Acer Aspire Predator AG7750-U2222 The Acer Aspire Predator AG7750-U2222 has class-leading performance, expandability, and features. 
Cisco Flip UltraHD 8GB If you're looking for a simple user experience and excellent-quality video in a pocket-size camcorder--rather than frills or a flashy design--the latest-gen Flip UltraHD delivers. 
NEWS & OPINION Blogs AppScout Gearlog GoodCleanTech Security Watch Columnists Lance Ulanoff John C. Dvorak Tim Bajarin Dan Costa Sascha Segan Michael J. Miller Most Recent Target to Sell Apple iPad Starting Oct. 3 Target will start selling Apple's iPad, all six versions, effective October 3rd. Microsoft Windows Phone 7 Won't Support Tethering Microsoft denied that its upcoming Windows Phone 7 operating system will support tethering. Netflix CEO Considering Streaming-Only Option in U.S. Netflix is considering the launch of a streaming-only U.S. subscription option in the next few months, chief executive Reed Hastings said. Sharp's Quattron Four-Color HDTV Tech Put to the Test In addition to the normal red, green, and blue subpixels, Sharp's Quattron line of LCD TVs has added yellow subpixels. So more is better, right? Not necessarily. DOWNLOADSBUSINESSSHOP 
Pcmag.com $(document).ready(function() { $('.search-box').focus(function() { $(this).attr('value', '') .css('color', '#000'); }); $('.search-box').blur(function() { var searchContents = $(this).attr('value'); if (searchContents == '' && searchContents != 'SEARCH') { $(this).attr('value', 'SEARCH') .css('color', '#ccc'); } }); }); HomeProduct GuidesDesktopsBuild a $200 Linux PC Build a $200 Linux PC email share print reprint Share this page If you need a second or third computer but money is tight, you don't need to buy a full system. You can build a surprisingly speedy Linux PC that will excel at everyday tasks, and cost less than $200. Social Sharing Sponsored by: IN THIS STORY Build a $200 Linux PC Rationale The Components The Build and the Configuration Performance Final Thoughts: We Did It, But Should You? By: Matthew Murray07.23.20103 comments 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).
Once we had our target price, we took to Newegg.com to see whether this could really be done. We spent hours researching all the possibilities, making swaps, compromises, and last-minute changes until we had all the parts for our impossibly inexpensive system that, amazingly, came in under budget.
We had met our goal—on paper. But there's a lot more to any computer than just how it looks on a Web site or in the cells of an Excel spreadsheet. We needed to make sure the computer would meet our needs, and not be stuck functioning as a big steel paperweight. Read on for the details about how we built one of the least expensive computers we've seen, while learning a lot more than we expected about the difficulties of component shopping, the importance of knowing what you need (and what you're willing to settle for), and the knowledge that what you get can sometimes be considerably more than just what you see.
Next: Rationale >> More... Recommended More by this Author Intel Offering CPU Upgrade Card AMD Releases New Phenom II, Athlon II CPUs Civilization V Rattner Describes the Future of Context-Aware Computing AMD to Release Drivers via Valve's Steam
.dsq-global-toolbar-container { display:none; } 254119http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2368511,00.aspqr0AM0vA3N965TwszpPEvjVWvidaKmvlW9tyDPw2k5Q=5133110T3 Showing 1 to 3 of 3Comments
capitanqueso September 1, 2010 5:42 PM I live in argentina and $200 bucks is too much but any ways electronics get here too overpriced you can buy a decent office PC for that money (but pirate windows and everithing onboard single core processor 1 GB memory and HD 160 GB)
DickWoodcock September 11, 2010 1:22 PM I spent that much keeping my 5 year old Athlon 64 system running last month.
Long story short I thought I needed a new power supply, so I got a new one. While I was at the store, I decided to get a cheap Nvidia card, because Linux hated my old Radeon 9500 pro. (Plus the fan was shot anyway). And I decided to splurge for a new SATA hard drive.
After getting everything together, I found out that the motherboard was dying, not the P.S. Not having much money, I went online and found a used $35 board that I could put all of my components on. When that was installed, I found out that it was an old Gateway board that had disabled the SATA in the BIOS, with no BIOS available that enabled it. So I spent another $50 for an external USB/ESATA enclosure for the new drive.
