Building a Low Cost But Capable Desktop - opinions sought!

[notmyself]

1. I always recommend under ~5000 THB, it is ABSOLUTELY enough (NOT GAMING)

2. why don't you go for a 500GB HDD? nowadays we have almost everything online

3. any mainboard with Intel chipset if you going to use Windows platform

4. always get the latest CPU from the last generation (not the current generation) and match it with the most basic MBs of current generation. I call it a simple budget solution which is ready to upgrade if needed)

cpu=Pentium 4F 3.6GHZ

Indeed, if it's just for internet and movies then around 5k should be enough. I also consider it highly unlikely that more than 4GB is going to be needed even in three - four years time.

Bought my first computer in 1982 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TRS-80_Color_Computer

Built my first PC in '86 and with the exception of a laptop I bough 4 years ago built my own ever since.

Have a core 2 quad extreme CPU at present which I bought in 2007 and it's still going strong!

[notmyself]

Take into account all the components needed (including case, DVD writer, etc.)

If the new parts fit the case which is likely then why buy a new one? If the DVD writer still works then why buy a new one? Same with the mouse and keyboard.

[GuyL]

Take into account all the components needed (including case, DVD writer, etc.)

If the new parts fit the case which is likely then why buy a new one? If the DVD writer still works then why buy a new one? Same with the mouse and keyboard.

Ask the OP as he included a new case and a new DVD writer (amongst other components) in his first post of this thread. He probably has at least one good reason for that (form of the previous motherboard, previous DVD writer being an IDE one, old tower intended to be still used for another usage, etc.).

Actually, I meant that you should compare what is comparable when giving an estimation for a configuration that must fit a specified budget, thus, including all the components specified by the OP.

Edited April 14, 2014 by GuyL

[GuyL]

I believe that all of the motherboards I mentioned max at 16gb ram. For now I will only be putting 4 in anyway. The person I am building it for will never use photoshop or other power hungry applications anyway. He only multitasks by accident! :-)

Another board I am considering is the Asrock B85M-HDS for 2,160. This also seems to fit the bill quite well.

Don't skimp on the motherboard. That's where the future lies, and could trigger a replacement.

I can't find that MSI board, but the Asrock has just two ram slots, dual channel. That means that you need two matching sticks of ram, and if you ever want to upgrade, you can't just add. You have to replace. I can only see one PCI slot although the specs say it has two. I don't think I'm blind, lol. LINK

It has only 4 sata connectors. My mobo has 6 and I wish I had more. Have to add a card.

All of the ram for the video and audio is going to have to come from the mobo since there aren't slots to add cards with memory. It really wouldn't cost much more to put 8 gig of ram in it, and have plenty while avoiding tossing out the 4 gig later. It will run fine on 4 for what you describe, but over time he will add programs, and current program updates will use more ram. (you need a 64 bit operating system to see more than 4 gig, you know.)

I simply don't like that mobo. Isn't very expandable or upgradeable.

I suppose that the other motherboard (MSI) is actually this one: http://thesystem.co.th/products/previews.php?code=A0065322

I would rather choose (between those) the ASROCK motherboard then: http://thesystem.co.th/products/previews.php?code=A0064713

Agreed, both are not very expandable, but should be sufficient IMHO for the usage described by the OP and would last a few years (very likely more than their 3-year warranty) before a serious upgrade (besides RAM) is really needed, and then, one will be able to get a new configuration at a cheap price for not much more than the addition of eventual upgrading components and performing better.

I recently upgraded a mobo like that for a friend. A potential problem to remember is that the newer mobos after 3 years may not accept your components. That happened in this instance.

None of the new mobos I could find would accept the cpu or ram. Three years is a long time in computer years. I had to buy a new cpu and ram in addition to buying a decent mobo.

Again, don't skimp on the mobo. Get one with at least 6 sata ports and 4 ram slots. At minimum it should have 2 or 3 pci slots. The mobo doesn't have to be top of the line or real expensive, but using that ASRock is planning for obsolescence IMHO.

Yes, three years is a (relatively) long time in computer years, but you might not have looked enough in your case, as one can still find several Intel 478 motherboards (for instance) nowadays. I have no doubt that 3 years from now, the OP will be able to get a suitable replacement for his chosen motherboard if needed.

Agreed, a more expandable motherboard would be better, but as explained earlier, you have to take into account his budget for the whole computer, and have to compromise at some point.

Edited April 14, 2014 by GuyL

[notmyself]

Take into account all the components needed (including case, DVD writer, etc.)

