ok so im building a new pc for my parents... instead of them buying a $2300 p4 sony from the store... now i have a few questions, do you think i would be able to build a good p4 system for well under that price? maybe spend about a grand on the system itself? and they can buy their own monitor??

well here is this, im looking over some MB and processors, and i want to know if these will go well together

Intel Pentium 4 / 2.8 GHz Northwood 512K Socket 478 Processor 533MHz Processor Bus OEM
Specifications:
CPU: 2.8 GHz
Type: Pentium 4 Northwood
Cache: 512K
BUS: 533 Mhz
Socket: 478 OEM (Processor Only) Model#: RK80532PC2800D $189.00


for $193, i can get a 3yr warranty? is it worth it?

and this

Asus Motherboard for Intel P4 Processors Model P4PE-X Retail
Specifications:
Supported CPU:Socket 478 for Intel Pentium 4/Celeron Intel Hyper-Threading Technology ready
Chipset:Intel 845PE + Intel ICH4
FSB:800/533/400 MHz
RAM:3x 184-pin DIMM Sockets support max. 2GB PC3200/PC2700 / PC2100/ PC1600
IDE:2 x UltraDMA 100/66/33 Max 4 Devices
Slots:1 x AGP 4X, 6x PCI
Ports:2xPS2,2xCOM,1xLPT,4xUSB,1xLAN and Audio Ports
Onboard Audio: ADI AD 1980 SoundMAX 6-channel CODEC
Onboard LAN:BROADCOM 10/100 Mbps Ethernet $72.99

open to some other suggestions, (ram)

Sounds like a great system to me. Under $1,000 is attainable, just take a look:

P4=$200
M/B=$100
CASE=$50
CDRW=$75
RAM=$75
HARDDRIVE=$100 (80gig)
GRAPHICS=$100 (GeforceMX)
FLOPPY=$20
Keyboard=$20
Mouse=$20

That's $760 bucks, and a system that will rock the house. The Asus motherboard is real nice, I would recommend 512 DDR RAM

good stuff, thats exactly at the price i was coming up with, thanks for ur input

If this pc is going to be for your parents go ahead and buy the retail version of the P4(comes with H/S and fan and 3yr. warranty) That way if there's ever a problem Intel will replace it...

As far as a video card, go for the Geforce FX 5200, better than the MX 440 and it's the same price.

You also ought to, if you want to ensure stability, Buy an Antec 400w Power Supply, or any other good brand such as enermax...etc... The cheap Power Supplies that comes with cases normally arent very good and fail over time....

Definitly get 512mb DDR...

Oh dont forget you have to spend atleast $100 for your OS, get Windows XP(get the upgrade edition if you can find an old windows 98 disk)

yeah OS is a must, i almost forgot about that one myself, yeah i still have their old 98 disk so they can just get the upgrade, im gonna go with the 512 megs of ram, i dont think they'll need that much more... im gonna look into better PS, from what i've been reading on this forum, thats a big thing. so i'll definitally be sure to look into that... yeah i will probably go with the retail version of the processor, i did that myself with my amd chip, so far i havent had a problem, but i like having that 3 yr warranty..

I think you should go with an 800 Mhz Processor. One can be had for about that price.

P4 2.6C=$175

Integrated Video Motherboard
M/B=$100.99 P4P800-VM Intel Extreme Graphics
Not too good for games. . . . ?
P4R800 $89.00 Integrated ATI Radeon 9100

CASE=$100

CDRW/DVD ROM=$75 Lite-On

RAM=$75

HARDDRIVE=$100 (80gig)

GRAPHICS=$100 (GeforceMX) Dont Need Deduct $100.00


FLOPPY=$10.00

Keyboard=$25

Optical mouse= $25.00

You may find a nice Keyboard and mouse combo.

Speakers=$45.00

That comes to around 665

You need Windows XP $100

subtotal=$765

Video Card Option= ATI Radeon 9600 Pro All-In-Wonder
$219
TV/FM TUNER CARD CAN COPY TV TO HARD DRIVE.
This is an option. This is a pretty decent video card.
This is just a possible option.
You could get a scanner, a digital camera, or some other option that fits their personality.
This would bring it up to about $1,000
If you dont want a TV receiver,
maybe an alternate video card:
Asus Radeon 9200=$65 128Meg
Asus Radeon 9600=$115 128Meg
Creative 3 mega pixel Digital Camera $120.00
Also a Web Cam.

Mom might like to play with the camera.

ATI Video cards are the hottest thing they are a lot better than the overpriced Nvida cards that underperform.

Normally before I build a system for folks I always ask what they are going to use it for, if it's just run of the mill stuff, office applications........internet I usually build a reasonable system using a good motherboard with on board graphics and sound eg Nforce2. This way I can build one that suits most people for about $500, without software and monitor.
If they require more from their system then the suggestions mentioned are fine.
Most people go way overboard when it comes to specs...especially the guys in the stores.

yeah i talked to my parents, and asked them specifically what their gonna be using, and of course.... internet/school work/office stuff.... so they dont need the top of line system... but they've been shopping around for awhile now, they've been looking at dells mainly, and specifically a sony system they saw last week, they told me if i can build them something similiar to the sony system, and save them money... then go for it.... well i went to newegg.com, i picked out a system pretty similar, and i think its a good system, especially for what their gonna use it for... and it's gonna save them a good $500-$600...

The only problem is, whenever the PC has a problem ( I wish it never does but... ), you'll be the one they're gonna call.

Sometimes the 500-600$ that you shave off, you spend it on aspirins later on.

Sometimes, I prefer letting people buy a brand name, just so they can go bother their Tech support instead of me.

thats the exact reason my dad doesnt like me building computers for my friends :dead:

well i've been breaking our home computer ever since we had our cool 486 back in the day... and each time i would have to fix it, i think i can handle that part...