Sho'Nuff
Diamond Member
NOTICE: A friend of mine died today. Hence, I am not really in the mood to announce a winner today. I will do so in the next day or two. Thanks for your patience.
SEE BELOW FOR NEW CATEGORIES/RULES. CONTEST EXTENDED 2 DAYS TO GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO ADJUST
Hey all. I have been asked to build (or buy) my aunt a budget pc for general word processing, web surfing, and some light business use (mainly accounting software). That said, I am extremely busy as of late (some of you may know I am an attorney), and am not really interested in taking the time to research every possible budget component (which is what I am inclined to do). So, I thought I would pose a challenge on this board and see who comes up with the best (in my opinion) pc for a given price point. As you will see below, the contest now includes 3 categories, each with their respecitve price caps.
Here is the relavant info/rules:
CONTEST PERIOD
The contest begins with this post, and ends on [/b]Tuesday, January 13[/b] at 6 PM, Eastern Time.
CATEGORY 1: BUILD YOUR OWN; $350 cap
This category is basically the same as the original contest, with the exception that the price cap has been increased to $350 in an attempt to get a better processor than the prior $300 cap allowed, and possibly a super cheap video card
1) The total cost of the parts and OS, not including shipping, must not exceed $350. I intend for this to be a hard ceiling.
2) The machine must be able to run windows vista home reasonably well (aero is not required, but it would be better if aero could be turned on an run well)
3) The required components include:
- Case
- Power supply
- Motherboard (integrated graphics are ok, though a cheap card would be preferred); mobo must have integrated ethernet and at least 4 usb ports. A firewire port would be nice too.
- Ram (2GB), must be compatible with the mobo.
- CPU (dual core and intel strongly preferred by my aunt, though she would not know if the computer used an athlon chip; nothing older than an allendale permitted)
- CD/DVD burner (a CD-burner alone is fine, though a combo drive would be preferred)
- Hard drive (something >80GB in size, 7200 RPM preferred)
- A USB 3.5in drive (this is an absolute requirement from my aunt, don't ask me why)
- Windows Vista home (OEM is fine)
- USB mouse and keyboard (something sturdy)
- a modem (don't look at me, I have no idea why anyone still uses dialup)
4) optional components that could garner big points (if you can avoid exceeding the $300 cap)
- 15 to 17 inch LCD monitor
- multiformat card reader (SD, memory stick etc. . .)
CATEGORY 2: Build your own, with some of my components; $200 cap
As the name suggests, this category is for entries that use a CPU, Motherboard, and Ram that I already own. The cap for this category for the other parts is $200. Note that a video card is required for this category, and that certain other components are different then category 1. Entries will be judged primarily on perceived price/performance, as the CPU and Mobo I have are much more powerful than what my aunt needs.
1) Components I already own that can be used in the build:
- C2D 6600
- EVGA 680I SLI Motherboard
- 4GB matched corsair DDR2 800
2) Required components for category 2
- Case
- Power supply
- CD/DVD burner (a CD-burner alone is fine, though a combo drive would be preferred)
- Hard drive (something at least 250GB in size, 7200 required)
- stand alone video card
- A USB 3.5in drive (this is an absolute requirement from my aunt, don't ask me why)
- Windows Vista home (OEM is fine)
- USB mouse and keyboard (something sturdy)
- a modem (don't look at me, I have no idea why anyone still uses dialup)
3) Bonus (optinal) components:
15-17 inch flat panel monitor;
Card reader
CATEGORY 3: Best pre-built budget PC; $400 cap
As much as I hate computer manufacturers, they do seem to have the lock=down on budget PCs. The price cap for this category is $400. The winner of this cateogry will be the person who identifies a pre-built PC with the best perceived price/performance ratio. Thus, a cheaper PC could win, even if it has worse components then a more expensive PC that is under the price cap.
Required components for this category are the same as those required for category 1
Because it is possible for two people to identify the same deal in this category, PM me with the time you identify the deal so that I have something that is time stamped to evidence who identifies a deal first.
Of course, the deal must be viable at the end of the contest
General rules
1) One entry per user, per category. If you want to change your entry, do so by modifying your original entry. If I suspect that someone is using multiple nicks to submit alternate entries, I will disqualify all parties suspected.
2) No overzealous promoting of your own build, or crapping on someone else's build. Doing so will disqualify you from the contest.
3) If you want to critique the build or deal I select as the frontrunner on a given day, do so in your own entry, and be civil. I am pretty good at building machines, but I am certainly not a budget build expert. If you piss me off, I will disqualify you. My contest, my rules.
4) All money saving tactics (rebates, coupons, etc) are allowed, provided that they are valid at the end of the contest. If a coupon is necessary, however, I will need it to be provided to me at the end of the contest, should I select your build.
Prizes
Three prizes will be given. The top prize, which in all likelihood will be my old 8800 GTX, will go to the person who I think has the best overall entry of all three categories. The second and third prizes will be substantially less valuable, but hey, something is better than nothing.
