I have wanted to build a project with LEDs for a long time. This weekend I came up with an idea, an LED coffee table.
The table would have a large compartment in the center to house the electronics and either a clear or translucent top to allow the light to shine through. Ideally I would use a combination of red, green, and blue LEDs connected to a microcontroller. This would enable the table to fade in and out of different colors. However, the design could be greatly simplified by choosing a single color LED and hard-wiring it to a power source, excluding the microcontroller altogether.
Last month, WalMart began selling a PC for under $200. This made me wonder, can you build it yourself for cheaper. I did a little bit of research and here is a breakdown of the cost:
- Motherboard – $59.99
- Case – $29.99
- Kingston 512 MB Memory – $14.99
- Seagate 80 GB Hard Drive – $43.99
- DVD-ROM/CD-RW Drive – $24.99
- gOS – free
- Logitech Keyboard – $9.25
- Logitech Mouse – $7.29
- Creative Speakers – $9.99
- Total – $200.48
As you can see, it costs about the same to build the PC yourself. However, you are getting better quality hardware from major brands such as Kingston, Seagate, Logitech, and Creative. When buying a PC off the shelf, you don’t usually know what hardware you are getting. Also, if you think WalMart is evil, as many people do, then you don’t have to support them. But above anything else, it is simply more fun to build it yourself than buy one off the shelf.
