Nov 2012 - $300 Office

Description: The $300 office PC entry is an upgrade from the entry-level $200 nettop. You get an upgraded CPU, upgraded storage, and more expansion options. Unfortunately, the mini-ITX tower, while not huge, is still larger than the $200 nettop build, so you will have to take this into consideration. Otherwise, this is a respectable CPU capable of every mundane task you can think of for a computer, and then some. A Seagate hybrid SSD+HDD drive provides faster and plentiful storage for this machine.

Cost Breakdown
Subtotal	MIRs	Total
$291	$15	$275

Individual Parts
Type	Part	Price	MIR	Link
CPU	Intel G540	$50	---	Newegg
Hard Drive	Seagate Momentus XT 750GB	$130	---	Newegg

Combos
Type	Part	Part	Price	MIR	Link
Case + Power Supply	HEC ITX200B	Integrated PSU	$50	---	Newegg
Motherboard + RAM	ECS H61H2-I3	Crucial 4GB DDR3 1600MHz	$61	$15	Newegg

Variations:

This build came in a little under budget. If you can spare it, it any of the upgrades below would be a good investment.

SSD: Replace the hybrid drive with a medium-capacity SSD.

Substitutions
Part	Price	MIR	Link
Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB	$100	---	Amazon
Sandisk Extreme 120GB	$100	---	Amazon
Intel 330 120GB	$100	---	Amazon
Intel 330 180GB	$100	---	Newegg

CPU: Upgrade the CPU to a faster Pentium series.

Substitutions
Part	Price	MIR	Link
Intel Pentium G630	$65	---	Newegg
Intel Pentium G860	$75	---	Newegg

ODD: Invest in an external USB optical disk drive.

Substitutions
Part	Price	MIR	Link
ASUS USB 2.0 DVD-Burner	$30	$5	Newegg

Nov 2012 - $200 Office

Description: This entry level nettop is a step up from the standard Intel Atom found in netbooks. Capable of all the basic computing tasks, it also has a nice GPU built in, meaning you get a good browsing experience with streaming video playback. However, the small size means that there is absolutely no room for expansions. There are three upgradable parts: the hard drive, the RAM, and the wifi card. Apart from that, everything is integrated into the system and motherboard and cannot be altered.

Cost Breakdown
Subtotal	MIRs	Total
$208	---	$208

Individual Parts
Type	Part	Price	MIR	Link
Barebone System	FoxConn A45	$140	---	Newegg
RAM	G.Skill 4GB DDR3	$18	---	Newegg
Hard Drive	WD Scorpio Blue 320GB	$50	---	Amazon

Variations:
SSD: There are a small number of ~$50 (used and refurbished) SSDs floating around between 60GB and 80GB. Any of these would make a good substitute for the hard drive, assuming you don't need the space of a large hard drive. Of course, you'll have to hunt these SSDs down yourself. Try to get an Intel X25-G2 or 300 series, Crucial C300 or M4. Any of those are a safe bet. Otherwise, try to look up the SSD model and find reviews for it.