Page 1: Page1
You have $650 and you want a good computer that will last for a few years. Well, it's a good thing that your
reading this article!! This article is to help people to decide which components to choose for your cheap computer.
Mind you, a cheap computer doesn't mean it will be slow. I will pick out the best parts for your budget and I'll tell
you why I picked it.
<p>
All prices are quoted from Newegg unless otherwise noted...<p>
<b>ATI Radeon 32MB LE<br>
IBM 20 GB 60GXP<br>
Creative Modem Blaster V.90 PCI 56k Modem<br>
LITE-ON 16x DVD<br>
Speakers - Choice of<br>
Mouse - Choice of<br>
Keyboard - Choice of<br>
Generic AMD approved power supply and case<br>
Monitor - Variable, choice of<br>
ECS K7S5A (onboard LAN and sound)<br>
1.2 GHZ Athlon 266 FSB<br>
256MB DDR RAM<br>
Global Win WBK 38<br></b>
<p>
<b>ATI Radeon 32MB LE</b><br>
The Radeon LE offers superb image quality and is very fast. Hyper Z can be enabled by a quick
registery fix and the card can clock up to the normal Radeon. I chose this card because of the
speed and the DVD play back. If you've ever seen ATI's DVD playback, you'll never go back to
software mode. With this card playing double duty, it is perfect for our system. Appr price: $67
<p>
<b>IBM 20GB 60GXP OEM</b><br>
The IBM drive is the best of the best, bar none. You can't get a better drive than this one. You can go
higher on the space, but I never go past 6GB so I don't need higher. Things you will need a bigger drive for:
MP3s, video, p0rn. Your call, but I do suggest this drive. Appr price: $80
<p>
<b>Create Modem Blaster V.90 56K modem</b><br>
I have known creative to be good makers of modems. Do NOT get a $5 modem because it will break within a few months.
I have already went through 3 of these (when I had to dial-up). Don't go through that trama. I would like to get a
US Robotics modem, but it is very expensive.
<p>
<b>LITE-ON 16x DVD</b><br>
Lite-on makes great drives, their DVD drive is no exception. You'll need a DVD drive to play DVDs as well. As you may
or may not know, the DVD drive acts as a CDrom drive aswell. This is the perfect optical drive for our computer. Appr price: $53
<p>
<b>Speaker / Mouse / Keyboard / Case & Power supply</b><br>
Don't send away for for any of these components because you'll get better deals at home. For instance, you can pick up the MS intellimouse explorer for
$40 and a logitech keyboard for $20. Don't spend more than $25 on speakers, unless you listen to MP3s all the time. The generic case will not be expensive
and it'll be cheaper because there is no shipping costs. You'll want a nice looking AMD approved 300Watt power supply and case, ATX and if it comes with a floppy drive, even better!
Appr prices: Speakers $20, Mouse $30, Keyboard $20, Case and Power $44.99 (Local sources quoted)
<p>
<b>Monitor</b><br>
For the monitor, check out http://www.hot-deals.org. You can find great deals there like a viewsonic 17inch for $60!! I suggest you do a little bit of research and
see which monitor will fit your budget. Remember, monitors are very important and you'll be looking at them all the time. Take that into consideration. Appr price: $80 (local)
<p>
<b>ECS K7S5A</b><br>
This board is an awesome board. It uses the SiS 735 chipset and can hold its own in benchmarks and gaming. There have been some problems with some boards, but I doubt that it is all that
widespread and your buying a retail board aswell. I'm sure your not going to have a problem and you'll enjoy the board. I would if I had it. It also has onboard sound and LAN, a big plus. Appr price: $62
<p>
<b>1.2 GHZ Athlon 266 FSB</b><br>
A nice chip with a good price. You can get the 1 GHZ duron or an Athlon XP, but the Duron will give you less performance and the XP will cost a bundle compared to this one. The 1.2GHZ chip will last you a very long time.
I still use a Pentium 180MMX for somethings so if you do things like word proccessing and speadsheets, you won't even need this kind of power. (But it is good to have) Appr price: $85
<p>
<b>Global Win WBK 38</b><br>
For a fast chip you'll need a good heatsink/fan to keep it nice and cool. Go with this one, you won't be dissapointed. Appr price: $19
<p>
<b>256MB DDR RAM</b><br>
I only buy Crucial ram so that's where you should buy this from, http://www.crucial.com. They make the best memory, period. Appr price $31.44
<p>
Total with shipping: <b>$640</b> (Tax not included)
<p>
I'm sure you'll be happy with this computer.
reading this article!! This article is to help people to decide which components to choose for your cheap computer.
