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york28 · Jul 30, 2003, 02:37 PM

I'm not replacing my Mac, but I need to be able to test websites I make on Win IE. Virtual PC won't cut it on my iBook.

So all I want is a PC that can run Win 2k and IE 6. A notebook would be great, but probably expensive. Any suggestions on what to get? I want to spend as little as possible ($400?); I already have a monitor.

Thanks.

mixin visuals · Jul 30, 2003, 02:40 PM

Originally posted by york28:
I'm not replacing my Mac, but I need to be able to test websites I make on Win IE. Virtual PC won't cut it on my iBook.

So all I want is a PC that can run Win 2k and IE 6. A notebook would be great, but probably expensive. Any suggestions on what to get? I want to spend as little as possible ($400?); I already have a monitor.

Thanks.

thats the only reason i use one. and also for my addweb website submitting app

soul searching · Jul 30, 2003, 02:42 PM

Originally posted by york28:
I'm not replacing my Mac, but I need to be able to test websites I make on Win IE. Virtual PC won't cut it on my iBook.

So all I want is a PC that can run Win 2k and IE 6. A notebook would be great, but probably expensive. Any suggestions on what to get? I want to spend as little as possible ($400?); I already have a monitor.

Thanks.

Ebay?

starman · 02:51 PM

Virtual PC, and spend the cash on a better Mac.

Mike

MindFad · Jul 30, 2003, 02:45 PM

I'm curious, why won't the iBook cut it for VPC? Sure, it's slow, but it surely can handle WinExplorer?

sniffer · Jul 30, 2003, 02:46 PM

You get pc's dirt cheap. For your basic needs you don't need much horsepower in the pc. I have a p2 333 I got for free and it runs XP quite well.

BasketofPuppies · Jul 30, 2003, 02:51 PM

Get a cheap Dell box.

Or if you're willing to spend a little more, get a slightly more expensive and cool-looking (but underpowered) Sony box.

MindFad · Jul 30, 2003, 02:54 PM

Cheap $499 Dell box:

http://wwwb.dell.com/us/en/dhs/produ...n_desktops.htm

mitchell_pgh · Jul 30, 2003, 02:58 PM

I'm with Starman... Don't feel M$ and the Intel world...

There are only two directions... Pro Mac and Anti-Mac when purchasing hardware.

VPC 6 with an iBook should be more then enough...

Local college recycling program would be my #2 option... At least you didn't buy it...

The Godfather · Jul 30, 2003, 03:14 PM

Try Tigerdirect.com, Walmart.com, and Compgeeks.com. They have been good to me.

Don't worry about integrated video chipsets. You are not looking for performance. Anything over 300MHz will run any version of Windows and Explorer.

CheesePuff · Jul 30, 2003, 06:23 PM

For $169 on eBay I purchased a 650 MHz Pentium III with 256 MB RAM, 10 GB HDD, CD-RW drive, CD-ROM drive, 8 MB AGP graphics card, decent case, keyboard, mouse, and power cord. Will run any version of Windows with lots of power.

Kenneth · Jul 31, 2003, 12:51 AM

VPC should be good enough... which iBook do you have? Since you have a display, you can try some hacks and make your iBook a dual display setup.

With VPC, no more messy BIOS(if something really goes wrong) or other matters.

Getting a tower = one more thing in your home and cluttering.

Link · Jul 31, 2003, 12:59 AM

Just get a small, cheap, compact dell

or.. anything of that factor.. small and cheap. I use big PCs because I can afford to waste my money that way sometimes.

*shrug*

Cipher13 · Aug 1, 2003, 07:08 AM

Meh, get a second hand PIII 800 or something from an auction, for like $40...

Dogma · Aug 1, 2003, 07:19 AM

Go PC, me? No way.

Okay, maybe just one. I gotta, I mean, I just gotta, play Warhammer Online when it comes out, and that means it's a trip down PC Hell for me.

It only B for games though. And of course it'll be a pretty serious machine - so it'll be crunching some nonsense for TeamMacNN in the spare hours.

ringo · Aug 1, 2003, 07:47 AM

Scraping the bottom of the barrel, you will find other, more modern used equipment at this site too.

