Source for barebones computer

[Brainless]

Need advise

1. Good source for barebones computer.

2. Should I choose AMD or Intel Motherboard. (I just need for basic stuff,
no gaming, cost is consideration. )

3. Any other advice about components like power supply, memory - are there
diffrent types? anything I should stay away from?



Would like to get most bang for limited bucks I have to spend...don't need
fastest/bestest just good quality, stability and reliability.


TIA

 

[John Weiss]

1. Good source for barebones computer.

Newegg is a good start.

2. Should I choose AMD or Intel Motherboard. (I just need for basic stuff,
no gaming, cost is consideration. )

Cheapest for reasonably current CPUs would likely be AMD socket AM2.

3. Any other advice about components like power supply, memory - are there
diffrent types? anything I should stay away from?

When you go cheap, there's always a higher likelihood of component failures.
That's another reason to buy from somebody reputable like Newegg.

Would like to get most bang for limited bucks I have to spend...don't need
fastest/bestest just good quality, stability and reliability.

Looks like MSI and Asus are the main choices in the low price range. Compare
features in your price range.

 

[rodney]

Need advise
1. Good source for barebones computer.

Advice form a newbie,
If you have patience, and a local source for
IT auctions, esp govt, I would hang around
and get the feel for what's on offer.

I recently bought P4 3.4Ghz 80Gb HDD
for $80, (plus 10% buyers premium)
18" Liquid crystal display monitor $80
34x Microsoft keyboards and 5 infa red mice for $5
CRT monitors regularly go for $3

The clone towers I bought were fine, no work needed
the Brand name OEM desktops were a glitch,
missing motherboard software.
I found others at the auction were helpful in assisting
selection.
Check your newspaper for IT auctions

 

[John Doe]

Would like to get most bang for limited bucks I have to
spend...don't need fastest/bestest just good quality, stability
and reliability.

You can buy a prefabricated computer cheap. Building it yourself
means you can get precisely the computer you want, customized to
your needs, especially after you've been doing it for years. I don't
think you'll save money building a computer. Computer makers get
parts by the tens of thousands, they get parts very cheap. They also
take the responsibility for proper construction and testing.

Good luck.

 

[Paul]

Need advise

1. Good source for barebones computer.

2. Should I choose AMD or Intel Motherboard. (I just need for basic stuff,
no gaming, cost is consideration. )

3. Any other advice about components like power supply, memory - are there
diffrent types? anything I should stay away from?



Would like to get most bang for limited bucks I have to spend...don't need
fastest/bestest just good quality, stability and reliability.


TIA

What country are you in ? There is no IP address in the header
of your message, so I cannot tell.

Walmart had a deal on a computer, announced just recently. I'm not
suggesting you buy this, because this would be a toy for people who
already have a computer. It uses a VIA C7 processor at 1.5GHz, which
is weak by modern standards. At 1.5GHz, it has enough power to play
movies (maybe at 640x480 resolution). Things it might bog down at, would
be Flash animations in a web browser, as some web browsers put a fair
load on a processor. This comes with a Linux OS of some sort installed,
so if you wanted Windows, that would be extra.

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=7754614#Item+Description

One thing to watch for, is if you are trying to get the cheapest computer
possible, it will come with a VGA connector on it for video. Chances are,
that would be connected to built-in (Northbridge) graphics. A lot of cheap
LCD monitors, only have a DVI connector on them, so there is a mismatch between
the very cheapest computing platforms, and quite a few monitors. A cheap graphics
card can give a DVI connector, and there are some motherboards with DVI, but
they tend to have their issues as well. (I.e. Hard to get a quality solution
that does it all.)

So the Walmart box, is only an illustration of a price point, and while a person
who had been using a 486 would likely be overjoyed with the box, a person
who'd been using a P4 at 3Ghz wouldn't be that impressed with it.

