New build just for web browsing...

[Aston]

Need to put together a computer for parents just for browsing the web, they've got
one with an Athlon XP 1800 in it and it's terribly slow to respond, I would've thought
even an old computer could handle web browsing but they have been pulling the plug on it
rather than shutting down I imagine that's the root of the problem but what do I know.

AMD's best for just basic use like this I think?
Did find this budget build on anandtech's buyers guide but appreciate your advice on
what to buy


Athlon X2 7750 Black Edition Kuma
(Dual-core 2.7GHz, 65nm, 95W, 2x512KB L2, AM2+)
Cooling CPU Retail HSF -

Video On-Board -
Motherboard ASRock A780GMH/128M 780G AM2+/AM3 HDMI

Memory Patriot Viper Model PVS24G6400LLK
4GB DDR2-800 4-4-4

Optical Drive Sony Optiarc Model AD-7240S-OB 24X DVDRW SATA


Operating System Microsoft Vista Home Premium SP1 (for System Builders)

Hard Drive WD Caviar GP WD5000AACS 500GB
would it really noticablly slow things down if I used the old Pata Hard drive?

Case SIGMA La Vie LBYWBP Leather Mid-Tower w/ 500W PSU
Already have a 450w corsair VX PSU and the old monitor so mobo needs d-sub connector

Front USB connectors would be good too but I suppose they all have that now.
thanks

[staffsMike]

Sounds quite good. Not a big fan of Asrock boards myself, I'd get them this
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Asus-...Board-VGA-HDCP

Case sounds awful but the VX is brilliant so thats all good. Old HDD will be OK, but of course drives do get worse over time and their reliability will fade so always nice to get a new drive if you ask me.

Also there are new cpu's on the block, cheaper too
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/AMD-A...MHz-65W-Retail

[Aston]

Thanks very much for your help, I think coolermaster cases are popular on the forum? and any DDR2 4-4-4 memory? (I don't really know what the numbers mean but there's Corsair 4-4-4-12 on the scan website)

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

The Asus M3A76-CM which staffsMike has recommended is an excellent choice and so is the Athlon X2 250 which has lower power consumption than the X2 7850. However the Asrock motherboard does have sideport memory though for the IGP.

Currently Ebuyer is bit cheaper for the X2 7850 than Scan. They also have the X3 8650 triple core for around £59 which is ideal if you do a lot of multitasking although power consumption is high.

[Aston]

The Asus M3A76-CM which staffsMike has recommended is an excellent choice and so is the Athlon X2 250 which has lower power consumption than the X2 7850. However the Asrock motherboard does have sideport memory though for the IGP.

Currently Ebuyer is bit cheaper for the X2 7850 than Scan. They also have the X3 8650 triple core for around £59 which is ideal if you do a lot of multitasking although power consumption is high.

Again thankyou
"..sideport memory though for the IGP" I don't know what that means

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Again thankyou
"..sideport memory though for the IGP" I don't know what that means

Sideport RAM is basically onboard memory only for the IGP like a normal graphics card has.This means that sideport enabled versions of the HD3200 will be faster than the non sideport versions which rely only on the system memory which makes them slower.

[watercooled]

For a web browsing PC I'd say consider the AMD 5050e (which Scan have stopped selling for some reason) - I recently made a PC with it and its a great CPU and has a TDP of just 45W! Also, you could install the Win 7 RC for now which is free (but it does seem to be a bit buggy to me TBH) and wait till Jul 15 to preorder Win7 for 49.99. Also, I used just 2GB of RAM for this OS and it runs fine. To further save money you could use Linux as your OS but if you'd rather stick with Windows...

Another thing to note is if you're not using a 64-bit OS, the full 4GB won't be recognised anyway.

Hope this helps

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

TBH the X2 5050e will also do the job and has much lower power consumption than the X2 7850. Also 2gb of RAM should do the job well for normal duties.

[Aston]

You've given me a few options to choose from, thankyou all for the help

[peterb]

That processor should be more than adequate for a machine just used for web browsing. I'm using a slower one thatn that for web serving, mail serving and enough capacity for folding and also as a desktop machine for browsing as well.

If they are happy using Firefox or Opera, then a basic linux setup would be more than adequate - Ubuntu is the current flavour of the month, but Linux Mint is supposed to be quite easy to install and would be a good platform for either browser and an e mail client. And you could then skip the AV! (But do make sure they shut it down properly! )

[aidanjt]

Overkill, if it's just for browsing: http://www.scan.ie/Products/Asrock-N...320GB-HDD-HDMI

Hard to beat as a complete system for £255. Just add an OS (compatable with Ubuntu), a monitor, and keyboard and mouse. Again, if it's just for browsing, £55 is wasted money.

[Aston]

That ASROCK ION is a nice looking thing but I do have a new PSU and I was also looking forward to building a PC

Firefox! when Internet Explorer just changes from IE6 to IE7 or to IE8 it totally confuses them for some reason I was looking at Firefox themes to try and make it look like Internet Explorer

Something else I just thought about, the old computer has a wireless PCI card, manual (dated 2005) says PCI version 2.2 - is that compatable with the latest PCI? wikipedia says latest PCI is v3.0, I seem to remember you could do damage plugging some older version cards into newer slots

[aidanjt]

It has no PCI slots, it's pretty much a self-contained system (although you can drop in new ram, laptop hdds, and laptop-style optical drives). You should be able to pick up a USB wlan stick for about £14 if you need it.

[watercooled]

TBH I think you would be better off spending a similar amount of money on a 5050e based system - the Atom isn't know for being fast!

[aidanjt]

Oh yeah, may as well get a Core i7 975 while you're at it, you know, in case your tubes get clogged up or something.

[watercooled]

Been watching the Which advert then?
No, I didn't mean it like that I just mean for the same amount of money he could build a much snappier system based around a 5050e...
Would there be much of a performance boost from the 1800 he already has??

Excluding the case/PSU, a 5050e based system can be had for £150ish and you could pick up a good PSU for £30ish http://www.ebuyer.com/product/166784 and any cheap case you can find. Total would be less than the Atom...