Tiny + ~$400

[BrutalNoodle]

Firstly I would like to thank everyone in this forum for being so very helpful.
Finished building my friends system that I had previously posted about, and managed to do it very cost effectively thanks to you all.

I am now going to try and build a new system for my mother who has been slaving away with an ancient Dell that was created before the first multicellular organisms emerged from the primordial sludge. ~1996

But I have a tight budget for this build, around $400, but it needs to be a pretty good system for light computing in the next ~5 years.

The case has to be small and preferably able to be positioned in a horizontal or vertical position. It also has to have USB ports that are easily accessible without any sort of flap or covering.

The computer will be used for nothing more than email, web browsing, and perhaps a DVD. It needs to be quick and responsive with a dual screen setup of 17 inch and 19 inches but does not need to have any sort of great graphical capability as she wont be playing any games besides Commander Keen.

It will need to be able to multitask well and be able to bring up programs quickly and it will be critical that the components do not fail, or require fiddling, and that the data on the HD will not be lost.

With this small of a budget can I get a raid setup with some small HD's?
And if that is the case what MOBO/CPU combo would be a good choice for reliability and small size.

Also your favorite cases for a small sized build would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!

[leprechanmonkie]

with this budget, you shouldnt even be considering raid.

I would look into a microatx AM2+ board, cheap dual core, 2 gb ram, 250 gb hd... shouldnt be tooo hard

[ELItheICEman]

mini-ITX would be extremely small, but it might lack the oomph to last five years without feeling slow. Nevertheless, I'd look into your options for that form factor. Couldn't hurt.

[BrutalNoodle]

Forgot to mention that the budget does not include the OS, so add $90 of wiggle room and I got this list here:

Mobo: ASUS M3A76-CM - 65
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 6000+ Windsor 3.0GHz - 68
PSU: OCZ Fatal1ty OCZ400FTY 400W - 55
HD: Western Digital Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS 320GB - 50
RAM: OCZ SLI-Ready Edition 4GB (2 x 2GB) - 50
Case: LIAN LI PC-A05B - 90
OS: Microsoft Windows Vista Home Basic - 90

Total: $468.00

I can use an old GFX card I have and a DVD drive I have lying around for the other monitor adapter and drive, so those are not really needed. Also I realize I broke my own rule about no flaps, she says as long as she does not need to get on the floor to plug in USB it is good, and that case has them right on the top.

[maxgull]

soooo multitasking, dual screens, backed up, for $400, with OS? hmmmmm
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16827118011 dvd burner $26
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811156232 case $20 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16822145258 2x320gb deskstars $100
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817341016 500w PS$34 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboD...t=Combo.215869 CPU MOBO RAM $115 MIR
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16832116677 OS $110
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16814161267 4830 $80 MIR

MOBO wont raid, you'll have to BU with a utility to the second hdd.

$495 plus shipping after rebates, with an os, best i could do.

$385 no OS, room for a better case

[BrutalNoodle]

Raid is not a necessity, she does have an backup HD on the network. I can set up something to do backups from software. It is really the reliability of the parts that matters, they just cant turn to junk in 3-4 years.

Do you think that it would really need a GFX Card? Would the integrated chipset be able to handle things like dvds on a 19 inch monitor?

[maxgull]

you will need to spend ~$600 for a quality build. 400 is low end even without os. you may want to look at a cookie cutter machine if you want to only spend 400. at least you get a warranty on the unit.

[BrutalNoodle]

What brand would you recommend for something of good build quality that has decent specs?

[krone6]

Could also try barebone computers. Another option to go with. tigerdirect.com seems to be better with barebones than newegg. But try both places if you go this route.

[maxgull]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883155003
e8400, looks like a not bad deal. it wont overclock.


c'mon man, dig up the $200, we will come up with something solid and fast.

[Neox69]

I would tell you to consider Dell;s outlet too.. I picked up an Optiplex with a 5600X2 @ 2.6 with 250GB, Nvidia IGP and DVD-RW $ DVD-ROM plus card reader for around $400. I added an 8800GT and new PSU and it hasn;t felt slow since. This was about 2 years now... WOW. Anyways, let me see if I can build you a Newegg unit.

[Q.man]

Yeah, I feel like at that price point you'll want to go with a standard shop. That way, she gets the support she needs