I just built the world's cheapest computer.

[WATYF]

O.K.. so it's prolly not thee cheapest computer in the world... but I'm sure it comes close.

The youth pastor at my church needed a computer to use for PowerPoint presentations (and what not) on their big screen projectors... (yes.. they have a pretty big budget... ) The box they are using now is extremely antiquated. (Pentium 133... *egad* ) He needed something that was cheap enough that it would fit in the general budget without having to make a specific request for extra funds, so he asked how much it would cost to get a decent computer to run basic visual apps on, and something fast enough to handle their video presentations as well. For some reason I just blurted oat.. "oh.. two... three hundred bucks, I'd say..." To which he replied... "Great... let me know when you get it and I'll write you a check."


So,... I now had to deliver on my promise of a relatively fast system for 300 bucks. Fortunately, he won't need to replace the monitor or peripherals... (mouse, keyboard, etc.) so I just need to build a box for 300.

Well... after spending the whole day pricing out my options... this is what I came up with...

Mobo: ECS K7S5A
CPU: Athlon XP 1600+
RAM: 256MB PC2100 DDR
Case: 300W MID ATX CASE
HDD: Maxtor 20GB
CD-ROM: NEC 52X
Floppy: Sony 1.44
Vid Card: GeForce2 GTS

Here we have a perfectly acceptable setup... A nice mobo (the K7S5A is still, arguably, the best "cheap" mobo there is. The 735 chipset is a very respectable option)... good CPU speed... decent storage (more then they'll ever need)... and decent video capabilities. Light years ahead of what they're using now... and all for a grand total of....


























$299.89.... (dang.. did I call it or what... )





Most of the stuff is already ordered and being processed. (I got two more things I'm gonna order tonight.) But over-all, I was pretty surprised at how decent of a system you can slap together for a measly 300 bones.

I mainly wanted to post this for anyone who's thinking that they need to lay down a grand just to get something "workable". In today's market, it's entirely possible to use a few hundred dollars to get yourself a very respectable system....




that is,.. until you can afford to waste the rest of your money on incessant upgrades... (like me... )

WATYF

 

[drstawl]

I don't see any O/S listed there.

You're gonna use the Win 95 that was probably on that 133?

Or a stolen copy of 98SE?

By the way- I saw a complete system at Fry's for $300
with a new keyboard and mouse....hehehe

Not as fast, but it was an Intel Celeron based system
and it was already built and warrantied.

 

[WATYF]

Yeah... they're gonna use the Win98SE that's already loaded on the current setup.

And don't dog my price man... I coulda went cheaper if I wanted to use those inferior Intel parts... Also,.. I think 256MB of RAM is prolly a little overkill considering what they're gonna use it for.. but I basically got him as much as possible for 300... well,.. as much as is possible for me to get him for 300.


oh yeah.. and for all the stuff I build... I am the warranty... (and the returns department.. and the customer service dept... and the repair dept.. etc. etc. )

WATYF

oh... just noticed you're in California... well yeah.. I reckon you'll have much better prices where you're at... (I keep hearing aboot this "fry's" place.) I would live in Kalifornia just for the great computer prices alone... if it weren't so much like Communist China...

 

[Gidge]

eMachines 1221 Computer, eMachines 17S 17" Monitor, Lexmark Z25 color Printer. Intel Celeron 1.3 GHz CPU. 128 MB RAM, 20 GB Hard Drive, 48x CD-ROM Drive, 56K Modem, Direct AGP Graphics

at Best Buy...$399

 

[WATYF]

I wouldn't piss on an eMachines if it was on fire in the middle of my bedroom...



but that is a decent price... (that is,.. if you wanna settle for a slower processor, less RAM, integrated graphics, slower FSB, and an inferior mobo... not to mention the fact that your friends will laugh at you when they find oat you bought an eMachines... )

but they are practically giving computers away these days... it's a great market.

WATYF

 

[drstawl]

>And don't dog my price man

I'm not. That's a great price for that machine. And it probably will romp the piss out of an E-Machine at that price point in many ways more than just performance if it's carefully built by someone that cares.

I'm doggin' your comparison of this to a $1000 PC.

"I mainly wanted to post this for anyone who's thinking that they need to lay down a grand just to get something "workable". "

If you're sellin' that line of shit to the pastor maybe you need to go to confession.

A grand will get you a brand-name PC (SONY) with a 1.6GHz P4, a CDR/RW burner, a modem, SB type soundcard, a NIC, a DVD drive, Firewire port, Memory Stick reader, half a Gig of RAM, a 60GB HD (probably 80 by the time I finish typing this) and XP pre-loaded.

 

[nave]

>>>>>>>>(probably 80 by the time I finish typing this)

 

[Gidge]

im not dogging it either.....im just disputing worlds CHEAPEST.....

 

[nave]

The worlds cheapest computer is the digital clock on my microwave oven

 

[WATYF]

>And don't dog my price man

I'm not. That's a great price for that machine. And it probably will romp the piss out of an E-Machine at that price point in many ways more than just performance if it's carefully built by someone that cares.

I'm doggin' your comparison of this to a $1000 PC.

"I mainly wanted to post this for anyone who's thinking that they need to lay down a grand just to get something "workable". "

If you're sellin' that line of shit to the pastor maybe you need to go to confession.

A grand will get you a brand-name PC (SONY) with a 1.6GHz P4, a CDR/RW burner, a modem, SB type soundcard, a NIC, a DVD drive, Firewire port, Memory Stick reader, half a Gig of RAM, a 60GB HD (probably 80 by the time I finish typing this) and XP pre-loaded.

Holy Lord people... LOL... calm down folks.

I would never compare this to a thousand dollar computer... especially since I can get a much better system for a thousand bucks. Simple logic would dictate that if I can get this much for 300, then I can get a hell of a lot more for a thousand. And I didn't sell any such "shit" to my youth pastor... I said,... you don't HAVE to spend a thousand dollars to get a decent system....

*sheesh*

man, oh man... context people.. context... the "world's cheapest" is prolly the IBM PS/2 16MHZ compuer I sold on eBay for $9.99 a year ago... It's just a figure of speech..

WATYF

 

[Barometer]

Congrats WATYF, I get your vibe, it feels great to deliver on a promise like that and so cheaply for something the pastor will probably never put to the test. Looks like it'll hold him over for a while

BTW, Fry's is the shit! If you ever get a chance to go to one, do it. It's just plain cool to be in a huge warehouse full of everything electronic and they usually have great deals (but not always better than the internet)