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Another Ars Ultimate Budget Box
Some nice Friday afternoon reading for you; Ars Technica has another go at the Ultimate Budget Box, a cheap no-frills PC for minimum cash output. From the article: "Look around inside most corporate offices, where most computers need to handle a few Office documents and light Internet use. They don't need to be able to burn CDs or handle 3D-intensive games, but they do need to be reliable and affordable. Lots of consumers out there probably want a similar box--an appliance that lets them get onto the Internet, take care of e-mail, and create a few documents. For them, being able to burn a CD-RW would probably be nice, but anything beyond that is an extra. Low-cost, reliability, and quality are key. That is what the Ultimate Budget Box is about: not skimping on components, but not loading it up with features either." The final price? US$525.46
I AM A FISH!
I don't see how a $500 computer is the 'ultimate budget box' -- seeing as how dell, hp, and your neighborhood shop all sell boxes that "surf the internet" and run office apps for $300-$400.
Maybe I should have read the article, because I feel like I missed something here....
Comment removed based on user account deletion
*ahem*
Apple's already got that covered. The basic Mac mini is $499, and will likely come with a Core Solo processor soon:
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
"Politicians find new names for institutions which under old names have become odious to the people."
$525?? Might as well buy a Dell for $249 if all you want it for is basic stuff. I hate Dells as much as the next tech but they are cheap and more than adequate for basic stuff (and even some games) for the price.
Here's a quick glance at the final specs:
80 gig SATA HD
DVD+-RW
520 megs DDR
Sempron 2800
Onboard GeForce 6100
15" LCD
+case+speakers+keyboard+mouse
If all I want is CD burning capability, internet surfing, and word processing, for myself or, more likely, for a family member... Dude, they're getting a Dell.
Over the past few years I have seen every hardware web site to one of these "budget boxes" every couple of months.
How is this news?
They could save over $100 if they bought a CRT. Or they could get a nice CRT with at least 1600x1200 resolution. I have an LCD myself, but if you are building a budget PC, wouldn't you want the get the most "bang for your buck"?
Craaaap, I say. I can build budget boxes for $500 CDN.
Admittedly, I haven't RTFA, but I really don't care to. Just seeing that price tag is enough to make me believe it's another piece of overpowered crap. If you just want net browsing and occasional burning, then a Sempron 2xxx + is more than enough for you, and anyone who tells you otherwise is trying to screw ya.
If I knew the wedgies I gave you back in 6th grade would have resulted in this . . . I might have taken a moments pause.
There is no monitor included with the mini. His price includes a 15" LCD. .. I'm sure the appleturfers will mod u up anyway.
Also there is double the HD space and a DVD writer (mini doesnt have a writer)
No worries though
They keep listing these at ~150 for the board and processor. Fry's regularly sells (in their mid-week ad) a $69 board AND processor with video. This weekend's "better" Sempron + Processor + Video (x200) is $119.
The Deskstar 80 is nice, but 250 Deskstars have been as low as $49 after rebate, and there are currently 200 gig drives that are free after some rebate-price-matching -- See places like Fatwallet.com.
Ars just throws out 1/2GB ram. But how do you tweak it? I wonder if they actually put a board together or just solved some equation.
They also so "512MB is about the minimum to do any sort of multitasking without a serious performance hit."
Well, that's just plain not true. (except maybe on windows loaded with spyware).
No modem? On a budget box? No floppy?
2.53Ghz Celeron, 533 FSB
512MB RAM
XP Home
80 GB Drive
CD-RW drive
15" Flat Panel LCD
The price? $399. Why, again, would I pay $525 for this "ultimate" budget box?
Sometimes it's best to just let stupid people be stupid.
$525 for a budget box? I can scrap together some parts and build a friggin' GAMING PC for that much.
...All I can say is that my life is pretty strange...
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx ?c=us&cs=19&l=en&oc=DB110RF1&s=dhs
/512MB DDR / 80GB HD/ 15in flat panel /XP home
... I usually steer clients towards OEM boxes ... because It is impossible for me to make it worth my time to build a budget box for them.
celeron D 325 / intel extreme graphics 2
however one huge and lame problem would be only 3x PCI slots (no agp or PCI express slot for video upgrades)
but if you didn't need a gaming pc.. this thing is like $437.94 shipped (free shipping right now) when it comes to low end pc's
that said if the computer was for my personal use... i would build it rather than get the dell.
actually I am happy to see you, however that is in fact a banana in my pocket.
10 years ago, I would've said to build, rather than buy, a new box. Today ... I cannot with good faith say the same thing to anyone asking from an 'end-user' point of view. Generally speaking nearly every black box PC on the market is quite usuable and is well within 'appliance' price ranges. I noticed the other day at BestBuy that 'cleaning' a PC costs $250, whereas you could purchase the 'coupon computer of the week' for about $50 more.
