Small Cheap Form factor Case/Build for dad

[ShiBDiB]

K so my dad has an old build I did back in the 3870 days, and its safe to say that its now outdated and that the PSU fan is starting to sound close to its deathbed. I can build my own system easy for $600, but the budget builds I'm a bit out of my area.

I'm looking to build him something small, quiet, cheap, and strong enough to run 720p youtube videos. He doesnt game, he checks his mail, browses the web, and word processes.

I'd like this build to be reliable, as I'm his computer repair guy and I'll be in the desert for a big chunk of next year.

Note - I prefer newegg for parts, good customer service and generally good prices.

Budget - $150-200
Location - NY, USA

Current parts (you can use them or not) - a DVD-RW drive, and DDR2 RAM (4GB.. i think), OS

[Soylent Joe]

For a budget that small you're really better off getting used parts off of the B/S/T forum here...but challenge accepted:


$3 over budget and it will do everything required. It will use your 4GB DDR2 (still fine these days) and DVD drive. I looked for a smaller case but that will put it out of budget by at least $20.

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by ShiBDiB

Budget - $150-200

That's quite a challenge if you're talking all new parts. You might want to look for used here, or on flEabay, perhaps buy an entire system.

^Erk! Soylent beat me too it...

[ShiBDiB]

Wishlist

Stick a 2GB stick of DDR2 I have laying around in there and run windows xp/7 ?

[Soylent Joe]

Originally Posted by ShiBDiB

Wishlist

Stick a 2GB stick of DDR2 I have laying around in there and run windows xp/7 ?

You've got to make that wishlist public in order for us to see it.

[ShiBDiB]

Originally Posted by Soylent Joe

You've got to make that wishlist public in order for us to see it.

it should be.. one sec

[ShiBDiB]

Updated link

[Soylent Joe]

You don't need the video card if that board has onboard video. It's a misconception that you need a good GPU to play HD videos. The 1TB Sammy in my posting is $3 more but 3x as big and most likely twice as fast.

[ShiBDiB]

Originally Posted by Soylent Joe

You don't need the video card if that board has onboard video. It's a misconception that you need a good GPU to play HD videos. The 1TB Sammy in my posting is $3 more but 3x as big and most likely twice as fast.

I have 0 onboard gpu knowledge but if the low pro gpu isnt necessary than that brings me right near my budget. Updating wishlist. Will probably buy this tonight unless anyone has other concerns

[theoneandonlymrk]

you could get a moobo from zotac or others using AMD's A350 at under a 100 add case (with psu) and a small hd and your off as its mobo cpu and gpu memory may make it higher then budget by a bit(you indeed could reuse old mem), just a thought.

[CJCerny]

What hardware is currently in your Dad's rig? You said you did a build back in the 3870 days. Does that mean he has a 3870 in his PC? If so, onboard GPU is a big step in the wrong direction. Would he maybe be just fine with a new power supply and maybe a cheap CPU and/or RAM upgrade into the existing motherboard he has?

[CJCerny]

Personally, if my budget was $150 and the only real sore point was a failing power supply and he didn't have a need for any serious amount of storage, the absolute best way to speed up that old PC would be to buy a new power supply and then spend the rest of the money on a 60gb Sandforce SSD or maybe a 96gb Viking SSD and then just keep all the other parts. SSD makes a HUGE difference in the speed of an older PC.

[ShiBDiB]

Originally Posted by CJCerny

Personally, if my budget was $150 and the only real sore point was a failing power supply and he didn't have a need for any serious amount of storage, the absolute best way to speed up that old PC would be to buy a new power supply and then spend the rest of the money on a 60gb Sandforce SSD or maybe a 96gb Viking SSD and then just keep all the other parts. SSD makes a HUGE difference in the speed of an older PC.

No.. no no no..

I'm not looking for a performance upgrade, the 3870 he has is overkill as is.

And you have some bad info on what SSD's do.

[theoneandonlymrk]

Originally Posted by ShiBDiB

No.. no no no..

I'm not looking for a performance upgrade, the 3870 he has is overkill as is.

And you have some bad info on what SSD's do.

no he dosnt.

after reading that he bettered my sugestion given your dads use

id add a massive low rpm cooler to his list

you can truly wake up an ol p4 with 4gig and an ssd

[ShiBDiB]

Originally Posted by theoneandonlymrk

no he dosnt.

after reading that he bettered my sugestion given your dads use

id add a massive low rpm cooler to his list

you can truly wake up an ol p4 with 4gig and an ssd

All an SSD does is speed up access times, and not even in a hugely noticeable way over decent HD's.

[suraswami]

still the question stands, whats the current config of your dad's system, may be it is still good, need few polishing touches to make it shine.

[ShiBDiB]

Originally Posted by suraswami

still the question stands, whats the current config of your dad's system, may be it is still good, need few polishing touches to make it shine.

Not what I'm looking to do..... ffs... all I need is an opinion on my wishlist, this is why I dont ask on this forum people cant do simple yay or nay. Instead its NO GET AN SSD AND A QUADRUPLE CORE SUPER COMPUTER.

[mlee49]

With this low of a budget I'd look to prebuilt systems. Typically the pricing will match the self built systems at that price range.

[CJCerny]

Originally Posted by ShiBDiB

No.. no no no..

I'm not looking for a performance upgrade, the 3870 he has is overkill as is.

And you have some bad info on what SSD's do.

I own five SSDs and have installed a half dozen others. I know exactly what they are capable of. What you are underestimating is the perceived performance improvement that an SSD has on a PC. Noobs and neophytes are totally blown away by the fact that their PC boots in 15 seconds instead of 90. What that translates into is a happy user. The last thing you want to do is spend your father's money on "upgrades" that don't produce a visible impact on performance. To that extent, an SSD is the way to go based on your budget.

[suraswami]

Originally Posted by ShiBDiB

Not what I'm looking to do..... ffs... all I need is an opinion on my wishlist, this is why I dont ask on this forum people cant do simple yay or nay. Instead its NO GET AN SSD AND A QUADRUPLE CORE SUPER COMPUTER.

All I am trying to do is help a fellow member, since you already decided you 'want' to build a system (not a need), my answer is the parts you posted looks good.

[CJCerny]

Originally Posted by suraswami

All I am trying to do is help a fellow member, since you already decided you 'want' to build a system (not a need), my answer is the parts you posted looks good.

Same here--your parts selection is fine. Just suggesting an alternative that you may not have considered that fits in your budget. 60gb Sandforce SSD is only $90 and 96gb SSD can be had for $100--both well under your budget, including a replacement power supply.