Cheapest price for a decent pc

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better of
buying rather than building?

 

[Philo]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MCMdc.16591$BF2.1332887@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better
of
> buying rather than building?
>
>
>
don't know the exact $ conversion but there are quite a few machines avail
for under $400 (USD). It would be pretty tough to build a machine for less
than the price of a pre-built

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

In article <MCMdc.16591$BF2.1332887@news20.bellglobal.com>,
consultant <fazilr@hotmail.com> wrote:
>Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
>I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better of
>buying rather than building?
>

Build if you have friends or a PC club you can get assistance
from, there's only so much help you can get from Usenet. You also
have to be prepared to eat the cost of one of the parts if you damage
something, or the system just plain doesn't work. You don't get any
assistance from the dealers you buy parts from.

That being said, here's the cost of the parts that you can get if you
choose to build.

A couple of months ago I used newegg.com to price out all the parts
for a good mid-range PC (ASUS A7X266-VM mobo, mid-range AMD chip,
256MB ram, fast WD 40GB disk, CD burner & software, and the other
stuff, minus kbd, mouse, monitor OS, and apps.) It came to under $300.

If you order XP/home with the above it will cost you $90. Would yo
like fries with that ?

All prices are USD.

Of course Linux is highly recommended, but I haven't tested it on this
mob.

As an alternative to MS OFFICE, use Open Office (www.openoffice.org)


--
Al Dykes
-----------
adykes at p a n i x . c o m

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Yes you can, you might have to buld it your self... Where do you live in
the great white north?


consultant wrote:
> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better of
> buying rather than building?
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

consultant wrote:
> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better of
> buying rather than building?
>
>

Define 'decent' for us?!
I run Knoppix installed, Debian, on broadband, on a network of several
systems which all share resources, so, a decent machine for me is
anything above 300 Mhz, 98304kb, with a burner!

But, you can get an AMD 1800+ on the new market, if you can watch the
discounts, and get the storage drive on sale.

Does this INCLUDE the Monitor?

Just got some dual PIII 550Mhz ASUS boards, and the processors, on
ebay,for under $100,00 (included cables, in the original, sealed box!)!
'Old' 1998 tech, but, they scream in Linux! Cases start at about $8 on
Pricewatch.

Check out the feedbacks, wherever you buy, to only deal with honorable
folks! I haven't had any problems with anyone, and have gotten some
GREAT deals on parts!

http://walmart.com
http://gumstix.com

http://pricewatch.com
http://pricegrabber.com

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

In article <uLQdc.454714$Po1.12322@twister.tampabay.rr.com>,
Patrick <pberry26@yahoo.com> wrote:
>consultant wrote:
>> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
>> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better of
>> buying rather than building?
>>
>>
>
>Define 'decent' for us?!
>I run Knoppix installed, Debian, on broadband, on a network of several
>systems which all share resources, so, a decent machine for me is
>anything above 300 Mhz, 98304kb, with a burner!
>
>But, you can get an AMD 1800+ on the new market, if you can watch the
>discounts, and get the storage drive on sale.
>
>Does this INCLUDE the Monitor?
>
>Just got some dual PIII 550Mhz ASUS boards, and the processors, on
>ebay,for under $100,00 (included cables, in the original, sealed box!)!
>'Old' 1998 tech, but, they scream in Linux! Cases start at about $8 on
>Pricewatch.
>
>Check out the feedbacks, wherever you buy, to only deal with honorable
>folks! I haven't had any problems with anyone, and have gotten some
>GREAT deals on parts!
>


Dell occasionally has order-on-web-only deals for machines under $400,
including monior and XP/home. They bury them, you might have to call
a sales rep and ask if there are any web-only deals.

All the major players sell "refurbished" or "remanufactured"
machines. Frequently these are unused warehouse clearences or machines
returned withing the 30 day limit. You've gotta check the warranty
and all the fine print for these, but they can be very good deals.

The problem I have with the entry level machines from the the big
names is most of the parts are proprietary. If the PSU dies you have
to go to the manufacturer for a replacement. The cases are too small
and weird to consider poping a new mobo in as a future upgrade.





--
Al Dykes
-----------
adykes at p a n i x . c o m

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

thanks guys, I am in waterloo, ontario
"Chris Simpson" <Chriss@mho.com> wrote in message
news:wa6dnboWAdJ2veXd4p2dnA@mho.net...
> Yes you can, you might have to buld it your self... Where do you live in
> the great white north?
>
>
> consultant wrote:
> > Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> > I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I
better of
> > buying rather than building?
> >
> >
> >

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

"consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MCMdc.16591$BF2.1332887@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better
of
> buying rather than building?

