"venture into the world of macs"
I feel sorry for you already.
ANYWAY, I got 3 systems from 2 differt thrift stores today. Total spent: $25
Some gateway case
Nvidia GF2 ultra 64mb
2x 128mb rimms
60gb & 40gb ide drive
1.5ghz p4 (s423)
tv tuner, with fm Ive actually wanted one of these for a long time.
kept ram, hdd's and tuner, trashed the rest
#2 micro p166
4mb pci s3 virge
p-166 with their standard blue tower heatsink ( i have a matching pair now!)
4x 8mb simms
bad mobo - however it was useful for board standoffs and simm retainers.
2.1gb hdd
case was a loss
#3 no name atx
nvidia gf2-mx 32mb
3com 905-c nic
4gb hdd -salvaged from a p3 class ibm
modem from same ibm
900mhz duron.
motherboard was some no-name tiawan, Caps looked like exploded popcorn
Case was clogged with cat hair, roach carcasses and, enough tobacco tar to pave a road.
I wish I had remembered to take a picture, but I couldnt throw it away fast enough. kept the duron, figured it should at least populate my scrap cpu's for gold box.
It is a mistake to think you can solve any major problems just with potatoes.