cheap dual core pc

[LLUncoolJ]

So I'm thinking about building a mini pin machine. Apparently I need a dual core processor pc. As in most projects, cost is a factor. Any suggestions on where I can get my hands on a no frills pc for around $150? I need a decent amount of RAM, probably 2GB, but other than that I'm flexible.

I am already aware of Ebay and Craigslist.

[Ginsu Victim]

Check some of the barebones setups at Newegg and Tigerdirect

[LLUncoolJ]

I'll look into Newegg. I checked Tiger and nothing really jumped out. I buy a lot from Tiger, but since I'm in IL, I still have to pay sales tax...which sucks.

[Ginsu Victim]

That DOES suck.

[CCM]

I would suggest checking Newegg as well.  Do you have any spare parts laying around to use, or do you need everything?

[LLUncoolJ]

I have a few parts, but I will need to buy a hard drive. I already plan on buying a fat video card for this project. I'm sure I have a keyboard and mouse laying around somewhere. I'll have to get my hands on a copy of XP too.

[CCM]

hmmm,  dual core processor, 2 gig memory, hard drive, fat video card, XP, case, power supply... for $150?   That may be tough to pull off

[LLUncoolJ]

I'm not really counting the video card in that figure, I know I'm gonna have to add that on. I bought my MAME computer from an outfit on Ebay called 2nd Turn. It was actually a better machine than they advertised. I may give them a look. They have a few that are currently really cheap because they have beat up cases. I may throw the case away anyway being that space will be at a premium on this project.

[Ginsu Victim]

For MAME the case doesn't really matter much. I don't even have mine in a case at all.

[LLUncoolJ]

For MAME the case doesn't really matter much. I don't even have mine in a case at all.

Agreed. This is a dedicated future pinball cabinet, but same concept (except driving 2 different displays).

[protokatie]

Just out of curiosity, why do you absolutely need a dual core machine? I don't know what your exact plans are, but for a pinball machine that has 2 video outputs, I simply do not see the need for even a 2 Ghz single core machine. What are you planning on displaying on the screens? If it is just video, then a single core would do, and if it is 3d stuff, the vid card would do most of that work.
As a point of reference: My last laptop was a single core 2Ghz machine that I had 2 screens attached. I would often have one screen showing a movie as I played a game on the other screen (usually Dungeon Siege). This all with a bunch of programs running in the background and often a torrent DL or two in progress. I never hit 100% cpu doing this. And bear in mind, this was a laptop AMD processor too.

[Malenko]

woot.com has a "good" one for $300 +$5shipping

[LLUncoolJ]

Just out of curiosity, why do you absolutely need a dual core machine? I don't know what your exact plans are, but for a pinball machine that has 2 video outputs, I simply do not see the need for even a 2 Ghz single core machine. What are you planning on displaying on the screens? If it is just video, then a single core would do, and if it is 3d stuff, the vid card would do most of that work.
As a point of reference: My last laptop was a single core 2Ghz machine that I had 2 screens attached. I would often have one screen showing a movie as I played a game on the other screen (usually Dungeon Siege). This all with a bunch of programs running in the background and often a torrent DL or two in progress. I never hit 100% cpu doing this. And bear in mind, this was a laptop AMD processor too.

Let's pretend I'm not an IT expert. I asked Rob specifically about the dual core and he said it was necessary. I run a dual core in my MAME just because that was the pc I got my hands on. I'm not sure if FP is optomized for a DC processor or what.

One screen..a wide screen,  will be mounted rotated 90 degrees. This will be the playfield. FP will also be rotated. The other will be mounted in a normal position and will display the backglass/scoreboard. The article that describes the minipin is here: http://www.popbumper.com/articles/GR/2008-10%20MiniPin.pdf

[protokatie]

Ahh, this is why I was confused. I didn't realize that it was a virtualpin type deal. I thought you were building a mechanical pin that happened to have two screen outputs, not one screen AS the playfield (damn you! You got me interested in doing this kind of pin project! Luckily I have no room for such a thing... :<).

my bad.

[SpeedEng]

here you go

http://www.portatech.com/25351/Product/Barebones_with_Intel_CPU.htm

change options to e2200 120 shipped for a barebones

or
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.230558

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.230559

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails.aspx?ItemList=Combo.230561

add ram
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134797
1stick of ddr2 2gb for 23.99 shipped

there you go all under 150 for a barebones + ram

ok back to lurker mode

[LLUncoolJ]

Thanks for the input SpeedEng. Unfortunately, I don't have a hard drive or optical drive laying around, so I will have to factor those in too. Like I said, I bought my MAME pc through 2nd Turn on Ebay and it has served me pretty well (other than coming with Vista). I am still a few months off from undergoing this project, but I'd like to get the pc in hand to start working out software bugs.

[SpeedEng]

hd's are pretty dirt cheap

maybe if you can find a old freebee pc off of cl and raid the parts

[LLUncoolJ]

The good thing is that I have more time than money, so I can wait for a sweet deal. But when winter gets here, I'm gonna need a project.