Hi,
I need a PC for my study.I study programming.There are subjects such as data structure,operation system,windows programming,artificial intelligence,etc.Cost is from $450 to $600.How should I choose components of my new computer?256MB or just 128MB Ram?DDRam or SDRam?Which CPU processor(how much GHz)?And which kind of HDD and mainboard?

600 bucks well your limited on new ones, maybe used, I would say get a computer with a motherboard that supports ddr sdramn and fill it with 512mb of ram. Get maybe a 2 ghz processor, intel would be the best to go for, a 128 mb graphics card to. And a dvd rom/cd-rw drive or a dvd-rw with cd-rw capability's, what do you want, laptop or desktop.

Hi,
I would go with 512 RAM. Whatever you do, don't settle for just 128 RAM.
The AMD processors are very good, but that's a matter of personal opinions and choices.
Why don't you call 2 or 3 of the top computer companies, talk with a representative, and see what they suggest. Dell, Gateway, and Compaq all have good sales representatives, and can build one for you; giving you the cost involved, without being obligated to buy. Then, call back the company that gives you the best cost with the most equipment.
Best wishes,
fredg

Oh yeah, reason why I say intel, amd and intel are basically they have no difference but in price, if you go amd don't get a sempron, if you go intel a celeron the newest ones are pretty good. Intels cheaper though. I've seen budget pc's that use a sempron and then one that use a celeron be the same price, the celeron having more goodies with it and the celeron being almost 3 ghz and the sempron being I believe 1.5 and they are slow...

I agree with Briggs, you are a limited with your price range especially if you want that to include a monitor. If you are just looking for a tower, you are probably restricted to a low end Pentium IV or a high end Celeron. I agree that the Sempron is not a great choice, but you can't compare clock speeds on these models alone. There are other factors involved.

Frankly if you could extend your price range to around $800 you can get an AMD 64 which would be better for writing and testing programs.

256M is entry level for a Win XP machine. I would not go less then 512M and for program debugging I would want 1G.

Yep, I especially for right now am using a high end celeron, 2.93ghz, and believe me its pretty good. Though amd right now is little better but intel is much cheaper. But see with me I bought the cheap one because I could get a bigger 3.0 ghz processor with ht tech cheaper then having them add it. :D

Check out Newegg.com for some great prices. I know everyone here is leaning towards intel. If you are truly on a budget I wouldn't worry so much about processor brand. Esp with programming. Here is what I recommend; get one of these cheap combos. They come with everything on them. You can get your system down to $500 with a 17" flat panel if you push it. I've compared the specs with dell's $500 system and you get half the machine with dell. (Dell will give you a better motherboard/processor, but all the other specs are lousy, and by the time you upgrade the rest it costs you a lot more)

BIOSTAR Socket 478 Chipset Motherboard With Onboard Intel Celeron 1.8Ghz and CPU Cooler, Model "U8668 D-COMBO7" -RETAIL - $87

or

BIOSTAR KM266 Pro Chipset Motherboard With Onboard AMD Sempron 2200+ CPU kit, Model "M7VIG400-COMBO" -RETAIL -$90

They both come with video, sound, and network. They also have an AGP slot if you want to upgrade later.

Ram should cost you about $35 for 256MB. Get two of these for $70

Hard Drives can be had for $40 for 80 gb if you find the right deals. I recommend comp-usa if you have one.

Spend only $30 on a case and make sure it includes a PSU

Its $35 for a DVD/CDRW combo drive.

Keyboard/Mouse/Speakers can be had for $7 each

I am a programmer and I will say the feature that matters the most is the RAM (512MB minimum). The next best feature is the screen you have to stare at all day. On the weekends I build systems for people. I usually don't encourage my customers to buy these all-in-one motherboards unless they are on a really tight budget. You will have tons of skeptics here about the use of these motherboards. But you ARE on a budget. And the systems I've built with these types of motherboards actually turn out very nice. (I expect more problems with these motherboards than I have actually had).

Gl

Yeah they do turn out nice, me I bought a hp pavilion, regular 500 buck deal with a great motherboard with loads of expansion slots, sweet cpu, dvdrom/cdrw drive and a all in one memory card reader and a 40 gig 5200rpm drive, not much money left to slap in a lot of ram and a graphics card and a 160 gig drive, maybe a extra 200 if I get them right.