Simply put, for end users, just about any black box PC is going to be able to compete with a system like this, and probably come with more than you need for the same price. Just my 2 cents.
harryk
think before you write, it'll save me moderator points.
This is actually a pretty useful article illustrating the baseline quality parts for a working, lasting system. Don't fault the article just because a little bit more money you can get a lot more. There are diminishing returns to the amount of money you save once you get to budget territory, with bottom of the line processors and decent processors being only $20 apart.
Most of the big vendors (HP, Dell) offer system "bundles" that offer similar specs for $100-200 cheaper.
I recently purchased an HP CTO bundle through CompUSA. After rebates (yeah, I know, rebates suck) it was $300 + $89 (shipping/handling) + tax. The specs are very close to the Ars system (faster CPU, no DVD burner, 40G drive). It would have cost an extra $30-40 to upgrade the optical drive and hard drive, but the ones I got are all I needed for the "appliance" tasks I an using the machine for.
Plus, I didn't have assemble anything (not like that's difficult, though).
Reading Slashdot is ruining my spelling and grammar.
Over the summer I finally got around to building my own brand-new machine – after dealing with 566MHz + 256MB RAM for several years I figured it was finally upgrade time. I went on TigerDirect.com and grabbed everything I needed:
The entire thing came out at just $375. Obviously not the highest end system, but it's still pretty damn fast, and it can handle just about everything I need it to (including development of Ultima Linux).
Couple months ago I also got my hands on a used DVD drive for $5 at a local computer junk shop – it was marked as a CD-ROM drive, so I figured the hell with it. So now my machine can also play movies and stuff.
And considering that "typical work" for this machine consists of building a cloop or two, upgrading a few packages, running a couple different Web browsers to read /. or tweak my Web site, emulating some game console or other, playing a few rounds of SuperTux or Puzzle Pirates, testing the latest Ultima release in VMware or QEMU, and typing something in OpenOffice.org – and a lot of the time, all of those at once – I'd say that anything more's got to be overkill.
Creative misinterpretation is your friend.
what price?
No, that doubles the cost.
:-(
Sorry, couldn't help myself
"reality has a well-known liberal bias" - Steven Colbert
Nevermind the fact that they don't include tax and shipping on those parts.
I can get a Dell Dimension 3100 through Dell Small Business for $500 (+ $24 shipping) with the following:
Processor: P4 Processor 521 w/HT Technology (2.8GHz,800FSB)
OS: Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
Memory: 512MB DDR2 SDRAM at 400MHz -1 DIMM
Dell Service & Support Plans: 90 Day On-site Economy Plan
Keyboard: Dell USB Keyboard
Mouse: Dell® 2-button USB mouse
Hard Drive: 80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability
Monitor: 17 inch E176FP Analog Flat Panel
Video Card: Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 900
Sound: Integrated 2.0 Channel High Definition Audio
Network Interface: Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
-Nick
"A plan fiendishly clever in its intricacies"- Homer Simpson
no, cause after a few "upgrades" of osX versions it would cost double... can someone explain that? I want a mini when the new ones come out, but I dont want to have to drop $130 each time they want to add another decimal point to the end... at least Microsoft keeps OSs around for a while. Can't complain about Linux free rocks... go Mepis
They...suck...
Seriously, $500 is RIDICULOUS for a PC of that calibur (unless your talking laptops). I can build a moderate gaming computer for that. A no-frills-just-types-prints-and-surfs PC should be possible at around $300.
Why do you need 80GB for internet and word processing again? These people are idiots, and I feel sorry for people that really do just want the basics and go out and build this thing...waste of money...
Associated Press - Yahoo news : Average American Family Income Declines.
DVD R/W, 11b/g wireless, 756M RAM (or thereabouts), fast AMD CPU, and OpenOffice is really expensive - and this is with (gasp) WinXP preinstalled.
I would like to say, though, when I look around my office, I see people who need to burn CD and DVD, who need high-end graphics, who need dual core CPUs.
Because I work in Medical Genetics. And my last office was in Structural Genomics (same kind of capabilities needed). Genetic data crunching really needs a lot of on-CPU crunching, but we usually can get away with only 4Gig of RAM (ok, 8Gig for Data servers). And all those run Linux (bought them from Pogo Linux).
So, I'd have to up that ultimate office PC requirement just a tad.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
I'm sure you guys are making them plenty of money from Shopping.com right now. :) I bet they are happy.
ignorance is bliss. googlefiberatx.com
when you use any excuse to toss Apple at people. the mini doesn't come with monitor, keyboard, mouse. If they wanted a 900 dollar computer, then maybe.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
$500? Im estimating thats about £320 GBP. My 2.8ghz p4 with 512 ram and fx5200 came to £200, including monitor and everything (21" crt). Obviously not everything was new, but what is the point in a budget pc with top grade parts? These guys cant think, they're just contradicting themselves. Again.
