First post, by AidanExamineer
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If you need a good 2000s "retro" computer:
http://computers.woot.com/offers/dell-optiple … ?ref=cnt_wp_1_1
BAM. Hands down THE BEST pre-built OEM computer of this vintage you can get your hands on. I almost never advocate buying proprietary systems, but one of these can be very useful. Let's run it down:
LGA775 CPU socket means you can pick a processor from Pentium 4 all the way up to a 1066Mhz bus Core 2 Quad.
4 DIMM slots for DDR2 RAM, which you probably have sitting around anyway. 2 GB for an early XP system, 4 GB for a late XP system, or even 8 GB for a modern system (mine had 8 for use as a W10 box, back to 4 for XP)
PCIe slot for a cheap New Old-Stock graphics card of your choice. Get a late-cycle card that has low power requirements for the type.
CD-ROM and 3.5" Floppy standard, but you can throw in a DVD-ROM drive without much effort.
All the drivers you'll ever need for Windows XP or 7 are still available on Dell's website.
Woot's $5 shipping deal means you can get this behemoth shipped straight to you. Try doing that with a tower on eBay.
The only downsides are that the tower is pretty hefty by modern standards. Only as tall as a standard Mid-tower, but a bit wide. However it's mostly toolless, very easy to take down, and has GREAT cooling thanks to Dell's interpretation of the BTX form factor. Also I don't believe the board has IDE support at all. No big deal.