If the new parts fit the case which is likely then why buy a new one? If the DVD writer still works then why buy a new one? Same with the mouse and keyboard.

Ask the OP as he included a new case and a new DVD writer (amongst other components) in his first post of this thread. He probably have at least one good reason for that (form of the previous motherboard, previous DVD writer being an IDE one, old tower intended to be still used for another usage, etc.).

Actually, I meant that you should compare what is comparable when giving an estimation for a configuration that must fit a specified budget, thus, including all the components specified by the OP.

The OP did say...

I am building this for a friend who's Windows XP machine has finally expired

Seems unlikely that every component has expired so unless it is being used as a trade in it must be worth investigating. New PSU or an SSD as a member suggested could bring another year of life at least to the old box for 1-2k.

I've an old PC sitting here unused which would do the job that the OP could have for nothing. Bought an old PC from the family of someone who died, refurbished it and gave it to a friend who opened a bar years back. Done the music, internet access etc. but shat itself last November. She just bought a laptop to do the same and gave it back to me. Turned out it was the PSU, I have a number of spares hanging around which could have got it up and running again.

Samui, if anyone is interested in a free PC.

[GuyL]

[...]

Seems unlikely that every component has expired so unless it is being used as a trade in it must be worth investigating. New PSU or an SSD as a member suggested could bring another year of life at least to the old box for 1-2k.

I've an old PC sitting here unused which would do the job that the OP could have for nothing. Bought an old PC from the family of someone who died, refurbished it and gave it to a friend who opened a bar years back. Done the music, internet access etc. but shat itself last November. She just bought a laptop to do the same and gave it back to me. Turned out it was the PSU, I have a number of spares hanging around which could have got it up and running again.

Samui, if anyone is interested in a free PC.

As I said previously, it's up to the OP to decide what is needed or not for his friend's new computer (and it has to be taken into account in our suggestions along with his max budget). But your offer might indeed be interesting for him.

[NeverSure]

Yes, three years is a (relatively) long time in computer years, but you might not have looked enough in your case, as one can still find several Intel 478 motherboards (for instance) nowadays. I have no doubt that 3 years from now, the OP will be able to get a suitable replacement for his chosen motherboard if needed.

Agreed, a more expandable motherboard would be better, but as explained earlier, you have to take into account his budget for the whole computer, and have to compromise at some point.

You may be right. OP starts out saying:

"I am building this for a friend who's Windows XP machine has finally expired. He wants it low cost, but it should ideally have a good long lifetime too. His demands aren't high (no gaming), and the price for "the box" must be under 10k Baht."

Now his "box" may have expired, but I doubt that the case has. I see an IDE connector on that ASRock board which should work with the current burner if it isn't SATA. If its SATA it will still work. Current boards seem not to have a floppy connector. Seems they are gone in favor of the memory stick.

If I could salvage the case and burner, I'd save enough to upgrade the mobo. Of course I'd buy a new power supply.

I'm thinking something like THIS Click on pic to enlarge.

Edited April 15, 2014 by NeverSure

[GuyL]

Yes, three years is a (relatively) long time in computer years, but you might not have looked enough in your case, as one can still find several Intel 478 motherboards (for instance) nowadays. I have no doubt that 3 years from now, the OP will be able to get a suitable replacement for his chosen motherboard if needed.

Agreed, a more expandable motherboard would be better, but as explained earlier, you have to take into account his budget for the whole computer, and have to compromise at some point.

You may be right. OP starts out saying:

"I am building this for a friend who's Windows XP machine has finally expired. He wants it low cost, but it should ideally have a good long lifetime too. His demands aren't high (no gaming), and the price for "the box" must be under 10k Baht."

Now his "box" may have expired, but I doubt that the case has. I see an IDE connector on that ASRock board which should work with the current burner if it isn't SATA. If its SATA it will still work. Current boards seem not to have a floppy connector. Seems they are gone in favor of the memory stick.

If I could salvage the case and burner, I'd save enough to upgrade the mobo. Of course I'd buy a new power supply.

I'm thinking something like THIS Click on pic to enlarge.

I can't find the motherboard that you suggest on Advice Distribution's website. Price are notoriously (at least a bit) higher in Thailand than in the USA, by the way.

We may suggest many other variations for the new machine if we assume that some parts of the previous computer can be salvaged. But that's assuming too much at the moment IMHO. Again, we must compare what is comparable for the whole new computer here, and that's why we should take into account all the components that the OP has mentioned in his first post of this thread.