PCs have evolved to become commodity items. There's no need to tinker with
them and agonize over which parts are "right". You'll do well to avoid all
the problems you see on these newsgroups of the form "I put it together and
it doesn't boot".) Technology is still changing quickly, so don't plan on
buying a system today and reusing the parts two years from now. It is just
not worth it.

It's similar to what's happened with automobiles. We no longer have
gear-heads that know all about carburetors, or cams. Nobody builds a car
from scratch or reuses parts from one in the the next.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

>Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
>I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better of
>buying rather than building?

I forget the conversion rates to U.S. dollars.

There are several pc's (walmart / microtel and linare) with linux or no OS at
around $200 to $300. Dell also has some FreeDOS pc's at $330 or so. You can
get an XP home COA and license for $55 minus media and manual.

I plan to get an older P III and then add bigger drive and more RAM. Will suit
my purposes better than most budget pc's.

Michael

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 14:19:53 GMT, "William W. Plummer"
<William.PlummerXNOSPAMX@alum.mit.edu> wrote:

>
>"consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>news:MCMdc.16591$BF2.1332887@news20.bellglobal.com...
>> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
>> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better
>of
>> buying rather than building?
>
>PCs have evolved to become commodity items. There's no need to tinker with
>them and agonize over which parts are "right". You'll do well to avoid all
>the problems you see on these newsgroups of the form "I put it together and
>it doesn't boot".) Technology is still changing quickly, so don't plan on
>buying a system today and reusing the parts two years from now. It is just
>not worth it.
>
>It's similar to what's happened with automobiles. We no longer have
>gear-heads that know all about carburetors, or cams. Nobody builds a car
>from scratch or reuses parts from one in the the next.
>

Similar yes, but like computers, there are still those that tune their
cars by replacing or reworking stock parts, the latest fad being
tuning import cars. True, not a whole lot of people build cars from
the ground up as in the past.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 14:12:04 -0500, "consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>thanks guys, I am in waterloo, ontario

That's not too bad, as there are plenty of computer places around.

Perhaps consider some second-hand parts. Maybe something a K-W surplus
will catch your eye (I bought an as-is monitor there cheap, works like
a charm on a 486 system, after minor repairs)

>"Chris Simpson" <Chriss@mho.com> wrote in message
>news:wa6dnboWAdJ2veXd4p2dnA@mho.net...
>> Yes you can, you might have to buld it your self... Where do you live in
>> the great white north?
>>
>>
>> consultant wrote:
>> > Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
>> > I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I
>better of
>> > buying rather than building?
>> >
>> >
>> >
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Not really.

--
DaveW



"consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:MCMdc.16591$BF2.1332887@news20.bellglobal.com...
> Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I better
of
> buying rather than building?
>
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of these
'$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has the
barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am thinking
P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a Monitor.
(Obviously I am not a Techie)

"DaveW" <none@zero.org> wrote in message
news:EF_dc.5340$_K3.41798@attbi_s53...
> Not really.
>
> --
> DaveW
>
>
>
> "consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:MCMdc.16591$BF2.1332887@news20.bellglobal.com...
> > Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
> > I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I
better
> of
> > buying rather than building?
> >
> >
> >
>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:09:20 -0500, "consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of these
>'$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has the
>barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
>components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am thinking
>P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a Monitor.
>(Obviously I am not a Techie)
>

50, huh ? Oh come on, tell us all about it. I 'm sure there's a
great story here.

Making touchscreens for the Dade County elections this fall ?

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Yep, that is what was thinking you had to do....


Gary Tait wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 14:12:04 -0500, "consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
>
>>thanks guys, I am in waterloo, ontario
>
>
> That's not too bad, as there are plenty of computer places around.
>
> Perhaps consider some second-hand parts. Maybe something a K-W surplus
> will catch your eye (I bought an as-is monitor there cheap, works like
> a charm on a 486 system, after minor repairs)
>
>
>>"Chris Simpson" <Chriss@mho.com> wrote in message
>>news:wa6dnboWAdJ2veXd4p2dnA@mho.net...
>>
>>>Yes you can, you might have to buld it your self... Where do you live in
>>>the great white north?
>>>
>>>
>>>consultant wrote:
>>>
>>>>Can I build a decent machine for under $400 cdn?
>>>>I know there are many vriables, but please share you thughts? am I
>>
>>better of
>>
>>>>buying rather than building?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:09:20 -0500, consultant wrote:

> Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of these
> '$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has the
> barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
> components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am thinking
> P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a Monitor.
> (Obviously I am not a Techie)
>
If you're looking at 50 complete machines, you need to draw up an RFP and
send out to some of the systems builders specifying minimum requirements.
Or take a component list and start shopping for 50+ quantities. I'd stay
away from Intel and MS though. That alone will save you about $100US alone
per machine.

