building a used system

[sharelove]

Hi all,
I used to build pc's a while ago. Things have changed a lot and I realize that I'm probably better off coming here with a couple of questions....for all you builder geeks

Here's what I want to accomplish:
Through ebay or other used vendors, I want to put together a system for some gaming (not the latest stuff) and intenet - kids pc.
So in the fast paced world of pc parts, what would be my most cost effective and cheapest way to build one up from scratch?
Looking to spend very little -100$ or so
All builds welcomed!
Here's some of what I've seen on ebay - my problem is knowing what all I'll need for a particular build say an AMD 64 socket 754?? I don't know, you guys suggest - I'm listening
Thanks for your patience!
Pierce

[Cobracon]

Right off the bat, you need to find out what the system requirements are for the games you plan to run. Those facts will dictate what parts and pieces you need to purchase.

I'm no expert, but I'd say your '$100 or so' target cost is out of the question.

[Chiefish]

Yes i would agree it will take at least a few hundred to get started.

[Fred Jodry]

Pierce, building a system from matched parts of your idea and
someone else`s can cost thousands of dollars if you buy
everything. Also buying parts off e-bay means that next to
all of the vendors think that you are MADE of money and
they`ll refuse to sell things to you or anyone for less than
price, Yeaouwtch! The best way to get the parts cheap is to get
so many types and numbers of them, free and then dig with
a brain from there, on. Also, it sometimes helps to build a
computer from as few parts as sensibly possible.
Unfortunately, right here right now, there`s a designing
snag. If you go straight through this snag without seeing it,
you`ll often find yourself asking the big question, Ïs this
what I was aiming for?'. Quite in contrary with the few-
as- possible theory, is the term, "Pro- Board", (professional
board). A "Pro- Board", is a mainboard without a built- in
video card running hot, usually right inside the big
interface chip. Also, the Pro- Board definition can mean that
there`s no built- in sound chip, although sound chips are
less likely to dissipate excessive heat or burn out than video
cards. Also, sensibly, but not as easily found out without
listenning to other people`s stories, a Pro-Board`s definition
should stand for one that doesn`t have a cmos setup bios
chip with instructions or foolish narrow design to exclude
Operating Systems other than the one shouted on the box.
If one gets a Pro- Board and wants to change Operating
Systems or even trade out a sound or video card that
didn`t work as planned or feature a missing, rare, or
defective (such as, intermittent) driver, the previous
becomes the previous, a new card goes into the slot.
Let`s jump to something else. Do you already have the
case and screws? A new one`s usually maybe $100.
If the case you only have is of the IBM clone/ AT variety,
the only fast mainboards available for it are the two
mainboards that share the "ALi 725 BX-CEL" name
labeled in the bios printout as you boot it or sometimes
extremely feebly labeled on the main interface chip`s
heatsink or a small paper label, or the mainboards that
handle AMD K6-2 CPUs and simultaneously have a
memory bus frequency of at least 83 MHz or preferrably
100 MHz (or overclocked more). My ALi 725 runs a
Pentium 2 350 or 400 MHz with a 100 MHz bus to
make the data crunch through only 4% slower than my
also well running Pentium 4 1.5 GHz with a 133 MHz
SDRam (100 MHz CPU, apparently, 133 MHz, host).
I can`t explain it, the 725 must be well tuned within an
inch of it`s life. The AMD K6-2`s as above run around
the same speed as Pentium 2`s and sometimes Pentium
3`s one generally finds, for plain half the electricity.
This can be less noisy heatsinks and fans. Not all that
fast for games.
ATX and mini ATX cases fit almost all other computers.
One trouble with non- pro boards, is that often if one, say,
turns off the internal video card manually or automatically
in the bios, and sticks in a new video card in a slot,
one often finds the video/ interface chip on the board
still red hot and dying to blow out and ruin the board
with it. Sometimes one finds an internal video card
that`s so small and cool, (examples, my Intel 810
chipped 4 MB Pentium 2 and my Hewlett Packard
8 MB Pentium 4 (= Microstar 6577? mainboard) ) that
this isn`t much of a threat. Sometimes one finds
manual jumpers that turn off the internal cards for
the real, cool job, that and no conflicts; the software
drivers don`t suddenly go intermittent or changed and
leave you with "black post"(no video) or no sound, or
video or sound uselessly outputting out of terminals
you`re not plugged into at the time. Always try to find
a mainboard that depends on fast memory instead of
a fast CPU core to make the juice you need. Everybody
else`s posts above this one however, are way ahead of
me in specifics not theory of what will satisfy you at the
moment so, I`ll nudge at catching up. Almost any
better processor from a better Pentium 3 ..... = 370
pins or a type 1? slot for it`s socket or any Athlon at all
....= 462 pins in it`s socket, combined with better
Rambus .....= PC800, or better DDR memory,
(can be maybe PC2100 or can need to be much better,
this is a sticky research one), both types = 184 pins
or more in their slots, combined with not all that much
more than a good hookup to a good hard drive, and
the plain right amount of memory is almost anything a
mainboard needs to grind pretty hot games or
compute worlds faster than a hookup to the internet.
As people say, more than this might not hurt.
The Human element: (You say to a friend)-
"Gee, my Pentium 3 800 and my Athlon 1200B and
my Pentium 4 one- point- eight, they`ve been such
good buddies to me, I just ought to give them away".
He says,-
"Those old things? As long as you`re getting the
practice of giving them away, would you give away
all 5 of mine"?
Hint, you didn`t necessarily have those things. After
lunch he puts his fist of five in your paw, next week,
a twin prop helicopter neatly unhitches another crate
of kindly donated processors and more into your
backyard next to all the others; and the model
trains half of your cellar is panelled in identical red
blown Athlon mainboards; walls and ceiling, fortunately
not the floor, and the good ones are now in cases
with only a couple of software programs and an
OS in each. This happens to antique car enthusiasts
a lot. Try to give away your old car crank.
A 10 year old saying of mine for general computing,
not specific enough for games, that still sways true,
is that a PC2 with a trackball beats a Pentium with a
regular mouse, anyday.
For games if they require a joystick, start your look
directly at the KRAFT company with their mustard
color painted little joysticks for model aircraft users and
look away either away from that model or away from
their company if your whim wishes something else,
it`s just the perfect starting place to go.
A found keyboard or monitor often works fine.
If someone or a store gives or sells you cheap, a
nice Operating System in the box, with the manual,
it could be the hinging point, more, sometimes than
the advice above. Likewise, a mainboard`s drivers
software and manual might turn off an installation
nightmare and maybe on different mainboards.
Although middle hundreds of dollars are often needed
to make a humble satisfactory computer, one without
even a scannerprinter, one sometimes only needs
to buy power cords, thumscrews, open air filter fabric,
CPU`s (silicone + zinc oxide), and a peachy mouse, to
finish a found parts kit computer. Happy computing!

