[Scott B]

Thanks for the help everyone, I actually found this configuration which only totals up to ~$250 with shipping:
http://universe.sbcentral.net/commun...uter-t123.html

[kennbona]

one tip.. whatever ur buying.. don't be cheap.. dont go for the cheaper less powerfull hardware. I have done this mistake before... it was way back when intel's Pentium D's were the top of the line. I baught one of them at 3.4Ghz thinking it would be one of the best but after a week , intel released the early Core 2 Duo's which owned my 1 week old Processor like a lion own's a piglet. was soo gutted that i wasnt patient and for about 20$ more i could have baught a much better CPU

Hope this helps

[Smith6612]

Originally Posted by kennbona

one tip.. whatever ur buying.. don't be cheap.. dont go for the cheaper less powerfull hardware. I have done this mistake before... it was way back when intel's Pentium D's were the top of the line. I baught one of them at 3.4Ghz thinking it would be one of the best but after a week , intel released the early Core 2 Duo's which owned my 1 week old Processor like a lion own's a piglet. was soo gutted that i wasnt patient and for about 20$ more i could have baught a much better CPU

Hope this helps

I can vouch for this as well. Often times when I build PCs for people, even though they may be on a budget, I always ask them to consider the faster processors, maybe the video card as well to show them some leg room. Since I have all sorts of PCs here, I usually compare them to my gaming machine (underclocked of course to match their system) and they can usually see a difference. In the long run, they've been happy and they still have a lot of power left over. Same goes for internet connections. I usually suggest the user to get a connection with a good download speed and some decent upload. Otherwise, getting the cheapest package would make you not have that much leg room for future expansion. Take me for example in both of these cases. My gaming computer is overkill and I'm always continuously upgrading it, but it sure does keep up with the times and gives me a lot of head room to work with and to expand/push it. Same goes for my internet connection. I have to admit, when I first got DSL, I started off at the slowest speed available to me. Yeah it's perfectly fine for everything I do, but as I started to get more PCs and I started to upload/download more and larger files and for longer times, I've upgraded my package. My next move from a 7.1Mbps/1.5Mbps DSL connection would be fiber optic.

EDIT: The future proof thing is also the same with my processor. I have a quad core right now, and while I may not be using all of that power 99% of the time, it's sure outperformed dual core CPUs while doing things like video editing (with CUDA off of course ).

[themcman1]

Well, as said $400 isn't much, even though I have no idea with $:£ anymore.

I brought a cheap Gigabyte motherboard based on P35, an Intel Pentum E2180, 2GB PC2-8500 RAM and a Samsumg F1 HDD (great drive) for just under £200, which, I think, is about $400 now. Now if you use the components from your old computer as well, such as case and DVD drive, you should be alright.

EDIT: Looking at the link which you posted, I wouldn't go AMD at the moment. Intel produces much better CPU's at the moment, and they are much better bang-for-buck.

[jhnrk]

If I had $400 and I just could wait and save some more (which would be very good idea IMHO)...
I would buy something like this (from newegg.com):

• Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500GB 7200 RPM SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - OEM
  Item #: N82E16822148288
  -$5.00 Instant
  $74.99
  $69.99
• G.SKILL 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Dual Channel Kit Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5D-4GBPQ
  Item #: N82E16820231122
  -$40.00 Instant
  $99.99
  $59.99
• Foxconn M7VMX-K LGA 775 NVIDIA GeForce 7050 / nForce 610i Micro ATX Intel Motherboard - Retail
  Item #: N82E16813186138
  -$10.00 Instant
  $53.99
  $43.99
• Intel Pentium E5200 Wolfdale 2.5GHz LGA 775 65W Dual-Core Processor Model BX80571E5200 - Retail
  Item #: N82E16819116072
  $83.99
• Rosewill R220-P-BK Black 0.5mm SECC Steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
  Item #: N82E16811147074
  Rosewill RP500-2 500W ATX12V v2.01 Power Supply - Retail
  Item #: N82E16817182016
  -$27.00 Instant
  -$10.00 Combo
  $89.98
  $52.98
• MSI R4670-2D512 Radeon HD 4670 512MB 128-bit GDDR3 PCI Express 2.0 x16 HDCP Ready CrossFire Supported Video Card - Retail
  Item #: N82E16814127383
  +
  MSI Rainbow6 Vegas2 Bundled Game Gift - OEM
  Item #: N82E16800127001
  -$39.99 Combo
  $15.00 Mail-in Rebate
  $119.98
  $79.99

Subtotal: $390.93

I think that would be decent if you don't expect to play Crysis with high quality settings :P
Hard drive is pretty good $/GB value and 32MB cache - not as quiet as Samsung SpinPoints F1, but performs pretty well with big files.
I don't have experience with Rosewill cases or power supplies (haven't seen them in Europe that much), but I think they'll do their job properly.
Radeon 4670 is ok for the price and it's bundled with game

I kind a forgot the cd/dvd-drive... That's like additional 20-30 usd.
But if you don't need new hard drive, then it should be fine - and in that case I would replace the processor with Intel Core 2 Duo E7200.

[Jon.Monreal]

Originally Posted by Ainokea

$400 isn't much to work with I would recommend building a computer that can be easily upgraded as you get more money.

I would agree and get a dual core cpu, you could try and overclocking for a few faster mhz.

When you buy ram I doubt you'll be able to afford 1 gig or ram. So check how many slots you have on your motherboard plus if its dual channel ram. I would buy like 512 than later upgrade to 1 gig. Well then again I'm not too sure about building budget computers.

Dont forget OS unless using old, this adds up. If you really need to you dont need a case, yay better ventilation just make a makeshift one. But be sure not to smash your parts to bits... I would recommend buying OEM's as there are much cheaper but only come with limited manufacturers warrentys.

One important thing to consider is that system builders save big on copies of Windows. For example, on Newegg, right now Windows Vista Ultimate costs $267.49. If you are building and get an OEM copy, however, it only costs $179.99! Also, you can still get an OEM copy of Windows XP Professional for $139.99. Home premium is just $99.99. You can see Newegg's system builder copies here.