DECENT sub-$300 PCs are a reality

[Mercutio]

Well, my employer has asked me to work a miracle again.

Every year we run a class for disadvantaged kids to come in and learn about computers. This year the kids in question are building and keeping new PCs.
Given that this hardware has to fit inside a tiny budget for a much larger class, the computer have to be as cheap as possible.

At the same time, I have to live with whatever we give them. That means no $20 chassis and no for-crap ECS motherboards.

This is what I ended up with:

Sempron 2500
512MB PC3200 Rosewill RAM
LiteOn 52x CD Burner
Samsung 40GB hard disk
MSI KM4AM-V (KM400 chipset)
Nice, well constructed Foxconn case with a real 350W PSU
Floppy, Keyboard, Mouse, Cheapie Speakers

My total is $301, including the shipping and taxes.
If I went with PC2700 RAM, it'd be $297. If I went with an 80GB drive, I'd be at $311.

Thankfully the Windows licenses are being donated in this case, but just for hardware I'm thinking that is a hell of a machine for $300. I don't think there's any one of us - even performance fiends like ddrueding - who would really be upset if we had to sit in front of a PC like that, and I know that for some of the folks here a system like that would be a significant upgrade.

 

[mubs]

I know that for some of the folks here a system like that would be a significant upgrade.

Certainly! Can you please mention the case brand/model and vendor? Thanks.

 

[Mercutio]

It's a Foxconn TLA776.
I found them locally for $43 but Newegg has them for around $50.

 

[Mercutio]

Saying something nice about a vomit box

One of my coworkers just bought a Gateway laptop, some kind of low-end P4.

She asked me to load it with the software we use on our classroom PCs.

So I did: I installed XP Pro and Office 2003 and all the other stuff we use, then downloaded and installed all the drivers off Gateway's web site.

Which, oddly, didn't include the video driver.
... which is some kind of ATI Mobility something or other - ATI says to get those from the notebook manufacturer.

Since it wasn't on the web and it wasn't on their FTP site, I called the Gateway support number.

And here is the nice thing: After two steps in the phone tree, a human being - a guy named Jack, from someplace I'd never heard of in South Dakota - answered my call. My hold time? Under 15 seconds. After a quick explanation as to why I needed the driver, he went to work.
In under two minutes, he located the proper driver, apologized for it not being online, and emailed it to me.

Total time on the phone was maybe five minutes.

An hour later, there's my driver, on their web site. It's properly listed with all the other system components.

Now, recently I've been paid by people who nominally have free support for Dell and Sony. PAID. As in, it was work to get anything useful out of those 'em. You deal with funny accents and support rules that basically discourage support. Try telling Dell you reloaded their laptop, and see how much help they'll give you. Go on, try it.

It's sad when good service is so remarkable but on the other hand, it's good service, and it's remarkable.

 

[Mercutio]

Well, I meant that to be a new post. Oh well. Y'all will read it anyway.

 

[Buck]

It's a Foxconn TLA776.
I found them locally for $43 but Newegg has them for around $50.

The Apex 100G2 case has worked well for me as an inexpensive but competent enclosure. It comes with a 300w Allied PSU and sells for around $40.00.

 

[mubs]

Thanks Mercutio & Buck.

It's also good to know that quality support is still alive and well.

 

[Mercutio]

I'm kind of leery of those Allied PSUs. Anything that's that light can't possibly be that good as a PSU. Are you having good luck with 'em?

The Foxconn case is at least cosmetically similar to some recent Compaq enclosures. It's solid steel (OK, maybe not that similar to Compaq after all...) with a nice plastic baffle for the CPU fan area. It's reasonably quiet. The power supply is a brand I've never heard of, but it's got a nice heft to it, so it's not just empty space. It's even modestly stylish.

 

[Buck]

I'm kind of leery of those Allied PSUs. Anything that's that light can't possibly be that good as a PSU. Are you having good luck with 'em?

I haven't had any problems with the 250w or 300w units. In the past, I've even used them as replacement PSUs. The only Allied PSU that gave me a problem was with a recent customer that had electrical problems. It killed her PSU, motherboard, and video card. She's the one that prompted me to ask about UPS systems. Her neighborhood has frequent brown-outs and occasional blackouts (South Laguna). Of course the loss of power isn't normally the killer, it's the spike that comes afterward. The last one that damaged her PC didn't damage the separate FAX machine, but it scrambled the display until it was powered off and turned back on. She's pretty happy with the UPS, within the past couple weeks, the power and sagged a few times, and her machine just kept on running. The BE725BB works well, and gives her roughly 60 minutes of up time, which is normally much longer then the power fluctuation.

 

[Will Rickards]

We should have an editable or sticky thread in toolbox with a budget box and put this information there.

 

[Will Rickards]

And oh my god that support was unbelievable.
Makes me think people at Gateway actually want to go to work.
Which makes you wonder why dell is winning?

 

[Buck]

Sounds like a good idea.

 

[iGary]

We should have an editable or sticky thread in toolbox with a budget box and put this information there.

The "For Sale" section would be better, since this is a matter of economics.

And oh my god that support was unbelievable. Makes me think people at Gateway actually want to go to work. Which makes you wonder why dell is winning?

All I know is that every month for the past 3 or 4 years -- relentlessly -- Dell's market share has expanded and Gateway's has contracted (and HP's has oscillated up and down with Dell's position as an upper peak point).

 

[ddrueding]

Indeed, that is quite a respectable box for the price. Throw in a decent video card and a 19" CRT and you have a basic gaming rig for under $500. Wow.

 

[Mercutio]

Or use a 17" and a 128MB 9550Pro and a have a decent $400 game machine.

Although, to be honest, I think game machines really do need a full 1GB of RAM. The big MMOs (WoW, EQ2, MxO and COH) all do much better, and so do the big-name shooters.

So, OK, a 17" CRT, a 9550 Pro, an extra 512MB RAM and a set of upgraded Logitech 2.1 speakers. There's a good $500 game machine.

 

[Handruin]

We should have an editable or sticky thread in toolbox with a budget box and put this information there.

Added to the list of improvements. Sub-topics...coming soon to a theater near you.

 

[Santilli]

Or use a 17" and a 128MB 9550Pro and a have a decent $400 game machine.

Although, to be honest, I think game machines really do need a full 1GB of RAM. The big MMOs (WoW, EQ2, MxO and COH) all do much better, and so do the big-name shooters.

So, OK, a 17" CRT, a 9550 Pro, an extra 512MB RAM and a set of upgraded Logitech 2.1 speakers. There's a good $500 game machine.

I buy a lot of 19" Sony flats for 80 bucks around here. Bought from
dead companies...
s

 

[blakerwry]

I'd be more inclined to go with a bit slower CPU if it would give me crucial or Kingston RAM.

BTW, what software are you going to load on these things(OS, office, etc)?