Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
You have $200 and no stock of parts any additional parts.
Build a worthwhile computer.
Build a worthwhile computer.
Fun Challenge
- Thread starter Mercutio
- Start date
ddrueding
Fixture
Worthwhile is a difficult thing to accomplish for $200.
AMD Sempron 3000+ AM2 - $30
GIGABYTE GA-M61SME-S2 - $54
HITACHI Deskstar 80GB SATA - $40
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB DDR2 667 - $30
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner - $28
Antec NSK 4400 w/380W - $80
$262 - not including tax or shipping, from newegg.
I could save $10 by going to a CD-ROM, but that is still a long way from $200.
AMD Sempron 3000+ AM2 - $30
GIGABYTE GA-M61SME-S2 - $54
HITACHI Deskstar 80GB SATA - $40
CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB DDR2 667 - $30
LITE-ON 16X DVD±R DVD Burner - $28
Antec NSK 4400 w/380W - $80
$262 - not including tax or shipping, from newegg.
I could save $10 by going to a CD-ROM, but that is still a long way from $200.
Sol
Storage is cool
An OLPC machine seems like the simplest solution... I guess you'd need to go second hand for some parts (like monitor) otherwise...
If your just talking about the box then you can build a surprisingly competent machine for that much...
If your just talking about the box then you can build a surprisingly competent machine for that much...
Sol
Storage is cool
You could shave the $60 off by going with a cheaper Foxconn case (300watt, kinda ugly for $27 with some sort of at the checkout rebate deal)... Well almost, you'd get it under $210 doing that and bringing the optical back to a cd burner would get it to near enough $200...
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
You shave the remaining 10$ by lowering the RAM to 512MB. It's ok if you use an ok operating system. Vista isn't an ok operating system. K/X/Ubuntu is ok and free.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Hey! Don't laugh at those Foxconn cases. They're a really good value for the money. Loads better than all the other $25 cases I see inflicted on people.
They have loud PSUs though.
They have loud PSUs though.
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
The really neat combo that I'm looking at is the Pentium D 805 (2x2.66MHz). They're super-cheap and live on a modern platform. You can use them with the currently-available $30 1GBB DDR2 modules.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
You really want to have a heater inside your 200$ crapbox? Athlon 64 3000+ aren't more expensive and they are a better value.
ddrueding
Fixture
Isn't the Pentium D a P4? Hot? Slow (per clock)?
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
They are hot. They are slower per clock than an A64.
There are still two of them.
There are still two of them.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
I haven't pricewatch'd the Pentium D 805, but a quick look at Newegg put it at 59.99$ in OEM without the heatsink. The Athlon 64 X2 3600+ AM2 is also 59.99$ in OEM package. Is there a single task that a Pentium D can perform faster than a 3600+ Athlon X2?
The half-decent motherboards for LGA775 are ~10-15$ more than the half-decent motherboards for AM2.
...Merc, ...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS EVENING?!?
The half-decent motherboards for LGA775 are ~10-15$ more than the half-decent motherboards for AM2.
...Merc, ...WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU THIS EVENING?!?
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
I've seen that 805 for $50 in the retail package this week. Newegg might not have it, but they're around.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Ok, but the 10$ premium for the X2 3600+ is offset by the lower price of the motherboard. GeFarce 6100/MCP405-based motherboards cost less than 60$. GigaByte, ASRock and Biostar make them. Probably MSI too. ECS too, but, well, forget that one.
Chipsets for LGA775 : there's the 945GZ (awful : no PCI-E), the 945G (ok) and the 965G (too expensive). There are some obscur VIA PT-something cheapsets offering both DDR and DDR2 support too, but I don't trust them much. I know ASRock makes many such motherboards. They downgrade the performance of the processor/RAM compared to Intel-based chipsets. There used to be ATI chipsets-based motherboards that were supposedly quite good, but they have pretty much vanished.
So we're left with 945G-based motherboards. They are all more expensive than GeFarce 6100 boards for socket AM2.
I tell ya : screw the Pentium D 805.
Chipsets for LGA775 : there's the 945GZ (awful : no PCI-E), the 945G (ok) and the 965G (too expensive). There are some obscur VIA PT-something cheapsets offering both DDR and DDR2 support too, but I don't trust them much. I know ASRock makes many such motherboards. They downgrade the performance of the processor/RAM compared to Intel-based chipsets. There used to be ATI chipsets-based motherboards that were supposedly quite good, but they have pretty much vanished.
