The Components
With our budget and ground rules set, we were ready to go shopping on Newegg. It took us a while to get a list we were completely happy with, but we eventually did. Here are the final components we decided upon.
Motherboard: Foxconn A6GMV ($39.99). Sorry, Intel, but there was never much question that this build would be AMD-based. And though we admit that our starting point with the motherboard (as with most of the hardware) was to sort Newegg's offerings by the lowest price, that isn't where we stopped. This motherboard makes good sense for three other reasons as well. Because it supports AMD's AM3 socket, we'll be able to upgrade to a much more powerful CPU later when we have more money to spend. (Intel has a wider array of socket types that prevent upgrading from the lowest to the highest performance categories.) Plus, the motherboard's DDR3 1333 RAM bays would grant us an extra dose of performance—and we knew we'd need all we could get. Finally, it had integrated graphics, which we knew were a must since there was no way we were going to be able to afford a video card.
CPU: 2.9-GHz AMD Athlon II X2 245 ($58.99). We knew that this was going to have to be the most expensive component in our system, so we wanted to make every dollar count. And we were right: This processor sucked up more than a quarter of our budget. But it's not a bad deal. Though far from the most powerful CPU in AMD's catalog, the 2.9-GHz, dual-core Athlon X2 245 would provide a solid basis for our system that would almost certainly elevate its performance beyond that of standard nettops (the category of machine our system would by necessity most resemble).
Memory: 1GB Crucial CT12864BA1339 ($24.99). We couldn't help but wince a little when we realized we had to go this way—************SPAM/BANNEAR************ 1GB of memory? In 2010? But, remembering our rule number four, we knew we wouldn't be able to get everything we considered essential. In the plus column, this was relatively speedy DDR3 1333 (PC3 10600) memory, so at least we'd be making the most of what we had. And since we knew we were going to install Linux, the RAM became less of a concern. Many popular Linux distros ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ require 512MB, and double that amount would certainly be enough in a way it's not with Windows. (We've had horrible experiences using Vista and 7 with anything less than 2GB.)
Hard Drive: 160GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST3160318AS ($38.99). Hard drive prices have dropped so much that buying a decent one doesn't feel like splurging anymore. Yes, it was just a boring old 7,200-rpm drive. But what more did we need? Because many versions of Linux come preinstalled with so much software, we didn't anticipate running out of storage space. This would give us more than enough room for the OS, and still leave us lots of space for files—no, we wouldn't be able to store our entire photo or MP3 collections, but we wouldn't be hurting for space either. For a second or third system with network access, it seemed like enough.
Case and Power Supply: Rosewill R424BK with 350-watt PSU ($29.99). This purchase caused us the most controversy and gnashing of teeth. Could we really spend so little on two of a computer's most critical elements? Did we want to? Was it even safe? These are crucial questions, and ones we don't recommend anyone take lightly when planning a system of any price. (Skimping on power supplies can result in energy inefficiency at best—and maybe even worse problems.) But staying within our budget meant taking some risks, and we felt a little better about this Roseweill case considering it had been originally priced at $59.99, but brought down into our price range with the help of Newegg's always-handy instant savings. This was just a mid-tower case, but it would have sufficient room for our simple system, and allow us more to expand later.
Operating System: Ubuntu 10.04 LTS (Free). Obviously, this is going to be a judgment call—everyone has his or her favorite Linux distro, and subtle differences in interface and software selection will ultimately determine what's the right one for you. But when it comes to overall ease of use, the variety of preinstalled software, and wide-ranging support options, Ubuntu is the one we like.
Keeping to our budget meant leaving out two potentially crucial components: a video card and an optical drive. The former was a no-brainer: Even the least expensive cards out there, like AMD's ATI Radeon HD 5450, could eat up huge chunks of our budget and still not give us the ability to play 3D games with even moderate success. So we chose to stick with the motherboard's integrated graphics. As for the optical drive, we struggled to keep it in our configuration, but we could figure out no way to do so and keep the our bill below $200. But the more we thought about it, the better we felt about the decision. Ubuntu's preinstalled software (and Software Center download service) means we won't be hurting for apps. The ************SPAM/BANNEAR************ hurdles: We wouldn't be able to play CDs or DVDs locally without an external drive, and we'd have to use a USB key for the Linux install. Given how little we use optical drives today as it is, and given how many USB keys we just seem to randomly collect, these were compromises we could live with. (If you don't have a drawerful of USB keys the way we do, an external hard drive will do the installation job just fine.)
Our final total: $192.95 (accurate as of July 22, 2010).
