Help me build a pc for my gf

B

bloodmonkey

Dalayan Beginner
So I'm going to build a computer for my g/f so she can play sims 2 and use photoshop on her own computer, and leave mine alone.....
I've got a feeling that several of you people know a lot about computers, so any comments or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

The requirements for this computer is that it should be able to run Sims 2 and Adobe Photoshop, as well as other basic things, like play music, browse the internet, etc., etc. Also, we're not wealthy in the least bit, so we are going to keep it on the cheap.

She is currently using my old computer, a 350mhz Compaq, 256mb RAM....so yea...anything is an improvement....

Here are the parts I've found on newegg.com that I'm probably going to order in a day or so....

AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Palermo 800MHz HT 256KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - $75

BIOSTAR TForce6100 Socket 754 NVIDIA GeForce 6100 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - $59.25 (I get a $10 off deal if i get this mobo with that chip)

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM Unbuffered DDR 400 (PC 3200) System Memory - $66.99

HITACHI Deskstar 7K80 HDS728080PLA380 -0A30356 80GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $50.00

Total (w/ Shipping) - $266.02


I haven't gotten my gf to pick out a case yet, that seems to be the biggest delay on the whole thing...
and i'll need to get a dvd-rom that matches....

I'm wondering if there will be any problems using a micro atx motherboard in an atx case?
There is a slight chance my gf will end up picking an atx case...
I've read that you can fit a micro atx motherboard in an atx case, just wondering if anyone knew if this was true?
 
I didn't look up the individual parts but make sure you go with a PCIe solution for video and not AGP. AGP may be a bit cheaper, but it's only be a pain to upgrade from later. I went the Shuttle route with one of thos case/power supply/motherboard combos for my last upgrade. I'm not overly fond of it (too small to really jack with) but it's a good solid system and I can upgrade the video card to another PCIe in the future to squeeze more out of it if I want. I believe it uses a socket 939, but I don't remember. If you like I can look it up and provide more detail.
 
AMD Sempron 64 2800+ Palermo 800MHz HT 256KB L2 Cache Socket 754 Processor - $75

a good processor i got the same on my school computer but it is 3000+ .
 
Webtroll said:
I didn't look up the individual parts but make sure you go with a PCIe solution for video and not AGP. AGP may be a bit cheaper, but it's only be a pain to upgrade from later. I went the Shuttle route with one of thos case/power supply/motherboard combos for my last upgrade. I'm not overly fond of it (too small to really jack with) but it's a good solid system and I can upgrade the video card to another PCIe in the future to squeeze more out of it if I want. I believe it uses a socket 939, but I don't remember. If you like I can look it up and provide more detail.
Click to expand...

hm, yea, the only game that is probably ever going to be run on the computer is sims 2....
so i figure a mobo with agp is fine....
i'm not planning on upgrading it.....
it's more like, i'm building this so my g/f will not keep asking me if she can play sims 2 on my computer while i'm trying to play sod....
she's currently using my old rig which is like a 350mhz.....

i've ordered the whole thing....she finally picked out a case....
what the case looked like was a much bigger deal then anything else to her....
heh....
 
bloodmonkey said:
what the case looked like was a much bigger deal then anything else to her....
heh....
Click to expand...

LOL that figures, I know people like that in the professional IT industry sadly enough. Hope she enjoys it! Sorry to recommend something different, but I usually look at builds with an eye towards later upgrades.
 
yea, i totally understand....
my next build is going to be very much geared towards future upgradeability...

aside from the sims 2, my g/f will mainly use her computer to update her livejournal.....
so you know.......
heh...
 
Case wise there's a few relatively (relative to the individual) I've found.
These are the following

Biggedness! some people want a mad large case, some people want something more portable. Hybrid w/the next category

Expandability! This really is almost never bad. For a decent amount of this (and the above) you probably want a full tower, none of those mids or minis. Drivebays are a huuuge concern for me as well as room to move my hands around in the case for further upgrades. S'why I got a full tower, things still difficult to move around in b/c of those thick ass cables. Sata hd's help w/that alot.

Presentation. There are just some cases that look plain awesome, like that pyramid glowy one, or the y2k bug one. Hell you can even just build one of these if you're creative enough, or look up plans for it, in fact that is probably a better idea as the pimpingest cases tend to cost much muuuuuch more. Also the fishtank case is cool as hell, and pretty useful. Make sure you seal it tight though.

Pimpability! Got a plain jane looking case? Well how good can you make it look? It got a transparent panel or 2? simple throw in some led's and whatnot. Hell paint it. Pop on some stickers at least.

$$$$!! Alot of the very nice cases will cost you bigtime. I got a decent deal on mine, payed 130$ shipping included for this, and a 430watt power supply,but in black.
http://www.hardcoreware.net/reviews/review-300-1.htm
A year or 2 ago. Though you may want to go with something like the tsunami on a more limited budget.
 
LOL I just bought the Antec 1050 a few weeks ago. It's the same as the 1088, except it's black, has a 500w ps, and it's cheaper (I don't quite get that part though)

Awesome box though.
 
Most definitely my fave part when I opened it is that the box weighed about 30 lbs empty lol. Now thats when ya know you have a good happy case. When I built mine I was tired of dealing w/my lil Hp case that I had previously bought. Could barely pop my fingers in that puppy to add more ram it was so cramped. The AMG box is getting cramped too but then I've added a few Hd's to it.
 
My advice is to go up to a 939 socket, you're going to be out a little more cash now, but in the future you'll be saving on a new motherboard then.
 
What is it with girls and Sims 2? My girlfriend was addicted to that crap for the longest time. I suppose it's the same reason they read "romance" novels, aka, softcore text porn, dirrty.
 
I had an argument with my girlfriend where I equated her reading of romance novels/girl porno to my watching of pornographic videos or "reading" pornographic magazines... saying that if she does it then she can't get mad at me for doing the male equivalent.... so she dropped the novels and I now have to delete my browser history every night!

On an actually topic-relevent note: My friend, who is actually pretty skilled in the whole building of computers mish mash that seems like nonsense to me, pieced together a machine out of stuff he got from HP. ... months later something inside his computer exploded and everything was fused together. HP didn't respond to any of his emails until he sent them a picture of his fried motherboard... after which he got a full refund on everything. Hello safety hazard/potential lawsuit? - You can sue for anything in the US.
 
If thats all shes gonna use a PC for I'd just go to Wal_mart and buy a $300 e-machine and save the hassle of mail ordering and building yourself.
 
You never win with a 300 dollar computer, you end up crashing if you have more than one .txt open at time! I damn near made one of those value-box "computers" in a computer lab at my school explode just running a stupid little c++ thing. It's slower than a friggen graphing calculator.
 
just remember, in the computer and electronics industry, you get what you pay for. sure its a quick fix to buy a $200 PC that has ALL this memory...yea right, first time you put in a high end graphics game BOOM, POOF! then your PC seems to smell alot like that BBQ you had last weekend. if you want the good stuff, PAY FOR IT! dont go Dell...they make decent PCs but have you ever seen a Dell ink cartridge in a store before?? seen any Dell CD drives or DVD drives (which are the only drives that are supposed to work in Dell PCs b/c of some hardware codeing). and dont even LOOK at Emachines...they will break if you touch the keyboard.
 
Wooops! I think he already got the PC for his girly (check the date on the thread). Oh yea, Xardon ... Lookout! Someone else is using your L33T avatar! :eek:
 
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