So we're left with 945G-based motherboards. They are all more expensive than GeFarce 6100 boards for socket AM2.
I tell ya : screw the Pentium D 805.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Anyway, with a Pentium D, your system will draw more juice and produce more heat, therefore taxing the very cheap power supply from your 25$ case a lot more than an AM2-based platform would. The reliability of the whole box will certainly be lowered because of this.
I don't think your 25$ case has a rear fan to help the PSU to exhaust the heat produced by the internal components, so you better put low-power parts inside it if you want to avoid a replacement under warranty (and related customer rant).
I don't think your 25$ case has a rear fan to help the PSU to exhaust the heat produced by the internal components, so you better put low-power parts inside it if you want to avoid a replacement under warranty (and related customer rant).
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Actually it does have a rear fan. I'd be comfortable with it.
ddrueding
Fixture
Can someone provide a link to this miracle $30 case? I didn't even bother looking. I've only used Antec, Silverstone, and Lian-Li. Every time I see an actual "beige box", it just screams "cheap junk".
Mercutio
Fatwah on Western Digital
Foxconn makes several cases that I can get for between $22 and $31 if I feel like driving into Chicago to get them.
Here's a Newegg link.
I think Newegg's cost a little more because they use a little nicer PSU; they often come with Fotron (Sparkle) power supplies.
Foxconn cases are very well made for being as inexpensive as they are. The power supplies and fans they come with? Not so much, but at least the potential is there.
Here's a Newegg link.
I think Newegg's cost a little more because they use a little nicer PSU; they often come with Fotron (Sparkle) power supplies.
Foxconn cases are very well made for being as inexpensive as they are. The power supplies and fans they come with? Not so much, but at least the potential is there.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
I don't consider the rear fan to be useful in the TLM/TLA-436. The grid is too obtrusive. The TW/TS-01 are way better. Here, both cost me the same amount of money. But here, I can't get them below 45$ with an ultra cheap power supply. They cost me 53$ with a Sparkle 350W power supply. That's too much to be considered.
mubs
Storage? I am Storage!
No, God didn't. It's hellish using them. I bought two (different sizes), used one only once, then switched to using a Dremel and a cutting wheel. Yeah, the holes aren't perfectly round, but as long as they're functional and not visible, who cares.
udaman
Wannabe Storage Freak
- Joined
- Sep 20, 2006
- Messages
- 1,209
Define 'worthwhile'....that's way too vague (is this a nerds form of a psychological test, like one of those stupid questions on an SAT exam, or grad school entrance exam?), I only use Mac's
. For $200, I'd have to get a used Mac, that doesn't run OSX Tiger very fast, and Leopard (OSX 10.5) coming in Oct, would be a snail if you're used to responsiveness of Intel/AMD PC's of late.Being that this is a silly SAT or psychological test, how much time do we have to acquire these components and build such a worthwhile computer to delivery at your lap...or was this one of those dumb 'you're fired'® Donald Trump tests/tasks?
Does this mystical computer need to be fully configured to run 'out of the box' total costs shipped to your door, w/installed OS/software packages, including monitor, mouse, keyboard-BT or wired optical, optical drive DVD writer, how many expansion bays, full case, mini-tower? No set up necessary. Something you dump into a classroom environment, needs to be full proof/trouble free as possible, no problems, needs future expandability/compatibility (SATA2 for example) etc?
Here's a non-beign case :rotfl:, does this have to be a 'worthwhile' for gamers computer...blantantly bad taste, 'bling' in a nerdy sort of way??? I give you the Viper2, $67 incl. shipping from Amazon, beats that boring looking Antec @80:
http://www4.dealtime.com/xPO-Viper-...-Side-Front-USB-FireWire-Ports-and-400-Watt-P
More like deer-in-the-headlights, WTF gaudy (aka 'ricer' look) POS, for me
Merc's going to have to be more specific than the OP.
Starting with cases that aren't beige @35 is easy, but are 'looks' important, or is functionality/quality the main goal, re: Merc's reference to cheaper quality cases than the foxconn?
Generic case with PSU, mouse, keyboard $35 on pg 3-5 in this search of dealtime for PC cases:
http://www4.dealtime.com/xPP-pc_cases~S-213~OR-0#stt
Sol
Storage is cool
Udaman said:
Well Udaman you make a good point... Finding a cheap case you can stand to look at is a lot easier once you've gouged out your own eyes...