How low do you think the computers at Staples will go?

[kourtnie]

How low do you think the computers at staples will go?

I want to pick up a reasonable one for my nieces (8 and 10) for christmas/

[freesia39]

check the list from last year:

 

2006 store list

 

you'll have to scroll down until you hit staples, but it will show the items they put on sale last year.

 

staples - HP Pavilion Desktop w/ 19" Widescreen Monitor, X2 4200+, 1GB Memory, 200GB Hard-Drive - 699.98

staples - HP Pavilion w/ AMD X2 TL-56, 2GB RAM, 120GB Hard Drive, 17" Wide-Screen Display - 1149.98

staples - HP Pavilion w/ Core Duo T2250, 1GB RAM, 120GB Hard Drive, 15.4" Display - 849.98

[conj]

You can get a desktop for less than $400 at Best Buy now. It has plenty of power for an 8 or 10 yr old, why do staples?

[Gurnee Al]

Kourtnie, you have to have the record for lurking the longest -- your first post TWO years after joining GD??

Anyway, you can get some nice budget PCs at Dell.com or HPshopping.com right now without any long lines or rebates. Good luck!

[deltablues78]

Staples will also be carrying Dell computers on black friday as well. I don't know if any of them will be in the ad or not.I have heard they are supposed to get a huge line of Dell products in early november.

[nirvana4all]

Kourtnie, you have to have the record for lurking the longest -- your first post TWO years after joining GD??

Anyway, you can get some nice budget PCs at Dell.com or HPshopping.com right now without any long lines or rebates. Good luck!

apparently followed closely by deltablue...wow, getting them all out of the woodwork. IMHO, the dells right now wtill overpriced and underpowered as a generality. Lots of decent deals right now, so figure HP might be getting a great deal at OD or Staples with a number of others as well (probably an ACER if I had to guess) on BF.

[len_mullen]

apparently followed closely by deltablue...wow, getting them all out of the woodwork. IMHO, the dells right now wtill overpriced and underpowered as a generality. Lots of decent deals right now, so figure HP might be getting a great deal at OD or Staples with a number of others as well (probably an ACER if I had to guess) on BF.

I agree. I just bought two HP Pavillions. They were refurbs from Frys. I added a 19" lcd, a 400w power supply, a 8600gt video card, and 2.1 speakers to the 2g, x2 4000+, 320g, dvd+/-rw, vista premium system for a $550 (shipped) system that achieves an overall Vista Experience of 4.8 (5.2 gaming).

 

I shopped the Dells heavily before settling on the HPs. I like the Pavillions better -- cases are nicer (to look at or work on), include firewire and media slots, and nothing is proprietary. Price is much better too. Dell teases you with low ball prices but kills you with upgrades -- before and after the sale.

 

I'm sure there will be inexpensive PCs on BF, but you need to be careful not to get a cheap machine. I'm hearing a lot of remorse from people who bought laptops and desktops with Vista that were bargains. Too little memory and poor graphics (integrated) are the problem and can be an expensive problem to fix.

 

I strongly recommend that people spend a little time in the stores before BF using the machines. I did this. I have to tell you that there are not a lot of inexpensive PCs worth owning. A Vista Experience Index <4 is not fun and most of the cheap PCs are in the low 3's due to low memory and/or integrated graphics. You can fix both problems if your PC comes with a PCIe slot, but this will cost you plenty -- at least a hundred bucks -- and you'll have to worry about matching memory and maybe upgrading your power supply.

 

Good luck!

 

Refurbished computers are not used computers that have been in use over a long period of time. Most are cancelled orders and customer return units, others are overstocks, evaluation units, cosmetically blemished products and older discontinued products. Refurbished products are tested and if necessary, non-working components are replaced with working parts to bring the product up to fully functional condition.

[nirvana4all]

only slightly off topic, do you have a best place(s) to buy refurb HP's? I have never heard of FRY's, let alone seen one, and I am in to PC's. I do a good bit of building, fixing and custom work (almost exclusively on desktops though), and it would be nice to have a reliable cheap source of refurbs.

[freesia39]

only slightly off topic, do you have a best place(s) to buy refurb HP's? I have never heard of FRY's, let alone seen one, and I am in to PC's. I do a good bit of building, fixing and custom work (almost exclusively on desktops though), and it would be nice to have a reliable cheap source of refurbs.

fry's is only in certain states - click me for locations

 

you can try their online presence, which is frys.com which is also the same as outpost.com but it does not have the same sales as they do in the stores.

