Best Computer for $500

Goal: To build the cheapest computer that can handle basic emailing, word processing, and CD burning for people who want to stick with a Microsoft Windows environment. I'm also assuming that an old monitor, keyboard, and mouse are available to plug into this once it's constructed.

Parts: I started with a Cooler Master Centurion case, since it's decent looking, but not too costly. It doesn't come with a power supply, so I selected the Thermaltake TR2 to power the innards. A computer this meager doesn't need 430 watts, but you'll be hard-pressed to find another PSU outputting this much for so little. As for the motherboard, I went with a Gigabyte GA-G31M-ES2L -- nothing special, but it'll do. I'm an AMD guy, but you'll want to stick a Core 2 Duo in there for the best bang-per-buck. The cheapest one is fine: the 7300. I wanted to put Microsoft Windows Vista on the 160GB Western Digital hard drive, for future-proofing's sake, so I paired it up with 4GB of Crucial memory. I could've gone with a slightly cheaper 80GB hard drive and 2GB of memory (don't go with 1GB, Vista will crawl), but the price difference isn't worth the value difference. Then I realized, sheepishly, that I forgot to add an optical drive. The Samsung DVD burner finishes off the hardware quite nicely. Last but not least, it wouldn't be very useful without Microsoft Office.

Here's the damage:

$359.93 Hardware Total
$179.94 Software Total
$539.87 Total Cost
$39.09 Shipping
$578.96 Grand Total

But wait, you say. That's not $500! You are quite right, observant one. I chose not to consider using technology that I deemed obsolete (Pentium processors, anyone?). Apparently modern computers cost more than $500 these days. Sure, you can save money using Linux, free software, and the like, but if you're trying to build a computer for someone who needs a seamless transition from their office to home without a learning curve (like I am), this is about what you'll end up with.

If you look at the dollar tally, it would be about a $400 computer with Ubuntu and Open Office installed. Or perhaps you could reach the magic $500 number by substituting in an inferior processor (be it Intel or AMD).

Personally, I think the sweet spot is always located at $650, and if you can't afford this price range, saving up is a smarter idea than getting a worse computer for cheaper -- it will be obsolete the minute you buy it.