The grandparent post said they could build a gaming PC for this much (with some scrounging), while the parent post disputed this. I've been playing BF1942 and even Battlefield 2 on a PC I built from scratch 2 years ago for ~ $700. The only components I scrounged were the monitor, keyboard, and mouse. I'll bet I could build the same system today for $550.
A JETR9250R
The low-end graphics cards at my local store, Central Computer, have 256MB of video RAM and very capable cores, and now cost well under $80. Here's an OEM Radeon 9250 for $70
http://centralcomputer.com/itemdetail.asp?item=VG
Games need decent video cards, but do not need much else. I'm running an old AMD Athlon XP 2500 and it doesn't break a sweat on BF2. The closest I can find to this dinosaur, the Sempron 2600, is $72 retail from NewEgg.
--Pat
In case of the mac mini yes... it is just at that pricepoint.
XP home has such crippled networking functionality that it is absoultely unsuitable for even the most basic tasks involving a windows network.
For home use it's barely passable, but if you are going to use this machine in an office, or to work from home over a Windows VPN, save yourself the headache and don't even consider Home. Microsoft should be ashamed of themselves for even offering such crippleware.
I'd just really like to know how they came up with that price. That's way high.
sent from my slashdot browser.
For about $1000 you can build one of SharkyExtreme's Value Gaming PCs.
Not a bad rig for the price.
I agree, I bought my laptop at tigerdirect too, very good deals. Downloaded OpenOffice onto it, can run gaming software, pretty decent machines.
-- Tigger warning: This post may contain tiggers! --
XP Home's networking is "crippled" in exactly one way - no domain support. It is absolutely suitable for all tasks involving all sorts of networking -- as long as that task isn't joining a Windows domain.
Current price for an OEM version of Windows XP Home averages around $90, Pro averages around $130. So, the $700 spec is a bit high.
Prove it.
as long as that task isn't joining a Windows domain
So basically anything as long as you're only using it at home for personal stuff...
What windows business network doesn't have a domain controller these days? What percentage of windows users build their own PCs, but don't work from home ever? Plus this article touts these boxes for the typical corporate office.
That's what I bought. Did get 1GB RAM though. For that price you get the OS, and AppleWorks which will do for most people.
Very silent, very reliable. Highly recommended.
What windows business network doesn't have a domain controller these days
You would be *VERY* surprised. I have seen 100+ computer workgroups. They can not understand why their network sucks...
What windows business network doesn't have a domain controller these days?
Wouldn't that business network be supplying their own images of XP Pro? So why are you even talking about XP Home?
There are several VERY important things to consider when buying a cheepo Dell.
Yes it will essentially do email and web just as well as the ars box but....
1) The dell probably has onboard video and NO AGP OR PCI-Express slot so you can upgrade the video
and
2) The CPU will not be upgradable.
I bought a Dell for my mother and did'nt realize that the motherboard did'nt have an AGP slot on it (big bummer).
The ars box can be upgraded with faster AMD socket 939 processors if needed and can upgrade the video card. So 4 years down the road you will be able to upgrade this system to run Vista (or OS X hopefully one day) fairly well.
You see this mentioned:
Stability
Unfortunately it appears that the supplied passive northbridge heatsink does not provide enough cooling for the integrated graphics processor, at least as it arrived from the factory. Any extended us of the 3D acceleration capabilities will result it a system crash. This is in a large server case with good airflow.
Hmm, if you can't rely on this bare bones 3d then it might not be worth it. I wasn't thinking gaming but a modest rig that can handle xgl once nvidia releases linux drivers for this chipset. Cause afaik, you don't need powerful 3d for xgl. Hell, wouldn't quake 1 from ten years ago being doing more 3d stuff than xgl. Should be simple stuff for any card with good opengl (which unfortunately is few)
Just buy a Mac Mini. Problem solved.
Didnt read the article either, but grep'd for modem and didnt find it.
I really dont understand why basic computers are still so expensive. For basic
purposes, you really need very little.
The time will come soon, when people will be able to plug a keyboard, mouse, and
display into their CELLPHONE and have enough power to get what they need done
with network-based apps.
I suspect that we live in the golden age of general purpose computers. DRM, convenience,
and price pressure will slowly make general purpose computers more expensive. Then
they will just go away completely.
That doesnt sound like that great of a deal when you can get a mini for 500 all day long, or just wait for a TV sale on a Dell..
---- Booth was a patriot ----
I can build a cheaper comp. Go to Frys and pick up a $179 Sempron box (comes with 52x CD-ROM, 128MB RAM, 40GB HD, integrated graphics, and Linspire 5), upgrade the RAM in it (get a stick of 512 for about $40), and all I'd need was a monitor. Those are plenty cheap enough. Wal-Mart has a 15" LCD for $160. Sure, no burning capabilities, but hey, we're wanting to go cheap, right? So let's see. $179+$40+$160=$379. BAM. Complete system.
