New cheap and reliable build ideas

[NBee]

Hello. I've used this forum before when I built my current machine about 3 years ago. Now I have a new challenge - my brother wants to replace his 8 yr old iMac with a PC. He said there are some good deals in the shops (PC World etc) and I said - hold it right there, I'll build you one for cheaper!

His needs are simple - cheap and reliable. No special requirements, not a heavy gamer. So I'm thinking of something along the following lines. BTW, I'm UK based, and have done my current research at Scan.co.uk.

Case, keyboard, mouse, speaker, PSU Combo....£32
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/produ...oductID=395398

Abit NF-95 S939 uATX NV6100 DDR400 OnBoard graphics...£39
http://www.scan.co.uk/products/produ...oductID=395725

CPU AMD Sempron Socket754 1.8Khz.... £49

512Mb PC2700 (PC333) DDR Memory (Major) Retail.... £26.90

80 Gb Western Digital WD800JB Caviar SE, IDE (PATA), 7200 rpm, 8MB Cache, 8.9 ms.... £32.99

17" Daewoo HL711S Silver/Black TFT,1280x1024, 8 ms, 500:1, 300 cd/m2, Speakers.... £129

Pioneer DVR-111DBK DVD Writer £23



This brings a great new budget build with a total of £340 delivered - which seems pretty good to me. I think this will beat the pants off some of the packages you can buy in PC world for a similar price...

Any comments, or things I've forgotten, or suggestions?

Thanks!

[jayb1234]

For 32 GBP ($59.50 US) I would doubt that the power supply in that package would be of very good quality. The website doesn't list what brand it is, which usually indicates a cheap low quality unit.

The processor and the motherboard are not compatible.

You need them both to be 754 or 939.

[glc]

You aren't going to beat the PRICE of a prebuilt - all you will be able to do is build one that's better QUALITY. If he wants *cheap* and *reliable*, just tell him to order a Dell.

[NBee]

Originally Posted by jayb1234 For 32 GBP ($59.50 US) I would doubt that the power supply in that package would be of very good quality. The website doesn't list what brand it is, which usually indicates a cheap low quality unit. The processor and the motherboard are not compatible. You need them both to be 754 or 939.

Well spotted - Scan have got that listed under the Socket754 section!

I've found this one instead...A similar Asus one.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=385522

[freakitchen]

That's a good motherboard.

Here in the UK, you'll struggle to get a good quality power supply for £32, let alone a case/psu/keyboard/mouse/speaker combo! This is the case I use for my sempron builds:

http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/72294/rb/18854920203

Great price for a quality case and PSU, but Scan.co.uk don't appear to stock Antec. If you want to get everything from scan, go for a power supply like this, and choose a case without one installed.

http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=271183

You'll want PC3200 RAM, and make sure you get branded, not generic memory. Corsair value select is a great brand.

Go for a SATA hard drive - newer technology, and smaller cables which improves airflow around your case.

FK

[NBee]

Ok, thanks to the help of you people, I've refined this to the following:

Antec case with 350w PSU
http://www.antec.com/uk/productDetails.php?ProdID=00167

Asus Kn8-VM mobo with nforce 410 VGA
http://ebuyer.com/UK/product/105998/rb/18937355505

AMD Sempron 3000+ 1.8Ghz
http://ebuyer.com/UK/product/94647/rb/18937403516

Corsair 512Mb DDR400 ram.

Maxtor 80Gb Sata hard drive.


Looking good?

[freakitchen]

That looks good to me.

FK