What sort of computer could I get for £250?

T

TheJkWhoSaysNi

Guest
I was thinking about getting a Radeon 9800 for this computer, but i've decided that I want my own computer instead (Currently using family computer), but I only have £250 (Maybe could stretch to £300) and was wondering if I could get a half decent comp with that. Really I want something equal or better than this computer (Anything worse wouldnt play the games I want to play)

What I already have:
512mb PC2100 DDR
Geforce 3 Ti200

Really i'd like to upgrade those too, but on this budget I'm pretty sure thats not possible.
is it possible to get something along the lines of

XP2000+
The problem is, that I need everything, Monitor, keyboard, case mouse etc. I've been looking at ebay and because monitors dont get old as quickly as other computer components I should be able to get a decent 17" monitor for £50

Is it possible to build a half-decent computer with that small budget? Thanks.
 
X

xane

Guest
If you need a monitor, it's unlikely you'll get a lot for £250. Monitors are just about the most expensive item and its difficult getting second hand ones because of the fire risk.
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Hi there

Personally, I'd probably wait and save up a little more. I know this is fustrating (especially if you're impatient like me :)) but at the end of the day you'd be really struggling to build a PC for that much, and a lot of the components wouldn't be very satisfactory. But if you wait and save a little, then you should be able to get something to be proud of :)

Sorry I can't be of more help
 
J

Jonty

Guest
Hello again

Out of curiosity, I had a quick look for you, basing the system around £300 budget (£250 is too low for all new components) and this is what I managed:


  • Base Unit
  • Shuttle SK41G - £144.52 (eBuyer)
  • AMD AthlonXP 1800+ (OEM) - £38.57 (eBuyer)
  • 512Mb RAM - £0.00 (You)
  • GeForce3 Ti200 - £0.00 (You)
  • Samsung 52x CD-ROM (OEM) - £11.58 (eBuyer)
  • Maxtor 30Gb Hard-Drive (5400rpm) - £38.17 (eBuyer)

    Input
  • Internet and Multimedia PS/2 Keyboard - £1.99 (eBuyer)
  • Five Button PS/2 Mouse with Scroll - £1.52 (eBuyer)

    Monitor
  • Relisys 15" CRT Monitor - £65.80 (eBuyer)

    Speakers
  • JNC 2 Piece Speaker Set and Controls - £5.82 (eBuyer)

    Totals
  • £266.86 + £46.74 VAT + £4.79 Shipping = £313.60
That's certainly not an amazing PC, nor is futureproof as a lot of it is dated and cannot be easily upgraded, but it is all brand new, and it is a fully featured PC (you'd have to find the OS yourself, though). I guess you could drop the speakers and use headphones if you have some, but other than that, I was struggling to save you any more money (well, you could cut a few pence here and there, but the products you'd end up with were far worse, and just not worth what literally amounted to only a pound or two in savings).

Kind Regards
 
T

TheJkWhoSaysNi

Guest
Actually I dont have to pay VAT, because my rather nice father will pay for it on his business (Which it will be, because i'm making his business a website :p) So that brings the price down.
 
J

Jonty

Guest
In that case, if you swapped the SK41G for an SN45G then you'd have a pretty cool system, and one which you could later upgrade (since the SN45G supports 400Mhz FSB). The whole package, with any tweaks, should hover just under £300 then :)

Kind Regards

Jonty

Edit ~ I'm only sticking to new components since you can guarantee they actually work and can put a fixed price on them, but buying from auction will save you some money. As for Shuttles, I only chose them to keep things simple, as this way you don't have to purchase separately a case, PSU, motherboard (and network card, sound card, depending on the motherboard). Personally I'd still wait, but I guess it can be done after all if you really wanted to go for it. Good luck with whatever you choose to do!
 
T

TheJkWhoSaysNi

Guest
Hmm, This actaully looks quite promising

Gigabyte GA-7N400-L1 Motherboard - £59.57
Has Sound and LAN

80 Gig WD 7200rpm Hard Drive - £59.57

AMD XP2200+ Processor - £51.06 (Can downgrade to 1800+ or something if i need to)

Heatsink & Fan AK821 - £9.35

ATX Case X1 - £36.59 (Can get a really cheap case if i need to save more money)
Includes PSU

HP/Tatung 17" Monitor - £51.06

Total: £267.20

All i'd need would be Keyboard/Mouse, speakers and CD-Rom (I think, am i missing anything?) And I should be able to get those for £30

This is more futureproof because of the good motherboard.

Really what I want is a decent case and motherboard as a base for a computer because from then I can just upgrade 1 component at a time when I have the money.

All these prices are from http://www.autdirect.co.uk which seems to be very cheap, and we got the components from this computer from there so I know they're ok.
 
T

TheJkWhoSaysNi

Guest
Hmm. a slight concern, the Geforce 3 is currently in this computer, and all I have lying around is a pci voodoo3, would that actually work in a farily new computer like this?

Also, if in the future I decide to upgrade my RAM (Which I will when I get the money) i'd probably get DDR333 or DDR400 could I keep the DDR266 thats in there and put some DDR333/400 with it? Or does every slot have to have the same type of memory. Thanks.
 
O

old.Fweddy

Guest
The PCI card should work fine. When I upgraded my computer last week the motherboard didn't like my 4xAGP Radeon 64mb, so I put a prehistoric 4mb PCI card in while I installed the right drivers and suchlike. It didn't cause any problems.

About the memory, you can put different types in, but you'll have to run them all at the same speed*. And a lot of setups are a bit sensitive to memory so its generally best to stick to the same type for all your ram.

*Either the speed of the slower ram, and waste the fast ram, or the speed of the fast ram, and burn the slower ram. :)
 
T

TheJkWhoSaysNi

Guest
Dont worry, i'm at the opposite end of Bedfordshire to you :p I'm alll the way down here in Leighton Buzzard ;)
 
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