I'd have to disagree with that. XP Home is crippled in at least two ways. Of course, XP Pro is crippled in one of those also.
The other one I'm referring to is the OS's limitation on concurrent file transfer. From what I have been told by my local Windows guru, XP only lets you transfer ten files simultaneously.
This can be frustrating when you have a windows "server" without Server 2k or 2k3 on it, and need to host hundreds of small batch files to a large number of computers.
This is such a trivial job for a "server" that you shouldn't have to plunk down the extra dinero for it, but Microsoft has decided to cripple their non-server versions in a way that most people will never notice.
Yes, yes, I'd love to make a linux server perform the same function, but that's not really an option in my current situation. Thanks for offering though.
Wouldn't that business network be supplying their own images of XP Pro? So why are you even talking about XP Home?
Did you read the article?
Well you don't have to upgrade, I know a ton of Mac owners running OS 10.2 and 10.3, nothing forces you to upgrade. And last I checked the upgrade was only $100, and you can jump from 10.2 to 10.4 for that $100 (less if you are a student, and also there is the family pack option).
Computers allow humans to make mistakes at the fastest speeds known, with the possible exception of tequila and handguns
Which monitor did you include in that $500 budget?
The cheap box sounds more useful as a home pc.
I put my office computer through far greater processing punishment than my home computer.
A friend at work bought a Dell laptop that seemed pretty capable just before christmas. It seemed nice, had a good looking screen, built-in wireless, a CDR+DVD-ROM combo drive, and XP home. He paid $499. It was about $575 with shipping and everything.
If they can sell a laptop for that, I'm sure a modest desktop could be a lot cheaper.
I built a pretty decent machine for a friend last year. I think the total was around $400 with a legal Windows. It had 256M RAM, a CD burner, and a 17" CRT monitor.
Points at the end are free. My iBook came with 10.4.2 it's now at 10.4.5 for *free*. These are nothing more or less than patches/new features. 10.4 came out last April. It looks like 10.5 will ship late this year or early next. So about 18 months till you need to buy a new copy to be at the latest and greatest. That seems like a pretty reasonable release schedule to me. In particular considering that OS X releases tend to bring some real value to the party. But then again I buy OpenBSD CDs every six months and don't really mind paying for my tools. So YMMV but I find it pretty reasonable.
Cypherpunks: Civil Liberty Through Complex Mathematics. Those who live by the sword die by the arrow.
Nope - you forgot to add the cost of a $178 TFT monitor (included in Ars' $525 price), keyboard, and mouse. Also, this ultimate budget PC has an 80 GB HD and a DVD-RW drive. A comparable Mac mini would be $727 for the box (with 80 GB HD upgrade, SuperDrive upgrade, and wired keyboard and mouse) plus $178 for the monitor, for a whopping $905. On the other hand, the quality of the Mac mini hardware would be superior, and the Mac mini would run OS X. Me, I'd buy the Mac mini for the extra $380. But I've been thinking about upgrading my windows box (a pathetic PII-300; gave my last Windows box away 3 years ago), and this $525 box looks tempting.
it's not a bad price if you consider they include the price of a 15" LCD monitor for that price tag. Of course I'd go with a 17" CRT instead, for their price of $461.
This case realy proves it. We go out and try to build a good cheap system, and it runs about $525 without shipping costs, and if this for a bussiness, the oportunity or wage costs involved in ordering the invidual parts and the building and debugging of the system. We see that dell, and I am no fan, for around $600, including windows. Now, if you are going to run not windows, or have a extra license to windows, or are going to pirate windows, then one certainly save some money. Otherwise, the build you own is likely to costs more, as a legal copy of XP home is $80.
Which is to say the build your own is really for the hobbyist or specialist, not, in general, the type of people that this article is directed to.
"She's a scientist and a lesbian. She's not going to let it slide." Orphan Black
Skimping on price to ditch features you know you won't need (3d accelleration) or don't want your employees to have (loudspeakers) is a good idea, but what about part longevity? I looked up newegg real quick and it looks like one could build a computer for about a 100 less than what ars came to. Does Ars have some secret list of who makes parts that last longer than 3 months that caused them to pick parts I didn't?
I Browse at +4 Flamebait
Open Source Sysadmin
I remember when memory cost $100 per meg. Now at $40/512Mb it's less than a dime. Maybe we don't have jetpacks and undersea cities, but hey.
Mac mini bundles for $499. So is Fry's Electronics. Mac Mini, 14 (for micro) or 17 (for Frys) LCD screens, Epson All-in-One printers, keyboard, mouse.
You still have to buy a USB cord for the printer though.
All around better for the neophyte computer user.
