power surge done it.
June 18, 2006 3:39 AM Subscribe
my friend's computer is dead and is considering not buying a new one. wtf? I know, Insanity. Whats the cheapest way to get him back on a PC that can email, surf the web, handle office documents and listen to music and maybe play movies.
assume that he doesn't mind using linux or open office so im really asking just about hardware.
Where can one find (used?) reliable PCs for under $100?
What are the minimum specs for a computer running ubuntu or kubuntu to do all those things?
thanks!
assume that he doesn't mind using linux or open office so im really asking just about hardware.
Where can one find (used?) reliable PCs for under $100?
What are the minimum specs for a computer running ubuntu or kubuntu to do all those things?
thanks!
If you watch the deals sites, Dell will often run coupons on perfectly acceptable $300 computers, sometimes with monitor.
Even a very slow, bottom of the barrel new machine is more than adequate for everything you mention.
Playing movies is probably the hardest thing on your list. I was going to suggest an old Thinkpad, because you can often get those cheap and they're pretty reliable... but most of the P3 line is too slow to reliably run all movie formats. Most will do DVDs and MPGs okay, because the video cards have acceleration for that, but they're not fast enough for DivX.
If he ONLY wants DVD playback, then a P3/733+ Thinkpad with a DVD-ROM would likely be fine. Expand the memory up to the max... on most of those machines, it's 512megs. Perfectly serviceable machines, and the T series is pretty light.
posted by Malor at 6:47 AM on June 18, 2006
Even a very slow, bottom of the barrel new machine is more than adequate for everything you mention.
Playing movies is probably the hardest thing on your list. I was going to suggest an old Thinkpad, because you can often get those cheap and they're pretty reliable... but most of the P3 line is too slow to reliably run all movie formats. Most will do DVDs and MPGs okay, because the video cards have acceleration for that, but they're not fast enough for DivX.
If he ONLY wants DVD playback, then a P3/733+ Thinkpad with a DVD-ROM would likely be fine. Expand the memory up to the max... on most of those machines, it's 512megs. Perfectly serviceable machines, and the T series is pretty light.
posted by Malor at 6:47 AM on June 18, 2006
Your friend might find the Xubuntu project more suited to his needs: it's a sister project of Ubuntu, specifically designed to run on older hardware. From the home page:
Other operating systems to consider include Feather Linux, Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux.
posted by blag at 6:51 AM on June 18, 2006
It's lighter, and more efficient than Ubuntu with GNOME or KDE, since it uses the Xfce Desktop environment, which makes it ideal for old or low-end machines, as well as thin-client networks.As cillit points out, a 500MHZ PC will be more than sufficient to run this OS - it should be ok with 128MB of RAM but 256MB will make life a lot more pleasant.
Other operating systems to consider include Feather Linux, Puppy Linux and Damn Small Linux.
posted by blag at 6:51 AM on June 18, 2006
Watch the dumpsters behind office buildings. I've seen up to dozens at a time of computers like that being tossed.
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:06 AM on June 18, 2006
posted by StickyCarpet at 7:06 AM on June 18, 2006
A dell optiplex gx1 with a pIII will feel fast enough to do what you are talking about.
Why does he not want a computer? Maybe there are some good reasons to go analogue for a while. Imagine how self-righteous you could sound at parties: "Oh, I don't use computers [reaches for quill pen]"
posted by craniac at 7:47 AM on June 18, 2006
Why does he not want a computer? Maybe there are some good reasons to go analogue for a while. Imagine how self-righteous you could sound at parties: "Oh, I don't use computers [reaches for quill pen]"
posted by craniac at 7:47 AM on June 18, 2006
What are you, his pusher?
I like RetroBox, which sells used PCs bought up from corporate IT departments. It looks like, at the moment, $100 will get you a Dell PIII 1Ghz with 512 megs of RAM, sans monitor.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 8:09 AM on June 18, 2006
I like RetroBox, which sells used PCs bought up from corporate IT departments. It looks like, at the moment, $100 will get you a Dell PIII 1Ghz with 512 megs of RAM, sans monitor.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 8:09 AM on June 18, 2006
I went to the Salvation Army yesterday and found a lot of machines that are exactly what you describe. Even a 1st-gen iMac, which I thought about getting.
posted by hoborg at 8:30 AM on June 18, 2006
posted by hoborg at 8:30 AM on June 18, 2006
find a discount office supply store. you can probably find something there for under $100
posted by 29 at 9:16 AM on June 18, 2006 [1 favorite]
posted by 29 at 9:16 AM on June 18, 2006 [1 favorite]
Our county sells its surplus electronics at rock-bottom prices. It might be worth seeing if a nearby county or town has a similar sale.
posted by candyland at 9:40 AM on June 18, 2006
posted by candyland at 9:40 AM on June 18, 2006
Retrobox seems to be the cheapest around (by a lot, but shipping is close to $30, so keep that in mind when looking at prices). For Canadians the cheapest is vfxweb (they list shipping right on the listing page, and it is very reasonable).
At least in Toronto, local stores want exorbitant prices, unless there is a super special sale of some kind. It might still be worth it for the added convinience though..
posted by Chuckles at 11:48 AM on June 18, 2006
At least in Toronto, local stores want exorbitant prices, unless there is a super special sale of some kind. It might still be worth it for the added convinience though..
posted by Chuckles at 11:48 AM on June 18, 2006
I bought a 600 mhz imac with a DVD player and 512mb RAM for $90 at Interconnection, a seattle non-profit that refurbishes computers for good causes and sells a few to raise money. I thought it was a great price, much better than the rest of the stuff I saw on CL. Perhaps there's a similar org around where you live?
posted by carterk at 12:19 PM on June 18, 2006
posted by carterk at 12:19 PM on June 18, 2006
Thrift stores!
My local thrift stores always have computer equipment for sale. I've never checked the specs, but I'm sure the staff would allow you to plug things in and verify that they work. If I were looking for something like this, I'd check a thrift store...
posted by jdroth at 12:50 PM on June 18, 2006
My local thrift stores always have computer equipment for sale. I've never checked the specs, but I'm sure the staff would allow you to plug things in and verify that they work. If I were looking for something like this, I'd check a thrift store...
posted by jdroth at 12:50 PM on June 18, 2006
In my experience thrift store computers tend to be wildly overpriced, and usually junk — 133Mhz Packard Bells for $150 and that sort of thing.
That said However, I'd imagine this varies somewhat and you may have better luck.
posted by IshmaelGraves at 5:02 PM on June 18, 2006
posted by IshmaelGraves at 5:02 PM on June 18, 2006
I know I'm a bit late, but I figured I'd give some input. Try Craigslist! I just picked up a computer for $65 and it kicks butt. I probably got lucky with this purchase, but you should be able to find a good computer there for pretty cheap.
posted by Sufi at 2:45 AM on July 27, 2006
posted by Sufi at 2:45 AM on July 27, 2006
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by cillit bang at 4:31 AM on June 18, 2006