Total spent on a 5 year old system: about $220.
pende6@aol.com September 12, 2010 7:01 PM Well this looks like a good winter project . I went to locate the parts mentioned in the report . Pulled up egghead and found that the case r424bk was no longer stocked , the memory only came in a 3 pack and the cpu did not come with a heat sink or fan . This added a lot to the 200 dollar price . If anyone can tell me about sub . parts please post
Add Your Comment 2000 characters remaining#w_graveyard {clear:none!important;}SponsorsPCMag's SMB Innovators: Small Businesses Doing Smart Things with Technology. Sponsored by Verizon Wireless.Google Chrome Download. Searching is fast and easy with Google's web browser. www.google.com/chromeCrucial memory is an affordable, effective way to boost PC performanceGet the business phone service that gives you more: Internet fax, online meetings, call recording and softphone.Optimize 802.11n performance with Cisco CleanAir technology. Learn How.Boost productivity with cutting edge computers from HP and AMD.Ultimate wireless performance to power your life. Linksys E-Series.New Dell LED Studio monitor starting at $159.99! Beautiful Screen Quality and Slim design! LogMeIn Free ? Remote Support has never been faster, easier or freer.Protect your Family PC, identity, photos, & music from online digital dangers. Download a FREE 60-Day Trial of Norton Internet Security 2011 right HERE!Adobe® eLearning Suite 2 ? A complete eLearning authoring toolbox.Brother Printers Rated #1 in Reliability. Learn More at Brother.com.Make meetings more efficient with MindManager - start your free trialSave now with the best deals from CDW. Save on desktops, notebooks, LCDs and more.Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010: Top scorer in PCMag's malware-removal and malware-blocking tests. Safeguard your PC now.Upgrade today with new laptops and desktops from HP and Intel.Save up to $300 on select best-selling Dell laptops!Save up to $375 on select Dell performance laptops with Core i7 technology!Save up to $500 on select Dell performance desktops with Core i7 technology! .digg-widget { font-family: Helvetica,Arial,Verdana,sans-serif; background-color: white; padding: 10px 0px; margin-top: 10px;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-head { position:relative; border-bottom: 1px solid #CCC; height:30px; /*padding:0 43px 0 10px;*/ overflow:hidden; white-space:nowrap; width: 90%; margin: 0 auto;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-head.premium { -moz-border-radius-topleft: 6px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius:6px; -moz-border-radius-topright: 6px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius:6px;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-head a { display:none; position:absolute; right:10px; bottom:12px; width:30px; height:16px; background:url(http://widgets.digg.com/img/widget.png) 0 -60px no-repeat; }.digg-widget .digg-widget-head h2 { font-size:14px; margin:0; padding:10px 0 0 0; font-weight:normal; overflow:hidden; white-space:nowrap; line-height:normal;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-subhd { font-size:12px; margin:3px 0 3px 10px;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-tabs { height:30px; /*padding:0 10px;*/ overflow:hidden; border-bottom: 2px solid #EEE; text-transform: uppercase; width: 90%; margin: 0 auto;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-tabs .digg-tab { /*display:inline-block;*/ background-color:gray; cursor:pointer; padding: 3px 7px; margin:0 5px 0 0; font-size:10px; color: white; /*font-weight:bold;*/ line-height:28px; /*border:1px solid;*/ /*border-bottom:0px;*/}.digg-widget .digg-widget-tabs .digg-tab.premium { -moz-border-radius-topleft: 3px; -webkit-border-top-left-radius:3px; -moz-border-radius-topright: 3px; -webkit-border-top-right-radius:3px;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-tabs .digg-tab-on { background-color: #0188ca; /*background:url("http://www.pcmag.com/img/bg-diggs-tab-arrow.gif") no-repeat scroll 50% 100% #0188ca;*/}.digg-widget .digg-widget-content { position:relative; padding:5px 0 10px 0; overflow:auto;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-content.digg-alt { overflow-x:hidden;}.digg-widget .digg-story { padding:6px 0 6px 0; border-bottom: 1px dotted #CCCCCC; margin:0 10px;}.digg-widget .digg-story .digg-story { position:relative; min-height:30px; _height:30px; padding:0 0 0 35px; border:0; margin:0;}.digg-widget .digg-story.countless .digg-story { padding:0;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-col { position:relative; width:50%; float:left; clear:none; margin:0;}.digg-widget .digg-alt.digg-widget-col { margin:0 -1px; }.digg-widget .digg-story.digg-alt { border-bottom:0;}.digg-widget .digg-story a.digg-count { position:absolute; left:0; top:0; width:30px; height:27px; line-height:30px; text-decoration:none; display:block; font-weight:bold; font-size:11px; text-align:center; color: #93883F !important; background:url(http://widgets.digg.com/img/widget.png) no-repeat 0 -30px; overflow:hidden;}.digg-widget .digg-story a.digg-count:hover { background-position:0 0;}.digg-widget .digg-story a.digg-count:hover span{ display:none;}.digg-widget .digg-story-thumb { position:relative; /*padding-left:35px;*/ _height:30px; min-height:30px;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-description { margin:5px 0 0 0; color:#999; font-size:11px;}.digg-widget .digg-story-thumb img { /*position:absolute;*/ left:1px; top:0; width:30px; height:30px; border:0; float: right;}.digg-widget .digg-story { line-height:12px;}.digg-widget .digg-story a { font-size:11px; font-weight:bold; text-decoration:none; color: #0188ca;}.digg-widget a.see-more { font-weight:normal; text-decoration:none; font-size:11px; display:block; clear:both; margin:10px 0 0 10px; outline:0;}.digg-widget .digg-widget-error { margin:0 10px; padding:5px 0 10px 0; color:#cc0000;}.digg-widget br { line-height:1px;}See more pcmag.com stories on Digg.comSee more pcmag.com stories on Digg.com .premium_partner_link {display:block; width:80px; height:40px; line-height:36px; border-top: 1px #828282 solid; border-right: 1px #828282 solid; border-bottom: 3px #828282 solid; border-left: 3px #828282 solid; text-decoration:none!important;}.premium_partner_link_double {display:block; width:80px; height:40px; line-height:17px; border-top: 1px #828282 solid; border-right: 1px #828282 solid; border-bottom: 3px #828282 solid; border-left: 3px #828282 solid; text-decoration:none!important;}.premium_partner_link:hover {background-color:#e0f3f7; border-top: 3px #828282 solid; border-right: 3px #828282 solid; border-bottom: 1px #828282 solid; border-left: 1px #828282 solid; text-decoration:none!important;}.premium_partner_link_double:hover {background-color:#e0f3f7; border-top: 3px #828282 solid; border-right: 3px #828282 solid; border-bottom: 1px #828282 solid; border-left: 1px #828282 solid; text-decoration:none!important;}.premium_partner_title {font-weight: bold; font-size: 11px; color:#117398; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-weight:bold; text-align: center; padding:2px;}.premium_partner_button {float:left; margin:3px; text-align:center;}.premium_margin {margin:14px 0px 0px 5px;}.partners {border:0px; padding:6px 8px 15px 10px;}div#content div.partners {border:10px solid #E9E9E9;}div#content div.partners .premium_partner_button {margin:7px;}div#content div.premium_margin {margin: 15px 0px 0px 0px;}Shop for products from our partnersCDWDell HomeHP Home & Home OfficeIntel Lenovo .spotlight .frame {height:auto!important;} ADVERTISEMENTProduct Spotlight
HP Mini 5103The HP Mini 5103 comes fully-loaded with a dual-core Atom processor, Broadcom HD decoder chip, and touchscreen.
Editor Rating
Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010Spyware Doctor with AntiVirus 2010 adds numerous new "guards" against malware and promises enhanced malware detection and cleanup?and delivers.
Editor RatingPC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION
Issue Index Customer Service Subscribe
Use of this site is governed by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy
Copyright © 1996-2010 Ziff Davis, Inc. All Rights Reserved. PC Magazine is a registered trademark of Ziff Davis, Inc. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff Davis, Inc. is prohibited.
No comments:
Post a Comment