the $30 pc challenge!

[Legolessed]

i thought this would be a fun challenge to try and do with linus doing scrapyard wars. I didnt have the budget to do a $500 pc build so im going to be doing a $30 pc build challenge. this should be interesting. Already i have found a used system for $30 and im going to try and get it down but i dont know if its going to work. I also have a couple of leads on motherboards but its probably not going to work out unless is seriously low ball it. My plan is to get this used system with a pentium d and 512 mb of ram. i also found and purchased an fx 570 qpu for $10 so i only have $20 left. my plan is to get the pentium d system and then get a pentium duel core for $3-$5. I have seen plenty of these cpu's flooding the market so i should be able to get my hands on one. 

[RadiatingLight]

TBH you might want to do something like @CUDA_Cores does, and go dumpster diving for components. would get you much better stuff for cheaper.

[Legolessed]

2 minutes ago, RadiatingLight said:

TBH you might want to do something like @CUDA_Cores does, and go dumpster diving for components. would get you much better stuff for cheaper.

1

im pretty sure dumpster divings illegal here. I also want to try and use craigslist and ebay for this. Ill keep updating

[RadiatingLight]

Just now, Legolessed said:

im pretty sure dumpster divings illegal here. I also want to try and use craigslist and ebay for this. Ill keep updating

Not really dumpster diving. he pays the scrapyards for the components.

Buys CPUs for like a few dollars.

IIRC he got a 3rd Gen. i5 for like $4

[Legolessed]

1 minute ago, RadiatingLight said:

Not really dumpster diving. he pays the scrapyards for the components.

Buys CPUs for like a few dollars.

IIRC he got a 3rd Gen. i5 for like $4

dang. ok who do i call  

[Memorizer]

Nah dude, just go buy a potater, put wires and bam! You got a pc. Thank me later

[RadiatingLight]

2 minutes ago, Legolessed said:

dang. ok who do i call  

 

[Legolessed]

7 hours ago, CUDA_Cores said:

CUDA_cores here, yes @RadiatingLight and @Legolessed are both correct. I both dumpster dive and go to scrapyards for PC parts. I have found things like gen 3 i5s, 500w power supplies, SSDs, high-end LGA 1155 and 1366 motherboards and 4GB sticks or RAM all from scrapyards. If I was to save every single best part I got from scrapyards (I sell everything due to the fact I don't have space for everything), the PC would look something like this:

 

Motherboard: Asus x58 Rampage ii gene (pulled from broken computer tower at scrapyard): cost of whole tower and everything in it $5

CPU: Intel Xeon x5650 (pulled from giant bin of CPUs): $1

RAM: 24GB (6x4GB) DDR3 (saved for me by the scrapyard): $6

case: Some antec thing (pulled from the shred steel bin at the scrapyard): $0.5

HDD 1TB (pulled from the computer tower with the asus board at the scrapyard): $0

SSD: samsung 128GB SSD (saved for me by the scrapyard. They won't sell me HDDs but SSDs are fine for some reason ): $2

GPU: EVGA GTX 580 (pulled from the pile of "finger boards" to be processed): $6

Power supply: Asus 500w power supply (pulled from the same machine the asus board was in): $0

Total: $20.50

 

All these parts I have since sold off. But THAT would have been literally the best possible PC for $25, I dare somebody to beat that lol.

 

My suggestion is start asking around. Go to scrapyards, dumpster diving. Ask friends of they have PCs. At least that get's you a case to start. 

 

For $30 I would aim to get at least a core 2 quad, 4GB of RAM, an 80GB HDD, a 500w PSU and something like a Geforce 9800. With enough deal hunting that sort of build can probably be done anywhere. Just get your hands on a dell inspiron 530 for free or very low and you already have everything you need except the PSU and GPU.

how do i find scrapyards. i assume its not your average trash dump, so do I call e-waste companies? also how do you know if stuff works, or is it a gamble?

[Legolessed]

1 hour ago, CUDA_Cores said:

I find scrapyards by googling "scrap yard" in my area. I also do go to ewaste centers too. All these places I call and ask the question "do you allow people to buy things?" If they say no tell them you will pay several times scrap value. Also yes, it's a gamble. But it's a gamble I am willing to take and still do. You have no idea if the parts work but when you buy them for so cheap, who cares? For example, if I buy a 800w power supply that doesn't work, i'm only out $3.

All my local scrap yards said no way