09-23-2003, 06:55 AM
It's not too hard to get a good computer at a low price actually, but you'll have to be prepared to assemble it yourself. I'll quote some numbers from NewEgg, the most reliable online computer hardware vendor I've come across so far:
- AMD Athlon XP 2600 (2.08 GHz): ~$100 (Intel's too expensive as usual)
- Heatsink, thermal paste, and fans for CPU: ~$10 (or you could just get the retail CPUs)
- ASUS A7V8X-X: ~$60 (ASUS is still more reliable)
- Mid-tower ATX case with 300W power supply: ~$40 (I prefer screwless when possible, try Enlight)
- Additional 80mm case fan: ~$10
- Seagate 40GB Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A : ~$65 (quiet HDs help maintain sanity)
- 52x CD-ROM: ~$20
- Floppy drive: ~$10
- Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB: ~$150 (best bang for the buck on the market right now)
- 19" CRT Monitor: ~$200 (most likely a Samsung)
- SoundBlaster Live: ~$40 (cheap and gets the job done)
- Altec Lansing speakers: ~$40 (these will do unless you have real sharp and picky ears)
- D-Link network card or some modem: ~$10
- MS Intelli Mouse Explorer: ~$30 (optical, with wheel and 5 button for extra hotkeys)
- MS Windows XP Home: ~$100 (I just love how NewEgg gives you a free cable splitter to satisfy the "must purchase with hardware" requirement :lol:)
System RAM is best purchased from Crucial. A stick of 512MB DDR333 PC2700 RAM will run you ~$85 USD. You may wish to purchase keyboards from your local computer store so you can test your fingers on them first, and this should cost you less than $20. Add it all up and we're still under the $1,000 mark, although shipping and handling will probably cost you ~$50. You can save some cash on the operating system if you... eh... recycle your old one too... yah, that's it :P An even lower cost can still be reached if you don't mind gambling with less reputable vendors online, but I don't think it's worth the risk personally.
- AMD Athlon XP 2600 (2.08 GHz): ~$100 (Intel's too expensive as usual)
- Heatsink, thermal paste, and fans for CPU: ~$10 (or you could just get the retail CPUs)
- ASUS A7V8X-X: ~$60 (ASUS is still more reliable)
- Mid-tower ATX case with 300W power supply: ~$40 (I prefer screwless when possible, try Enlight)
- Additional 80mm case fan: ~$10
- Seagate 40GB Barracuda 7200.7 ST340014A : ~$65 (quiet HDs help maintain sanity)
- 52x CD-ROM: ~$20
- Floppy drive: ~$10
- Sapphire Radeon 9600 Pro 128MB: ~$150 (best bang for the buck on the market right now)
- 19" CRT Monitor: ~$200 (most likely a Samsung)
- SoundBlaster Live: ~$40 (cheap and gets the job done)
- Altec Lansing speakers: ~$40 (these will do unless you have real sharp and picky ears)
- D-Link network card or some modem: ~$10
- MS Intelli Mouse Explorer: ~$30 (optical, with wheel and 5 button for extra hotkeys)
- MS Windows XP Home: ~$100 (I just love how NewEgg gives you a free cable splitter to satisfy the "must purchase with hardware" requirement :lol:)
System RAM is best purchased from Crucial. A stick of 512MB DDR333 PC2700 RAM will run you ~$85 USD. You may wish to purchase keyboards from your local computer store so you can test your fingers on them first, and this should cost you less than $20. Add it all up and we're still under the $1,000 mark, although shipping and handling will probably cost you ~$50. You can save some cash on the operating system if you... eh... recycle your old one too... yah, that's it :P An even lower cost can still be reached if you don't mind gambling with less reputable vendors online, but I don't think it's worth the risk personally.