My first PC was a Compaq Presario 3020: Pentium 166MHz 24MB RAM ~2GB IDE Hard Drive ... ... I wouldn't have kept it, except it looks quite cool. See here for someones blog with lots of pics. My Raspberry PI Zero has better specs than this now so I am ripping out the internals and trying to make it usable again. My problem is that I want it to be as cheap as possible but at the same time I don't want the performance to be terrible. I am struggling to work out what specs make up that middle ground. Budget: Max: CAD100. The lower the better. Second hand parts are acceptable! Main uses of intended build: Linux O/S Rotating Photo display. Jukebox (it has a 4 disc auto-changer. Not bad for 1995!). File server/backup server Sega arcade emulator (Golden Axe!) Parts required: Motherboard. Riser card with PCI slot. CPU. RAM (2-8GB). Monitor resolution: 800x600 (part of the case via a PCI card) The motherboard should have on board graphics and be able to handle at least 1 more external monitor at min 1024x800 Storage requirements: None. Will use existing drives or an external USB drive. Will you be overclocking: yes/no (delete as required) Assume no (but in truth I will probably mess around anyway ) Any motherboard requirements (no. of USB, Xfire/SLI, fan headers): On board graphics and sound. Dimensions: The current one is LPX (9" tall x 13" wide) so probably mini-ITX or FlexATX (can you get micro ATX with those dimensions?) The motherboard cage is max 4" deep so tall cooling blocks are out. The monitor is connected to a PCI card via a ribbon. This card needs to connect to a riser card to fit the case. Extra information about desired system: Low power and minimal cooling required due to case restrictions. I saw a bundle advertised for CAD80 here Biostar NM70I-1037U Mini-ITX Motherboard Intel Dual Core Celeron 1.8GHz (Ivy Bridge) Crucial Ballistix 1x8GB DDR3L 1600 However, this motherboard looks a bit weird with a parallel port and no USB3. Historically, I was always put off by Celeron. But now I am looking at budget options is it a valid choice or should I look at AMD APUs or something else?
I would advise looking at compatibility with your OS, emulator and Jukebox auto-changer (why not just use app+mp3?) Possibly then look at 2nd-hand if you need older components.
I'm not too worried about software compatibility. I just listed those items as things I might do to highlight that I have no demanding specs. One of the main things that concern me is the position of the I/O ports (on the right hand side 9" edge of the current motherboard) and the height of and components and if they would fit in the case. Second hand is fine, but that leaves me open to a huge set of options an I don't know how to compare and choose! There still seems to be brand new options within range e.g. this new motherboard is only $35 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813157490 and this CPU is only $37 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA1N83U89845 and this 4GB RAM is only $16 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820156044 I only found those items by filtering on price though. I have no idea on whether it is a good choice or not. I feel as though I should either be paying much less for second hand or getting much better performance for brand new.
