Create the cheapest full computer build on Newegg

[chuckywang]

Ok, let's have a contest. You are to create the cheapest full computer build (minus monitor) completely using Newegg. This computer must run Windows XP moderately well. It must output sound. It also must have either a CD-RW or a DVD-ROM drive. Also, no refurbished parts. But OEM parts are ok. Let's see what you come up with.

Here's my attempt:

Qty. Product Description Unit Price Savings Total Price

Update Linkworld B313C02N - P4 Beige/Blue Metal ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - Retail
Model #: B313C02N - P4

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $18.50 $18.50

Update PC CHIPS M811LU Socket A (Socket 462) VIA KT266A ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
Model #: M811LU

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $25.99 $25.99

Update AMD Sempron 2200+ Thoroughbred 333MHz FSB Socket A Processor Model SDA2200BOX - Retail
Model #: SDA2200BOX

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $66.00 $66.00

Update VIKING 256MB 184-Pin DDR SDRAM DDR 266 (PC 2100) Unbuffered System Memory Model VGDDR32X64PC2100 - OEM
Model #: VGDDR32X64PC2100

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $23.17 $23.17

Update EXCELSTOR Callisto J840 40GB 7200 RPM IDE Ultra ATA133 Hard Drive - OEM
Model #: J840

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $47.00 $47.00

Update KEYBOARD-2000 SMART-1 White PS/2 Wired Standard Keyboard Mouse Included - Retail
Model #: SMART-1

In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $7.50 $7.50

Update ASUS Beige IDE CD Burner Model CRW-5232AX BGE - OEM
Model #: CRW-5232AX BGE

**This item is warranted through the product manufacturer only.
In Stock
Remove Add item to Cart $21.99 $21.99


Subtotal: $210.15

 

[mauiblue]

Okay...nah maybe not

 

[amplemind]

ROFL, op ftw.

 

[fishstickz]

You could do so much with that machine, too.

Run Linux... run Folding or Seti @ home... serve files... use as a firewall...

200 dollars well spent, I say.

 

[mwmorph]

1 problem with your build is no power supply or video card(dont think it has onboard)

 

[mwmorph]

Revised on that works

ASYS Beige/Silver ATX Mid Tower Case With 350W PSU, Model "N7650" -RETAIL($23.99)
SONY Beige 52x32x52 IDE Internal CD-RW Drive, Model CRX230EE/10S, OEM($21.99)
Spirecoolers 80mm CPU Cooler for Socket A, Model 5F271B1L3 -Retail($9.99)
ExcelStor 40GB 7200RPM IDE Hard Drive, Model J840, OEM Drive only($47.00)
KEYBOARD-2000 SMART 1 Multi-Media KB Combo PS/2 107keys -RETAIL($7.50)
pqi POWER Series 184-Pin 256MB DDR PC-2700 - Retail($20.75)
PCChips "M811LU" KT266A Chipset Motherboard for AMD Socket A CPU -RETAIL($25.99)
AMD Duron 1.8GHz Socket A Processor - OEM($43.00)
APOLLO S3 SAVAGE IX Video Card, 8MB SGR, TV-Out, 2X AGP, Model "XPERT PLAY 3000" -RETAIL($13.50)

Total (Before tax): $213.71

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

What's so hard about this contest? Just choose the cheapest components...

$56.99 PC Chips M789CG v2.0 socket-370 integrated board with VIA C3 Sameual 2 2000+ (800 MHz, FSB133) & CPU cooler -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16813185043
$49.99 Excelstor Callisto J840 40 GB hard disk -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822162003
$34.98 Epower EPC-102B case with 250W PSU -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16811202008
$24.99 Samsung DVD-ROM drive -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827151212
$14.80 128 MB DDR SDRAM -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16820141169
$13.50 keyboard & mouse combo -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?item=N82E16823157012
$9.39 Encore 56K modem (if required) -- http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16825180003

SUBTOTAL: $167.85
GRAND TOTAL (with shipping): $202.92 (or $193.53 without modem)

 

[ixelion]

OMG WHAT A POS jk

But you really shouldnt be using PC2100 on a 333 FSB - thats just wrong, wasted performance. O well it's not like you will be playing Doom 3 anyway.

Also that 800Mhz VIA CPU will not be good in a Windows XP enviroment once you start multitasking a bit.

AMD Sempron 2300+
Asus A7S8X-MX Socket A (Micro ATX) SIS 741GX w/ LAN, 6-Ch Audio, SATA, Video
Kingston ValueRAM PC3200 DDR400 256MB 184-pin DIMM
Seagate 80GB EIDE ATA-100 7200RPM
Antec Lifestyle Aria MicroATX Cube Case w/ 300W PFC Power Supply, 8-in-1 Card Reader

Total: approx. $336

 

[chuckywang]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
1 problem with your build is no power supply or video card(dont think it has onboard)

I knew I forgot something! Just replace the case with a cheap one with a PS. Shouldn't cost too much more.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

The "cheapest" PC is basically worthless, because at $400 and below, you should begin looking at used components.

