$199 computer

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

199 gets you a decent computer that needs a video card upgrade. That's it.. but it does have a built-in card from Nvidia that shares 128 mB of memory.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... P101-10031

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

Today Tiger also has this computer on sale that has a PCI Express x16 upgradeable slot and can take 3GB of RAM. $30 mail-in rebate (for final price of $199.99).. it's got an older Pentium 4 processor in the board but it's the LGA775 slot so it should be upgradeable. It also has 2 PCI-x mini expansion slots for sound cards etc. So.. I ordered one of these for Christmas today!

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =W180-3190

[{Ru}EINHANDER]

Unit came in today.. and I wanted to add that this was the first (non-laptop) PC I have ever purchased since my very first compter over 15 years ago. Every unit I've ever used has been built by hand and overclocked/upgraded as needed. When I get it out to use it, I'll try to remember to post back about what I think about the Windows 7 Basic on the machine. As long as it works for the intended purpose, we'll be good to go.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... =W180-3190

The second linked computer ($229 - $30 mail-in rebate) with an Intel Celeron CPU.. has these upgrade specs. It's really nice that I can upgrade this box with a Core 2 Duo when the prices come down and stick in an older PCI Express video card x16 that will be a roll down from upgrading my current machine. I'll have to do some more checking but this nVidia chip based mobo/box looks to be a really good deal. The Celeron processor in it is obviouisly crap but it'll do what it's intended to do for now.

http://support.gateway.com/emachines/de ... 0sp2.shtml

Specifications



Following are the specifications for the eMachines® ET1810 desktop series.
Specifications are subject to change without notice or obligation.

Feature Specification
Operating System1 Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic (Service Pack 1)
FreeDOS
Processor1 Intel® Core™2 Duo processor
Intel® Pentium® processor
Intel® Celeron® processor
Chipset NVIDIA® GeForce® 7050
Memory1 Up to 4 GB of DDR2 667/800 MHz SDRAM (dual-channel support on two DIMMs)
Hard Drive1 Serial ATA hard disk up to 640 GB
Optical Drive1 Optical drive options:
SuperMulti drive with Labelflash™ technology
DVD-ROM drive

Card reader1 Multi-in-one card reader with two USB ports, supporting:
CompactFlash® (Type I and II)
CF+™ Microdrive
MultiMediaCard (MMC)
MMCmobile™
MMCmicro™
Reduced-Size MultiMediaCard (RS-MMC)
Secure Digital™ (SD) Card
miniSD™ Card
xD-Picture Card™
Memory Stick™
Memory Stick PRO™
Memory Stick Duo™
Memory Stick PRO Duo™
Memory Stick Micro™ (M2)

Expansion Bays Two 5.25" drive bay
Four 3.5" internal drive bay
Graphics NVIDIA® GeForce® 7050 graphics solution
Audio Embedded high-definition audio with 7.1-channel audio support
Network Support LAN: 10/100 Ethernet
Modem 2 56K ITU V.92, Wake-on-Ring ready
Front I/O Ports Two USB 2.0 ports
Multi-in-one card reader High-definition headphone and microphone jacks
Rear I/O Ports Four USB 2.0 ports
Two PS/2 ports (keyboard and mouse)
Six audio ports
Ethernet (RJ-45) LAN port
D-sub VGA port
Add-In Card Slots One PCI Express 2.0 ×16 One PCI Express 2.0 ×1 Two PCI slots
Power Supply 250 watt
BIOS AMI PnP BIOS compatible with SMBIOS 2.4
System Compliance PC 2001
Dimensions (W × D × H) 7.1 × 16.1 × 14.2 inches (180 × 411 × 361 mm)
Certification FCC, CE, BSMI, CCC, VCCI, CB, Bauart, MET
Software eMachines Recovery Center
Microsoft® Office Home and Student 2007 (Trial)3
Microsoft® Works 93
Norton Internet Security™ 2009 (60-day trial)3
Adobe® Reader®
Adobe® Flash® Player
CyberLink® Power2Go™
Cyberlink® LabelPrint™, supporting Labelflash™
Google Toolbar™ and Desktop Search™
Optional Accessories eMachines PS/2 keyboard and mouse
eMachines LCD monitor
eMachines speaker


1Specifications vary depending on model.
2Optional.
3For models with Windows Vista® Home Basic.
4PA modem sku only.