suggestions for a decent (cheap) computer

[Squidlekins]

I'm looking for a decent computer for not so much money that can handle at least PJ64 (and handle it well).
do you think that this would work?
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vi ... K:MEWAX:IT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
if not, what else and where else should I look for?

[bicostp]

1.3 ghz single core desktop CPU? That's old Pentium III stuff! It might run Project 64, but it probably has a Dorito for a video chipset (Intel Extreme, ATI Rage, etc), so there's a good chance it will skip frames like crazy. Don't waste your money.

Here's a barebones kit from NewEgg for $200. It's based around a Celeron, but it's a much newer one based off the Core 2 Wolfdale architecture and it's dual-core. The motherboard has Intel GMA X4500 graphics, which are nothing compared to a real video card but are far far better than that old mini PC. This will also take a good video card down the road (PCIe 2.0 x16 slot), though you will have to install a better power supply if you do that upgrade. Just add a hard drive, and you'll have a pretty good computer for around $250.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboBund ... mbo.292614" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

If you don't want expandability or upgradability, need a small case, or don't think you're up to the task of building a PC yourself, the Acer Aspire Revo will work for you. It's based off a dual core Atom CPU so it's no speed demon, but that's still faster than the mini PC you linked to. Plus it has an Nvidia 9300m GPU, which by itself is probably faster than that 1.3 ghz Celeron. $200 gets you everything but the monitor. However, it's not as fast as the barebones kit I linked earlier.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6883103228" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

What do you intend to do with this computer?
What's your budget?
Do you have any parts you can reuse?
Have you checked your local CraigsList to see what people have to offer?

[Squidlekins]

well my idea was to basically make the NES pc, except with an N64 shell. unfortunately for newegg I wasn't nearly serious enough about this project to shell out 200+ dollars.
Thanks for the information though!

[snowpenguin]

You wanted to make an n64 pc... that could only emulate n64 games...?

[vskid]

I bought a VIA based mini-itx system on ebay for $50 a couple months back. 1.5GHz C7 CPU, 1GB ram. Runs PJ64 a ton better than I expected, the popular games that usually run good play at 80%-full speed. Unfortunately, the seller doesn't seem to have any more.
You can get a cheap, small, powerful computer, but you can only pick two of those.

[Squidlekins]

um... no snowpenguin, why would I just emulate N64? It would just be a pc in an N64 shell... but with the original ports hooked up to an adapter so original controllers could be used.

[snowpenguin]

But you said at the very least the pc has to be able to run pj64, hich could mean many many many other programs would downright fail...

[Knux the Fox]

I bought this laptop I'm using right now from ebay for $147 after shipping. It's a Pentium III-M 1.06GHz now running 1gb of ram which cost me about $34. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm fairly confident that it's more than capable of running PJ64. Check ebay. There's someone who seems to have a whole lot of Compaq Evo N600c's. It's a good, very sturdy laptop with the exception of the Compaq bios. It has integrated ATI Mobility Radeon with 16mb of video memory, so some games, such as Trackmania United Forever don't display properly, but play just fine with some tweaks to the config. Need For Speed Underground ran okay with the original 256mb of RAM, and just has a bit of slowdown in areas of longer draw distances. Despite the minor slowdown, it's perfectly playable. I haven't tried it yet, but based on Valve's system requirements, it should be able to handle Half-Life 2.

Once I get everything together, I'm considering turning this into an emulation rig to play NES (Virtual NES), SNES (ZSNESW), Genesis (KEGA Fusion), Playstation (ePSXe) and N64 (Project64). I listed the emulators I'll be using as IMO, I feel they are the best emulators out there for their respectable systems. I might also throw on Nebula (CPS1, CPS2, NeoGeo emulator) for arcade games as I'm positive it'll run much better than MAME. I have tested and run roms from all three systems flawlessly on a parts computer that I mounted onto a cardboard box. That only had a 450MHz processor and Geforce 2 graphics card...and I think maybe 128mb of ram...if not less. Sorry to go on and on, but in short, by technical specs, this cheap laptop should fulfill your needs if you can grab one on ebay.

[Sparkfist]

If you want a decent PC, preferably a new one, check out the PowerSpec at Microcenter.com. Their not power houses, but they are modern technology, expandable. If you have your own copy of Windows I woulds suggest buying the Linux/Ubuntu version, it's generally $100 less then if you bought it with Windows. They go for about $200-$300, and considering it's not too much more then your budget I'd go with it.

-Sparkfist