WhiteWolf666 an exBush supporter. All you new-school,compassionate,save the children Republicans can rot in hell
I am building out a minimalist pc box with FC4 and customizations due to my SOHO client demand for roughly $399 installed. Future visits for add-ons and support are extra of course...
Why do the Slashdot editors even bother posting anything from this two-bit site run by idiots? I guess Ars Technica is giving good money for a place on the Slashdot frontpage.
Budget-minded consumers and offices are not blowing money on poor-price-point LCDs, except maybe in the front office to impress people.
Someday LCD will be competitive with CRT. This is not today. The only major downsides of CRT are footprint and disposal, followed by power. The upside is that a given size CRT is $200 or more cheaper than the same size LCD. Add in LCD's nightmares offaulty backlights, pixels going bad, and fragility, and you've got a losing option.
Terrorists can attack freedom, but only Congress can destroy it.
I own one of the FRY's cheap boxes.
I learned that the motherboard ahs a nasty habit of not suppling the correct voltages to the AGP slot.
I didn't test it myself, I got a PCI card. I bought the thing almost 2 years ago for a development box. I had hoped to get 9 months ut of it. Now it is my wifes WoW box(hence the video upgrade).
Also, you excluded Windows.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
The people who are looking for a budget box just for email and surfing are NOT the kind of people who are going to be running Linux on it. Not even Mepis. Thus the Mac Mini is an excellent choice for them. Sure the upgrade to 10.5 will cost them, but so will the upgrade to Vista.
A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
At MicroCenter three weeks ago they had the Mac Mini with extra Mac harddrive, flat planel display, keyboard and mouse, for only $499 (after rebate). You can't beat that deal with a stick! Hurry now to see if they still have them!
A Government Is a Body of People, Usually Notably Ungoverned
RTFA. They include a CRT and LCD in the recommendation, and then let you pick the one that suits your needs.
Dimension 5150 + 19" LCD $599 - 5% = $569 + $24 s&h
* Select Desktops >>5150 $599
* P4 3.0GHz w/HT, 512MB, 80GB, DVD burner, XP Home
* 19" E196FP LCD, 7.1 Audio
Well given the history of Apple, each new OS you buy will actually run twice as fast as the previous one, on the same hardware.
Really, I am not kidding here. My old 2000 iBook runs 10.4 hellafalot faster than 10.0!!! I am sticking with 10.3 for now, since it runs a bit faster than 10.4, but a lot faster than 10.0,1, and 2.
I will check out 10.5 and see if that runs, when it comes out... Though I have a very bad feeling about those universal binaries; they gotta slow things down...
So yeah, go with mini, and 6 years later it will still be a usable machine, probably much more so than today.
Bad thing about Mini is the way Apple scams you on the addons:
- You want extra 510 MB RAM? + $100
- wireless keyboard? +$100 (plus you need bluetooth for +$79)
- wireless networking/bluetooth? +$79
- faster proc? +$100
- how about our LCD? +$500
By the time a newbie configures it, it's a whopping $1500+
This "budget" box blows. I recently bought a Compaq (gasp) desktop that was an aging model at compUSA for a whopping $125 after rebates galore. Specs: Sempron 3300+, 256 MB DDR, 100GB 7200 RPM SATA HD, CD-RW, pci-E slot for video expansion, and XP Home pre-installed. While this is not an everyday deal, this computer or a similar system regular sells in the low 300$ range. It beats all of the specs ars provided, though it does not have a monitor. Last I checked, a 17" CRT went for maximum $100, and 1 17" LCD is $159 at Fry's this weekend. So I'm still way under their price, better specs, and I got an OS to boot. No this PC is nothing special by any means, but it will certainly knock out emailing and word processing as well as CD-burning. How on Earth is this crap newsworthy?? This PC would have been a mediocre deal a year ago...maybe.
Thanks, but I guess I wasn't really clear - I'm upgrading my very old windows box at some point to replace the not-so-old windows box I gave away when I got my G5.
iirc it also doesn't let you have any form of access control on shares.
note: i'm known as plugwash most places but i screwd up registering that here somehow in the past and now can't register
Yeah, an HP or Dell will be cheaper, but the parts they use are garbage, and the support is dirty rotten terrible. Drives, power supplies fail because they use cheap garbage ones.
Now, the "average" user is scared to even open the PC. Many "average" users now even see fit to just trash the machine when it gets spyware! Jeez, just reinstall Windows...oh wait, maybe the machine didn't come with a Windows disk! That's another common Dell trick these days, to save...what? Fifty cents?
However, these "average" users don't even KNOW you can build your own computer! Thus they would not be "asking from an 'end-user' point of view" because they don't know to ask if they should build a computer!
Thus: if anyone's smart enough to ask, I would unflinchingly tell him/her to build a system from scratch. If they're not smart enough to ask that question, hopefully they're at least smart enough to buy a Mac.
