Cheap desktop recommendation(s)
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Hey, I'm looking for a cheap desktop computer, the only use for it would be programming, internet surfing, and chatting.
The range i'm looking to spend is around 300-400 USD. It's not going to be playing games, or anything requiring high preformence, just has to be able to handle text editors/IDEs, and a basic browser. A large HDD would be a plus (around 250 gigs)
Also, if there's any well know American retailers you can pull such a computer up on that would also be a plus, as I don't really like internet shopping.
If needed I could always try to put one together with old parts from a local computer store. (so recommend cheap parts as a backup!).
Also I want it to run windows XP and or Vista (Don't screw this thread up with linux vs. windows vs. mac junk)
Buy some cheap bits and build your own. Can't help you with PC dealers but I'm sure they must exist in USA - I always recommend
http://www.cclonline.com to anybody in the UK.
If I had to build my own entry-level PC tomorrow, I know I could do it for under £100. Hard drive aside, I'd have no reservations in using second hand parts for a PC like this if I wanted to get the cost down further. Plus I have a cupboard full of spare parts I can use.
Thanks GFK, that may be the route I go. I've fixed my computers and have a basic knowlege of what lives inside of them, but unfortunately I've never actually built one. So this may be my opertunity.
When you say you could do it for about 100 Euros (about 150-160 USD) is that buying all the parts? Or using some parts you've collected. Because if I can do it for 160 USD, thats quite cheap. What annoys me is there isn't very many 'cheapy' desktops out there in retail. So I may have to build it my self depending on how much parts cost at my local computers stores.
Have you taken a look at Dell's website. They have pretty good systems starting at $299.
If you prefer to build your own check out
Newegg.com, I think you'll find cheaper prices than your local computer stores.
Well, £100 is in Pounds Sterling. We're one of the few European countries who haven't adopted the Euro as our currency. £100 is pretty much $200 at the moment.
I haven't priced any of this, but I wouldn't think I'd have any problems getting a motherboard with shared graphics, a processor of undetermined speed and 1GB of RAM for much more than £70. Probably £15-£20 for a basic case with a PSU, £5-£10 for a DVD-ROM drive.
Obviously a monitor might not be cheap depending on what your preference is - a few months back I got a 21" CRT monitor off eBay for £10 which I now use as my main monitor on my dev PC.
Have you considered getting a used system. Computers go down in price very fast, so you can often get a box that's just a few years old at a bargain.
£100 is pretty much $200 at the moment.
Unless you're buying a new graphics card, in which case £100 is pretty much $100.
Here is a quick pick from that Newegg link above:
$100 , Shuttle barebone,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856101064$ 23 , Asus CPU heatsing,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835101016R$ 36 , 2GB memory,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820159013$ 55 , Intel Celeron 2.0ghz cpu,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116038$ 65 , Seagate 250GB hdd,
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148300------
$279
It can probably be done better, but just goes to show, that its easy enough to get something going for less than $300, and this is even a halfway decent looking case.
cool, again, i'm not looking for a new computer, I don't need new parts either, as long as they work together (and can run win XP)
I think i'll swing by some of the local computer stores and check some prices
It can probably be done better, but just goes to show, that its easy enough to get something going for less than $300, and this is even a halfway decent looking case.
Of course, you'll also need an OS which in the case of Windows adds at least another $90 or so for an OEM version of Vista home Basic, bumping it up to $369 total... Plus shipping for all the individual components.
Nowadays building your own is pretty much always more expensive than buying pre-build, thanks to the volume discounts by the OEM's. for example, for $349 you can buy a Dell Inspiron 530, with the same specs as Zawran's list,
plus Vista Home Basic, a 16x DVD-RW drive, Keyboard, optical mouse, MS Works 9.0, and one year 24/7 telephone support and in-home warranty service.
Shipping is $29.99, which is probably cheaper than ordering all the parts seperately elsewhere.
Now, I'm not saying that you should get a Dell or any other brand, just that price-wise, building your own isn't always going to make it cheaper than buying a pre-build machine, especially if you also need the operating system itself...
From a warranty point of view building a pre-build can also be easier: it's a single solution, and if it doesn't work they can't really blame someone else if it doesn't work... None of those "the memory isn't 100% reliable in motherboard -x-" kind of issues.
the big advantage of shopping for seperate components is that you can get exactly what you want, e.g. a specific brand or size of harddrive... But from a purely economical point of view pre-built tends to beat home-built these days.
if all you want is a cheap entry level PC go into your nearest big super market and pick-up whatever cheap PC they have. Then if it brakes at least you have a shop you can take it back to.