Edited April 15, 2014 by GuyL

[JSixpack]

I prefer a modern case--in fact, I recently changed my aged Cooler Master Praetorian for a Corsair C70 and love it--but an old case can last forever, so OP (on a tight budget) should use the old one if available. Take this dog c. 2000:

For an impecunious friend, good sense of humor, who appreciates antiques w/ lots of character, I gutted it out and rebuilt w/ all new stuff (including good PSU). Hardest part was the proprietary front panel connector--had to remove the pins and use them individually w/ heat shrink. Old floppy bay is now a card reader. Limitation: only two 3.5 HD bays inside.

It was kinda like building a 'rod from an old '32 Ford. It's hilarious now to take off the left panel and see what's inside. I'd like to see the looks on the faces of future repairmen. Working great!

Edited April 15, 2014 by JSixpack

[JimShortz]

I love the way this thread is going. Thanks all for the great range of ideas.

I'll try and respond to some of what's been said...

I take the point about a good PSU, but 2k Baht is way out of range in this budget build IMHO. This does need looking at though. The old machine's case could be used, but is a bit ugly! I could also salvage the DVD if the mobo accepted IDE. For that matter I also have a 500GB and an 80Gb IDE drives. I plan to put the larger one in a cheap external enclosure and put the little one into "storage", unless anyone has better ideas. Is it possible to find a mobo that could still use them?

I'm not at home now, but will post pics of the "gorgeous" case later!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Edited April 15, 2014 by JimShortz

[JSixpack]

I take the point about a good PSU, but 2k Baht is way out of range in this budget build IMHO. This does need looking at though.

Plan Bs:

450W Corsair (VS450) (Box/Cable) 450 w. * Fan 12 cm. * SATA 1,180

500W RAIDMAX RX (Box/Cable) 500 w. * SATA * 80 PLUS Brozne 1,500

500W ThermalTake LitePower (Box/Cable) 500 w. * Fan 12 cm. * SATA 1,750

Note the longer warranties of 3 years. Ask about the warranty on your proposed PSU! Lucky if it's one year.

The old machine's case could be used, but is a bit ugly!

Ha! VW sold 22 million Beetles ugly as sin, turned it into a virtue.

See the Compaq above. Ugliest case I've ever seen! Digging into it, I wanted to strangle the original designers.

1. Clean up the case and get it looking new and spiffy. Polish it up w/ little Pledge furniture polish. Oh--replace fans if noisy.

2. Respray and do some other customization. There are whole forums devoted to case mods. But this is awful bother. I'm too damn lazy to make any mod I don't absolutely have to for functionality. Life is short.

[GuyL]

I love the way this thread is going. Thanks all for the great range of ideas.

I'll try and respond to some of what's been said...

I take the point about a good PSU, but 2k Baht is way out of range in this budget build IMHO. This does need looking at though. The old machine's case could be used, but is a bit ugly! I could also salvage the DVD if the mobo accepted IDE. For that matter I also have a 500GB and an 80Gb IDE drives. I plan to put the larger one in a cheap external enclosure and put the little one into "storage", unless anyone has better ideas. Is it possible to find a mobo that could still use them?

I'm not at home now, but will post pics of the "gorgeous" case later!

Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect Thailand

Unless I have missed something, none of the motherboards previously mentioned has an IDE (PATA) connector and it's very seldom found on modern motherboards nowadays. There are different ways to fix this, such as adding a PCI IDE Controller Adapter Card for instance, but if you plan to buy a cheap external enclosure, then, it's probably the easiest solution. There is also a cheap SATA to IDE converter available here (but I don't know whether it could perform well with your IDE drives): http://www.advice.co.th/products/preview.php?code=A0017218

Edited April 15, 2014 by GuyL

[JimShortz]

Okay, new plan!

I have thought about it, but can't bring myself to keep the old case. This is partly because it looks old, but more significantly because the USB sockets are right at the base and the person this is for has a huge struggle getting down to them - I can't give him any more pain. Or can I? No, no...

So, I will keep the case and get a power supply with a 3 year warranty to match. He doesn't have a UPS so it would be good to get one of them too - all within the 10k budget. Aah well, I love a challenge and this way is fun. Expensive is child's play...

