Low Cost PC Alternatives for Third World Countries

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

I'm from a third world country. I fall relatively mid-pack; below the d00ds whose mother buys them a new pc every six months because it gets slow from the viruses and spyware gotten from porn-cruising (i know people like this) but above the people whose only exposure to a computer on a daily basis is probably an ABM. Im by no means a cashy fellow but a guy who saves and watches the market and knows when to strike, as well as building my own and saving myself some tokens and such. Now i'd like to know what are the laptop and desktop-based choices out there for low budget individuals. The pc's will be used for word processing, internet and basic multimedia. They should be also energy efficient as not to significabtly affect their buudget for home operations for a month. Discussion on the matter is also welcome. This may go further than just an idea so all input is welcome.

Also internet access is a factor, will flesh that section out soon.

[JrRacinFan]

I am truly unsure of the best alternatives, but what was discussed over PM's between me and you seem to be the cheapest.

[Ripper3]

When it coems to desktop machines, Intel and AMD going to price wars and such has meant the market is flooded with chips, which is good and bad. Bad because all hgih-end equiptment is really expensive and sometimes confusing, with different models similar to each other, but good for the low-end, which has always got very good products for extremely good prices. The same with the graphics card market, and the motherboard market.

JrRacingFan's PC has one of the new dual-core Celerons, which is probably enough for most people, and the price is pretty low. £32.06 on Ebuyer.com is pretty good, and sometimes with promotions, it's even cheaper. Same with motherboards, and DDR2 (especially with DDR2, which is bloody cheap, 1GB sticks for like £10 sometimes).
Desktops are cheap, easy to maintain and upgrade, and can even be seen as economical, as they don't always have to be power-hungry beasts that turn off every other appliance in the house jsut to be powered up.

Meanwhile laptops, not so much. While looking for the price of that Celeron, I also found the price of a Celeron M 550, which is a socket P processor: £66.39. That's twice the cash for a single-core processor for laptops. Yeah, it's running at 2GHz, but it's certainly not a very good price, considering the dual-core was a 1.6GHz, and probably doesn't run much hotter.
When it coems to laptops, your best bet is something pre-made, like the EeePC, which runs on low-end hardware, and uses Linux, so it avoids the Windows tax, which is a kind of plus point.
It's hard to find anything under about £300 over here for full-sized laptops. I am actually glad to see companies like Asus taking an interest in the budget 'book market, since laptops are just plain useful.

[ZenZimZaliben]

Doesnt really matter where youre from...the real question is how much are you looking to spend?

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

currently its not a "spending" project as yet but its currently market research for whats out there and what works.

[trog100]

from reading the financial markets i recon soon north america and the UK are gonna becomes third world countries.. your topic might get more popular then.. he he he

it is interesting looking at the cost/money/country set up thats exists on this place thow..

and the average age factor of the participants.. most seem very young by my standards.. children even.. perhaps even spoilt ones.. he he he

trog

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

... uses Linux, so it avoids the Windows tax, which is a kind of plus point....

clipped for brevity

well i was also thinking about that, also giving the ppl a chance to use alternatives and acquire anew skill.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

whatever happened to webtv?

[JrRacinFan]

They turned into MSNtv.

EDIT: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MSN_TV

[trog100]

best for the third world just to pirate windows.. a friend of mine has been in the Philippines for the last four months.. i think the average wage is £4 a day.. over here he was a poverity sticken wretch over there he feels like a king.. he took my old sandy 4000 chip and 1900xtx PC parts with him when he went.. they think its wonderfull..

average daily income £4 a day.. PC parts cost the same as in the UK.. hmmm..

trog

ps.. why best to pirate windows.. cos bill would sooner it be this way.. he knows he aint gonna sell it so he knows there is no money loss.. but he would also like to increase his user base.. the last thing bill wants is to lose users to free alternatives.. bill aint daft.. neither am i..

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

best for the third world just to pirate windows.. a friend of mine has been in the Philippines for the last four months.. i think the average wage is £4 a day.. over here he was a poverity sticken wretch over there he feels like a king.. he took my old sandy 4000 chip and 1900xtx PC parts with him when he went.. they think its wonderfull..

average daily income £4 a day.. PC parts cost the same as in the UK.. hmmm..

trog


im really not trying to diverge from the point (low cost pc for average usue typing, web browsing etc) but out here u have gamers who are using fx5200 cards :twitch: and sch the like so i dont think its much better here in that regard either, but back to the show.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

adding links for reference

Asus Eee PC (http://eeepc.asus.com/global/product.htm) as low as 299 us (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834220268)
Asus Eee Desktop, projected @ 199-299 US (http://forums.techpowerup.com/showthread.php?t=55261&highlight=eee+desktop), sans monitor.
OLPC (http://laptop.org/laptop/) @ arond 200 US

[Ripper3]

Ouch, that would suck with the same prices as the UK. We think we get gouged over here, they're even worse.
I do rememebr MS selling XP for like 2-3 pounds, or the equivalent, a while back in poorer nations. Could have been more, but I kow it was very cheap, so really they are trying to help. I think that at that price though, they're not even linig their own pockets, they're barely even paying the shipping and material costs, let alone the marketing needed to sell them. Have no idea why they don't jsut make it freeware and have it across the interblag, but require some form of online registration to prove you're from a third-world country.