Penny - plain text accounting
Uhh, so they went shopping at newegg, what's the big deal? I picked out the same rig, with same hard drive, dvdrw, mobo but a sempron 2600 ('twas four or five months ago) and even the same case. Friday nights tend to be slow news-wise, but how did this made the front page?
Instead, how about a nice story about how a sequel is behing made to Serenity. No, wait, it's getting permanently axed. Oh, hold one one second, Joss Whedon says something different.
I can help?
How?
ohmygododoomygodawesomeoooomygod Go Firefly!!!
But seriously though, I think slashdot should only push real tech stuff onto the front page. How about only 'highbrow' material from now on?
Stop catering to the kids in the basement and think about the career professional. You are nine years old, and for those of use who were the former when you started are now the latter.
Do you see the sig? Do you have it in your sights? Why yes, Miss Moneypenny...
Since when is a AMD Sempron 2800+ 'minimal'? My mom uses a compaq P90 for internet and word processing, and does Just Fine. You could probably pick up a system that was wonderful for web browsing and word processing - say a AMD k6 400 with a 4 gig hard drive and a cheapo vid card - for 40 bucks on ebay.
Go rummage around the dump. I am sure you can find what you need there.
I have a 1Ghz Athlon, and it can burn cds at full speed (my cd-recorder is a 52x philips).. i dont get why this whole cd-burning thing is used as a comparison ...
For home use it's barely passable, but if you are going to use this machine in an office, or to work from home over a Windows VPN....
You mean, like, if you're a professional?
I bought an e machines Sempron 3300 machine just before Chrietmas that's as least as good as this one in every way - for $284.00 with a $50.00 dollar rebate (Final price $234.00 INCLUDING Mass sales tax!). I could have bought TWO of these e machines for what they want for one of these. Today, Dell has a high end desktop for $599.00 and that INCLUDES a 19 inch 8 ms LCD monitor. Also, HP has machines on sale all the time that run close to half the price of this one.
Yep, drop the monitor and add XP home... you'll end up paying more than a mac... http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/A ppleStore.woa/72802/wo/gE3NJN0RNT3g3jgMuIi1a9vd3vy /2.?p=0
I guess Macintosh computers are cheaper than even the ultimate budget box now...
when I told them I could block ads with Firefox their faces lit up
If you can tell me how websites are getting around the pop-up blocker code build into FF (standard install), or how to prevent them without some kind of intense javascripting whitelist, that'd be fantastic.
I only post comments when someone on the internet is wrong.
I'm tired of people saying that they could build a super computer for a dime and not give specifics.
_ __$670
I've been thinking about building a nice Linux box for software development and a file server. This box needs to last for at least 4 years, and be upgradeable in two( hardrive, video card, and CPU ). I'm not playing the latest games, so I don't need a gazillion FPS for Duke Nukem Forever. I do need to a large HD for digital photos. He is what I was thinking about building:
Case: Aspire X-Dreamer II 420W - $66
motherboard: MSI K8N Neo4-F socket 939 - $84
cpu: AMD Athlon 64 3200+ heatsink & fan - $170
memory: two Samsung 512MB PC 3200 - $75
video card: eVGA Geforece 6800 256MB PCI-E - $134
hard drive: Western Digital Caviar 250GB SATA 7200 - $98
DVD-RW: Pioneer DVR-110D dual layer - $43
sound: built in
network: built in
mouse: use one I have
keyboard: use one I have
monitor: use one I have
Total:___________________________________________
Is this a good price? Will it last 4 years or more (with upgrades)?
rob_osx
for $400 i got a computer that runs Farcry, HL2 and Doom 3 on medium settings.
I was expecting to see a price tag of $250, which is what would be reasonable for an internet/word processor box.
Start, Run, type "SHRPUBW". At the opportune moment, select "Custom", and configure.
That'll be $85/hr, please.
I think you can also disable "simple file sharing" in XP home by booting into safe mode, logging in as administrator, opening my computer, tools, folder options..., View tab, scroll down, uncheck simple file sharing. That may not be right. SHRPUBW should work.
~Will
sig?
Dude, are you stoned? Dells are at $499 with way more than what you listed. The clone days are over.
I got my mom a university surplus box a couple months ago for $64 with that would have been about half as fast as this (900mhz + 512mb ram). Why the hell would you pay so much more for such a small boost?
Computer stuff is so cheap these days, it's almost like garbage. The case and power supply were more valuable then the computer parts! (probably more then $64 separately)
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
Yeah, I'm sure your box can do anything, but how do you stand sitting around waiting for it to page for ages? Even back when windows 98 came out 128 megs of ram was pushing it.
And ram is so cheap these days Are you still using EDO-DRAM? 512mb DDR-SDRAM is $30 on price watch.
Actualy, your box is probably pretty close in spec to my home PC, still running the same 600mhz AMD Duron chip that I put in in 2000. I have 1.5 gig of ram though.