Another place to look for barebones boxes, is here. Again, I'm not suggesting
you buy one of these, but at least study how they're put together.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=31&name=Barebone-Kits

This one is $220 (less if the rebate actually works). Has an AGP slot
for future video card expansion, but also has built-in graphics. The
processor would be good enough for web surfing, but gaming would really
need a separate video card, as integrated graphics are usually only
strong enough to play simpler 3D games.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3433125&sku=M452-2848 B

MSI K9MM-V Motherboard - Qty: 1 $49.99
AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.20GHz OEM - Qty: 1 $59.99
Crucial 1024MB DDR2 PC4200 - Qty: 1 $29.99
Maxtor DiamondMax 21 200GB Hard Drive - Qty: 1 $59.99
Power Up Black ATX Mid-Tower Case - Qty: 1 $39.99
(450W power supply of unknown quality)
Lite-On LH-20A1P 20x DVD Burner - Qty: 1 $34.99

This uses an older Intel processor (D 925 at 3GHz). The scary part about
this one, is I happened to glance at a picture of the motherboard, and it
is missing a good video card expansion slot! There is no optical or hard
drive in this one. The performance level on this would be about the same
as the other barebones, only less expandable. $205 before rebate.
With HDD and optical drive, adds slightly less than $100 more to the price.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=3333209&sku=I69-2154 A

Intel D945GCPE - Qty: 1 $59.99
Intel PD 925 3.0GHz OEM - Qty: 1 $79.99
US Modular 1024MB PC4200 DDR2 - Qty: 1 $36.99
Power Up Mid-T w/450-Watt PSU - Qty: 1 $39.99

For comparison, there was another Intel barebones, with a D 925 processor,
which has a PCI Express x16 expansion slot for graphics, which is a much
better future option.

http://images.tigerdirect.com/SkuImages/gallery/large/MSI-P4M900M2-L-M452-2682-main-a.JPG

So those two barebones boxes would offer decent web surfing performance.
The purpose of having the graphics card slot, is if you have reservations
later, about graphics performance. And like buying a Dell box, you don't
want to end up with a computer, that cannot be fixed via adding a cheap video
card. Some $50 video cards can be used, to fix that missing DVI connector,
for example, and so you want a slot for a video card like that.

You can also search for the equivalent bare parts, and put together
something similar yourself.

If you shop around on Newegg, and look at their motherboard collection,
you can see comments from other customers. For example, they carry the
K9MM-V motherboard, and people have had their share of minor issues with
the board. When dealing with $50 motherboards, you have to expect a
few more rough edges, than with a $100-$150 level board. Going higher
than that in price, doesn't offer any benefits in terms of end user
experience (might overclock better, or come with more useless little
toys).

Have fun,
Paul

 

[Paul]

I decided to whip up my own barebones

MSI K9VGM-V AM2 VIA K8M890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard $45.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130542

AMD Athlon 64 3200+ Orleans 2.0GHz 512KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 Processor - Retail $43
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103031

CORSAIR ValueSelect 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory - Retail $13
Buy two, in case one of them is bad And if they both work, you can
run in dual channel mode.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductReview.aspx?Item=N82E16820145529

This should be enough power supply.

ENERMAX EG301P-VB 24P ATX12V 300W Power Supply 115/230 V $37
+3.3V @ 28A, +5V @ 30A, +12V @ 22A, -12V @ 1A, +5VSB @ 2.2A
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817194023

That would be the basis of a good start, and won't use much
electricity. (It doesn't use 300W, it only uses what the
actual components draw. 62W processor, 50W motherboard+ram, 12W HDD,
25W max ODD, 6W Fans, totals about 149W and usually a lot less.
Probably idles around 100W or so.)

For a hard drive, I like this one (I have one). You have at least one ribbon
cable on the motherboard, and I'd just connect this drive and
an optical drive to it. Set the hard drive and the optical to
"cable select" with the jumpers and plug'em in.

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST380215A 80GB 7200 RPM 2MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive $44
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148236

For an optical drive, I'd purchase a CD burner, and you can install
with it, or burn the odd CD with it. This includes some version of
basic Nero for burning and is only $18.

