ok im gona be building a computer and i want it to be good but at the moment i dont have that much money. So im looking for cheap processors (preferably AMD) like the xp3000+ and a cheap motherboard. I dont need a graphics card or cd rom. I might need some ram and probably a hard drive. Can anyone give me some links for some cheap stuff of the above? the cheapest processor iv found so far is an xp3000+ for £69 ($103) http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduc...on%2Cxp3000%2B does anyone know of any cheaper? If so then please post it here. And if anyone has any free ram or anything (if u work in IT or something) then i would be willing to take it off your hands :D (no-one probably will but its worth a try!!)

A good place to look is ebay you can often pick up a lot of cheap things there which are actually pretty good.
Although my suggestion would be to go to a computar fair or something like that if only to compare prices, some really high quality and cheap equipment can be picked up there.

If I were looking for cheap, I'd go to a local PC shop and ask for a bare-bones machine. That will get you what you're looking for at a reasonable price (far more reasonable than you could do yourself).

However, if you're building a machine, chances are that you want some better components in there, and that costs money.

With a standard machine, you'll get on-board everything. You will soon discover, especially if you use the machine for gaming, that it is worth what you paid for it. You'll want a better vid card, better sound, more memory... in short, you'll keep adding.

You might consider the Frankenstein approach: keep an eye out for components on sale, and when there's a good price on a CD-ROM, or hard drive, or memory, or whatever, pick it up. Eventually, you'll have enough pieces to build a monster *evil laugh*

*edit* I just picked up a price list from a local shop here, and a bare-bones AThlon 2000+ system is US$269. 128M memory, 52x CD, floppy, on-board sound, video and NIC. No hard drive, no OS.

[ 10-10-2003, 11:36 AM: Message edited by: Bungleau ]

Theres a computer fair in aberdeen soon. Beach ballroom, 19th oct, opens at 10. Nexts ones Nov 2nd.

Be careful in fairs. Theres a lot of good deals but I have been ripped of on occasion. Do your research first, dont buy expensive stuff on impulse and try and get there early enough that if your new gear wont POST you can return it the same day instead of praying you can find the same guy next month.

Ebay is good, but I dunno, just thought it would be cool to build my own as long as it was cheap enough. Andrewas, do u get everything at computer fairs (like can u buy everything there?) And is the stuff good and cheap priced like the stuff we saw today? Are u gonna be going to it?

[ 10-10-2003, 01:47 PM: Message edited by: RoSs_bg2_rox ]

BUMP.

Oh yeah and about buying on ebay. Most of the machines have a minimum price. (cant remmeber what they call it on ebay) but any way,if it doesnt get that much they wont sell it!