ebuyer cheapest

every now and then, on ebuyer.com, i like to add up the cost of putting together a decent linux-capable computer. so that means 512mb RAM, slowest available CPU etc. etc.

i was stunned to find the following components:

AMD Sempron 3000+ Socket 754 SDA3000AIO2BX 1.8Ghz OEM
Processor 	103422 	£17.21
ASUS K8V-VM SKT 754 onboard VGA 6 channel audio mATX
Motherboard 	114001 	£24.80
Extra Value 512mb DDR PC3200 400MHz 184pin Extra Value Ram 
049447 	£13.28
NEC Optiarc AD-5170A-0B 18xDVD±RW DL Black - Bare Drive 
117543 	£14.42
Speeze EE792B12 Socket 754, 939 & 940 CPU Cooler 
116049 	£4.37
Casecom KL-9666 Grey/Silver ATX Midi Tower Case - With
350W PSU 	086509  £13.60
Western Digital WD800BB 80GB Hard Drive 7200RPM 2MB Cache
- OEM 	023275 	£22.18

total inc. VAT and £6 shipping: £136.00.

and i thought i was splashing out when i selected a DVD+RW (£14) instead of a CDRW (£6) and on 512mb RAM (£14) instead of... grief, i didn't even look up the cost of 256mb DDR RAM. oh - and i could have saved £0.75 by getting the cheaper of the two budget fans.

also maybe i could have saved on the cost of the case by getting a £9 case and then seeing if there was a PSU for less than £6 but to be honest i couldn't be bothered.

and the 80gb HDD was cheaper than a 40gb one.

and there was an excelsior HDD which was £1.50 cheaper than the western digital one.

and the DVD+RW there was an SATA one which was £0.50 cheaper.

i tend not to like getting intel kit, but there always exists the slight possibility of saving slightly more by going for intel celery CPUs.

in all i could have saved about... £6-£10 i guess but it was just an exercise in seeing how cheap things could really get.

the bottom line: £130 to £140 looks good.

now - what's the point? well....

tescos direct linux pc!

Tesco's eSys £140 Linux PC - this is the point. a computer (including keyboard and mouse) for £140 - with Ubuntu 6.06 preinstalled!

now that's fantastic news. i especially like the fact that they say "less prone to virus attacks".

Walmart Everex linux pc!

Walmart Everex $200 Linux PC - this is the other point. another computer with E17 (enlightenment) window manager!

promoted as a "google apps" computer - so no mention of the fact that you need an internet connection, but i'm kinda guessing that it's quite reasonable to assume that everyone has internet access.

the annoying thing about the reviews of this product are that people are saying "don't buy it, it hasn't got windows! it won't run windows games and programs!" well fuck off you dickheads.

anyone looking at this computer doesn't have a lot of money, and certainly won't be looking to spend $500 on office and $300 (inc screen) on a computer: they'll be looking with a minimum budget of $1000. and if they wanted games, and didn't have that much money, they'd get a second hand games console.

or rent one.

the other annoying thing is that the everex g3502 is touted as "GREAT! SAVES YOU $10/mo ON ELECTRICITY!" now, it looks to me like the people who put together the blurb for the g2502 just... didn't believe it would sell.

... i'm going to have wooorrds with them.... :)

_and_ some fucking DICK puts a review, on the linux version, "don't buy this computer it won't run windows XP!!" hellooo? the only difference is 1) in your expectations - remember how expensive 1.5ghz computers were with XP on, 5 years ago? with half the amount of memory?? 2) the g3502 has 1gb RAM and the g2502 has 512mb.

a 500mhz AMD Geode with 512mb of RAM running linux, like the linutop and the koolu, _walk_ all over a Windows XP system running at 1.5ghz, you brainless twat!!

ooo, i'm in a mood with my swearwords ha ha.

comparison

these three machines - the ebuyer "bits", the walmart (aka ASDA in the UK) and the tesco - are getting into the affordable range.

the 1.5ghz VIA uses only 2 watts when idle, and 20 watts max. the other two are going to eat quite a bit of power, so the $10/mo saving in electricity doesn't really apply to them.

interestingly, walmart's own surveys show that 5% of customers interested in buying a computer, now, have NEVER owned one before.

so the opportunity is there, to serve people who "wanna do email and look at the pretty girls" ok that's a quote from someone else's report on the walmart everex pc ok? and they are going to look at the windows pc which is $300 and they're just going to wonder... why?? why should i pay extra??

the nice thing about the E17 desktop is that it's been made to look like a Mac. i do the same thing with kroller.sez except i think kroller-sez is better because it does sub-menus and reads the KDE system menu, so you can of course edit it with the KDE system menu editor rather than having to use a daft text editor.

anyway...