LITE-ON White 52X CD-R 32X CD-RW 52X CD-ROM ATAPI/E-IDE 52X CD Burner
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827106063

So far, my barebones (without case) is 46 + 43 + 26 + 37 + 44 + 18 = $214
I didn't pick out a case, because it is damn hard to find a cheap
case that isn't crap. You still need a keyboard, mouse, and
monitor - I'd go with PS/2 versions (that is all I use), while
on the monitor, be careful to check that it has a VGA connector
available. If the monitor only has DVI, it'll cost you for a cheap
video card, like this one. Also, really cheap LCD monitors may
not include a DVI cable, so that could be extra as well. The
single review for this card notes that the contents were just
thrown in a brown box, without restraints to prevent the contents
from shuffling around.

SAPPHIRE 100184 Radeon X1300 128MB DDR PCI Express x16 $30
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814102710

Enjoy,
Paul

 

[brainless]

Yes thanks to all posters for all the great info...I am in Michigan and have
a budget of $500.00 max...I just do not have time or inclination to try to
build a computer myself right now...I use my computer for basic stuff....net
surfing, download movies and music, burn dvd's and cd's occasionally..I am
getting by with 4 year old antique AMD Athlon 1.25gh and 1.24 gig ram... I
have Windows XP OS and all software....just want to upgrade.....I did check
newegg, but all computers I saw come with OS...

 

[Paul]

Yes thanks to all posters for all the great info...I am in Michigan and have
a budget of $500.00 max...I just do not have time or inclination to try to
build a computer myself right now...I use my computer for basic stuff....net
surfing, download movies and music, burn dvd's and cd's occasionally..I am
getting by with 4 year old antique AMD Athlon 1.25gh and 1.24 gig ram... I
have Windows XP OS and all software....just want to upgrade.....I did check
newegg, but all computers I saw come with OS...

I think I may have had a slight disconnect here

The term "barebones" can be used two ways. It could be
an informal term, which could be applied to anything.

In the world of computers, there are various levels
of "barebones" computers offered for sale. But the
state of those systems is unfinished. Whereas in the
informal sense, a person would expect a minimally
feature barebones cut-to-the-bone system, to be
ready to use.

So maybe I got carried away with the idea of an
unfinished system for you. Whereas you're looking
for a finished system, with no frills.

Here are some ideas, for getting a computer, from cheapest
upwards.

1) Dumpster diving. Believe it or not, there are people
in the newsgroups, who regularly find old computers
put out on garbage day. They revive the systems, and
put them to some use. Now, in my neighbourhood, that
never seems to happen.

2) Computer recyclers. I have a couple of them in town.
Computers rapidly depreciate (which is why they're going
into dumpsters), and a recycler takes old computers,
and puts them back into working condition. So that
would be a possible source of a machine.

3) Lease renewal machines. There should be a steady flow
of machines that have just come back from a 3 year lease.
These may be sold in lots, and recycled as in (2).
Some types are regularly seen on Ebay.

4) Discount computers. Think Walmart, or worse. Be careful.
Test in the store, for responsiveness. Don't buy on
impulse. Bring the model number home, do research and
ask questions.

5) Locally built computers. My first PC cost me about $1500.
Parts cost was $1400. The local shop charged $100 to put
it together. It had a copy of Win98 on it. Very nicely
done, because I couldn't find a thing wrong with the
build. Now, that shop, and some other good shops where
I live, have gone out of business, so there is no
guarantee that a real good shop still exists.

The advantage of a system built with standard parts
(not proprietary stuff), is if the system needs to be
repaired or revived later, virtually anyone can do it
(doesn't have to be the original shop).

HTH,
Paul

 

[Bill]

I think I may have had a slight disconnect here

The term "barebones" can be used two ways. It could be
an informal term, which could be applied to anything.

<nsip>
Maybe he should take a look at this site:

http://bfads.net/

Heck of a deal on a Dell.

Bill