[len_mullen]

only slightly off topic, do you have a best place(s) to buy refurb HP's? I have never heard of FRY's, let alone seen one, and I am in to PC's. I do a good bit of building, fixing and custom work (almost exclusively on desktops though), and it would be nice to have a reliable cheap source of refurbs.

I know. I was reluctant to post because I could see it going that way, but I hate it when people give nonspecific advice (don't buy Vista, BF computers are junk) without tangible examples. Definitely OT to discuss other Deal Sites in here. If Brad disagrees, I can follow up. In the meantime, PM me and I'll give you some specific pointers.

 

But don't just go by me. Visit your local retailer and try some Vista machines. Check the VEI details and Computer properties so you can know what VEI index works for you and what kind of hardware is required to achieve it.

[nirvana4all]

Thanks. well, got my Fry's answer, there is one within like 800 miles or so of me. Will PM ya, the VEI index is misleading at this time in my opinion as it is often most heavily held back by the video card as it goes by lowest score. If you look at each score, you get a better idea, and if you go to benchmarking sites you get a much better idea.

[len_mullen]

VEI is a paradigm shift. Instead of averaging the capability of the subsystems or measuring the computer's ability to accomplish a specific task, VEI attempts to identify bottlenecks. You get an overall score -- the bottleneck -- plus the score of each subsystem. The idea is that software will report requirements using the same benchmarks. You will be able to pick up an app or game and see the VEI and have some expectation as to how well it will run on your machine.

 

I think this is a leap forward -- assuming MS did their math right. If I have a 5+ system except for a 3 6150, it's easy for me to see I need a new video card. When I bought my system, I settled for a cpu and video card at 4.8. My other scores are in the high fives, so I know I can improve performance with a new cpu and video card when the prices come down. I can also look at benchmark sites for help determining how much this cpu or video card will improve performance.

 

You're correct that the benchmark weights the video card, but that makes sense considering how visual Vista is (Windows + tab). I like that they broke out the gaming number as this tends to be an exception.

[nirvana4all]

Viewed from that point of view, you are using it correctly. The problem I see it how it is used on the uninformed masses:

Computer 1: CPU, hard drive, memory, etc @~ 4.5, plop in a decent video card w/4.5 rating = VEI score of 4.5

Computer 2: CPU, etc @~ 5.0 and up, Video card (probably on board) @ 3.8 = VEI score of 3.8

They will mark up the one with a score of 4.5, tell the common buyer it is better than the other one, and make a handsome profit. The informed consumer of course will buy the 3.8 computer, drop in a good video card and now have a 5.0+ computer for a good rate. It is just one more way of intel/microsoft/whoever big company this week taking advantage of the uninformed by giving them one number to focus on & not the whole picture in order to get more profit.

I am not certain exactly who stands to profit the most under this setup, but I see the average buyer ripped off by focusing on one number. To the mildly informed consumer, it is useful.

Of course this is all MHO & my little soap box.

 

To be truthful, my current machine fits this. It has a 5.8 score processor (amd 6000+), 5.9 Memory (4GB ddr2-6400/800mhz), 5.8 access (2x500gb 7200rpm 16mb HD's) and a 3.0 graphics score (built in motherboard) giving it a score of 3.0. Once I get a dedicated graphics card this will be a 5.8 or so machine. If I knew very little about the VEI however, I would think the machine sucked and would not understand that with one very simple upgrade I could have a rocking machine.

[starshiphome]

Well, I am in the market for a desktop with Vista Business. I need it for my work - I do accounting software support, and I need to have a machine that I can start playing with to figure out how miserable this OS is going to make my life next year when our software is Vista certified

 

I was hoping that Staples would have one, but I don't see anything listed on the rumors about it. Anyone think there is any hope? Online sale would be good - I am not close to most of the stores; even Staples is 15 miles away.

 

Ruth

[len_mullen]

Well, I am in the market for a desktop with Vista Business.

Why Business? Business will increase your cost and limit your selection. Unless your PC will be in a domain, maybe you do not need business...

