Building a (very) cheap pc

[Helvettica]

So I've always had old, second hand pcs. I've always wanted a pc capable of playing modern games. But being as cheap a person as I am, I couldn't bring myself to spend money on a pc. But Fallout 3 came out, and now I have to play that game. So I want to build a pc (because its cheaper). Problem is, I need two of them, so each individual pc needs to be cheap!

What I have: VGA monitors, IDE hdds, speakers, mouse, keyboard, optical drives
The two pcs I am replacing are p4 2.6ghz with 512 ram. One has an old Geforce 2, and the other some old 64mb radeon card. So you see, anything is really an upgrade here. I've got the cases from my old PCs, but its probably best to just get new ones.


What I want: at least dual core and 2gb ram
Since I happen to have a MSI R4830-T2D512 OC, I'd like to build a computer that could use it. It'd be nice if the motherboard allowed the system to be easily upgraded.

I don't have a specific price range, but as I said as cheap as possible. It doesn't need to be high performance, it just needs to work decently and without problem. AMD, Intel, doesn't matter, whatever is cheapest. I don't need a gaming pc, just a pc that happens to be able to play Fallout 3 (decently). If you must have a price range, I'd like to spend less
than $400 dollars per pc. Again, my standards are pretty low.

I've tried choosing parts myself, but I'm seriously paranoid about what is capable with what. What I really want to know is how to build a cheap pc that uses that video card.

[Masaki 7-11]

Here is a build list for a good performing PC that will work with that video card for about $330. You'll also need an OS if you don't have one (might want to take a look at getting linux with WINE if you want a free OS and can deal with a bit of tinkering; it will be able to play most games). If you need another video card, this is a good video card for a low price: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814125244 (Gigabyte HD4670 512MB, $75)

LITE-ON 20X DVD±R DVD Burner Black SATA Model iHAS120-08
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827106264
$25.99

Antec Sonata III 500 Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case 500W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811129024
$99.99

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822148261
$49.99

ASUS M2N68-AM AM2+/AM2 NVIDIA GeForce 7050PV Micro ATX AMD Motherboard
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131342
$55.99

mushkin 2GB (2 x 1GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model 996527
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16820146118
$29.99

AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000 3.1GHz Socket AM2 89W Dual-Core Processor Model ADV60000DOBOX
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16819103272
$69.99

Subtotal: $331.94

[not important]

Intel or AMD? Do you have any budget in mind?
This thread has a LOT of economical builds in it.
This is a very nice $300 Intel build and you can save a little more since you already have a graphics card.: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=204087

[Helvettica]

Thanks for the replies. The OS is no problem. I like Masaki's build, but I'll check out that thread.

[Masaki 7-11]

Originally Posted by not important Intel or AMD? Do you have any budget in mind? This thread has a LOT of economical builds in it. This is a very nice $300 Intel build and you can save a little more since you already have a graphics card.: http://forum.pcmech.com/showthread.php?t=204087

The $300 PC linked to above has a low wattage power supply and may not be enough to power the whole system with the video cards. I've used the Antec Sonata III in a few builds and it's by far the best budget case I have used, even after half a year, there is no dust build-up and there is very little noise produced by it.

[Helvettica]

The price on the case went up, but since you say its the 'best budget case' you've bought, I'll stick with it.However, I don't like the reviews of the motherboard. I decided to only buy one PC so that I can get a better mobo. Can you recommend one that would be compatible with the things you've already listed?

I'm looking at the ASUS M3A78-EM.

[jdeb]

Originally Posted by Helvettica The price on the case went up, but since you say its the 'best budget case' you've bought, I'll stick with it.However, I don't like the reviews of the motherboard. I decided to only buy one PC so that I can get a better mobo. Can you recommend one that would be compatible with the things you've already listed? I'm looking at the ASUS M3A78-EM.

you could go with this case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811153084 they have good power supplies in them from what is said on here

and go with your better motherboard and your coming out a little better

[glc]

Look at the Asus P5KPL-VM and one of the dual core Intels. The E5200 is the best bang for the buck right now.

Get a cheap case with no power supply, and then get an Antec Basiq 500 watt power supply.

[matt_21484]

Don't know what you have bought yet, or at all, but I've been tossing around a similar build, for HTPC actually, but the core components are similar...

GIGABYTE GA-MA74GM-S2

AMD Athlon 64 X2 5050e Brisbane 2.6GHz

This combo comes out to about 115 before shipping. The video card, ram, psu and case all picked out before are fine. Just something to think about.

[mplsmelo]

Originally Posted by Helvettica The price on the case went up, but since you say its the 'best budget case' you've bought, I'll stick with it.However, I don't like the reviews of the motherboard. I decided to only buy one PC so that I can get a better mobo. Can you recommend one that would be compatible with the things you've already listed? I'm looking at the ASUS M3A78-EM.

I just did a build with the M3A78-EM and couldn't be happier. The audio is superb (at least in 2.1) and I'm running 22" and 18" LCD monitors off the boards integrated graphics chip with no problems at all. Since I don't game I returned my ATI video card and my sound cards (M-audio and Turtle Beach) are gathering dust. I never used integrated anything before this build but so far so good.

OCZ Platinum PC6400 x 4gigs; WD 400gb sata hd; 500gb Seagate sata hd; AMD 5400+ black edition @ 3.2ghz; Pioneer dvd writer; Lite On 52x cdrw; Gigabyte PDU-22 heatsink cooler; Antec 1200 case; Klipsch THX 2.1 speakers;

Just my 2 cents.