The IDE - SATA convertors that GuyL just mentioned (thank you - great spotting) also look like winners, for a mere 110 Baht each. That way I can keep the old hard drives. This also means that I can consider an SSD instead of a larger SATA drive, but having just extracted the IDE drives from the old machine I see that they are only 80 and 250GB so I think he would still be better off, for his media based use, with a 1TB SATA drive instead of an SSD. He's been using a P4 for the last three years, so i don't think he cares too much about speed - this will seem incredibly fast to him, whatever I build...

To eek the budget a little further it is worth looking at a mobo with integrated CPU. in the past these were all Atom (and so, hopeless), but the one that Advice sells is a Haswell Celeron, and more than powerful enough for an old fella to browse the net and download movies... It is reviewed here: http://www.overclockerstech.com/biostar-mini-itx-motherboard-review/all/1/ It's even overclockable, but I can't see him doing that!

Using this board as a basis I could go for a basic, but very adequate system like this:

• BIOSTAR (NM70I-1037U) + on-board CPU Celeron 1.80GHz (3yr warranty) = 2,370
• Kingston DDR3 ram, 1 x 4Gb (lifetime warranty) = 1,260
• 1 TB. SATA-III Seagate (64MB, STrek) HDD (3yr warranty) = 2,030
• DVD RW Samsung (1yr warranty) = 510
• 2 IDE to SATA convertors (to install both old HDDs in the machine) = 220
• PSU 450W DTECH (3yr warranty) = 575
• Case: eMaster E-3306B (Black) = 450

Total = 7415

Leaving enough money for a UPS for about 1,700 Baht, bringing in the whole setup for around 9k Baht with a UPS! Lovely....

I'm buying this tomorrow, subject to your advice!

By the way...

if anyone can use any of the following they are going cheap, cheap to a good home (I am in Chiang Mai), to avoid them entering my computer parts graveyard:

• Two 512mb ram chips that work paired: KVR333X64C25/512 Kingston DDR333, and an unbranded DDR 184 pin PC2100
• Mobo with P4 chip and fan (believed faulty, no video output)
• Case and PSU from this setup
• iDE DVD drive

[GuyL]

Your new configuration is much less upgradable (I am not too fond of the motherboard with integrated CPU), but it might indeed be capable enough for your friend's needs. Sure, it's not too bad a thing because it allows you to add an UPS.

Edited April 15, 2014 by GuyL

[JimShortz]

I agree, not a great machine, but in terms of upgradeability, throwing away the mobo from this setup when upgrading is only about 400 Baht more than throwing the G3220 chip from the socket 1150 mobo... and would therefore allow me a better upgrade path involving both the mobo and CPU, for almost the same money (and a mobo/CPU combo left over for putting in to some low power use - a NAS for example). Strange but true! The more I type the more I am convincing myself that this low power (low power usage) config is the way to go...

and yes, the UPS is a good investment.

[dddave]

One of the most informative and pleasant topics I've followed.

Wow..44 replies without a single snarky remark.....some sort of record here.

[JimShortz]

One of the most informative and pleasant topics I've followed.

Wow..44 replies without a single snarky remark.....some sort of record here.

Lol, it is indeed a refreshing change, and I think I will be building a much more appropriate machine after all of the great advice.

I guess it's because all of us techie guys are lovely people. It's the luddites you have to watch out for... ;-)

[Kiwi1]

This old guy thinking of copying the recipe.

Just go to the shop in Chiangmai with the list?

Cost not all that critical.

Already have the UPS.

Question: HDD always seemed a suspect technology to me.

How about solid state alternative.

Is this feasible nowadays, and at what cost?

[JimShortz]

This old guy thinking of copying the recipe.

Just go to the shop in Chiangmai with the list?

Cost not all that critical.

Already have the UPS.

Question: HDD always seemed a suspect technology to me.

How about solid state alternative.

Is this feasible nowadays, and at what cost?

Hi Kiwi1, yes you could indeed just go to the shop with the list. They will assemble it for you.

SSDs are a great alternative. They are super fast, silent, and cold! But... The cost per gigabyte is still about 10 times that of HDD. If money is not an issue, go for it - it makes a huge difference to boot up time, program opening time etc. I have them (120 GB size) in both my desktop and laptop as the first disk, with an additional HDD in each for storage. I did this in my laptop (older macbook pro) by removing the DVD drive and installing the HDD in its place a caddy bought off eBay for 500 Baht.

[GuyL]

This old guy thinking of copying the recipe.

Just go to the shop in Chiangmai with the list?

Cost not all that critical.

Already have the UPS.

Question: HDD always seemed a suspect technology to me.

How about solid state alternative.

