
WATYF
...happier than you.
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

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...


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...


WATYF