Building an Ubuntu Box (Sub-$300)

Hello,

Seems like everytime I plan a build, the parts are discontinued on Newegg by the time I get to finalizing my decision. Nevertheless, I am going at it again, trying to figure out a super cheap setup to run Ubuntu (a Unix OS). I mean cheaper than $300 and to be honest about $275 sounds about right.

So I have been browsing, and trying to find parts that will be suitable. Now I have very little option because along these price lines is pretty much the bare minimum you can spend for a computer.

Editing this and adding new format thing:

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: Not sure yet...

BUDGET RANGE: $250-285

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: Internet, Music, Videos, Video transcoding, Video Editing (mild), and a little gaming if I can get them to work under Wine.

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Monitor

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg.com, microcenter.com

PARTS PREFERENCES: AMD Platform but whatever has the best price to performance, very small hard drive is fine. My files will all be stored on an external drive/NAS, and the Ubuntu OS takes next to no space.

OVERCLOCKING: No

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1440x900

As of now I am thinking an AMD Athlon II 245 on a MSI 785G Motherboard, 2GB of DDR2 800, 400W Corsair supply, Cooler Master mATX case, 80GB WD Blue HDD (Files will be stored on NAS).

Thanks for any submits.

Well that really brought light upon the whole situation. I can save $25 easily by not even having to buy a DVD drive. My computer is a hunk of junk Pentium 4 2.4GHz with 256MB of DDR RAM. I have been putting upgrades telling myself I am going to build on sooner or later. Although this machine is old, I can grab a IDE CD drive off of it, putting cash back in my pocket.

The only thing I will ever need a CD/DVD drive is for installing the OS which is going to be Ubuntu. So...in that case, it is like buying a $25 operating system. That would bring the price down to $260. Luckily, I also store all of my documents on a 640GB NAS so I really will not be needing a $55 hard drive. Slash $20 and grab an 80GB one. Small, yes, but there is no need to over do it.

So on your setup, I would have a AM3 Machine for $240. Great. So now, I will try to find a way to go about optimizing and customizing physical hardware, with about a $35 leeway.

So What can I do to the above list with $35?

Thanks.

Haha well w/o a need for an ODD and doable on an 80GB HDD your sub $300 rig suddenly becomes a little monster lol

You are welcomed ^^