 

Domain Join, Group Policy support, Windows Fax and Scan, Encrypting File System (EFS), Shadow Copy, Corporate Roaming, Offline Files and Folders, and Remote Desktop are available in Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Ultimate.

[starshiphome]

Yep, gotta be Business. That is the only Vista version which will be certified as supported with our software - and I need to be using the same version as our client base. I know it limits my options but I don't have a choice in this.

 

I was contemplating a Dell system - but they insist on everything being usb or wireless as far as peripherals are concerned which I hate, and by the time I configured a system the way I needed it the cost was over $1500 not including a monitor. Yeouch. It is beginning to look like my son is going to get to build his first Vista system for me; I hate to ask him to do it because he is so busy, but I am beginning to think I will have to ask.

 

Ruth

[len_mullen]

Yep, gotta be Business. That is the only Vista version which will be certified as supported with our software - and I need to be using the same version as our client base. I know it limits my options but I don't have a choice in this.

 

I was contemplating a Dell system - but they insist on everything being usb or wireless as far as peripherals are concerned which I hate, and by the time I configured a system the way I needed it the cost was over $1500 not including a monitor. Yeouch. It is beginning to look like my son is going to get to build his first Vista system for me; I hate to ask him to do it because he is so busy, but I am beginning to think I will have to ask.

 

Ruth

That's how it goes with Dell -- teaser price then kill you with upgrades. Still, your requirement for Business says you're screwed anyway. It may be worthwhile to chase a bargain then upgrade to Ultimate ($170). Depends how you are going to use the machine.

[Marcster]

Well, I am in the market for a desktop with Vista Business. I need it for my work - I do accounting software support, and I need to have a machine that I can start playing with to figure out how miserable this OS is going to make my life next year when our software is Vista certified

 

I was hoping that Staples would have one, but I don't see anything listed on the rumors about it. Anyone think there is any hope? Online sale would be good - I am not close to most of the stores; even Staples is 15 miles away.

 

Ruth

Hi Ruth -- I don't know how familiar you are with www.newegg.com but they have 30 desktops running Windows Vista Business starting at $399.99 (plus $19.74 s/h).

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=10&Description=&Type=&N=2032280010&srchInDesc=&MinPrice=&MaxPrice=&PropertyCodeValue=1413%3A27355

 

Newegg is great -- I've been ordering from them for 5+ years. They have laptops running Windows Vista Business too if you'd rather.

[starshiphome]

Marcster, thanks for the heads up. I am very familiar with Newegg-my son and I buy virtually all of our computer parts from them. The machine I am on now is one he built with Newegg parts about a year ago. Love their customer service; we had one defective part from them a couple of years ago and they swapped it, no questions asked, no hassle.

 

Not really interested in a laptop for this purchase-I am on a computer 10 to 12 hours a day for work, and laptops are just not ergonomic enough for that. But I will take a look at their desktop machines; I had no idea they sold them. That sounds like it might be the perfect solution for me.

 

Ruth

 

Edit: I see they have Lenovo desktops. Anyone tried that brand recently and know how reliable they are now that they are not sold under the IBM brand?

[Marcster]

Edit: I see they have Lenovo desktops. Anyone tried that brand recently and know how reliable they are now that they are not sold under the IBM brand?

I was between a Lenovo laptop and the HP laptop that I did buy -- both because of the OEM docking options offered. In the end, I did go with the HP, due to past positive experience.

 

I posted a thread on another forum asking about Lenovo. Most people wrote back that while quality is high, it is not quite as high as it was when IBM ran the show.

 

That was for opinions of laptops, but desktops should be similar.

 

You can also search on Cnet for reviews:

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktop-computers

[bigdogofftheporch]

how good is the laptop that they have for 349 on black fri any help would be appeciated

[bigjoe]

I was 5th in line last year for the 399.99 pc,there was a rush but i managed to get 2.They had about 30.The only confusion is where they would be passing them out,seems the people who worked there did not know either.

[bigdogofftheporch]

thank you big joe:yup:

[NCBowhunter]

Big Joe......What time did you get in line last year? I work full time and go to school (full time load) at night so I really need a laptop badly. Were there a lot of people in line around 5:30 a.m.?

[Indy2424]

I work at Staples and last year we had about 5-10 people in line by 1 am and by about 5:00 am there were about 100. Over the past 3 or 4 years our line has almost double every year by the time that we open.