Hello,

Looking at the clock, it's about 11:25pm here and I'm bored out of my mind. So, as a bright idea I've gone ahead and spent that time I would have vegetated in my chair twiddling my thumbs and made this contest.

Essentially, the purpose of this contest is to create the cheapest possible computer that is ideally functional.

What you need to include:

1. Processor
2. Motherboard
3. RAM
4. Video Card (NOTE: If your motherboard has on-board video, this is not required)
5. Hard Drive
6. Optical Drive
7. Case
8. Power Supply Unit

NOTE: An operating system is not required since one could simply use Linux and seeing as it's free, including it to the list of your computer components is not going to change anything. Note that I only want to see a tower. I don't need to see mice, keyboards, speakers or monitors in that list.

However, in order to make this fair, all parts must be purchased brand new which means you cannot include parts that you already own, and cannot be purchased from resellers such as eBay. Also, do not go for the cheapest possible PSU as that is most likely to fail the moment it's turned on. Choose one that's cheap but also has good reviews (both professional and user) to go with it.

All parts must have a link included so that there is proof to go along with the price point of that particular component.

Parts must all be compatible with each other. You can not simply choose a Celeron and try to couple it with a 939 socket based motherboard.

Rebates of any form, or any time-dependent/limited deal also does not count as a person posting a week later my find a better deal or worse one due to the finicky nature of rebates. However, this means that barebone kits do count. "Open box" deals are also valid as long as the deal does not expire.

The final price point does not include shipping or taxes due to the wide variety of taxes and shipping costs.

Unfortunately, due to the varying price points and currency deviations in countries, some people who dwell in certain countries may have an advantage. As a result, I will be limiting the currency allowed to American and Canadian only. This is just to make this contest more fair.

Good Luck!

As a side note, this thread may come in handy someday for someone looking for a nice budget build.

Here is just a build based entirely on parts from Newegg.com to get things started.

ECS AM2 Motherboard (onboard video, onboard audio, onboard LAN):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135073
Sempron 3400+ AM2:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104005
Wintec DDR2-800 CAS5 512MB:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820161066
WD 40GB SATA HDD:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822144173
Asus 52x CD-ROM Drive (IDE):
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827134013
Black Rosewill ATX Case:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811147074
PowerKing 300W PSU
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817163066

Total: $198.21 shipped. Tax only in NJ, TN, and CA.

Stick Ubuntu on there and you got a snappy PC for Internet surfing, email, and word processing.

what is your idea of "ideally functional"?
what does have to be able to do, at minimum.

bot said:

Well, since this is a theoretical budget build, "ideally functional" would mean basic web surfing and word processing. Generally, when people buy budget builds, that's all they are aiming for. A budget gaming build is entirely different so I don't expect any of these theoretical builds to play games well if at all.

For the best apples to apples, I'd say forget trying to apply taxes and shipping. Just go by current retail price. Taxes and S&H vary too much and could be manipulated by a considerable amount just by manipulating the delivery address.

You might also want to call out a specific currency so changing exchange rates don't screw things up even more.

I'd say it's not realistic to go with the cheapest PSU cause we know that's probably going to either blow-up or blow something else up the moment you turn it on...but, I don't know how you'd handle that in this 'contest'.

john albrich said:

I agree 100%. I am making some changes to the rules now. Thanks for those suggestions.

However, do you think it'd be fair to have both Canadian and American currencies allowed since they are almost on a one for one basis?

example 1:

VIA EPIA-CN13000G 1.3GHz VIA C7 nanoBGA2 Embedded Processor VIA CN700 Mini ITX - $161.75
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813181022R

CORSAIR ValueSelect 1GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) - $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145525

Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3250310AS 250GB 7200 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s Hard Drive - $65.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148261

APEX DM-387 Black Steel MicroATX Slim Case Computer Case - $48.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811154087

ASUS Beige 52X CD-ROM E-IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM - $8.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827134013R

grand total: $295.- dollars
plus tax and s/h: $353.97
and it's tiny and quiet

bot said:

I think you may be missing an optical drive.

bot said:

You don't need to include shipping/handling and taxes. However, nice looking build.

it is a nice build or would be but hey, check this out

EVEREX gPC TC2502 VIA C7-D 1.5GHz 512MB DDR2 80GB VIA UniChrome Pro Linux gOS - $199.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883118003

i have nothing else to say.
with mouse and keyboard and os

that's what it says in the specs:
"Recommended Usage - Business Desktops & Workstations" =|

or this one:

used Comapq DeskPro EN - $159.-
actually comes with XP pro
http://www.directron.com/comingsoon.html

oh, only all new part...etc. well still a steal

What will i win..lol Because i will win j/k

bot said:

Yeah, unfortunately, only brand new parts. I agree though, quite a nice package for a nice price.

Mothow the Quad G0D said:

http://crave.cnet.com/8301-1_105-9663412-1.html

$100




im too lazy to build one

Sean Costello said:

I don't think OLPC XO qualifies.

I just looked at the "BitFrost" security system that is apparently going to be at the heart of every XO laptop. Here's just one element...

From the Wikipedia entry on OLPC:


ARE THEY FREAKING INSANE? This is WGA on steroids and again is something that assumes all the software, inter-connectivity, database maintenance, etc. will all function properly across multiple governments, communities, server setups, etc

For this reason alone I would never want one. All it will end up doing is limiting what the users will be able to do with the machine. (and also keep track of which machine is in use, where it is being used, and what it is being used for...down to the device level (e.g. camera) )

Give it a few months from release. I'm sure someone will find a way to defeat that security measure even if it is "required" per say.

In any case, it kind of strays from the concept of "personal" computer. It is more or less a "leased" computer. I thought they were supposed to be giving them out--not attaching a ball and chain.

it's not a 100.- dollars anymore anyway. i think it's slated for 175.- dollars now.

Motherboard (with integrated gfx):
ECS K8M890M-M (V1.0A) AM2 VIA K8M890 Micro ATX AMD Motherboard - Retail
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813135073
$32.99

Case (with PSU):
Linkworld 437-01-C2229 Black/ Champaign Gold Steel MicroATX Mini Tower Computer Case 430W Power Supply
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811164097
$22.99

Optical Drive:
ASUS Beige 52X CD-ROM E-IDE/ATAPI CD-ROM Drive Model CD-S520/A5
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827134013R
$8.99

Hard disk:
Western Digital Caviar WD400BB 40GB 7200 RPM 2MB Cache IDE Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822140118
$38.99

Processor:
AMD Sempron 64 3400+ Manila 1.8GHz 256KB L2 Cache Socket AM2 62W Single-Core Processor
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819104005
$35.99

Memory:
AllComponents 512MB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 533 (PC2 4200) Desktop Memory
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820159113
$9.99

Total: $149.94

edit:pretty much a similar configuration to Adams but with a cheapo case that comes with a PSU and some dirt cheap memory.

edit2: I specced up the cheapest PC I could build in the UK a while ago and it came to soemthing like £120 which is $240. Shows how much we get ripped off here on PC hardware.

That's impressive Chris.

What about cheapest dual core system?

bot said:

They will sell for $100 but they will make a loss initially as components become cheaper they will make a profit.

ian elliott said:

You could put a 3600 X2 into the system I specced above for $55.99 which would make the whole system $169.94.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103046

edit: looking at it, you could also chuck in a 2600 Pro for another $60 and have a system that should play games, dvds etc at reasonable resolution / frames for $230!