Budget PC < $500

[Floppyman]

Hi all,

I've got a friend that is looking for a new PC, but doesn't have a great deal of $$$ to spend. The good news is that she only uses her PC for office apps, internet, email, watching videos, and very light gaming. What parts would you suggest in the $400-$500 range for the whole system? She already has a monitor, needs no peripherals (i.e. mouse/keyboard), and also no OS (it's already bought). I was going to go to Newegg and look around a bit, but was curious how creative you guys would be and what you would come up with. Thanks in advance for your help!

[jfk]

Hate to say it, but I'd have her get a Dell. It's tough to put something decent together for less than $500, even without needing a monitor and stuff.

[glc]

I put him together a nice one under $500 on AIM last night.

Foxconn TS-1
Asus P5L-MX
P-D 915
1 gig Corsair VS
Seagate 7200.10 250gb
Lite-on DVD burner
Misumi combo floppy/card reader

[Freakitchen]

Heh, you just beat me to it G. I was just about to post virtually the same system, the only difference being that I chose the Antec SLK1650B case, which has a 350w power supply, and a smaller hard drive.

DELL probably is the way to go, if you need a monitor and a copy of Windows, but when you don't, I think a custom build is more appropriate. George's system there, for instance, could be easily turned into a powerful machine with the addition of a C2D processor, another gig of RAM, and a dedicated video card. Can't say that about an entry level DELL.

FK

[glc]

The 915 is no slouch - I've set up a few Dells with it, they fly pretty nice. The GMA 950 integrated video is Vista-ready. The 300 watt PSU in the Foxconn case is a 2.0 FSP.

[newbuilder14]

Yes, I've used a very similar setup that GLC configured for someone and it ran REALLY nice and not hot at all. I wouldn't have recommended anything else. I think a setup like that costs around $475 which is not a bad deal at all considering the value.