Re: Building a cheap internet pc
I use 512mb on my other laptop to browse.. but when 2GB of crucial ballistix/ geil ultra / ocz platinum (you get the picture) costs £45 - £50.. why not to be honest.
Again you can build cheaper but why bother skimping on things like that when its a matter of £20 for a much better PC.
Re: Building a cheap internet pc
However the OP wants to do some gaming too! Unfortunately most modern games show benefits with 2gb of RAM and a faster processor. If they didn't then I could have used my old pc still and saved some cash as a result.
Also a decent PSU is needed since many of the the cheaper ones rarely deliver their advertised wattage and voltage.
Vista also does run noticeably better with 2gb of RAM as I have tried it with 1gb. However I also use photo editing apllications where 2gb does show a difference. 2gb is to Vista what 1gb is to XP in my experience.