Cheap PC: $83.00
Compaq Computer
Deskpro 4000 P/233MHz MMX
3.2GB Hard Drive/32MB Memory/16X CD-ROM/16-bit Sound

Cheap Notebook: $292.00
Toshiba
TOS-550CDT-5M-266-NA
Tecra 550CDT, P/266 MMX,
3.82GB Disk Drive/32MB Memory/20X CD-ROM

http://www.er-usedcomputersales.com/

You might do better on eBay? Both these systems are used, but I've done business with the distributor before and they were good about handling returns when I had problems. Either would be s-l-o-w, but might handle win2K and IE. If you have the scratch, go for the cheap-ass dell box, better for testing flash and occasional gaming.

Cipher13 · Aug 1, 2003, 09:32 AM

I got a Compaq DeskPro with a 10 gig hard drive (or thereabouts), 320 MB RAM, PIII 600, AGP slot, USB, etc, etc, for $100 AUD, from an auction.

That's $60 US.

Look into it...

Nonsuch · Aug 1, 2003, 10:24 AM

Originally posted by ringo:
Scraping the bottom of the barrel, you will find other, more modern used equipment at this site too.

Cheap PC: $83.00
Compaq Computer
Deskpro 4000 P/233MHz MMX
3.2GB Hard Drive/32MB Memory/16X CD-ROM/16-bit Sound

Weird ... that's almost the exact system I'm using right now at work.

And yes, S-L-O-W sums it up nicely.

khufuu · Aug 1, 2003, 10:30 AM

Luke.....

Resist the DARK side Luke....

The Godfather · Aug 1, 2003, 12:57 PM

Stay away from pre-Pentium II chips. No Pentium, Pentium Pro, Pentium MMX. Any Celeron is fine.

Read emulators.com, go to the "secrets" link for some obligatory Windows ME preparations.

Most BIOS problems come from tinkering with "Performance" settings. Most BIOS problems are fixed by removing the motherboard battery for 5 minutes.

X-Ray · Aug 1, 2003, 01:14 PM

You might give these guys a try:
http://www.netseller.com/
They're located in my hometown (they have a brick and mortar here, too). Don't be put off by the cheesy look of their site.They are reliable and have a good return/replacement policy. They specialize in closeouts, maufacturer's over runs, etc. with good prices.

york28 · Aug 1, 2003, 02:43 PM

I decided to check out VPC 6 just to see if my 500 iBook can cut it. Tonight I'll try to install Win 2k and see how painful it is.

Space is a concern for me right now, and having a noisy PC box and monitor would just piss me off unless I really used it a lot.

Thanks for all the ideas, I'll post back with my results on VPC and final decision.

iNub · Aug 1, 2003, 03:53 PM

I put $350 or so into this PC about 8 months ago. It's reasonably fast (faster than my iBook) and stable (not quite as stable as the iBook).

*ECS K7S5A mobo: around $50
- 266 MHz frontside bus, supports up to AMD Athlon XP 2100+
- AGP4x
- 4 PCI slots
- AMR slot (useless for the most part)

*AMD Athlon XP 1600+: around $40

*MSI Nvidia GeForce3 Ti200: around $50

*512 MB unregistered "market grade" PC2100 DDR: around $100, last I checked

*40 GB MDT (relabeled Western Digital) hard drive: around $50
- 7200 RPM
- 2 MB cache
- 8.5 ms seek, IIRC

*HP 8100 model CD-RW drive: why on earth would anybody pay for that?
- 4x4x24 (it's faster to get a needle and a spindle and practice your hand-eye coordination)

*Samsung DVD drive: around $20

I think that's everything.

iNub · Aug 1, 2003, 03:54 PM

I already had the monitor too, but that was another $180. Samtron 98DBF 19" flat CRT. It rox.

daimoni · 11:43 PM

.

The Godfather · Aug 1, 2003, 04:13 PM

Originally posted by york28:
Space is a concern for me right now, and having a noisy PC box and monitor would just piss me off unless I really used it a lot.

But there's always room for another PC!

york28 · Aug 4, 2003, 10:06 AM

Hmm, well VPC sort of runs...
But the copy of Win 2k I have is an OEM version, and when the installer gets to the 'installing components' part it says it can't find any of the files, even though they are on the CD because I checked. This CD has worked fine in a bunch of different PC's so it must be something about VPC and the way it handles CDs.

What a pain. I know someone that has a retail copy of Win2k, I'll see if I can borrow that.

One upside to using VPC is that I can have multiple versions of IE at the same time through different virtual disks. As far as I know, you can only have one version of IE on a real PC.