Best budget desktop under $500

[EdwardC]

Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Originally Posted By: EdwardC
For example, I like this one: http://www.microcenter.com/product/486840/ProDesk_400_G1_Desktop_Computer_Refurbished


Hope he doesn't like that one, the ad says in store pick up only and there are no stores in Fla.

Paying attention as wife likes desktops and ours is older than John McCain..


Yeah, wasn't sure they had Microcenters there, but I'm sure if they have them, they're available at other retailers as well.

A few more:

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883794283

https://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883287811

 

[uc50ic4more]

I always default to getting off-lease corporate machines whenever anyone asks me to get a system for them. They may be a little light on graphics horsepower and HDD space but for pedestrian requirements they are absolutely perfect. I just set one up with Linux Mint MATE today, as a matter of fact.

 

[JustinH]

Techbargains has some dell optiplex's refurbished for $250. If you play your timing right you can get a well equipped refurb optiplex for under $500 that will have a 3 year in home warranty.

You can not buy the parts yourself for what they sell these things for.

I am speccing out a xeon workstation for myself at home.

 

[BrocLuno]

Originally Posted By: skyactiv
Email and web browsing wise, I'd rather use an older computer with an SSD than something new with a pathetic HDD in it.


This a thousand times over

The machine I'm typing this on is running XP Pro - because of the software I use. Normally I use the #2 workstation to do casual stuff like browsing in Win 7.

I have another identical chassis/MB running Win 7, but it's set aside for a few days while I do some map work on this one.

They are both HP XW4400 workstations. Very nice sound sub-system. All the drivers are available at the HP web site. Both use SSD's and are quick enough, even for photo editing, music editing/playback/normalization, etc.

I use this one to run AutoCAD and Arcview with very large aerials in the background. Hardly ever wait more than a second to two to load, pan, zoom.

Maybe $90 plus shipping from a lot of sources for a chassis with mem and DVD drives, but no HDD. That's fine because you want to use SSD's anyway

Quiet fans, 4 usb on the back and 2 on the front. Audio in and out on the front and back. Two DVD-RW's - all sata. PCIe video slot, so get what works for you. Lots of workstation graphics cards out there cheap in the used market

[color:#006600][/color]

 

[eyeofthetiger]

E-mail, web content, you tube videos? You could probably get away with a Raspberry Pi, or something a bit more powerful like an Odroid XU4.

 

[wkcars]

$590 new https://www.staples.com/hp-pavilion-570-...product_2720261

$490 refurb https://www.staples.com/refurbished-hp-p...product_2802641

Install a ssd and should be good to go.

 

[GMFan]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: danez_yoda
What are the specs on your xps? It helps to know what you are upgrading from.

Processor
Harddrive type (hdd or ssd)
Memory amount.

It might be a simple upgrade to get it going fast again.


Pentium 4, slow HDD, lots of memory, and a failing graphics card/driver. Its 8 years old and I'm not upgrading it.


Holy smokes, a Pentium 4? I upgraded recently from a 1st gen Core i5 and perforing tasks similar to what you describe was painstaking...even after an upgrade to an SSD.

$500 won't get you much brand new. I second javacontour's recommendation on that HP with the 4th gen Core i7. When you get it put an SSD in it and you'll be set to go, although with a new monitor you'll be pushing your budget.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: GMFan
Holy smokes, a Pentium 4? I upgraded recently from a 1st gen Core i5 and perforing tasks similar to what you describe was painstaking...even after an upgrade to an SSD.


I upgraded my gaming PC from a P4 to an i7-3770 about five years ago

. CPU improvements slowed down so much after that that I've had no reason yet to upgrade again.

Back on the original topic, I agree on the SSD. When we bought a new iTunes/scanner/email/web browsing desktop last year we just bought the cheapest one with an SSD, because disk performance was vastly more important than CPU or graphics.

I'm pretty sure it cost under $500, but won't be much help as it came from a Canadian store. It's basically an AMD APU with an SSD and 8GB of RAM. And we reused the original monitor from the XP machine it was replacing, so saved money there, too.

 

[alarmguy]

Wife got me this for Christmas, awesome Machine. However, when she bought it, it was on sale $200. off sometime around Thanksgiving or early Dec.

You can check the specs and get something close to it, if you watch the sales in places like Office Depot, Amazon, B&H, Buydig and Staples or of course the exact model from Best Buy.

We have three desktops with actual desks, we prefer working at our desks but also have two laptops, Ipad and more.

The HP here was a bargain at the time and would far exceed any need you mentioned for a long time even if you paid full price.

Click here

 

[Shannow]

Originally Posted By: uc50ic4more
I always default to getting off-lease corporate machines whenever anyone asks me to get a system for them. They may be a little light on graphics horsepower and HDD space but for pedestrian requirements they are absolutely perfect. I just set one up with Linux Mint MATE today, as a matter of fact.


I bought a factory refurished Cad machine (Dell Optiplex something) Jan 2014, for $250, complete with fresh O/S on disks.

Has been one of the best, most reliable machines I've had...and QUIET compared to the desktops we've had previously, both name brand and custom build.

 

[Lubener]

Myself, I always selected and assembled my own desktops(whitebox). Dollar for dollar will outperform any branded PC.

 

[javacontour]

I think my browsing of MicroCenter always goes to my local store. I didn’t check to see if one could order it. At the very least, it’s a data point for what is out there.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: Warstud
Maybe he's like me....prefers the comfort of using a desktop. I sit about 3 feet away from mine and use a 19" monitor.

You can still do the same with a laptop and external monitor and keyboard, but when needed, you can also easily pick up the laptop and take it with you.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

I purchased a DELL 7010 from DELL and paid extra for the cosmetics. Looked like it had hardly no use. Put a SSD in it and no problems running 7 for over a year.

 

[Subdued]

Originally Posted By: Lubener
Myself, I always selected and assembled my own desktops(whitebox). Dollar for dollar will outperform any branded PC.

Not right now they won't.

Mid-range graphics cards are going for over $600. RAM prices have spiked as well.