last one was an Antec and I loved it.

With the memory options - it's either/or with the standard and high performance, right? I don't need to get one of each?

I am inclined to pay them the $80 or so to have all this assembled and tested so I don't have to do it myself. Is that a waste of money? I remember it being sort of complicated last time I assembled it myself and somehow it ended up working.

My parents got:
Microsoft Software Windows XP Home Edition OEM 146 1
Assemble & Pretest MB / CPU Combo + Set CPU FSB 2510 1
Standard 2 Year Warranty - Free Lifetime Technical Support 2654 1
FREE GIFT : - Cell Phone Antenna Booster with any Combo or System order 3053 1
Thermal Paste for Processor Core - 1 Packet (Wise Investement) 3087 1
Intel Pentium D 925 3.0Ghz Skt LGA775 2X2mb 800Mhz Processor 17943 1 XFX nVidia GeForce 7200GS 128MB TurboCache Upto 512MB DDR2 DVI/HDTV PCI-Express Video Card 11750 1
ASRock 4CoreDual-SATA2 775 VIA PT880 Pro 1066FSB DDR-400/DDR2-667 AGP8X/PCI.e Motherboard 8965 1
Spire SP512S7 QuadroFlow V Socket LGA775 Approved Heatsink & Fan 16805 1
MicroX AccuSys LA-CSBW2044HA-BK W/450W P.S. Case (Black) 18875 1
Assemble and Test it 10398 1
512MB PC5400 667Mhz DDR2 Certified Memory (Super Talent) 16285 2
Bronze Delivery Service 5866 1
Seagate ST380811AS 80GB SATA2 7200RPM 8MB Hard Drive 13957 1
80mm Case Fan (Recommended for case cooling) 4755 1
Sony 16x DVD/52x32x52 CDRW Drive CRX320E (Combo Drive) (Black) 4119 1

[DrHibbert]

Video card - I don't know if I need one. I watch music videos, that's about it. Sometimes feature length movies, but I'm not doing any video editing.

[Static Split Screen]

Video card - I don't know if I need one. I watch music videos, that's about it. Sometimes feature length movies, but I'm not doing any video editing.

Ok, so you won't be playing games or anything? You should be ok with the integrated graphics on the motherboard.

The Ram is an either/or situation. The high performance stuff is not worth it for this machine.

Nice machine you got for parents.

I would say that $80 is a waste of money, however, I don't know how comfortable you are with building a machine, so maybe it would be worth it. Putting it together would be pretty simple, though. You have a good case, small mobo, no graphics card to worry about.

What are you doing about a hard drive?

If there is anything else you wish to ask about - go ahead.

Oops. This is Craig. As if you didn't guess.

[DrHibbert]

Hi Laura, thanks! You're much more helpful than Craig.

I think I'll save the $80 and do it myself. I remember setting up the front-side USB ports was a pain in the ass with my old Antec, but if I figured stuff like that out then I can figure it out now.

I intend to use my old hard drive - hopefully it's compatible with the new system? And probably get a new hard drive too at some point, but I want to avoid having to buy a new OS.

Think I'll need to install a better soundcard? I do some basic music editing but it's not a real big deal. I listen to a lot of music online, and I have a good system I'd like to sound nice, but I wouldn't call myself an audiophile.

[DrHibbert]

Oh, 1 more question: Is that tower compatible with the motherboard? Like it'll fit and stuff?

[Nak Nak]

Buy an anti-static wrist band.

The motherboard comes with 6 channel sound. I would try it out and see if it is good enough for you. If it isn't, you can always buy a separate soundcard.

The antec is an ATX case and the motherboard is a micro-ATX, it will fit easily.

[DrHibbert]

Dude, you rock. Thanks so much again. I ordered the new system on Friday and it will come on Thursday. I am having the motherboard assembled and tested (just $10), but not w/ the tower (would've been like $90, screw that).

I basically went with your suggestions, with the Crucial, no high performance, did not get a separate video card (but could get one if I don't like the built-in). I updated the Crucial to a 2X2gb 667. Someone said getting at least 2x the FSB was a good idea and the FSB is 2000/1600mbs. Came out to $394 after shipping, and I am very excited to get this thing humming.

