Main Area and Open Discussion > Living Room

Build a $200 Linux PC -- How-to by ExtremeTech

(1/3) > >>

zridling:
I love the idea of building a cheap PC for either a relative or someone who doesn't think they could use one (such as my 75-year old mom). ExtremeTech came through with an honest build of a cheap PC, explaining each sacrifice for price. And they still managed to get a decent machine out of it.



Times are still tough out there, but our needs and desires don't always flag just because the economy does. If an accident or an equipment failure has punched an unexpected hole in your computing life, you may be in need of a system—any system—to fill it. Or maybe you've discovered that your family just needs one more box to use as a Web terminal to keep the more powerful systems free more often. Whatever the circumstance, you may be tempted to drop $500 or even more on one of the cheaper, pre-fab models you can find at Costco, Wal-Mart, or from one of the major manufacturers. But once you've factored in all the attendant costs, taxes, and shipping, you could be spending a lot more than you planned—and that's something to avoid, especially when every penny counts.

Even if you need a computer right away, there are plenty of good reasons to build one rather than buy one. You control the parts, so you get exactly what you need at the price you can best afford. You're assured of being able to upgrade any (or all) of the pieces later, when you have more money to spend. And, perhaps most importantly, you get the satisfaction of doing it yourself and maintaining complete control over it from the very instant you open the boxes. No matter how little you want to drop, building your own computer is still the best way to go.

So we asked ourselves: What's the lowest point at which these two goals could intersect? If we needed a simple computer right away, and wanted to spend as little as possible, what could we build? We knew we wanted to aim low, almost ridiculously low—so we decided on what seemed like almost an unthinkable total: $200, which would include everything needed for the base computer itself (but not counting the monitor, keyboard, and mouse, or tax and shipping charges).

Renegade:
The benchmarks they have there against a $300 box are pretty impressive.

Deozaan:
Nice find. Thanks for sharing. (c:

Renegade:
I kind of wonder why nobody ever goes for Solaris. It really is the mack-daddy of all operating systems. Nothing comes close to it. Hot swappable mother boards? Yep. Solaris has that, and it don't need no stinkin' app to do it~! :P :D

zridling:
Probably because Oracle now requires users to purchase a service contract in order to use Solaris, thus jacking up the price of your $200 PC.

Navigation

[0] Message Index

[#] Next page