(tried upgrading twice, once buying a 900mhz duron that I burned out trying to overclock, another time to a 2500+ Athlon, which was one speed grade higher then the motherboard could handle. I ended up buying another case and motherboard (the total cost for a whole new system was like $150 for what was reasonably high end at the time). But, um, something happened to that machine.
Actualy, I used to run '98 on this machine, before I installed 2000. In theory I could still boot into it, but it's been years since I tried that, and obviously not all my drivers are up to date. Heh.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
What's wrong with having a "crap" computer? as long as you don't skimp on the hard drive, you should be fine.
autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
You try to put together a PC for $200 than can run Mac OS X, which means that it have a SSE2 CPU, which is already something that few people really need, people rather need something like a 500 MHz Celeron.
http://osx86project.org/?option=com_cont ent&task=view&id=27&Itemid=2
You just got troll'd!
I dropped off some papers for recycling at the town dump. Right next to the "No Computers" sign was a PII in a tower case, a 17-inch CRT and a 15-inch CRT. At home it boots into WNT -- "Gold, Jerry, gold!!"
I bet Grandma would be even more disappointed if she switched from Linux to Windows. Sure she could probably run TurboTax, but do you realize that:
You might find the above scenario highly improbably but I am pretty sure that's how my father and brother would react if I replaced their Kubuntu by Windows. You might also say that some things have to be done only once under Windows (driver/codec installs, etc), but I would reply that it's the same for Linux: configure it once and it works; with the exception that Linux will never (or extremely rarely) break while Windows will probably have to be reinstalled more often than Linux. It has been a bit more than 1 year that my father and brother have been using Kubuntu (KDE-based Ubuntu), since I removed the whole Windows thing :-) They are the main users of the computer, and they are very happy with this distro and consider it particularly easy to use. When my brother plugs his PSP in, a file browser window automatically pops-up and lets him access the files on the PSP memory card. Same thing when they plug in the digital camera. And when an audio CD is inserted in the drive, a window shows virtually encoded audio files which can be dragged-dropped directly on the desktop (audio encoding is done on-the-fly). They also have successfuly configured the printer themselves by running the Printer Manager application and by following the 3 or 4 easy steps of the Wizard. My father uses OpenOffice.org2 Writer as if it was MS Word. They don't complain about games because my brother plays only on his PS2 and my father is not a gamer. My brother also found an IM app (with Adept) that lets him chat with his friends on MSN, I believe the configuration setup must have been easy since he didn't even ask for my help :-) The only problem they have got so far is that they couldn't find an app able to uncompress password-protected RAR files (turns out a GUI frontend was complaining that 'unrar' was not installed).
If yo
but Mandriva.
Ars should have known that.
less is more
I think the most interesting thing I see is that this budget box with a 2800+ costs more than an identical system with 3200+ and Dual Layer dvd burner at walmart... they're only 498 in the box...
~~ Please keep your arms, legs, and outright stupidity inside the ride at all times. Thank You ~~
The anand machine is significantly upgradable, the Dell is not, that makes all the difference. Additionally: No, $250 does not purchase a usable machine from Dell. Nor does $300 (the lowest price machine now) plus a $50 rebate that may show up. The lowest Dell, upgraded into usability is $399 - and will not be upgradable.
Anandtech generally recommneds a machine that can be used for 3+ years with only a memory upgrade. This is not the Dell, which does not even have a Video Slot (Look at the Tech Specs for the B110. I had never heard of such a thing either.)
Consider this personal opinion:
"A minimum machine with WinXP is a Processor, 512MB memory (more if Norton or moderate use), HDD, and archival storage."
Even just surfing requires an anti-virus product. This requires more memory than the minimum Dell. Add $$ ($$$ if Norton)
If you are actually doing work, add $$ for a backup method. (CDRW? ok, your dell just went to $370 with an $80 rebate that may show up.)
The basic Dell for $250 (after rebate) is a Celery 2.5GHz/256MB/80GB/CD machine. Any person doing ANYTHING with this machine needs more memory, and some way to back up data. Now we are talking about another $100 of parts +~ $70 labor. (Remember, most people don't do this themselves, it can be cheaper but then you have to factor in time to take it to somewhere...) More if you order parts from Dell.
If you take the lowest end Dell, Remove the monitor, add memory to get to 512MB, and a DVD/CDRW - Your Dell is now $399. Without a graphics slot (????) Expect it to run for about a year and it's entirely non-upgradable in any meaningful manner. The Ananadtech machine is $550(?) but will run rings around the Dell, and can actualy be upgraded into something better. And that makes all the difference.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
I just bought a DSM [Damn Small Machine from DSL-Linux it is cheaper faster quiter,and a lot cooler //http://www.damnsmalllinux.org/store/Mini_ITX_Sys tems/Damn_Small_Machine/>
Diplomacy is the art of saying "Nice doggie" until you can find a rock. Will Rogers
Why build a budget box for $525.46 when you can buy a brand new Mac mini for $499?
http://www.apple.com/macmini/
Wow! Under US$550? Fully loaded?