[3870x2]

wow, never really followed the webtv front.
Ripper3 couldnt be more correct. You can find chips that were once high end, and still run considerably fast, (even very overclockable) for only 50-70 bucks! its pretty crazy out there. Video cards will be the hardest hit in this category, but with a 8800gt g92, 9600GT, or 3870, i dont think you could go wrong. Ram is a hit or miss, i was lucky and hit 2 sticks of 1gb ram@ $50 on newegg. HDD space is very easy, newegg currently sells 640gb for 120$$. MOBOs: all you need is 100 dollars and that is taken care of. PSU are a really easy point. Since you arent going on that high end of hardware, any cheap PSU will do, you can get a 500-600 watt psu for under 50$$. Before you say "dont get that, you are wasting your money", they are actually reliable, look at the reviews, and dont get anything that is under 20 reviews and under 4 eggs. CD/DVD drives are 20 dollars, need i say more? sound card will be built into the mobo. Hell, even blu ray/dvd is only 120 for the rom. Cases? if you are on a budget, then you dont have to worry about nice looking. get one that has a good amount of eggs for under 50, doesnt have to be flashy, but you can easily get one that looks neat. Last but not least, monitors have recently taken a dive lately, look at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824252008R 22" 1680x1050 for only 189. Amazing stuff, a good mid-high range system all for under 700 bucks, including the monitor.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

wow, never really followed the webtv front.
Ripper3 couldnt be more correct. You can find chips that were once high end, and still run considerably fast, (even very overclockable) for only 50-70 bucks! its pretty crazy out there. Video cards will be the hardest hit in this category, but with a 8800gt g92, 9600GT, or 3870, i dont think you could go wrong. Ram is a hit or miss, i was lucky and hit 2 sticks of 1gb ram@ $50 on newegg. HDD space is very easy, newegg currently sells 640gb for 120$$. MOBOs: all you need is 100 dollars and that is taken care of. PSU are a really easy point. Since you arent going on that high end of hardware, any cheap PSU will do, you can get a 500-600 watt psu for under 50$$. Before you say "dont get that, you are wasting your money", they are actually reliable, look at the reviews, and dont get anything that is under 20 reviews and under 4 eggs. CD/DVD drives are 20 dollars, need i say more? sound card will be built into the mobo. Hell, even blu ray/dvd is only 120 for the rom. Cases? if you are on a budget, then you dont have to worry about nice looking. get one that has a good amount of eggs for under 50, doesnt have to be flashy, but you can easily get one that looks neat. Last but not least, monitors have recently taken a dive lately, look at this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824252008R 22" 1680x1050 for only 189. Amazing stuff, a good mid-high range system all for under 700 bucks, including the monitor.

when you take in shipping and customs and other things into account plus the average salary of someone in a third world country plus disposable income, all of this stuff is WAY out of their reach.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

atom based laptops coming ...

http://www.itpro.co.uk/news/183357/idf-intel-atom-based-laptops-set-to-blow-away-eee-pc.html

want more desktop based low budget goodness

anyone with links?

[trog100]

_FBi;739660']when you take in shipping and customs and other things into account plus the average salary of someone in a third world country plus disposable income, all of this stuff is WAY out of their reach.

i might be missing the point here but surely its all out of their reach.. in the Philippines its the local internet cafe.. anything that has to be imported from the west is beyond their reach.. and it aint gonna get better.. the world is in for a belt tightening down turn..

for the next few years at least keeping basic food on the table is gonna be their priorities not education and high tech..

trog

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

i might be missing the point here but surely its all out of their reach.. in the Philippines its the local internet cafe.. anything that has to be imported from the west is beyond their reach.. and it aint gonna get better.. the world is in for a belt tightening down turn..

for the next few years at least keeping basic food on the table is gonna be their priorities not education and high tech..

trog

thats what it may boil down to, putting internet cafes in certain areas.

but in regard to your last statement, it will be education and to some extent access to the internet which may increase families earning power so it cant be left ouut.

[trog100]

_FBi;739712']thats what it may boil down to, putting internet cafes in certain areas.

but in regard to your last statement, it will be education and to some extent access to the internet which may increase families earning power so it cant be left ouut.

true.. internet cafes are the answer.. not much of one but its a start.. as for the rest the poor bastards are at the mercy of the rich nations.. when the rich nations have to tighten their belts.. the poorer nations will get screwed..

the worlds a mean place and it gonna get meaner.. nicking the poors crops for bio fuel to go in american suvs aint gonna help the buggers..

please excuse me for looking on the black side.. but its my take on the near future.. :o

trog

ps.. u know what the Fillipino wenches do at the internet cafes.. groom stupid buggers like my friend to take them away to a better life.. they would have had quite a shock when they met him.. he he he

[Exavier]

_FBi;739637']..out here u have gamers who are using fx5200 cards :twitch:
(clipped to be concise)

I have that card currently.
It's not THAT bad. :)

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

I have that card currently.
It's not THAT bad. :)
i shouldve said have that card and want to play crysis :eek:

i know its not that bad, nothing is wrong with the card itself but things are in a state where they cant justify buying anything else currently.

