Boris Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 A friend wants to upgrade and suggested that I might like to build him a PC base unit. He's already got a nearly new monitor + 2 month old CD/RW drive - so this isn't in the spec. He wants a degree of future proofing (memory and H/Ds) but has no serious graphics needs. He uses it to watch DVDs but doesn't want a DVD writer.My suggestion is :-AMD Athlon XP 2200+H/D 40 GB ATA 100 5400 rpm16X DVD Rom DriveMidi ATX Case 300 watt PSU256 MB PC 3200 DDR 400 (512MB if he can afford it)64 MB GeForce 4 Ti 4200 & TV OutGigabyte GA 7VAXP-A Motherboard - 8x AGP/takes DDR400/also Serial ATA6 Channel surround soundPorts: 1 FireWire 4 USB 2.0 1 Serial 1 Parallel 10/100 LAN1.44MB Floppy DrivePS/2 Windows KBPS/2 MouseIs this a good basic spec ? ( Or what would you substitute ?)Can I make this for him for his budget of £400 ? :o All costs quoted must include VAT and carriage ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Nellie2 Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 I would go for a bigger hard drive, an optical mouse and I would also put a modem in. I did one for my mum about a year ago for roughly £350 and I got all the bits from a computer fair, will have to research prices again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 I'm currently looking on ebay at a new gigabyte motherboad with LAN and the new SATA connnections for the new types of harddrive. Also in the package comes a P4 2.4, an 80GB IBM hard drive and 2 x 256MB DDR RAM.I did a quick cost up for those components at novatch, it came to £360, thats without case, graphics card etc...However the above items at ebay are going for £210!I wont be posting the link as i dont want people out bidding me, but i shall when the auction closes this time tomorrow! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shirley_Crabtree Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 I wont be posting the link as i dont want people out bidding me, but i shall when the auction closes this time tomorrow!LOL Craig...Can't fault ya.Boris....if your friend "has no serious graphics needs" I'd suggest a downgrade in your proposed graphics card....perhaps to a 64mb Nvidia MX series card(prolly 1/2 the price of your suggested card)Or maybe an ATI 9100 series card or similar.Cheers.Shirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northamuk Posted May 27, 2003 Report Share Posted May 27, 2003 Found the link Craig, it's @*%£@$%*Damn, you edited me ! :o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Just checked the items, the price went up overnight, but still may be a bargain.Click Here to view.Craig. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tankus Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 Big Shirls right about the graphics card......................Mines a GF4~420 , and its still pretty good for games..10/100 LAN.....? is it going to get neworked....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Craig Posted May 28, 2003 Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I have a GeForce 4 400MX, you can pick them up on ebay nice and cheap.Edit:..Just found my exact same Grapics card on ebay, brand new and only £27 - 1 hr 20 mins left on the auctionClick Here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I have a GeForce 4 400MX, you can pick them up on ebay nice and cheap.Just found my exact same Grapics card on ebay, brand new and only £27 - 1 hr 20 mins left on the auctionToo late - only just got home from work - BAD day !Thanks for the link - it went for £30 +£3.50 p&p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I would go for a bigger hard drive, an optical mouse and I would also put a modem in.I forgot - we can also cannabalise :-His old modem - V90, The existing 30gig H/D - its 15 months old + less than half full ! (so 30+40=70gig)I've just discovered he has a cordless mouse and keyboard coming as birthday presents. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 I'm currently looking on ebay at a new gigabyte motherboad with LAN and the new SATA connnections for the new types of harddrive. Also in the package comes a P4 2.4, an 80GB IBM hard drive and 2 x 256MB DDR RAM. I did a quick cost up for those components at novatch, it came to £360, thats without case, graphics card etc...Brand New Gigabyte SINXP1394 Motherboard (Limited edition !) Pentium 4 2.4Ghz,512MB PC2700 MemoryIBM 80GB 7200rpm Hard DriveIt went for £320.03 inc. postage in the end ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 28, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 28, 2003 10/100 LAN.....? is it going to get networked....?10/100 - is standard in the mobo ?http://uk.giga-byte.com/MotherBoard/Produc..._GA-7VAXP-A.htmThe graphics card is the one he said he wants ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris Posted May 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted May 31, 2003 Hardly seems worth the hassle of getting me involved ? He's now priced this up all by himself (system to be built by Novatech for £380.81 inc VAT) AMD Athlon XP 2400 (2.0GHz) Better spec than original ATX 300W Midi Tower (AMD/P4) Microstar KT4 Ultra Motherboard no serial ATA 512MB 333MHz DDR RAM twice as much, but lower speed Seagate 40GB Hard Drive 7,200RPM 64MB DDR GeForce4 MX4400 AGP same as Craig Modem - Novatech 56K PCI he does now need one !So "Can you fit everything else ?" - suppose I can ! :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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