Just like a Mac Mini you mean...
...which would add $100-250 to the "budget box." Guess what DOES come with the MacMini, Mr. Smartypants?
No, I don't own a single Mac, so no fanboyism here, just a big 'ol dose of obviousness...not that many people I know actually PAY for their Windows discs, but still.
... and I for one welcome our new Mac OS X x86 installing overlords
Don't ping my cheese with your bandwidth!
They went ahead and got a SATA hard drive, but chose not to include a floppy drive, and gave their reasons for doing so? The only thing i've used a floppy for in the past 2 years is installing SATA drivers. Yeah i have on in my box, but its a combo with an 11 in one card reader too.
"Sic Semper Tyrannosaurus Rex."
If it is going to be that gimped, might as well pick up a cheap HP or Dell for under $300. Better to just spend an extra $200-300 for something that is not already on teh verge of obsolesecence as soon as you have put ti together.
Here's what Spectrum Computer in San Francisco is offering:
AMD Value and Performance 64-bit Solutions $499
AMD Athlon-64 3000+ 1.8GHz 512K 939
Asus A8V-MX S939 mATX
Mid-Tower ATX w/ 350WPS
512MB DDR400 Memory
160GB SATA 7200RPM HDD
PowerColor Ati Radeon 9550 256MB agp
Onboard Realtekk ALC653 6CH CODEC
Onboard Realtek RTL8210CL 10/100 LAN
16x DVDRW Dual Layer
1.44MB Floppy Drive
Logitech KB + MC
Add any of the following LCD monitors:
Aopen 17" LCD F2705-12S 12ms 450:1 Analog Black $220
Nspire 17" LCD N17 12ms Analog Black $223
Viewsonic 17" LCD VA702B 12ms Analog Black $239
Viewsonic 17" LCD VA-712b 8ms Analog/Digital Black/Silver DVI $249
Viewsonic 17" LCD VX-724 3ms Analog/Digital Black/Silver $304
Now compare the specs to the "Ultimate Budget Box" - Ars is out their mind.
ALWAYS buy your box from a bunch of Chinese guys operating out of a neighborhood store front. Nobody can beat them for prices because their overhead is basically zilch.
Richard Steven Hack - This sig is TOO GODDAMN SHORT TO DO ANYTHING USEFUL WITH! MORONS!
I thought this was slashdot..."news for nerds" Since when was reading about building a budget box worth my time? Want to know what my budget box is? The garage sale down the street for a $15 monitor and the local university scrapping last years computers for $100 even. Thank you and good day.
$500? Come on. My main workstation and the half-dozen or so backup PCs I use didn't cost that much. The last purchase I made was four firewall boxes with identical hardware for emergency swap-outs. They work perfectly, and I paid ~US75 for the lot. I run a stack of 21" monitors at 1600x1200, and they cost me around $US100 apiece a couple of years back. And yes, I've got CD burners and the usual gubbins.
What's this $500 supposed to get you? Warranty above and beyond that on the parts? A big-box name sticker on the side of the PC? Free support? A voucher for Duke Nukem Forever?
I see the confusion. Here's a quote from the article:
The Ultimate Budget Box tosses the gaming focus out the window, instead focusing on a bare-minimum budget system. To all those people clamoring for a minimalist Budget Box: this is it. Look around inside most corporate offices, where most computers need to handle a few Office documents and light Internet use. They don't need to be able to burn CDs or handle 3D-intensive games, but they do need to be reliable and affordable. Lots of consumers out there probably want a similar box--an appliance that lets them get onto the Internet, take care of e-mail, and create a few documents. For them, being able to burn a CD-RW would probably be nice, but anything beyond that is an extra. Low-cost, reliability, and quality are key.
On one hand, if this is a box you're using at home, chances are you don't need a domain controller. XP Home is perfectly able to get you onto the Internet, check e-mail, run Office, etc.
The part that's confusing is where it talks about the "corporate office". In that case, you absolutely need to have XP Pro. However, I think it's silly to talk about such computers. Who buys their own computer for the office? The focus of this article is for the home enthusiast that wants to build their own budget box for their own use. The writer could have been a bit more clear on this.
-- jchenx
Monitor is _included_ in their price and not in yours. That's at least a $100 difference.
Not to mention the speaker allowance they included of $15. Everyone here is fudging numbers to make themselves sound like deal masters when in fact they're just skimping or excluding certain features whereas Ars did not.
Maybe Ars recognized Celeron as the steamy pile that it is and decided to go with a semi-decent processor instead for an extra 10 or 20 bucks.