The least expensive fully-functional PC you can buy new from NewEgg costs about $342. By "fully-functional" I mean that you don't need any pre-existing merchandise to make it work. In other words, a PC needs basic peripherals like a monitor, keyboard & mouse, and also an operating system. Here's what you'd get for $342:

Windows XP Home SP1 OEM
VIA C3 "Samual" 2000+ (800 MHz)
128 MB PC2100 DDR SDRAM (shared)
integrated graphics
40 GB hard disk
CD-ROM drive (no CD-RW or DVD support)
integrated stereo audio
integrated 10/100 LAN
no modem
250W PSU & basic ATX case
keyboard & mouse
no speakers
15" CRT display

You might be able to shave off some of the price by going to multiple vendors, but the cost of a brand-new PC with monitor & OS is going to run no less than $300 or so, and that's only if you take risks by purchasing from unproven retailers.

 

[igowerf]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou
What's so hard about this contest? Just choose the cheapest components...

Reread the OP. It has to be able to run WinXP moderately well. 128MB on an 800Mhz computer is NOT going to run WinXP very well at all.

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: igowerf

Reread the OP. It has to be able to run WinXP moderately well. 128MB on an 800Mhz computer is NOT going to run WinXP very well at all.

Why would you say that? Windows XP Home requires a 233 MHz CPU & 64 MB RAM. The minimum "recommended" specs are a 300 MHz CPU & 128 MB RAM. Where's the problem?

 

[mwmorph]

that is barely at all. no one would be happy with winxp with only 128mb ram or a cryix proc at 800mhz.

 

[Hacp]

Where is the Free raidmax PSU?

 

[eLiu]

That machine can't run WinXP well.

The PCCHIPS mobo will explode!

 

[Confusednewbie1552]

Doesn't anyone here have anything better to do? lol

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

Originally posted by: mwmorph
that is barely at all. no one would be happy with winxp with only 128mb ram or a cryix proc at 800mhz.

I wouldn't be happy with anything but a 2GHz (or 2000+) CPU, 256 MB RAM & a DVD burner. Others demand even more.

We're talking about the dirt-cheapest PC you can buy. Of course no one would be satisfied with it! Anyway, ~$342 is about the limit, and the purpose of that is to give you a good idea of why you'd never get such a machine, when for ~$400 you can get an Applebred, or for ~$450 a Thoroughbred and 256 MB RAM.

 

[imported_Kensai]

Those aren't computers... They're big, expensive paper weights...

 

[n7]

It's all about the VIA C3 powa

 

[mwmorph]

anyone know of the Duron 1.8 in my build or the Sempy 1.5 in Chicky's build, which would be faster?

 

[igowerf]

Originally posted by: hurtstotalktoyou

Originally posted by: mwmorph
that is barely at all. no one would be happy with winxp with only 128mb ram or a cryix proc at 800mhz.

I wouldn't be happy with anything but a 2GHz (or 2000+) CPU, 256 MB RAM & a DVD burner. Others demand even more.

We're talking about the dirt-cheapest PC you can buy. Of course no one would be satisfied with it! Anyway, ~$342 is about the limit, and the purpose of that is to give you a good idea of why you'd never get such a machine, when for ~$400 you can get an Applebred, or for ~$450 a Thoroughbred and 256 MB RAM.

Have you tried running WinXP with 256MB of RAM? It barely runs WinXP "moderately" well. 128MB of RAM on WinXP would give you terrible performance. Your harddrive would thrash from just checking email.

The thread is about creating the cheapest computer with reasonable performance. The OP's 2200 Sempron with 256MB of RAM will perform moderately well (with a PSU and graphics card, of course).

 

[hurtstotalktoyou]

I bet the Duron 1.8 would be faster than the Sempron 2200+. The Duron 1.6 (younger brother of the 1.8 with identical architecture) performs similarly to the Athlon XP 1800+ (cousin to the Sempron 2200+, both running at ~1.5 GHz), as shown here: http://www.madshrimps.be/printart.php?articID=106

And about Windows XP, it runs just fine with 128 MB RAM. That's all I used to have, a few years ago. I used an Athlon XP 1700+ "Palomino" with 128 MB PC2100 memory, integrated graphics and a 5400 RPM hard disk. Windows XP Home and Cool Edit Pro 2.0 ran just fine on the system. Before that, I ran Windows XP on an Athlon 950 MHz "Thunderbird." Guess what? Everything ran smooth as silk. Sure, it was a lot slower than today's A64 CPUs, but it didn't lock up or anything. You'd just have to wait longer for a complex task like video encoding. Web surfing, word processing and light audio editing was a snap.

 

[chuckywang]

bump for other builds! Let's get more.

 

[CreativeTom]

Originally posted by: Kensai
Those aren't computers... They're big, expensive paper weights...

Hey the way I see it, if you are gonna spend around $225 for a PC, then double that amount to $450 (which is still nothing) and actually buy some hardware that will work rather then slither through anything you are trying to acomplish.