--
Pete Cresswell

Sorry about the empty post above.

A few years ago, I built an Intel-based XP box for somebody and
it's started giving problems that even the pros they've brought
it to can't pin down.

Since it's used for outside work for a township, they're pretty
sure they can get the township to spring for a replacement PC to
the tune of $500 max.  

I think we're looking for something with full-sized slots and a
desktop case - i.e. no cute form factors.

QuickBooks and MS Office documents are probably the most
demanding use it will see.  

I'm thinking something at or near 3ghz - only bc I know my 1.6
ghz Atom-powered netbook would be too slow for comfort....

Windows XP or Windows 7.

Can anybody suggest something in Asus' lineup?
--
Pete Cresswell

http://www.tomshardware.com/system-configuration-recommendation-51.html

Just as easily, you could build the "budget AMD gamer" and drop the video card.

http://www.tomshardware.com/system-configuration-recommendation-55.html

That motherboard has built in video. The video would be weaker than the
Llano system, but you don't need a lot of video in this case. This is
copied from the Toms site.

Processor       AMD Athlon II X3 450 Rana-based 3.2 GHz CPU                        $78
Motherboard     Biostar A880G+ Socket AM3 Motherboard                              $55
RAM             G.Skill Ripjaws X Series 4 GB DDR3-1333 Kit (2 x 2 GB)             $30
Graphics Card   XFX Radeon HD 6770 1 GB                       <----- dump this    $120
Hard Drive      Western Digital Caviar Blue WD5000AAKS 500 GB 7200 RPM Hard Drive  $50
Case            Rosewill Challenger ATX Mid-Tower                                  $50
Power Supply    Corsair Builder CX500 500W 80 PLUS                                 $60
DVD Burner      Lite-On iHAS124 24x DVD±RW Drive                                   $19

With this chart, you can see the X3 450 is a fair ways up the chart. So
it's a good purchase. The problem with a bulldozer board (A8-3850) is
the motherboard might be a few dollars more.

http://www.cpubenchmark.net/cpu_value_alltime.html

Of the AM3 ones that are still in stock, you could go with a 3.4GHz triple core.  $85
The thing is, these are likely getting close to discontinued, as Bulldozer (A8) takes over.

"AMD Athlon II X3 460 Rana 3.4GHz Socket AM3 95W Triple-Core"  $85
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103936

Now, to find an AM3 motherboard. This is a microATX for $80, without a lot
of bells and whistles. No USB3 for example. Has a selection of video
connectors for the Northbridge video output.

"ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX AMD Motherboard"  $80
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131657

There is at least one 140W processor in the support list, so VCore is probably OK.

http://www.asus.com/Motherboards/AMD_AM3/M4A88TM/#CPUS

(User manual)
http://dlcdnet.asus.com/pub/ASUS/mb/socketAM3/M4A88T-M/E5907_M4A88T-M...

4GB of RAM for $29. I selected sticks with heat spreaders, only so they
could be plugged in a bit easier without hurting your fingers. The low profile
sticks are a little harder to insert. If the RAM defaults to 1600, you can
dial it down to 1333 and keep the other timing.

"Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)" $29
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820104203

The BIOS on the motherboard has a VDimm adjustment, and can be dialed to
1.65V. Normal DDR3 is 1.5V. The adjustment thing adds in increments of
0.15V and starts at 1.2 minimum. (1.2, 1.35, 1.5, 1.65 etc).

Hard drive prices are all over the map (due to flooding in the country
they're manufactured). You can probably do better than this. The SATA 6Gb
also supports operation at 3Gb or 1.5Gb/sec.

Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB 7200 RPM 16MB Cache
SATA 6.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive $85

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822136771

This is the last case I bought. The door is horrible, so I removed it,
leaving the hinge hanging there. The hinge is spring loaded, and it might
be removable as well, leaving that door to rot in the box. I didn't pull
the hinge, because it wasn't absolutely necessary, but even the hinge
turned out to be a pain in the ass (keep bumping into it).

Antec Sonata Proto Black 0.8mm cold rolled steel ATX Mid Tower Computer Case $65
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811129086

And this is the power supply I put in it, a 400W. No power factor correction
and 70% efficiency. Also, units like this do *not* come with A.C. power cords.
Buy the cord separate. (At least, I don't see a cord in the picture.)
This one also has a lot of Molex, so pick up a couple Molex to SATA power
adapter cables.

SPARKLE ATX-400PN-B204 400W ATX 12V 2.2 Power Supply - OEM    $45
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817103013

So my build becomes:

Processor       AMD Athlon II X3 460 Rana 3.4GHz CPU                               $85
Motherboard     ASUS M4A88T-M AM3 AMD 880G HDMI Micro ATX                          $80
RAM             Kingston HyperX Blu 4GB (2 x 2GB) DDR3 1600                        $29
Graphics Card   (motherboard video)
Hard Drive      Western Digital Caviar Blue WD2500AAKX 250GB                       $85
Case            Antec Sonata Proto Black 0.8mm                                     $65
Power Supply    SPARKLE ATX-400PN-B204 400W                                        $45
Power cord      http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812201007    $ 4.50
Molex to SATA   http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812200061    $ 6
DVD Burner      (Some burner)                                                     ~$20
85+80+29+85+65+45+4.50+6+20= $419.50

HTH,
    Paul

Per Paul:

The problem that I have discovered with building a PC for
somebody is that, from that day on, I become totally responsible
for any and all technical issues - not just the PC.... WiFi,
Internet Provider.... you name it.

It's kind of a nice ego trip at first, but can also turn into a
real time sink... and I'm trying to get away from that.
--
Pete Cresswell

That is the board I currently use with a 3.x Ghz Athlon X2.

--g