Workstation
Contents |
$350 AMD
Part | Model | Price | Case |
---|---|---|---|
CPU | AMD Sempron 3200+ | 46 | |
Motherboard | Asus M2N8-VMX | 69 | |
RAM | 1GB Corsair DDR2-667 kit | 49 | |
Hard Drive | 80GB SATA HDD | 45 | |
Optical Drive | 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA | 46 | |
Graphics Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Sound Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Case | Asus TA-881 | 59 | |
Power Supply | Included with Case | - | |
Cooling | - | - | |
Additional | - | - | |
Total Cost | - | 314 + Postage |
Some people are on a limited budget, and want a nice basic desktop for Internet use and the like. This machine should be fine for basic tasks. This system, a cheap keyboard/mouse, a copy of Vista Basic or XP Home and a secondhand 17" CRT would provide a nice basic machine for just over $500.
The Sempron 3200+ has built-in Cool 'n' Quiet technology, which enables the CPU to lower its clockspeed and fan speed at lower load, which makes the system quieter, and uses less power.
$500 AMD
Part | Model | Price | Case |
---|---|---|---|
CPU | AMD Athlon 64 X2 3600+ EE | 88 | |
Motherboard | Gigabyte MA69VM-S2 | 85 | |
RAM | 2GB Kingston DDR2-667 | 86 | |
Hard Drive | 250GB Samsung SP2504C | 75 | |
Optical Drive | 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA | 46 | |
Graphics Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Sound Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Case | Asus TA-881 | 59 | |
Power Supply | Included with Case | - | |
Cooling | - | - | |
Additional | - | - | |
Total Cost | - | 439 + Postage |
This is a fairly good base system. The AMD chipset means it has reasonable ATi X1200 video. The case isn't too bad, its cheap but not sore on the eyes.
The system might be pushing the budget a little with the 2GB of RAM, but if you're planning to run Windows Vista, it's definitely worth it.
$500 Intel
Part | Model | Price | Case |
---|---|---|---|
CPU | Intel Pentium Dual Core E2140 | 110 | |
Motherboard | Asus P5GZ-MX | 69 | |
RAM | 2GB Kingston DDR2-667 | 86 | |
Hard Drive | 250GB Samsung SP2504C | 75 | |
Optical Drive | 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA | 46 | |
Graphics Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Sound Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Case | Asus TA-881 | 59 | |
Power Supply | Included with Case | - | |
Cooling | - | - | |
Additional | - | - | |
Total Cost | - | 445 + Postage |
$750 Intel
Part | Model | Price | Case |
---|---|---|---|
CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 | 248 | |
Motherboard | Intel DG33BU | 144 | |
RAM | 2GB Kingston DDR2-667 | 86 | |
Hard Drive | 250GB Samsung SP2504C | 75 | |
Optical Drive | 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA | 46 | |
Graphics Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Sound Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Case | Antec SLK1650B | 88 | |
Power Supply | Included With Case | - | |
Cooling | - | - | |
Additional | - | - | |
Total Cost | - | 687 + Postage |
With a Core 2 Duo CPU and 2GB of RAM, this machine is a very quick workstation. Now this system uses an Intel DG33BU motherboard, which uses an Intel G33 chipset, which has superior performance to the 945G chipset (including video, uses the GMA X3100 chipset). This board also supports 1333FSB CPUs, for future proofing :)
$1000 Intel, CAD Machine
Part | Model | Price | Case |
---|---|---|---|
CPU | Intel Core 2 Duo E6420 | 248 | |
Motherboard | Gigabyte 965P-S3 | 115 | |
RAM | 2GB Kingston DDR2-667 | 86 | |
Hard Drive | 250GB Samsung SP2504C | 78 | |
Optical Drive | 18x Pioneer DVR-212D SATA | 46 | |
Graphics Card | Quadro FX 350 | 275 | |
Sound Card | Onboard from motherboard | - | |
Case | Antec SLK1650B | 88 | |
Power Supply | Included With Case | - | |
Cooling | - | - | |
Additional | - | - | |
Total Cost | - | 936 + Postage |