[Black Panther]

I have that card currently.
It's not THAT bad. :)

Yeah... it depends on which games one plays. I have an FX5500 on my (dying mobo) P4 1.6Ghz. It plays pretty much every game out there, OK not Crysis p'haps but I even managed to get Oblivion running on low, and using OldBlivion.:p

Back on topic, the problem with third world countries is that the price of electronic stuff doesn't reflect the cost of living.
For example, like a year ago my parents went a certain country to purchase property for investment. The people there earn in a month less than what we in my country earn in a week. However, food is only half the price we buy it here. Which means that for these people food is twice as much expensive as it is for us here...

Before I knew all this, I had asked dad to buy me an 8800GTX from there. This was about a year ago and I was hoping I'd be getting it for 1/4 of the cost! However he told me that every computer shop he went to didn't stock the 8800GTX, for the reason that who would spend an entire 7 or 8 months' wage on a video card?!? In fact, all computer stuff was the same price or only marginally lower than I buy them here or from the UK. This is entirely unfair... especially for the citizens of that country!

I think the difficulty in deciding lies more in the processor than in anything else. The OP isn't going to use the pc for gaming hence no graphics card is needed. As regards processors, for office applications and internet browsing any core 2 duo is sufficient.
Look at my rig in my system specs. The E4300 is one of the slowest core 2's but it's very overclockable. I read that you can get it to 2.4Ghz on the stock cooler so you needn't spend on an aftermarket cooler. A P5B motherboard, nothing fancy, is of sufficient quality for overclock. As other posters remarked, DDR2 memory is cheap and brand isn't that important unless you're going into a heavy overclock or into games.

Are there any online shops you can purchase from? That way the people here can help you choose the best bang for buck for the pc you're looking to build.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

Yeah... it depends on which games one plays. I have an FX5500 on my (dying mobo) P4 1.6Ghz. It plays pretty much every game out there, OK not Crysis p'haps but I even managed to get Oblivion running on low, and using OldBlivion.:p

Back on topic, the problem with third world countries is that the price of electronic stuff doesn't reflect the cost of living.
For example, like a year ago my parents went a certain country to purchase property for investment. The people there earn in a month less than what we in my country earn in a week. However, food is only half the price we buy it here. Which means that for these people food is twice as much expensive as it is for us here...

Before I knew all this, I had asked dad to buy me an 8800GTX from there. This was about a year ago and I was hoping I'd be getting it for 1/4 of the cost! However he told me that every computer shop he went to didn't stock the 8800GTX, for the reason that who would spend an entire 7 or 8 months' wage on a video card?!? In fact, all computer stuff was the same price or only marginally lower than I buy them here or from the UK. This is entirely unfair... especially for the citizens of that country!

I think the difficulty in deciding lies more in the processor than in anything else. The OP isn't going to use the pc for gaming hence no graphics card is needed. As regards processors, for office applications and internet browsing any core 2 duo is sufficient.
Look at my rig in my system specs. The E4300 is one of the slowest core 2's but it's very overclockable. I read that you can get it to 2.4Ghz on the stock cooler so you needn't spend on an aftermarket cooler. A P5B motherboard, nothing fancy, is of sufficient quality for overclock. As other posters remarked, DDR2 memory is cheap and brand isn't that important unless you're going into a heavy overclock or into games.

Are there any online shops you can purchase from? That way the people here can help you choose the best bang for buck for the pc you're looking to build.

i can purchase from newegg. im assisting a friend with some research currently and this is just in the discussion phase currently. id love for sumthing to materialize, but that is totally out of my hands. This is basically feeling out the option that are on the market currently.

[3870x2]

_FBi;739660']when you take in shipping and customs and other things into account plus the average salary of someone in a third world country plus disposable income, all of this stuff is WAY out of their reach.

he said hes not poor though, so i figured 700 is better than the money i spent on my computer.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

he said hes not poor though, so i figured 700 is better than the money i spent on my computer.


It wouldnt be for me. it would be for someone who is worse off than me.

[panchoman]

sorry, too lazy to read the thread but may i suggest OLPC?

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

There is also the dumping phenomenon. today im going to go to one or two pc stores, get estimates and tell you the pries and whats inside.

[Nitro-Max]

If its just for internet and word processing then this should be cheap you dont need a blisteringly fast cpu or graphics.

512mb ram windows xp is fine its just about all you need.

it will actually run on less ram not fast granted but it will run

I dont understand people that buy top pc's systems just to surf the www.
Its just a case of more money than sence.

[Nitro-Max]

ATM im on my 2.4ghz celeron D pc with 256mb ram onboard graphics running windows xp.
As im only web browsing this is all i need. i leave this pc downstairs in my kitchen.
For what this system cost i let my wife and kids run riot on it i wouldnt dream of letting then near my gaming rig.

[[I.R.A]_FBi]

single core amd .. pc chips board .. 1 stick 512 ...

anyways ill report my findings to yo when ig et it done.