[debs3759]

Do you realise you just wrote an essay in reply to a 6 week old message from someone who has only posted the one (and possibly won't see your reply now...)?

[Windmiller]

[Qwerty]

[Cobracon]

That 2 mile long line of *&^%$#@! is a perfect example of why drugs are illegal. The guy must also be a politician, a subgroup of humans that use the most words to say the least.

[debs3759]

That was part of the reason I wrote what I did. I'm a native English speaker (more than that - I am English ), and I had trouble reading it because of the way it is formatted (or not ). The lack of separation between paragraphs, with such short lines that they are not easy to follow, will make it extremely hard for some non-English speakers to understand.

I was also put off by the statement

[Cobracon]

Well, not commenting further on that ridiculous Blurb is probably the right decision. Folks like that are more interested in attracting attention to themselves than actually contributing anything helpful or informative. Just look at the responses he's already received based on a 2,000 word essay in which he said absolutely NOTHING.

As for eBay purchases, I've made plenty but they were CB and Ham radio related. There were 2 instances where I got ripped off, but that's not eBay's fault.

Having said that, consumers have enough problems with faulty NEW computer hardware (thank-you China!!), so buying used stuff is asking for trouble IMHO.

As for being the antagonist, I LIVE for the role!! He can send me all the PMs he wants. The 'Add to Blocked Sender List' function works very well on my email's Inbox.

[Guest]

Cobracon you are a human handbook for signatures... astonishing...
----

If you want to help a few lines should do, an essay is a total waste of time.



@Uk people: get ready to call Camilla "majesty" LOL

[Cobracon]

Let me say Thanks to you AND Her Majesty-to-be.