ASUS M2N-VM DVI nvidia Geforce 7050pv chipset micro ATX form factor 1xPCI-E(x16)/1xPCI-E(x1)/2xpci/4xddr2 w/integrated vga,sata2 raid,lan(gb),usb 2.0 & audio (cpu type:amd - socket am2)
ATHLON 64 X2 4800 2.5G - BRISBANE
CRUCIAL 4GB DDR2 667
(2GB x 2)
ASSEMBLE/TEST BUNDLE

[Nak Nak]

Dude, you rock. Thanks so much again. I ordered the new system on Friday and it will come on Thursday. I am having the motherboard assembled and tested (just $10), but not w/ the tower (would've been like $90, screw that).

I basically went with your suggestions, with the Crucial, no high performance, did not get a separate video card (but could get one if I don't like the built-in). I updated the Crucial to a 2X2gb 667. Someone said getting at least 2x the FSB was a good idea and the FSB is 2000/1600mbs. Came out to $394 after shipping, and I am very excited to get this thing humming.

ASUS M2N-VM DVI nvidia Geforce 7050pv chipset micro ATX form factor 1xPCI-E(x16)/1xPCI-E(x1)/2xpci/4xddr2 w/integrated vga,sata2 raid,lan(gb),usb 2.0 & audio (cpu type:amd - socket am2)
ATHLON 64 X2 4800 2.5G - BRISBANE
CRUCIAL 4GB DDR2 667
(2GB x 2)
ASSEMBLE/TEST BUNDLE


Sweet. Nice machine. Great case, Asus motherboard, nice processor, 4 fucking gb of ram!

So you're getting it pre-built? There are some advantages to that, but getting confident and building your own machine can be immensely satisfying (or frustrating).

Remember to post all about it when it arrives.

[DrHibbert]

Yeah the motherboard will be prebuilt. I'll have to get it into the tower and then install all the old drives. I like the satisfaction of doing it myself, but I have a terror of the frustration. So I paid the $9 for that part of it.

I will indeed update when it arrives.:D

[Nak Nak]

Remember that you can post in this thread if any part of the installation proves difficult.

[i]

I think my next machine willl be a "media centre" kinda thing with Blu-ray. Maybe.

[Nak Nak]

Might be a good idea, since blu-ray is winning the format war.

I like the idea of small pcs at the moment, especially after building a PC for my mum and bro (akin to the good Doctor's parent's machine) using a micro-atx mobo, very cute.

[i]

Yeah I was thinking that it'd be one of those and I'd just plug it into the TV. I think those micro ATX cases / mobos are more pricey tho.

[DrHibbert]

Working on it. Looks great, and the OS started the first time. But it's running the wrong OS (I have a pirated one on one hard drive and a legal one on another), so I have to figure out the master/slave settings and get it right.

The sound doesn't work at all. There must be a jumper or something that isn't plugged in.

There's only one IDE out (I think that's what it's called? The tape thing) that is good for both hard drives but I don't know how to plug in my CD burner. I have an external DVD burner I can use with USB, but it's hella slow.

It's running really fast so that's sweet. But I need to figure out the sound issue. I'll have pics up soon.

Oh, and Windows Media player won't run WMV files now. But VLC player will? Gofigure. It says it has to do with the video card settings...

[Nak Nak]

That's weird. There are often problems with putting your old hard drives in a new build, though.

Motherboards are increasingly moving towards SATAII. I would say that it is a good thing in general, as SATAII is both faster and doesn't need the "ribbons". Not a good thing for you, though. If you didn't already have two IDE hard drives, I would advise you to get a SATAII one, however, you could solve the problem by getting a PCI IDE controller which would give you another slot for IDE out - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?depa=0&Item=16-115-009.

The sound issue is possibly due to your old drivers clashing with the new motherboard ones. Did you already install everything on the motherboard CD? There will be drivers for the integrated graphics on the motherboard too. I would advise you to look through the list of programs Add/Remove programs and see if there are nvidia or ati drivers from your previous computer there.

Were you dual booting the drives on your old computer?

