Cheap linux computer

[MASONTX]

I read an article yseterday (can't remember where and can't find it today) in which the quthor put together a cheap linux computer for $200, not including shipping and taxes. He built an AMD64 x2 with 1 gig ram and 4xx GB HD, 500 watt psu on an AM3 MB with on board sound and video. He built it to prove that you could build a linux box for a general purpose second computer much cheaper than you could get even a netbook that ran windows.

I don't know if I would go as low as $200, but just as a point of general discussion, what would you put in a budget linux box?

At tiger direct, I found:
XION XON-160P ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - 500W PSU, $44.99
ECS A785GM-AD3 (V1.0) Motherboard and AMD ADX635WFGIBOX Athlon II X4 635 Quad Core Processor Bundle $149.99
Ultra U12-40749 4GB PC12800 DDR3 Desktop Memory Upgrade - 1600MHz, 2x2048MB, Non-ECC, Unbuffered $116.99
Western Digital WD5000AAKS Caviar Blue Hard Drive - 500GB, 7200rpm, 16MB, SATA-300, OEM $39.99
Lite-On IHDS118-04 - DVD-ROM 18x, CD-ROM 48x, SATA (OEM) $18.99
Zonet ZEW1642 PCI Wireless Network Adapter - 300Mbps, 802.11n
The Zonet 802.11n Wireless PCI Adapter $24.99
OS linux FREE
Total $395.94

Those were my choices for a reasonably capable, low cost, expandable linux box. what would you choose?

[Segfault]

I bought a new VIA (1500 MHz low-power CPU) based barebone computer from Newegg for $89. Added 1 GB of RAM and a hard drive. All together well under $200. My Wife is using it for some time now and she is happy with it. Even can play back HD video. Cool and quiet. Running Xfce on Gentoo.

[Freston]

I think I'd shop second hand. PII's and PIII's can be found on the street sometimes, I know a second hand shop where they sell PIII's for €30,- including the monitor. The problem is the ethernet port, or lack thereof.

But if it has to be new, some ARM based machine should and could well be under $100,- but mostly these are headless (no VGA port alas). Although I've seen them with VGA.



The best thing I imagine is a simple thin client and a central server (doesn't have to be powerful, any old desktop/laptop will do) and boot the thin clients over PXE (netboot). If I had a house where five people want to internet/mail/facebook/chat and listen to music on the machine all at once, then that is what I would build. The most expensive parts will be the monitors

[ryokimball]

I TigerDirect had a desktop bare-bones kit with quad-core phenom II, 4GB DDR2, 1TB drive, on-board video and audio for $300. As far as I'm concerned, this is still one monster of a machine, and when "barebones" translates basically to no OS, keyboard/mouse, and display, I find this to be a very, very good deal.
With Linux, I can buy whatever hardware I want without having to pay an extra hundred or more for what essentially becomes paperwork.
As far as the "cheapest" goes, I've seen an Indian tablet and some 8-bit computers, both featured on Hackaday.com and Engadget.com, and neither reaching over $50. If used (or dumpster-diving) is included, cheap takes on a whole new definition....

[MASONTX]

Found the article I mentioned.

Building a $200 Linux PC
Source: Slashdot: Linux - July 25th, 2010