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Desktop computer w/ monitor

steveh

By steveh
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steveh

steveh

Posted
Posted

Looking for a desktop computer w/ monitor for my wife... She's moving from a Mac to the PC world... Doesn't need to be an especially powerful machine as long as it's reasonably capable...

 

[edit to add]

I've got a preference for Dell, but not an absolute requirement.

[/edit]

RossMAN

RossMAN

Posted
Posted

steveh,

 

You've come to the right place :)

 

1) What's your budget with monitor?

2) What state are you in and do you know if Dell Home charges sales tax for that state?

3) What does she plan on doing with the PC?

4) If you know, what are the minimum specs you would like?

Hoss

Hoss

Posted
Posted
What speed of machine is she used to? My thought being that you could find a reasonably speedy (depending on what she wants to do with it) used machine for under $100 (or thereabouts), then tack on a nice new monitor.
steveh

steveh

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I'll try answer all of the questions in one post.

 

- Budget

$400 or less would be fantastic, probably willing to go as high as $600 if necessary.

 

- State

Florida - fairly sure that Dell does charge sales tax here as does Gateway.

 

- Use

She's going to use it a lot like a college student would. Office type applications, surfing the 'net, occasional photo-retouching, not much else.

 

- Specs

Something capable of running XP home, OfficeXP and the occasional photo-retouching without causing her to want to strangle me. ;) I'm thinking something 1.8ghz+ with 256MB+ of RAM and at least a 15GB drive... CD-ROM is an absolute necessity, CD-RW would be better, CD-RW/DVD-ROM would be best...

 

She's coming off an iMac can't remember which model it is, but it's one of the ones they had out in 2000 or so. (Remember when they were selling "fruit"? It's a blueberry model.)

 

I'm going to try to stay away from used machines, not because I have anything against them, but because I'd rather have a warranty. I know how to get under the hood of a PC (been doing it for years, and in fact, do it for a living), but I'd much rather not do it at home as well...

 

I actually bought one of those emachines for myself about 3 months ago with CompUSA was doing a 3 hour sale. Got an additional rebate on it above and beyond that deal - total cost was about $349 + tax.

BobbyDouglas

BobbyDouglas

Posted
Posted

Other than Windows XP Home, do you need anymore software with the computer (Office/Norton AV/ect).

 

It seems like Dell's computer without monitor usually is pretty cheap. You can pick up a monitor from a friend for prolly $20-$50. I have a 17" I would sell if it came down to that.

 

Dell was having a very good sale that ended on Wednesday that had free upgrades to RAM, hard drive upgrades, and some other upgrades.

 

Hopefully these deal experts will have some good finds for you :)

steveh

steveh

Posted
  • Author
Posted

I actually received an envelope in the mail today from Dell for an OptiPlex 170L with a 2.66GHz Celeron, XP Pro, 256MB RAM, 40 GB HD and 48x CD-ROM for $449... has an e-value code to get at it online, but I don't see where to enter the e-value code on their website...

 

Am I blind, or just stupid? ;)

BobbyDouglas

BobbyDouglas

Posted
Posted

Yes, you are stupid stupid stupid stupid.

 

I found a KB article that explains it, but it mainly is just a computer already configured and contains a special promotional price: http://support.dell.com/support/topics/global.aspx/support/kb/en/document?dn=1012404&c=us&l=en&s=gen&cs=

 

I would take another look at the 2400 Home Office computer. It has an 80 GB hard drive, 2.40GHz, 400 FSB, 256 mb ram, and a cd-rw drive.

 

For $17 more you can get a second cd rom bay, or for $35 more you can get a second dvd rom bay.

 

This also does not come with a floppy drive. ($18)

RossMAN

RossMAN

Posted
Posted

Watch the warranty lengths too. There is like a $20 difference between a 90 day and a 1 year warranty

Good catch. It is worth every penny to pay the additional $20 to extend warranty from 90 days to 1 year.

 

It's also recommended to pay for the computer/monitor with a premium credit card such as VISA, MasterCard and Amex. Most of these credit cards will extend your warranty protection an additional year for FREE.

 

If your wife can wait a few weeks Dell should have another sale plus coupons (which I can provide to you free of charge), rebates AND free shipping specials. A friend of mine waited and bought a Dell Dimension 2400 with 17" CRT, 2 year warranty for $349 with free shipping after rebate. Very hot deal for a new computer that is fast, quiet and reliable.

steveh

steveh

Posted
  • Author
Posted

Good catch. It is worth every penny to pay the additional $20 to extend warranty from 90 days to 1 year.

 

It's also recommended to pay for the computer/monitor with a premium credit card such as VISA, MasterCard and Amex. Most of these credit cards will extend your warranty protection an additional year for FREE.

 

If your wife can wait a few weeks Dell should have another sale plus coupons (which I can provide to you free of charge), rebates AND free shipping specials. A friend of mine waited and bought a Dell Dimension 2400 with 17" CRT, 2 year warranty for $349 with free shipping after rebate. Very hot deal for a new computer that is fast, quiet and reliable.

For that? I'm sure she'll be willing to wait...

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