[DrHibbert]

Good idea, I didn't think of that. I'll remove all the old programs and drivers and see what happens.

I don't really need the old hard drive, so I'll probably copy the programs over to the newer hard drive, format the old hard drive. I can use it with the old tower and make a computer for my sister. I didn't even realize the thing only had 64 mb of ram, talk about being due for an upgrade...

I was dual booting the hard drives on the old computer. I'll condense it down to the new hard drive, clear out the programs, and see if that fixes the sound issue. If it doesn't I'll go with the PCI controller idea. Or get a new hard drive maybe that works with SATA.

[Nak Nak]

How is it going, DOKTA?

[DrHibbert]

Good! Got the sound issue figured out, and got it to start up with the right hard drive. Setup looks real nice. I was going to upload pictures but I can't find the cord that connects my camera to the computer. Doh!

[Nak Nak]

LoL

With computers: if it isn't one thing, it's the other.

[DrHibbert]

Still couldn't find the damn cord, but I'll have pictures up eventually. I went to Staples to buy one and they wanted $33. For the one flimsy cord. What fucking crap. Seriously. Went home and got one on ebay for $4 including shipping.

Also, I picked up a 400gb Western Digital SATA hard drive today:D. That should solve the problem with lack of IDE outputs.

[Nak Nak]

Sweet. I love SATA drives.

Your camera probably just needs a USB cable...No way should it cost $33.

[DrHibbert]

Yeah I'm pretty stoked. This is the one I got, a Western Digital: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330211046566

[i]

I L.O.V.E. SATA as well.

I actually bought a Western Digital 500 Gb SATA drive this week and then went to install it and darn it.... my power supply only has 2 SATA power cables and I already have 2x 250Gb SATA drives in there. I think I'm gonna get this http://www.kingwin.com/product_pages/kf1000-bk.asp
so I can hotswap them out. I only need one of the drives most of the time.

[Nak Nak]

I L.O.V.E. SATA as well.

I actually bought a Western Digital 500 Gb SATA drive this week and then went to install it and darn it.... my power supply only has 2 SATA power cables and I already have 2x 250Gb SATA drives in there. I think I'm gonna get this http://www.kingwin.com/product_pages/kf1000-bk.asp
so I can hotswap them out. I only need one of the drives most of the time.

I think I just about have room for one more drive in my case, but it would probably interfere with air flow from the front fan.

I have been looking at e-SATA drives. Might buy one in the states.

[DrHibbert]

Right, so this is a few weeks overdue, but here are some pics:D

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp9.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp8.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp7.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp6.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp5.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp4.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp3.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp2.jpg

[DrHibbert]

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp19.jpg

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp18.jpghttp://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp17.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp16.jpghttp://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp15.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp14.jpghttp://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp13.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp12.jpghttp://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp11.jpg

[DrHibbert]

http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp10.jpg
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp1.jpg

[Nak Nak]

Awesome. You got a leet desk, dogg.

Gorgeous case.

[DrHibbert]

With this SATA hard drive, I am having some issues. First, and most importantly, my sound card doesn't work. WTF do I do??? :cry:

This is my mother board?
http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n18/tothdeath/NewComp10-1.jpg

[Nak Nak]

You're saying your soundcard doesn't work when the SATA drive is being used?

[DrHibbert]

I noticed it wasn't working right away, with that drive. But it wasn't a big deal because I was booting up the OS on a different hard drive and so the sound card kept working.

Now (due to the virus), I ditched the other hard drives and installed an OS on the SATA. But the sound doesn't work. I'm thinking there must be something else I need to connect or something?? I'm lost. I don't know why it wouldn't work, except because of the SATA drive.

[Static Split Screen]

I would guess it's because the soundcard driver isn't installed? Integrated sound cards can be a real pain. Did you install stuff from your motherboard CD after you reinstalled the OS? There is no reason I can think of that a SATA drive would interfere with the soundcard itself. It is almost definitely software. If you don't have a driver cd, you can probably find a driver update online.

cheggitout

http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us&model=M2N-VM%20DVI

[DrHibbert]

Thanks Laura, yeah I do have the driver CD somewhere. I'll give that a shot, makes sense.