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"Building A Pair of Computers on a (Tight) Budget"

Basically, my current budget is £0. But hopefully tommorow that'll change, and I'll have an unspecified ammount, probably around £540.

But my general plan is this, two computers, one for work and one for play. (I tend to get distracted.)

Two computers = a (Work), b (Play)

Reuirement for a:
Silent / Very quiet, Intel CPU (HP Tech.), comfortable keyboard and mouse, 200GB HDD.

Requirment for b:
Powerful : Good GPU, good CPU, 1GB+ of RAM, good speakers, large capacity HDD(s).

Components already: ASUS ig7 mobo (2x SATA, 4GB RAM Capacity, Intel), Intel P4 3.2Ghz, Gigabyte Titan mobo (intel), ATi Radeon 9600XT, Creative Live! 5.1 Sound Card, MS Multimedia Keyboard, PB optical mouse, Speakers, 19" monitor, Coolermaster centurion 5, Tagan TG-U01, Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 200GB HD, Hitachi Deskstar 40GB HD (IDE), 2x CD ROM (48x), 1x DVD-RW.

Components for a:
Intel Mobo*,
Intel CPU*,
256 GEIL Value RAM - £19 (+ 256 already, 512 DC)
200GB HD*,
Keyboard + Mouse*,
CD drive*,
VideoSeven H17PS 17" LCD Monitor - £147

Components for b:
MSI K8N Platinum - £88 (Is Diamond version worth it?)
Athlon 63 3500+ - £158
nVidia 6600GT - £143(Worth buying the 6800GT for £60 more?)
GEIL Value 2x512MB - £71 (+ 2x512 already owned)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 160GB - £63
Altec Lansing 2.1 Speakers - £14 (Can pay more, just not sure. Will be listening to music, however may buy Creature 3s at some point.)
MS Natural Multimedia Keyboard - £12
Logitech MX510 - £29
DVD RW*
Monitor*

* = Owned

Total cost of a: £166
Total cost of b: £568

Total cost combined: £734
Over budget by: £200

Which is a bit much. Any help on cutting it down??

But then I'll have a spare Gigabyte Titan Mobo... (£80)

for your cheapo computer get a socket 754 A64. 2800s are really cheap, as are the mobos. Celerons overclocked to 4GHz struggle to keep up with 2.8GHz P4s, so imagine what a 2.4 would be like.

Coin wrote:
> > Basically, all I need for the work computer is something that runs
> word, Firefox and possibly Excel,

Don't get a Celeron, then.

Coin wrote:
> But I'll have 1 PC.

er, I meant then you would have loads to spend on a crappy PC.

gerrid wrote:
> Coin wrote:
> Intel Celeron D 325 - £47 (2.53GHz)
>
> haha you make me weep. A Celeron. Please don't buy a Celeron you
> crazy boy, they're one of, if not the worst processors around.
> But yeah, if you simply MUST have 2 computers, why waste a 3.2Ghz P4
> in a work computer? I still don't see any real reason why you need
> two computers. So far all you've offered is "it would be
> great!" but haven't said why.
>
> Also, "Case, Keyboard, Mouse, PSU - £20" - what?
> £20! be realistic. A keyboard and a mouse alone will cost you
> £20, and a case and PSU that won't die are more like £60.

Meh - new thought was keeping the 3.2 in my play PC, and the rubbish Celeron so I could have a work one.

Basically, all I need for the work computer is something that runs word, Firefox and possibly Excel, so the cheaper the better - cut as many corners as possible.

Also - look at Ebuyer for Case 3-1 bundles. Poor quality? Yes. Good enough? Yes.

Hmm its been 3 hours since the order and it still says,
" Your order has been sent to our warehouse but not yet printed.
If your order remains in this state for several hours there may be an out of stock item delaying your orders progress."
How long does it normally take? I'm hoping it's not out of stock. Also since I wanted next day delivery, it'll have to be processed fairly soonish, no?

Edit: Nvm its been sent :D

How long does it normally take for OCuk to send a confirmation email?/Update their online tracking system?

Edit: Nvm, it's been done...

Coin wrote:
> Intel Celeron D 325 - £47 (2.53GHz)

haha you make me weep. A Celeron. Please don't buy a Celeron you crazy boy, they're one of, if not the worst processors around. But yeah, if you simply MUST have 2 computers, why waste a 3.2Ghz P4 in a work computer? I still don't see any real reason why you need two computers. So far all you've offered is "it would be great!" but haven't said why.

Also, "Case, Keyboard, Mouse, PSU - £20" - what? £20! be realistic. A keyboard and a mouse alone will cost you £20, and a case and PSU that won't die are more like £60.

Just wait 'til the morning...

What the, you seem to be getting crazier as the night goes on.