Is this feasible nowadays, and at what cost?

The OP's latest configuration might indeed be suitable for your needs too, but as you already have an UPS, I would suggest that you then replace the BIOSTAR motherboard with integrated CPU by either the ASROCK or GIGABYTE motherboard mentioned earlier with an Intel Pentium G3220 CPU (mentioned in OP's first post in this thread). You will get better performance along with USB 3.0 support, among other things...

You might not need the SATA to IDE converters (or maybe only one of them), depending on the type of your current HDD (very likely an IDE, but we are not sure at the moment) or you might want to put your current HDD in an external enclosure (then, you can choose an USB 3.0 one if you have followed my recommendation for the motherboard and get quite decent data transfer rates).

As already explained by JimShortz, SSDs are much more expensive than SATA HDDs, but if you can afford it, you can use one for the drive dedicated to your operating system and programs (60 GB is a minumum, I would recommend a 120+ GB capacity for this drive). I would also recommend that you then still buy another HDD (a much larger SATA one) in order to store and/or backup your data and other important stuff (system recovery files, etc.).

You should go to the computer shop with someone who is computer savvy, because you might have to make some last minute changes if some components mentioned here are not available when you are about to buy them. The shop's staff could suggest some replacements and you might need some help to know exactly whether what is on offer is suitable for your new computer.

[JSixpack]

I have thought about it, but can't bring myself to keep the old case. This is partly because it looks old, but more significantly because the USB sockets are right at the base and the person this is for has a huge struggle getting down to them - I can't give him any more pain. Or can I? No, no...

The new case surely looks better than the old one and the case/psu combo is most probably better than the one you initially proposed. I just thought I'd mention that the way you get around the USB ports on the bottom is just to put a USB hub on top of the case. You can use velcro to keep it in place. I've done that when the front of the case had no USB port at all, or a USB 1.0, just connecting to one of the back ports.

I hope the speed of this system is indeed fast enough. What a comedown from that nice G3220.

[notmyself]

As already explained by JimShortz, SSDs are much more expensive than SATA HDDs, but if you can afford it, you can use one for the drive dedicated to your operating system and programs (60 GB is a minumum, I would recommend a 120+ GB capacity for this drive). I would also recommend that you then still buy another HDD (a much larger SATA one) in order to store and/or backup your data and other important stuff (system recovery files, etc.).

60 GB should be more than ample given what the PC is used for. Sounds like it's just an OS, whatever browser and perhaps VLC media player being used. Torrents can all be directed to the SATA drive as using the SSD would make close to no difference. They would start quicker but after that there is a fixed data flow which even an IDA is more than capable of achieving.

As an aside. There are quite a few people out there who don't understand some of the basics of a computer. A friend of my sister brought is old PC around while I was in the UK last year. He was under the impression that is was getting slower because it was old, like an old car. I've some old RAM knocking around so upped his from 512MB to 1GB, cleaned up the registry etc. and defragmented the drive. He was happy as Larry and it only cost him 1 pint of beer!

[innerspace]

Depending on storage needs I wouldnt rule out an ssd. 60gb kingston is fairly cheap and similar price to a 1tb hdd.

If you can use the old slow ide for extra space the smaller drive will be so much faster.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[GuyL]

Depending on storage needs I wouldnt rule out an ssd. 60gb kingston is fairly cheap and similar price to a 1tb hdd.

If you can use the old slow ide for extra space the smaller drive will be so much faster.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

I wouldn't rely on an old hard disk drive for my data and backups. We don't know its type (IDE or SATA) for sure, neither its brand and model, but we can easily guess that it is probably a rather old one, and, according to my experience, the odds of an HDD serious failure are quite high for an HDD older than 6 years. Yes, a careful user regularly saves his or her important data on at least one other media (DVD, external HDD, etc.), but we all know that such animal is a rarity in the real world.

We also know quite well that the average user's system drive may quickly become a bit messy, with a lot of unnecessary stuff. We have also noticed that in our case, the user tends to keep using his computer for many years (much more than what us techies do usually). That's why I recommend a 120+ GB drive for the operating system and programs and a much larger (and preferably located on a not too old hard disk) drive for the data (@notmyself: and yes, torrents are also data in my mind).

Edited April 15, 2014 by GuyL

[notmyself]

Depending on storage needs I wouldnt rule out an ssd. 60gb kingston is fairly cheap and similar price to a 1tb hdd.

If you can use the old slow ide for extra space the smaller drive will be so much faster.

