computer store

[ubudog]

Does anyone know of a computer store (online or actual store) where you can get the discount of not having to pay for Windows? (like the HDD is already formatted?)

[dragos240]

Formatting an HDD is tricky for some people. Without zeroing out a drive a few times, simply formatting it will still have personal data. Because this is well known, most people don't donate used HDDs.

[jerenept]

No. they generally do not exist.

[theraje]

Is System76 still around? I know their computers featured Ubuntu... although, they still weren't exactly "cheap"...

[McRat]

From my experience, a computer without Windows on it costs more.

A long time ago, the O/S was an option on most computers. You could order them with NONE and save money if you were upgrading.

[jerenept]

From my experience, a computer without Windows on it costs more.

A long time ago, the O/S was an option on most computers. You could order them with NONE and save money if you were upgrading.

How long ago is that? 10, 20 years?

[ubudog]

Well, I guess I'll just pay the fee. Thanks for the replies!

[Legendary_Bibo]

I think you're looking for something called bareback computers, they are around. I think tigerdirect.com sells them. They're usually a lot cheaper.

[dragos240]

I think you're looking for something called bareback computers, they are around. I think tigerdirect.com sells them. They're usually a lot cheaper.

Barebone. Bareback yields no results.

[Paqman]

Barebone.

Indeed. A barebones system lacks a lot more than the OS, too. It's basically a case, power supply and mobo.

[McRat]

Indeed. A barebones system lacks a lot more than the OS, too. It's basically a case, power supply and mobo.

Normally by the time you build a Clone, it is no cheaper than pre-built system with Windows already on it.

Last December eMachines was selling complete systems minus monitor with Vista 64 for $190.

Now, the cheapest are much higher for some reason, but about $350 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6248267&CatId=4925).


Clone:
Pretty Case + Power supply = $100
Keyboard, Mouse = $25
DVD-RW = $25
3GB RAM = $75
MoBo + CPU = $100
500GB HDD = $50
Cardreader = $25

That's $400 without Windows. You might be able to shave that down to $350, but probably not.

[cascade9]

Does anyone know of a computer store (online or actual store) where you can get the discount of not having to pay for Windows? (like the HDD is already formatted?)

Thats easy. Buy parts and build it yourself.

If that sounds a bit hard, ibuypower (and probably otehr places I dont know about) will sell you a built computer without windows.

http://www.ibuypower.com/


Normally by the time you build a Clone, it is no cheaper than pre-built system with Windows already on it.

Last December eMachines was selling complete systems minus monitor with Vista 64 for $190.

Now, the cheapest are much higher for some reason, but about $350 (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6248267&CatId=4925).

Clone:
Pretty Case + Power supply = $100
Keyboard, Mouse = $25
DVD-RW = $25
3GB RAM = $75
MoBo + CPU = $100
500GB HDD = $50
Cardreader = $25

That's $400 without Windows. You might be able to shave that down to $350, but probably not.

I get a giggle everytime I see you write 'clones' MacRat. So 80s :lolflag:

I got that to under $300. $297.89 to be exact.

HEC Case + Power supply, $54.98
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.397828

Intel Celeron 430, $40.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116039

Zotac NF61, $44.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813500018

Cricial 1GB + 2GB, $20.99 + $37.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148166
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820148236

Hitachi Deskstar 500GB, $49.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145286

Asus DVD-RW, $18.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16827135204

PS/2 Mouse, $3.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16826129004

PS/2 Keyboard, $4.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16823201029

All In One Card Reader, $19.99
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820162024

Similar (ultra-low) level CPU, same (obsolete) chipset, same mismatched (no dual channel) RAM setup, probably a superiour DVD-RW, similar level (POS generic) power supply and case, etc..

Those emachines are built down to a price point, with the oldest and cheapest parts they can get, often using 'cut down' ECS motherboards. I've heard of them asking for cash for BIOS upgrades!

The $190 dollar emachines probably arent aroudn anymore because they cant souce any more Pentium 4 CPUS :P

You get what you pay for in some ways, and buying the cheapest boxxen means you will be getting the cheapest parts. If someone did spend an extra $100 on parts, overall the computer would be much nicer than that thing from emachines.

[tarps87]

As a note you may be able to get you money back by not accepting the end user agreement which you have to accept to use the pre-installed windows version. This can however be a long process it has yielded results but not always.

[Lucradia]

As a note you may be able to get you money back by not accepting the end user agreement which you have to accept to use the pre-installed windows version. This can however be a long process it has yielded results but not always.

Companies will no longer adhere to this, because they don't want you to return the windows.

For example. What GATEWAD does, is instead of allowing you to return the software, they tell you to talk to Microsoft about returning the software. But then Microsoft tells you to read the terms for the return, which states that the Manufacturer of the computer, Gatewad, is responsible for returning the windows.

Sadly, when you return this information to Gatewad, they'll then say they don't accept windows returns.

It's also not efficient to return windows anyway. Most companies load so much junk... that if you DO return windows, you most often will not get enough money back to pay for the shipping. (IE: 5 USD)

(Some companies ask you to send in the entire machine.)

[Vincentlaborant]

http://www.xxodd.nl/
http://ubuntushop.be/
http://www.bestpricecomputers.ltd.uk/products/nowindows.htm

[samalex]

Dell sells the N-Series laptops and desktops which have either Ubuntu (generally an older version) or FreeDOS preinstalled, and they're generally cheaper than buying the equivalent system with Windows. Problem though is Dell doesn't actively market these systems so they're hard to find on their website. Even the URL http://www.dell.com/nseries doesn't take you there anymore, but chatting with support (did this a few weeks ago) they can give you the link. Not that I'm a huge fan of Dell, but that's one option with a familiar name.

