Building a computer for a girl

[Dreaming]

For £400. Well, possibly £500. But the extra £100 would go towards an OS, she's interested in Vista.

Wants to play some games, but not majorly intensive (thinking roller coaster tycoon 3 and so, which runs maxed out with a 9800pro) so I was thinking something like the X1300 or X1600 would suit her to keep costs down? She also wants uATX form factor.

I found a nice uATX motherboard on Scan:
http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=434319

Just £30, can take a Athlon64 processor. Might not be dual core but for word processing etc. I doubt she'll have any problems, it's not like she does any number crunching.

Which I could load up with an inexpensive £50 1GB DDR 333 - then in the future she's got space to stick in another stick if she finds the computer is running a bit slow.

So that's approx:

£30 Asus A8V-VM-SE VIA K8M890 motherboard http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=434319
£50 AMD Athlon 64 3800+ processor http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=119283
£50 1Gb Corsair Value Select DDR PC2700 memory http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=217958
£50 256Mb Sapphire Radeon X1600Pro graphics card http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=347688
£50 250 Gb HGST (IBM/Hitachi) 0A31636 Deskstar T7K250 HDD http://www.scan.co.uk/Products/Produ...oductID=226863
£115 HannGs HU196D 19" Monitor http://www.ebuyer.com/UK/product/117211
£20 random DVD-RW dual layer, tonnes about
_____
£365

Which I think is an ok set up. But now the case, and running slightly short of change. A nice looking uATX case for a girl who likes things looking nice and modern. Really, that's why we need apple cases but if anyone has a good idea for one then go ahead. Loads of the ones I've seen are just basic boxes, possibly with a side panel, but she doesn't really go for that. She'll probably plaster it in stickers anyway...

Are there any 'cute' cases out there? Just because I love computers (and her ) I wouldn't be too fussed about setting it up as a quiet PC. But she wants something portable for uni, doesn't take up a lot of space, and most importantly, looks good.

I think my Antec P180 looks gorgeous, but she goes for something a bit diddier and cuter. Any ideas? USB port on the front would be great as then she can plug her iPod in without having to fiddle about with wires.

[Steve B]

have you considered an asus pundit?

[Dreaming]

have you considered an asus pundit?

No, just having a look, doesn't seem to bad.

Just found the enermax CS-10068 VENUS which doesn't look too bad either. Even the name is kinda girly. I bet she could cover it with a thousand stickers of me to you bears or whatever

[Dreaming]

also: you would be better off with PC3200 RAM not 2700. it should be near enough the same price...
could you stretch to a shuttle? i wouldnt call them particularly girly but small = cute right?

You're right about the RAM, cheers.

As for the shuttles, haven't really looked at them, will do now.

[MadduckUK]

well after a brief search aria are doing a socket AM2 one for £135. ddr2 is vaguely the same price as ddr now, not sure about AM2 proccys in relation to 939's tho. id probably go for that if its similar

[joshwa]

Building a computer for a girl

... you don't wanna do that! you wanna do this...

[adam1701]

£115 HannGs HU196D 19" Monitor

we have the 15" monitor of this at school, it is utter rubbish!

[Dreaming]

I have a 19" widescreen hanns-g monitor and it's fine for my purposes... Has DVI etc. The only complaints I have is a) no height adjustment and b) the build quality on the buttons isn't anything like a samsung

[kalniel]

I built my GF a SFF computer using the aspire X-pack and core 2 duo on the ASrock 945conroe DVI motherboard. We got the lucoms 17" monitor that scan do for about 95 and I have to say it's blooming good.

The X-pack isn't super small like shuttles, but it's still SFF and glows blue which apparently makes all the difference *ducks*

[chrestomanci]

You might consider the SilverStone 'SUGO' case. It is very pretty, though not cheap, especially once you factor in the cost of a PSU. (one is not included). I have one in Silver, though I think the blank is nicer.

Inside the case is much more spacious than most uATX cases. I have measured it, and I reckon an 8800 GTS would fit if the lady decides to get more into gaming.

BTW, you should ignore the advice on Silverstone's website about using one of their ST06 coolers. I tried to, and it does not work. I ended getting much better performance from a stock cooler.

[Dreaming]

She approves of the enermax!

I wonder why there isn't a bigger choice for pony lovers out there , most cases are, as she put it so eloquently, 'boring and plain'. I love my p180, but it is plain if you think about it. Sexy though!

[Blitzen]

AS long as there is lots of pink stuff and mirror dotted around you should be OK.

[amjedm]

Scan have a 19" Widescreen Daewoo for £118 on Today Only. Why not consider that?

[MadduckUK]

The X-pack isn't super small like shuttles, but it's still SFF

barely, its like a mini tower thats been squashed... i mean im appreaciating the extra cooling you get over a shuttle but its a different league really

[prehensile]

I know it's a bit of a geek topic, so here you go-

10 function USB vibrator
http://www.condomcountry.com.au/item...usb-kit-10func

[chis]

Really, that's why we need apple cases

Whether this is helpful to you or not, it's a real shame Scan don't stock this beauty:
http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/s....html?NOV-CAG5