Sent from my GT-N7100 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

Yep, best thing about building it yourself is that you can make it exactly to requirements. I say use the old case even if it is fugly. You don't even have to see it other than being able to hit the power switch. USB hub placed somewhere accessible and that's it.

[JimShortz]

Okay, final decision - off to the shop in an hour...

Intel G3220 CPU = 1,890

Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 - 2,340

Kingston DDR3 ram, 1 x 4Gb = 1,260

1 TB. SATA-III Seagate (64MB, STrek) HDD = 2,030

DVD RW Samsung = 510

1 IDE to SATA convertor (to install the old 250GB HDD in the machine) = 110

PSU 450W DTECH (3yr warranty) = 575

Case: eMaster E-3306B (Black) = 450

Total is therefore 9,165 Baht

I just can't bring myself to buy the much less powerful biostar CPU/mobo combination, even though I think it will be fine for him right now. It just feels like I would be short changing his experiencing of moving to his first new PC and experiencing the pleasure of speed...

I really do take on the SSD point (I love 'em), BUT I wouldn't buy less than a 120GB and that's out of range for now. If he stuffs up the OS in a couple of years and I end up doing a reinstall I may encourage the SSD at that point - he gets a a second "oh my that's fast": experience! For now, with downloading, he needs a large reliable space for storage, the Seagate SATA will give him that with the IDE drive used for backup only. I think I will just put the 250GB in and retire the 80GB (actually I might use it to make a system image once I have got his machine fully installed, then I can use it for a fast future restore if needed).

The UPS is going to have to wait, in preference to a faster machine. I'll just give him a printout of what to buy and direct him to get one soon or risk the consequences. At least my ass is covered!

Lastly (before I am off to the shops)...

Thank you all for your valued input and helping me to chew over the pros and cons of the various options. In the end I am persuaded that power is worthwhile, even for this relatively light user. Once it is all setup I'll do some benchmarks on it and report back. I think she is going to be a beauty - and with 3 years warranty on all major components. Not bad for 9k Baht... WAY better than anything available "off the shelf" for this money.

[GuyL]

Okay, final decision - off to the shop in an hour...

Intel G3220 CPU = 1,890

Gigabyte GA-B85M-HD3 - 2,340

Kingston DDR3 ram, 1 x 4Gb = 1,260

1 TB. SATA-III Seagate (64MB, STrek) HDD = 2,030

DVD RW Samsung = 510

1 IDE to SATA convertor (to install the old 250GB HDD in the machine) = 110

PSU 450W DTECH (3yr warranty) = 575

Case: eMaster E-3306B (Black) = 450

Total is therefore 9,165 Baht

I just can't bring myself to buy the much less powerful biostar CPU/mobo combination, even though I think it will be fine for him right now. It just feels like I would be short changing his experiencing of moving to his first new PC and experiencing the pleasure of speed...

I really do take on the SSD point (I love 'em), BUT I wouldn't buy less than a 120GB and that's out of range for now. If he stuffs up the OS in a couple of years and I end up doing a reinstall I may encourage the SSD at that point - he gets a a second "oh my that's fast": experience! For now, with downloading, he needs a large reliable space for storage, the Seagate SATA will give him that with the IDE drive used for backup only. I think I will just put the 250GB in and retire the 80GB (actually I might use it to make a system image once I have got his machine fully installed, then I can use it for a fast future restore if needed).

The UPS is going to have to wait, in preference to a faster machine. I'll just give him a printout of what to buy and direct him to get one soon or risk the consequences. At least my ass is covered!

Lastly (before I am off to the shops)...

Thank you all for your valued input and helping me to chew over the pros and cons of the various options. In the end I am persuaded that power is worthwhile, even for this relatively light user. Once it is all setup I'll do some benchmarks on it and report back. I think she is going to be a beauty - and with 3 years warranty on all major components. Not bad for 9k Baht... WAY better than anything available "off the shelf" for this money.

That's a well-balanced configuration for your budget IMHO.

[JimShortz]

That's a well-balanced configuration for your budget IMHO.

Thanks GuyL, you really helped me a lot in getting there.... Have a beer from me

Now let's see what they have in stock!

[GuyL]

That's a well-balanced configuration for your budget IMHO.

Thanks GuyL, you really helped me a lot in getting there.... Have a beer from me

Now let's see what they have in stock!

Good luck, JimShortz!

Cheers!

[notmyself]

I'm sure your friend will be very happy. 10k, gotta be happy with that.