Building a CHEAP computer.

[DigitalKnight]

Hey Guys,

A friend of mine wants me to build him a computer a step or two above a e-mail box, and it's been a while since I have had to build anything on this limited a budget. All the computer needs to be able to do is word process, play Halo, UT 2005, and a couple of other games of that vain.

Does anyone have any ideas about what Mobo, graphics card, and processor would be best for this project? Any ideas would be helpful. Thanks.

DK.

[GrahamGarside]

Do you mean UT2004? because if you mean the not yet released 2007 then thats a top end system you'll need

If you mean 2004 then..

CPU AMD Sempron 2600+ S754
Motherboard DFI LANPARTY UT nF3 250Gb Socket 754
Graphics Card Leadtek Geforce 6800LE A400LE or if your budgets really tight the Gigabyte 6200A

The motherboard isn't the cheapest you can get, but it will get you a lot more overclocking from the sempron which I believe makes it worth it

[Skiracing108]

how cheap???? i just picked out parts for a guy for about $985 that absolutly kicks major arse!!!!

[hoinar]

His reccomended combo is like 250 USD (checked prices on newegg) and I'm quite sure if it's overclocked will do what's supposed to do. Graham gave you a very good advice!

[SkyDiver]

How about posting an absolute amount of money he or she can afford to spend. This will help in providing suggestions to get the most for the less.

[Kaitain]

Originally Posted by DigitalKnight

A friend of mine wants me to build him a computer a step or two above a e-mail box, and it's been a while since I have had to build anything on this limited a budget. All the computer needs to be able to do is word process, play Halo, UT 2005, and a couple of other games of that vain.

It also depends on what you mean by "build him a computer". If your friend absolutely demands that you hand-pick the components and assemble it to his specification, then he must expect to pay a premium.

Also shop around the likes of newegg in the US and ebuyer, dabs et al in several countries for a complete system. It's possible to get a complete system for the price of a high-end motherboard, albeit with integrated graphics and sound. Though not always. There are some deals if you look for them.

Not all that long ago I found a store-display model PC of some unknown brand that had a 2GHz P4 and ATi radeon 9000 series graphics card. This was selling in PC World, a UK chain not noted for its fairness of pricing. It was going for £350 with monitor...

[danrok]

If he needs a full system, I'd suggest looking at a Dell.

[Seperah]

Dell, while cheap on cost...is cheap period. We all know they like their passive cooling, skimp on the GPU and RAM to save money as well.
Your better off going with a lower end Semperon system, mushkin RAM (cheap but quality, and decent for O'cing) or possibly, like stated above a mobo/cpu
or mobo/cpu combo. When last I check newegg had a 754 board and a 5750pci-e combo at a reasonable price.

Give us an idea at what amount were looking at here before I start really thinking about this.

[Exile69]

Isn't a 6200 better than a pcx 5750? My mate has a 5750 and it sucks major arse. Graham had some good advice but give us a price so we can give our proper input.

[Seperah]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813131535

I'm just posting ideas.....

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16813186067