Is it even possible? $100

[Ignika]

no, that is not a typo, a friend asked me if I could build him a system, now while I know the basics, the problem is his budget, he's pretty strapped for cash, and only has $100 to work with, now I don't mind putting it together for free for him, but have no idea how I'm gonna be able to stay under that $100, so is it even possible to get a functioning rig for this little bit?

 

[jared51182]

Will you be building from scratch, or do you at least have a case to work with?

 

[Ignika]

he doesn't have anything to start with, so from scratch, if one under $100 isn't doable, how close could we get?

 

[hunter315]

A cell phone is probably the best bet. You cant get a netbook for that cheap and there is no way to part something out for that low, unless there are a bunch of components he has that can be carried over it cannot be done.

Minimum prices are 30 for the PSU, 60 for a CPU/Mobo combo(if you are lucky) and atleast 20 for 2 GB of even DDR2 ram, and we are already over budget and havent gotten to a graphics card yet.

 

[tecmo34]

Hunter315... I've seen a few cell phone companies offering a netbook for $100 with a new cell phone plan....

Another options is to search Craig's List and search for PC's around that price.

 

[huron]

You'd have no way to do that for $100. You might be able to find a refurb or an old P4 or something, but with case, PSU, CPU, RAM, etc, you'd be way over. That's not even considering the $100 for an OS, unless you go Linux.

Sorry...challenges are fun, but this one wouldn't even be reasonable. If you had some components to work with, maybe, but not from scratch.

Tell your friend to save some more and when he/she gets near $200-$300, it's more of a possibility.

 

[Ignika]

yeah, I didn't think it was doable, but I told him I'd look into it,

 

[JohnnyLucky]

There may be other options.

If you live in a big city check the Salvation Army for used computers. There is a Salvation Army Store near where I live that sells used computer, monitors, and cable modems that are actually tested before they are put up for sale. They are not the latest and greatest gaming machines but they may be okay for surfing the net and email. Not all Salvation Army Stores sell used computers. Also check Goodwill, Savers, and any charities that have stores. Those stores are a bit dicey but you can try and fire up the pc at a their test benches to get some idea if the pc works.

If you live near a college or university, then check to see if they sell their old computers. Arizona State Univeristy has a used furniture warehouse near where I live. Sometimes they sell used computers and monitors to the general public. Again, they are not the latest and greatest gaming machines but they usually work. ASU is big on Dell computers and they keep updating.

Also check weekend garage and yard sales.

You have to check the stores fairly regularly. The regular bargain hunters sometimes go several times a week. You also have to be patient. You never know what you might find. That's how I wound up with an awesome Polk Audio center channel speaker that costs $298.00 online for $7.50 at a Goodwill Store. I just happened to be in the right store at the right time.