One of these. Depending largely on how important it is that it absolutely has to run Windows and BlitzMAX. Oh and whether you think it's a scam. Obviously.
BoomBoom, thats the thing, some of my local supermarkets (costco, walmart, target, ect...) only carry computers from 800-2000$, although to be fair, I haven't checked walmart.
I still think it'd be fun to build one, just to say I can. :)
Today hopefully(If I have time) I'll head to the local computer store and see what kind of cheap/outdated/used parts I can find.
I'd get a nforce mobo, they seem to have been bullet proof for me these past 10 years. and just by whichever cpu, ram and graphics card you need. Should be able to get a pretty decent gaming rig that will play modern games with no problem for about $600 so long as your not running them at super high res.
hmm, priced a reasonable computer, at 327$ [NO OPERATING SYSTEM]
Intel Celeron 1.7GHZ
ATX motherboard (cant remember exact specs)
ATX case
450w PS
CD/DVD drive
160gig HDD
1gig of RAM(might be 2 cant remember)
Onboard GFX card/Sound card
cheapy Monitor/Keyboard/mouse
The processer seems kinda slow (wanted your guys opinion) overall seems slightly overpriced, dunno, what do you think?
Also a buddy has a computer I want to look at(has XP installed), maybe just upgrade some parts on that and call it good. (hes only wants 40$ for it and he'll throw in a keyboard/monitor/mouse)
Really poor configuration for that price.
Straight from NCIX.com without looking at the weekly specials:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4600+ Dual Core Processor Socket AM2 Windsor F3 2.4GHZ 2X512KB 65W 90NM Retail Box $80.53
ASUS M2N-MX SE Plus mATX AM2+ GE6100-NF430 1PCI-E16 2PCI SATA2 RAID Video Sound LAN Motherboard $59.99
OCZ Gold XTC PC2-6400 2GB 2X1GB DDR2-800 CL5-5-5-15 240PIN DIMM Dual Channel Memory Kit $37.99
Xion XION2-SL Silver ATX Mid Tower Case 4X5.25 2X3.5 5X3.5INT 2X120MM Fans 450W W/ LED Fans & Window $56.82
LG G-H20NS10 Black DVD+RW 20X8X16 DVD-RW 20X6X16 INT SATA OEM DVD Writer $29.67
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 250GB SATA2 8.5MS 7200RPM 16MB Cache Hard Drive OEM 5YR MFR Warranty $57.72
That's roughly 325$, no OS, no Monitor/Keyboard/Mouse tho.
However, I wouldn't settle for a single core 1.7GHz Celeron.
I'm not an AMD fan, but they got the prices right when it comes for cheap desktops. I wouldn't settle for less than 2GB RAM also, and it's not a big gap going from 1GB to 2GB (~25$ to ~37$).
Check out Dell's outlet site where they sell refurb machines with warranties.
www.delloutlet.com
Heres a site that shows price ranges from all kinds of stores, including the overrated newegg/tigerdirect.
http://resellerratings.comI've found price ranges vary from 150$ to 750$ on here for the same product; the site can come in handy.
How hard is it to transplant a older computer to a better case,
My friend has:
a intel P3 processer, of unknown speeds, we estimate about 1.6-2.0ghz
a decent motherboard
some wierd voodoo(never heard of it) gfx card
some odd ball sound card
a floppy/cd drive, also some usb ports
little less then half a gig of RAM
monitor/mouse/keyboard
a few HDD's like 2-3(they're all like 15-30gigs ea)
win xp installed
a warped case that is missing some drive slots (cd drive/floppy drive are outside the case)
he only wants 40USD, which seems like a bargain, it has some useful parts.
what do you think?
How hard is it to transplant a older computer to a better case,
It really depends on the computer, and the case. If it's a name-brand system like a Dell, HP/Compaq, etc. then it gets pretty hard with old hardware since they tend to use non-standard form factors which don't tend to fit in a 'normal' whitebox computer case, plus they often have odd-sized power supplies which may not fit in your new case.
a intel P3 processer, of unknown speeds, we estimate about 1.6-2.0ghz
The Pentium III ranged from 450 MHz to 1.4GHz, there are no models in the 1.6-2.0 GHz range. So.. either it's slower, or it might be a P4.