--
Abit KT7-Raid (KT133) Tbred B core CPU @2400MHz (24x100FSB)
http://mysite.verizon.net/res0exft/cpu.htm

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Thanks again guys. The RFP makes sense, they cetainly do not teach these
things in business school!

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Wes Newell wrote:
> On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:09:20 -0500, consultant wrote:
>
>
>>Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of these
>>'$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has the
>>barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
>>components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am thinking
>>P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a Monitor.
>>(Obviously I am not a Techie)
>>
>
> If you're looking at 50 complete machines, you need to draw up an RFP and
> send out to some of the systems builders specifying minimum requirements.
> Or take a component list and start shopping for 50+ quantities. I'd stay
> away from Intel and MS though. That alone will save you about $100US alone
> per machine.
>
I would suspect you have small 'Mom & Pop' computer stores there? Don't
forget them when you submit your RFP! The SHIPPING, at about $20 to $30
per tower, and, per monitor, would add $2,000 to $3,000 to the price!
You might want to schedule a freight shipment, if you purchase from far
away!

Just for grins, check out http://cheapguys.com for prices, and ask for a
quote on 50 units, from GLEN.
his sale today:
> IBM P3-667 MHZ REFURB COMPUTER 128 MB PC133 RAM 20 GB HARD DRIVE FLOPPY
> CD-ROM 56K V.92 MODEM 10/100 NIC WINDOWS 98 PRELOADED WITH LICENSE ONLY
> $169.99

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:40:35 GMT, Wes Newell
<w.newell@TAKEOUTverizon.net> wrote:

>On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:09:20 -0500, consultant wrote:
>
>> Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of these
>> '$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has the
>> barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
>> components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am thinking
>> P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a Monitor.
>> (Obviously I am not a Techie)

Then do check there. Last I was there they had stacks of sub Ghz
machinmes there (albeit obviously used, and I belive OS-less too).

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

>
>On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:40:35 GMT, Wes Newell
><w.newell@TAKEOUTverizon.net> wrote:
>
>>On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:09:20 -0500, consultant wrote:
>>
>>> Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of
>these
>>> '$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has the
>>> barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
>>> components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am
>thinking
>>> P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a Monitor.
>>> (Obviously I am not a Techie)
>
>Then do check there. Last I was there they had stacks of sub Ghz
>machinmes there (albeit obviously used, and I belive OS-less too).

If you need 50 of them, you might be able to get pallets of parts or even full
machines. I see various pallets on Ebay and surplus sites. There might be the
OS issue, Win 98 wouldn't be too expensive if you can find license only. I've
seen license only XP Home at ~ $55.

I plan to pick up a machine at retrobox.com. The shipping is around ~ $30 per
box i think, that's the main downside at that vendor.

The barebones Walmart / Microtel you mention are around ~ $160 last i checked.
That will be minus the floppy, cdrom, modem, and hard drive (i forget if RAM is
included). $200 should bring a more complete box minus windows and running
Lindows instead. Unless you plan to put in big HD, perhaps the $200 ones make
more sense.

The quantity of 50 ought to get you a good deal. Possibly buy local and save
the shipping costs.

Michael

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

retrobox seems like they have great deals, has anybody used them before? Its
about 6 hours from here, I may end up doing my own pickup to save some
shipping charges. Is installing the OS on these 'no-os' machines usually a
major problem?
I was looking at the Dell PIII 600MHZ @ $107.

