Well folks, I'm taking my computer knowledge and applying it to a college room business where I build systems for my friends. Being college students, we have no money, so I tried to design a base system that would perform well in gaming (as that's what most of my friends care about) while being extremely upgradeable. Here's what I came up with:
Case: Antec SX635 - $79 from Newegg
I like Antec cases, most of my friends do (at least the way the look and the solid construction), and this is a mini version of the SX830/40 (which I have). It's 3 inches shorter than the 8xx, but strangely enough, it has just as many drive bays. Sadly, it only comes with one case fan instead of two. But it has mounts for two in the front and one in the back.
CPU: AMD Duron 1.2GHz, Retail - $72 from Newegg
I chose this because the older T-Birds are no longer available through most online vendors, and I like the retail version because the 3-year warrenty covers fan failure (which is good in a dusty/dirty enviroment like a dorm room).
MB: IWILL XP333, Retail - $86 from All-Star/SMK Components
I chose this because I like the ALi Magik chipset, as it's stable and performs well. And before anyone suggests it, I will not get a VIA chipset, as I have issues with a company that releases a product that should be a "beta" and then a few months later releases an "updated" version (i.e KT266 and KT266a). And, I don't want to get a ECS board, as it seems that they have a higher RMA rate than most other board makers.
Video Card: Hercules 3D Prophet 4500, OEM - $62 MicroPro
Well, I'm a big fan of the Kyro II, and when the SE version gets released, us old users will get some goodies in our drivers. I just like the way PowerVR has been handling everything. I just wish the Kyro III was out (though some who accurately predicted the release of the SE version (all the way to the naming scheme and time of announcement) say there will be something else released in June/July, and something really special for Christmas). Anywho, it works well, though it might take a hit from having a 1.2 Duron instead of the 1.2 T-Bird I have. SSE might help?
RAM: Crucial PC2100 - $85.49 from Crucial
It's Crucial, it's cheap. Need I say more?
As for the rest, it's a matter of CD-ROMs, monitors, sound cards, etc. Those most people already have, so they'll just swap them in (unless we run into ISA cards *shudder*). Really, the system is meant for upgrading, not out-of-the-box performance. In the end, it all costs around $450 after S&H and taxes. Not bad, I think. So, does anyone have any suggestions on how I can tweak this. Price has to stay low, and I want to keep working with AMD, since I know how to work with it. That's it really. Thanks.
Oh yeah, what do you think a good fee is to charge? 5% of total cost? I'm not looking to clean up here, just compensation for the time I'm going to spend, and the tech support I'll be doing afterwards.
-SammyBoy
Case: Antec SX635 - $79 from Newegg
I like Antec cases, most of my friends do (at least the way the look and the solid construction), and this is a mini version of the SX830/40 (which I have). It's 3 inches shorter than the 8xx, but strangely enough, it has just as many drive bays. Sadly, it only comes with one case fan instead of two. But it has mounts for two in the front and one in the back.
CPU: AMD Duron 1.2GHz, Retail - $72 from Newegg
I chose this because the older T-Birds are no longer available through most online vendors, and I like the retail version because the 3-year warrenty covers fan failure (which is good in a dusty/dirty enviroment like a dorm room).
MB: IWILL XP333, Retail - $86 from All-Star/SMK Components
I chose this because I like the ALi Magik chipset, as it's stable and performs well. And before anyone suggests it, I will not get a VIA chipset, as I have issues with a company that releases a product that should be a "beta" and then a few months later releases an "updated" version (i.e KT266 and KT266a). And, I don't want to get a ECS board, as it seems that they have a higher RMA rate than most other board makers.
Video Card: Hercules 3D Prophet 4500, OEM - $62 MicroPro
Well, I'm a big fan of the Kyro II, and when the SE version gets released, us old users will get some goodies in our drivers. I just like the way PowerVR has been handling everything. I just wish the Kyro III was out (though some who accurately predicted the release of the SE version (all the way to the naming scheme and time of announcement) say there will be something else released in June/July, and something really special for Christmas). Anywho, it works well, though it might take a hit from having a 1.2 Duron instead of the 1.2 T-Bird I have. SSE might help?
RAM: Crucial PC2100 - $85.49 from Crucial
It's Crucial, it's cheap. Need I say more?
As for the rest, it's a matter of CD-ROMs, monitors, sound cards, etc. Those most people already have, so they'll just swap them in (unless we run into ISA cards *shudder*). Really, the system is meant for upgrading, not out-of-the-box performance. In the end, it all costs around $450 after S&H and taxes. Not bad, I think. So, does anyone have any suggestions on how I can tweak this. Price has to stay low, and I want to keep working with AMD, since I know how to work with it. That's it really. Thanks.
Oh yeah, what do you think a good fee is to charge? 5% of total cost? I'm not looking to clean up here, just compensation for the time I'm going to spend, and the tech support I'll be doing afterwards.
-SammyBoy