US site for super cheap desktop PCs

[Linliel]

Hey guys,
I'm just wondering if there's a website where you can buy pretty cheap desktop PCs -- I have a friend that is in a very bad spot atm and is relying on a phone internet connection to keep up to date with her friends, so I thought I might do something nice and get her a basic cheap PC until she can sort out her things. Problem is I'm in Belgium and she's in the US, so I'd need something really cheap I can buy from here but get shipped to her there.

Any suggestions?

[Cephius]

So you basically want the cheapest desktop money can buy that's still functional?

Can do.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883114081 $239.99

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16883147067 little better for $309.99

Even dell has the Inspiron Desktop line that starts at about $269: http://www.dell.com/us/en/home/deskt...cs=19&ref=dthp

[Linliel]

That's just the sort of thing I was after, thanks Ceph!

[Isiolia]

http://www.geeks.com/ has refurb machines n' such. They've got IBM n' Dell P4 corporate desktops and the like starting around $100, though of course then you'd need a monitor, and most of them include Linux and like 512MB of RAM...but that's better than a phone.

Or just go buy a Dell or HP deal. Maybe look at the Dell Outlet stuff (IE, refurb/return/cancelled orders). Depends on how cheap you mean. Could also look on eBay or Craigslist, though the latter would likely mean she'd need to go pick it up.


If you just want to get something cheap for internet, what about a Netbook? Or is the ideal situation maybe one where she can get online for a game as well?

[Cephius]

I'd worry about giving a refurb as a gift, just because they usually require some work to be done. A certified refurb should be okay, though.

[mootsfox]

I'd avoid the Atom if you can. The low powered AMD CPUs are quite nice for the money and kick Atom's ass all over the place. (The Dell looks pretty good for $270)

[Spekkio]

you could get an acer revo nettop for about 200 dollars from newegg too. single core atom with ion graphics should at least stand up OK to simple flash videos and the like (better when 10.1 comes out officially) and it's the cheapest you're likely to get a new computer for.

[Olo401]

Pricewatch

[fishstix]

Does it have to be a desktop? If you can get a laptop/netbook, your friend can bring it to some place with wireless occasionally, coffee shop, local library, etc. Not really sure if that's an option for them, but throwing that idea out there

[Caiyuo]

Does it have to be a desktop? If you can get a laptop/netbook, your friend can bring it to some place with wireless occasionally, coffee shop, local library, etc. Not really sure if that's an option for them, but throwing that idea out there

That's what I was thinking, a netbook sounds perfect for both price and portability for wireless as long as the tiny size wouldn't be a bother.

[Linliel]

Thanks for all the suggestions guys -- I think I have one sorted for now!

[fishstix]

awesome, let us know how it goes!

[Seanr]

I know Lin said she got it sorted, but for anyone else who might need one... I see Woot.com has a

Lenovo IdeaCentre H210 5355AFU Dual Core 2.4Ghz 3GB 320GB Vista Home Prem Desktop

Today for $299

[fishstix]

That's pretty hot for a dual core

[Olo401]

I know Lin said she got it sorted, but for anyone else who might need one... I see Woot.com has a

Lenovo IdeaCentre H210 5355AFU Dual Core 2.4Ghz 3GB 320GB Vista Home Prem Desktop

Today for $299

That's actually not too bad. The E2200 is one of the low-end C2D (even tho it says Pentium DC its really is a Core 2), but it's not a Celeron so that's a BIG plus. It's running integrated graphics which is the only serious downside for gaming purposes, but that can be upgraded easily like everything else in the box.

3 gigs of memory means you're not running dual channel, which isn't a huge deal but you might want to consider bumping that to 4gigs if possible. Also note that it comes with Vista HP and an upgrade coupon for Win7. The 3 gigs of RAM makes me think they gave you 32-bit, so when you do the upgrade program make sure to request a 64-bit copy of Win7.