Mind you, a cheap computer doesn't mean it will be slow. I will pick out the best parts for your budget and I'll tell
you why I picked it.
<p>
All prices are quoted from Newegg unless otherwise noted...<p>
<b>ATI Radeon 32MB LE<br>
IBM 20 GB 60GXP<br>
Creative Modem Blaster V.90 PCI 56k Modem<br>
LITE-ON 16x DVD<br>
Speakers - Choice of<br>
Mouse - Choice of<br>
Keyboard - Choice of<br>
Generic AMD approved power supply and case<br>
Monitor - Variable, choice of<br>
ECS K7S5A (onboard LAN and sound)<br>
1.2 GHZ Athlon 266 FSB<br>
256MB DDR RAM<br>
Global Win WBK 38<br></b>
<p>
<b>ATI Radeon 32MB LE</b><br>
The Radeon LE offers superb image quality and is very fast. Hyper Z can be enabled by a quick
registery fix and the card can clock up to the normal Radeon. I chose this card because of the
speed and the DVD play back. If you've ever seen ATI's DVD playback, you'll never go back to
software mode. With this card playing double duty, it is perfect for our system. Appr price: $67
<p>
<b>IBM 20GB 60GXP OEM</b><br>
The IBM drive is the best of the best, bar none. You can't get a better drive than this one. You can go
higher on the space, but I never go past 6GB so I don't need higher. Things you will need a bigger drive for:
MP3s, video, p0rn. Your call, but I do suggest this drive. Appr price: $80
<p>
<b>Create Modem Blaster V.90 56K modem</b><br>
I have known creative to be good makers of modems. Do NOT get a $5 modem because it will break within a few months.
I have already went through 3 of these (when I had to dial-up). Don't go through that trama. I would like to get a
US Robotics modem, but it is very expensive.
<p>
<b>LITE-ON 16x DVD</b><br>
Lite-on makes great drives, their DVD drive is no exception. You'll need a DVD drive to play DVDs as well. As you may
or may not know, the DVD drive acts as a CDrom drive aswell. This is the perfect optical drive for our computer. Appr price: $53
<p>
<b>Speaker / Mouse / Keyboard / Case & Power supply</b><br>
Don't send away for for any of these components because you'll get better deals at home. For instance, you can pick up the MS intellimouse explorer for
$40 and a logitech keyboard for $20. Don't spend more than $25 on speakers, unless you listen to MP3s all the time. The generic case will not be expensive
and it'll be cheaper because there is no shipping costs. You'll want a nice looking AMD approved 300Watt power supply and case, ATX and if it comes with a floppy drive, even better!
Appr prices: Speakers $20, Mouse $30, Keyboard $20, Case and Power $44.99 (Local sources quoted)
<p>
<b>Monitor</b><br>
For the monitor, check out http://www.hot-deals.org. You can find great deals there like a viewsonic 17inch for $60!! I suggest you do a little bit of research and
see which monitor will fit your budget. Remember, monitors are very important and you'll be looking at them all the time. Take that into consideration. Appr price: $80 (local)
<p>
<b>ECS K7S5A</b><br>
This board is an awesome board. It uses the SiS 735 chipset and can hold its own in benchmarks and gaming. There have been some problems with some boards, but I doubt that it is all that
widespread and your buying a retail board aswell. I'm sure your not going to have a problem and you'll enjoy the board. I would if I had it. It also has onboard sound and LAN, a big plus. Appr price: $62
<p>
<b>1.2 GHZ Athlon 266 FSB</b><br>
A nice chip with a good price. You can get the 1 GHZ duron or an Athlon XP, but the Duron will give you less performance and the XP will cost a bundle compared to this one. The 1.2GHZ chip will last you a very long time.
I still use a Pentium 180MMX for somethings so if you do things like word proccessing and speadsheets, you won't even need this kind of power. (But it is good to have) Appr price: $85
<p>
<b>Global Win WBK 38</b><br>
For a fast chip you'll need a good heatsink/fan to keep it nice and cool. Go with this one, you won't be dissapointed. Appr price: $19
<p>
<b>256MB DDR RAM</b><br>
I only buy Crucial ram so that's where you should buy this from, http://www.crucial.com. They make the best memory, period. Appr price $31.44
<p>
Total with shipping: <b>$640</b> (Tax not included)
<p>
I'm sure you'll be happy with this computer.