"jealous xmp" <jealousxmp@aol.commonplace> wrote in message
news:20040411215603.25578.00000190@mb-m04.aol.com...
> >
> >On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 09:40:35 GMT, Wes Newell
> ><w.newell@TAKEOUTverizon.net> wrote:
> >
> >>On Sat, 10 Apr 2004 23:09:20 -0500, consultant wrote:
> >>
> >>> Thanks, I will check KW surplus. I am interested in buying about 50 of
> >these
> >>> '$400.00 machines', any ideas where I can get them. I saw Walmart has
the
> >>> barebones systems, would buying 50 of those and then getting the other
> >>> components (possibly) keep me within budget and trouble-free. I am
> >thinking
> >>> P3 with about 128 RAM, CD ROM, Modem, decent HDD, Sound, and a
Monitor.
> >>> (Obviously I am not a Techie)
> >
> >Then do check there. Last I was there they had stacks of sub Ghz
> >machinmes there (albeit obviously used, and I belive OS-less too).
>
> If you need 50 of them, you might be able to get pallets of parts or even
full
> machines. I see various pallets on Ebay and surplus sites. There might
be the
> OS issue, Win 98 wouldn't be too expensive if you can find license only.
I've
> seen license only XP Home at ~ $55.
>
> I plan to pick up a machine at retrobox.com. The shipping is around ~ $30
per
> box i think, that's the main downside at that vendor.
>
> The barebones Walmart / Microtel you mention are around ~ $160 last i
checked.
> That will be minus the floppy, cdrom, modem, and hard drive (i forget if
RAM is
> included). $200 should bring a more complete box minus windows and
running
> Lindows instead. Unless you plan to put in big HD, perhaps the $200 ones
make
> more sense.
>
> The quantity of 50 ought to get you a good deal. Possibly buy local and
save
> the shipping costs.
>
> Michael

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

> Is installing the OS on these 'no-os' machines usually a
>major problem?
>I was looking at the Dell PIII 600MHZ @ $107.

That Dell should be bootable from CDROM, assuming it has one. They usually
wipe the boxes for security reasons. So adding Linux or Windows shouldn't be
too tough. Just grab the extra drivers from the web.

Several of the retrobox servers have scsi, so it may be a tad more difficult
inititially with extra drivers needed on the boot disks.

Michael

 

[Unknown]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 23:19:22 -0500, "consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com>
wrote:

>,;retrobox seems like they have great deals, has anybody used them before? Its
>,;about 6 hours from here, I may end up doing my own pickup to save some
>,;shipping charges. Is installing the OS on these 'no-os' machines usually a
>,;major problem?
>,;I was looking at the Dell PIII 600MHZ @ $107.

I have purchased perhaps a half dozen computers and one lazer printer
from Retrobox. Every single purchase has been what was listed on their
Web page. In the case of the printer they replaced (at no cost) a
problem with the cartridge and sent me (again at no cost) a CD with
the manual and drivers.

You can save shipping by pickup but watch for their sales for pickup
only.

If they have what you want I wouldn't hesitate to order from them.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

Thanks. Does anybody know if duty is charged to used computers from the US
to Canada. I guess I will have to Call Canada Customs, but have you guys any
experience? Is this thread too tangental

For me to use the retrobox machines, I will have to install modems, any
potential problems in that area?
Know where I can find cheap 56k modems? (google never brought back
retrobox!)


"Unknown" <dwilkins@unitelc.com> wrote in message
newsldm70lkjoj77e6pqfm63gesbtk8edaerf@4ax.com...
> On Sun, 11 Apr 2004 23:19:22 -0500, "consultant" <fazilr@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> >,;retrobox seems like they have great deals, has anybody used them
before? Its
> >,;about 6 hours from here, I may end up doing my own pickup to save some
> >,;shipping charges. Is installing the OS on these 'no-os' machines
usually a
> >,;major problem?
> >,;I was looking at the Dell PIII 600MHZ @ $107.
>
> I have purchased perhaps a half dozen computers and one lazer printer
> from Retrobox. Every single purchase has been what was listed on their
> Web page. In the case of the printer they replaced (at no cost) a
> problem with the cartridge and sent me (again at no cost) a CD with
> the manual and drivers.
>
> You can save shipping by pickup but watch for their sales for pickup
> only.
>
> If they have what you want I wouldn't hesitate to order from them.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.comp.hardware.homebuilt (More info?)

>Thanks. Does anybody know if duty is charged to used computers from the US
>to Canada. I guess I will have to Call Canada Customs, but have you guys any
>experience? Is this thread too tangental

Smuggle them in.

>
>For me to use the retrobox machines, I will have to install modems, any
>potential problems in that area?
>Know where I can find cheap 56k modems? (google never brought back
>retrobox!)

That may be a problem. Windows of various versions will work with win modems
and soft modems. But linux is a bit pickier and works best with hardware or
external modems.

I've seen some cheap externals at compgeeks and new egg. Maybe ~ $20 to $25.
You might be able to find a hardware modem for cheaper. Obviously the Quantity
50 will net you a good deal.

The winmodems are extremely cheap and paradoxically might be faster. The
serial port is generally capped at 90 kbps, which means they can't take
advantage of full v.44 compression.

Michael