With that being said I highly suggest System76. Cost-wise they're systems are comparable to Windows systems, but with the amount of effort and time those guys put into making their systems 100% Ubuntu complaint it's worth it. My System76 PanP5 laptop is a year old, and 64-bit Ubuntu 10.04 runs with zero problems and 100% of the hardware is supported after a clean install. I did a price comparison last year, and it did show that System76 systems cost less than equiv Windows systems.

And as you said you may be able to find a mom and pop shop that'll built a system for not too much without any OS. That's always an option, but such shops and systems are harder to find since there are so many cookie-cutter systems out there. You can also build one yourself using parts from NewEgg, but honestly I've found it's almost cheaper to find a user system that's less than 12 months old.

Take care --

Sam

[Jay Car]

Does anyone know of a computer store (online or actual store) where you can get the discount of not having to pay for Windows? (like the HDD is already formatted?)

I've purchased from both of these sites before. The first sells reasonably priced Ubuntu systems. The second one pushes Windows only software, however, during the ordering process there is an option to purchase the system without Windows, it generally knocks about $100 off the price.

http://www.eightvirtues.com/

http://www.tpi-us.com/categories.php

[Excedio]

Is System76 still around? *snip*

Yes. (http://www.system76.com/)

[donkyhotay]

Companies like that do exist however you have to hunt around and avoid the big names (like dell or gateway). I don't remember the name of the company (I think it was powerPC.com or something like that) but the last time I bought a computer (about a year or two ago) I made certain it was from a company that allows customers to eliminate windows and save a few bucks. As I remember they had 3 OS choices windows, ubuntu, and freeDOS. They wouldn't send out a completely blank drive but they also didn't charge for either ubuntu or freeDOS. I chose ubuntu just to encourage it however as soon as I got the system I reformatted and reinstalled myself anyways so I could more easily configure it how I wanted.

[ubudog]

Yes. (http://www.system76.com/)

Looking for something a little cheaper. Thanks for the replies!

[ubudog]

I've purchased from both of these sites before. The first sells reasonably priced Ubuntu systems. The second one pushes Windows only software, however, during the ordering process there is an option to purchase the system without Windows, it generally knocks about $100 off the price.

http://www.eightvirtues.com/

http://www.tpi-us.com/categories.php

Great links. Thanks.

[ubudog]

Acutally, System76's Meerkat IonTop looks pretty nice, and it's cheap.

[theraje]

You can get a more speccy system (same processor, more RAM, same ION graphics, a little less hard drive space) called the Zotac Mag. It's $100 less than the cheapest ION Nettop configuration at System76, and the hard drive is empty. I put Ubuntu 10.04 on mine, and although installing packages from the DVD was a bit confusing (noob, no built-in DVD drive), after getting the nVidia drivers loaded it's been smooth sailing.

The Zotac MAG is available at Amazon, Newegg, etc.

[earthpigg]

Clone:
Pretty Case + Power supply = $100
Keyboard, Mouse = $25
DVD-RW = $25
3GB RAM = $75
MoBo + CPU = $100
500GB HDD = $50
Cardreader = $25

That's $400 without Windows. You might be able to shave that down to $350, but probably not.

i have reason to be (http://dl.dropbox.com/u/1832211/cheapbuild.jpg) very skeptical of those numbers.

that was for my sister, for school work. would also be perfectly adequate for basic office tasks.

USD $250, tigerdirect. would have been cheaper had my sister told me she wanted wifi while i was still digging around online, and not the day she came buy to pick it up. that was a few months ago, btw.


re: no dvd drive -- one external USB optical drive per household.

[theraje]

re: no dvd drive -- one external USB optical drive per household.

Indeed, very handy to have. I used one when setting up the Zotac, it was just a bit of fuddling around to get the disc listed as a software repository (the DVD mounted, and I had the DVD drive ticked, but it wouldn't go until I used the file method instead of cdrom).

[earthpigg]

barebones kit (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=6346493&csid=ITD&body=MAIN#detailspecs) - case, psu, mobo, cpu, 2gb ram - $170
cpu fan (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=4557678&CatId=493) - $15
hard drive (http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2795126&CatId=8) - 500gb 7200 rpm - $40

Total - $225, before taxes and whatnot.

that was a quick little 10 minutes. i would do a bit more homework before hitting the 'purchase' button.

comparable to $400 from dell.com. cheapest one i just came across had more RAM but a lower tier CPU. again, do more homework before hitting 'purchase'.

assume you feel that the basic 1 year Dell warranty has a 'value' of $100, and you would still be better off with one of those barebones kits.

assume you are unable or unwilling to play legos and assemble the parts yourself and must pay someone $50-$100 to do it, and we are approaching the point where dell.com makes more sense than assembling it yourself.

as we can see, the greater value depends on the human factor.

-do you value a one year warranty on a $400 purchase at $100, even considering that you may need to lie to Dell about installing Linux in order to keep the warranty valid?
-are you unable/unwilling to assemble it yourself?
-does a $30 optical drive for each individual computer make more sense to you than a single $50 USB optical drive per household?


if the answer to all three of those is "yes", it may make more sense to go with a major computer assembler such as dell or hp.


i think people to often equate assembling a desktop computer to being a car mechanic - assuming it takes a great deal of training and whatnot. it doesn't.

the comparable skill required is about on par with changing the oil in a car. an hour or so (high estimate) on youtube, and you are qualified. picking the parts is the only tricky part, and for that we have the "hardware & installation" support forum. :D

[Penguin Guy]

Computers with no software on are rare, but you can find many with Linux pre-installed for cheaper prices than an MS computer. Someone made a post not long ago about their new UK Linux-PC company, Marvin (http://www.marvincomputers.co.uk/).

EDIT: Scrap that, those computers are way overpriced.