Since it's running XP, just right-click on 'My Computer' and click 'properties', that will show you the speed in MHz.
some wierd voodoo(never heard of it) gfx card
3dfx Voodoo was pretty much the pioneer in 3D accelerated cards for gaming. Ancient history at this point, and *much* slower than anything that's out these days. The top of the line Voodoo 5 has 64MB RAM (32MB per GPU), and is a DirectX 6 card. They were pretty pricey when they were new, and most of the Voodoo's out there are older/slower models. The Voodoo 3 had 16MB of RAM. While not impossible to use with something like BlitzMax, you'll definitely be running into the limitations of such a video card.
Is it worth it? Hard to say, it really depends on what you intend to do with it. It sure is cheap, and might do just fine for you... But it's definitely not a powerhouse. Let's just say: You get what you pay for. :-)
Well i'm not using the computer itself, rather parts from it... my question is, is the part value worth >=40$?
buy some cheap tosh off of ebay and be done with it. Why do you need all that power to play PC games?
Why do you need all that power to play PC games?
Because alot of PC games need power.
its not a gaming machine, I'm having fun to see how cheap I can get a decent one, by buying junkers from friends ect... Then combine to get what I need.
I'm going to buy my friends machine, but before I do here's a question:
Can I put a better processer on the motherboard? We found out its only a p3 500mhz. And is it that hard to do?
You need to check what the motherboard supports. However, my laptop P3 CPU had a really odd socket which you had to prise open with a screwdriver. Only it was made of plastic so the whole thing breaks very easily.
Assuming you don't have one of those, its a simple enough job. Remove CPU fan connector, remove heatsink and clean thermal paste off with TIMclean or similar, open socket, remove CPU (maybe clean this too), insert new CPU, close socket, add a dot of thermal paste in centre of CPU and spread it evenly on the metal bit, refit heatsink, reconnect CPU fan - done.
Even in the best scenario I wouldn't think you're going to be able to get it much higher than about 1GHz.
Can I put a better processer on the motherboard? We found out its only a p3 500mhz. And is it that hard to do?
Most motherboard support a small range of different CPU's, but it's probably not worth it -- you're almost certainly limited to another P3 CPU, and many motherboards that support the slow models of a specific CPU won't necessarily support the high-end versions as well.
Furthermore, unless the motherboard in question supports a 1GHz P3 or faster, your probably not even going to notice the speed difference much by upgrading... But it's impossible to tell without knowing the exact make and model of the motherboar din question.
(You can run the freeware utility CPU-Z which will tell you the motherboard manufacturer and model number. You can use that info to go to the manufacturer's website, and hope that they still have the manual up for download. In there you should be able to find which CPU models it supports.
Of course, very few places actually sell a pentium 3 CPU these days...
cool, is there an easy way to find out what CPUs the motherboard can support? like from bios or something?
No - you'd need the motherboard manual. Most manufacturers have manuals available for download but if you can't find it, try googling. Chances are somebody else has been in the exact same position before.
The best place to look for pricing and configurations is at
http://www.pricewatch.com/For online pricing in the US this the best place to start looking.
For retail, you should probably be looking as Best Buy or Fry's (depending on where you live). I would never recommend WalMart or Target, because if anything goes wrong both store's won't have the tech staff needed to evaluate any disputes/problems that may arise.
If you want a barebones system, definitely buy pre-built (all components assembled and tested). You can save a few $'s putting something together yourself, but if one thing goes wrong, good luck in trying to get a supplier of your components to take responsibility for a faulty unit.
nice one!
Question:
Is there an easy way to find out what motherboard you have on you're computer (specs/socket type, ect..)
I want to double check my friends motherboard specs to make sure the CPU is upgradable....
Yes. Take the side off and have a look. You should at least get the make/model number - enough to feed to google.
Or try downloading AIDA32.
The AIDA thing is just what I'm looking for... Thanks!
The PC you are thinking of buying is old, slow and not cheaply upgraded.
In order to upgrade it, to the fastest P3 you would need a tualatin adapter and a celeron 1400, and that's if your mainboard can run at 100MHz FSB. The price of that upgrade would be $300-$400 alone, IF you can find a tualatin adapter that works with your BIOS(big if).
Instead of this, I would look for something cheap using a LGA775 socket and probably an intel E1200celeron. It will be cheap and upgradeable.
Is there an easy way to find out what motherboard you have on you're computer (specs/socket type, ect..)
To repeat part of my earlier post:
You can run the freeware utility CPU-Z which will tell you the motherboard manufacturer and model number.
you can download it here:
http://www.cpuid.com/cpuz.phpIt'll tell you the motherboard manufacturer, model, revision, socket type, CPU info, bus speed, graphics card bus type and speed, and even the type, serial and speeds of all your individual memory modules.