HAVE FUN, AND GOOD LUCK!
SEE BELOW FOR NEW CATEGORIES/RULES. CONTEST EXTENDED 2 DAYS TO GIVE EVERYONE A CHANCE TO ADJUST
Hey all. I have been asked to build (or buy) my aunt a budget pc for general word processing, web surfing, and some light business use (mainly accounting software). That said, I am extremely busy as of late (some of you may know I am an attorney), and am not really interested in taking the time to research every possible budget component (which is what I am inclined to do). So, I thought I would pose a challenge on this board and see who comes up with the best (in my opinion) pc for a given price point. As you will see below, the contest now includes 3 categories, each with their respecitve price caps.
Here is the relavant info/rules:
CONTEST PERIOD
The contest begins with this post, and ends on [/b]Tuesday, January 13[/b] at 6 PM, Eastern Time.
CATEGORY 1: BUILD YOUR OWN; $350 cap
This category is basically the same as the original contest, with the exception that the price cap has been increased to $350 in an attempt to get a better processor than the prior $300 cap allowed, and possibly a super cheap video card
1) The total cost of the parts and OS, not including shipping, must not exceed $350. I intend for this to be a hard ceiling.
2) The machine must be able to run windows vista home reasonably well (aero is not required, but it would be better if aero could be turned on an run well)
3) The required components include:
- Case
- Power supply
- Motherboard (integrated graphics are ok, though a cheap card would be preferred); mobo must have integrated ethernet and at least 4 usb ports. A firewire port would be nice too.
- Ram (2GB), must be compatible with the mobo.
- CPU (dual core and intel strongly preferred by my aunt, though she would not know if the computer used an athlon chip; nothing older than an allendale permitted)
- CD/DVD burner (a CD-burner alone is fine, though a combo drive would be preferred)
- Hard drive (something >80GB in size, 7200 RPM preferred)
- A USB 3.5in drive (this is an absolute requirement from my aunt, don't ask me why)
- Windows Vista home (OEM is fine)
- USB mouse and keyboard (something sturdy)
- a modem (don't look at me, I have no idea why anyone still uses dialup)
4) optional components that could garner big points (if you can avoid exceeding the $300 cap)
- 15 to 17 inch LCD monitor
- multiformat card reader (SD, memory stick etc. . .)
CATEGORY 2: Build your own, with some of my components; $200 cap
As the name suggests, this category is for entries that use a CPU, Motherboard, and Ram that I already own. The cap for this category for the other parts is $200. Note that a video card is required for this category, and that certain other components are different then category 1. Entries will be judged primarily on perceived price/performance, as the CPU and Mobo I have are much more powerful than what my aunt needs.
1) Components I already own that can be used in the build:
- C2D 6600
- EVGA 680I SLI Motherboard
- 4GB matched corsair DDR2 800
2) Required components for category 2
- Case
- Power supply
- CD/DVD burner (a CD-burner alone is fine, though a combo drive would be preferred)
- Hard drive (something at least 250GB in size, 7200 required)
- stand alone video card
- A USB 3.5in drive (this is an absolute requirement from my aunt, don't ask me why)
- Windows Vista home (OEM is fine)
- USB mouse and keyboard (something sturdy)
- a modem (don't look at me, I have no idea why anyone still uses dialup)
3) Bonus (optinal) components:
15-17 inch flat panel monitor;
Card reader
CATEGORY 3: Best pre-built budget PC; $400 cap
As much as I hate computer manufacturers, they do seem to have the lock=down on budget PCs. The price cap for this category is $400. The winner of this cateogry will be the person who identifies a pre-built PC with the best perceived price/performance ratio. Thus, a cheaper PC could win, even if it has worse components then a more expensive PC that is under the price cap.
Required components for this category are the same as those required for category 1
Because it is possible for two people to identify the same deal in this category, PM me with the time you identify the deal so that I have something that is time stamped to evidence who identifies a deal first.
Of course, the deal must be viable at the end of the contest
General rules
1) One entry per user, per category. If you want to change your entry, do so by modifying your original entry. If I suspect that someone is using multiple nicks to submit alternate entries, I will disqualify all parties suspected.
2) No overzealous promoting of your own build, or crapping on someone else's build. Doing so will disqualify you from the contest.
3) If you want to critique the build or deal I select as the frontrunner on a given day, do so in your own entry, and be civil. I am pretty good at building machines, but I am certainly not a budget build expert. If you piss me off, I will disqualify you. My contest, my rules.
4) All money saving tactics (rebates, coupons, etc) are allowed, provided that they are valid at the end of the contest. If a coupon is necessary, however, I will need it to be provided to me at the end of the contest, should I select your build.
Prizes
Three prizes will be given. The top prize, which in all likelihood will be my old 8800 GTX, will go to the person who I think has the best overall entry of all three categories. The second and third prizes will be substantially less valuable, but hey, something is better than nothing.
HAVE FUN, AND GOOD LUCK!
