Anybody know a good deal on a desktop for around $400?

S

Serp

New Member
I'm looking for a good desktop that I can upgrade for around 400.

I want to make sure it has PCI-E.
Can upgrade the Ram at least to 3GB, but more is better.
At least a 100GB hard drive
I'd like to have a dual core processor, or just a nice one, not really sure.

I know some web-sites have clearance sales and stuff, but I thought some of you good people might know a few sites or places that sell nice desktops for cheap. ^.^
 
Not sure if you're willing to build yourself or what you want to do with the computer... Don't know if u already have Windows or if u can live with Linux, but here is a nice system. If I could I would probably up the PSU, maybe by going for the Antec Sonata III case. Hopefully that helps

E2160 69.99
P35-S3G 79.99
Seagate 160gb 51.99
HD2600XT 74.99 -25$ MIR
Corsair XMS2 2x1gb 53.00 -25$ MIR
Antec EA430 49.99
CM Centurion 5 49.99
Lite-on DVD burner 25.99

Comes to 456 -50$ MIR = 406$ Doesn't include shipping and taxes tho.
 
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CHECK OUT THE SPECS OF MY COMPUTER BELOW. i bought speakers too. it was 550. but take out a couple things and you might be okay. it works awesome
 
Kilauea said:
Not sure if you're willing to build yourself or what you want to do with the computer... Don't know if u already have Windows or if u can live with Linux, but here is a nice system. If I could I would probably up the PSU, maybe by going for the Antec Sonata III case. Hopefully that helps

E2160 69.99
P35-S3G 79.99
Seagate 160gb 51.99
HD2600XT 74.99 -25$ MIR
Corsair XMS2 2x1gb 53.00 -25$ MIR
Antec EA430 49.99
CM Centurion 5 49.99
Lite-on DVD burner 25.99

Comes to 456 -50$ MIR = 406$ Doesn't include shipping and taxes tho.
Click to expand...

This looks like it would be an awesome rig, but I don't own any copies of windows so I'd have to pay cash for that too. :( I was more looking for something pre-built from a site like Newegg or tigerdirect or anyplace else anyone might know of. I've never bought a computer online before so I'm not sure where to go or what to look for.
 
you should get a prebuilt computer then if you dont have a lot to spend. that's what i did and upgraded everything over a period of time. mine was $400 w/ crt monitor (oct 06 - compusa). go to circuit city and snag a cheap one, they usually have good computers for cheap. seriously look into prebuilts unless you wanna save up a bit more for a custom.
 
I only really need some Ram, a nice Motherboard that supports 240-Pin and PCI-e, and a hard drive.

Could someone explain processors to me? The computer I'm on now has a 2.6ghz Processor, but I see Dual core processors with 1.6 X2. But can't it only use 1.6ghz per application? I mean it does sound nice but are they worth it? Can I use both Cores for games?

I just want a cheap starter with some form of video card that I can upgrade over a little bit of time.
 
E1200
G31
ValueSelect 2GB DDR2-667
Excelstor 80GB
Rosewill ATX Case
hec 585W
7300GS
DVD Burner PATA

...

$100 for a OS.

For $250 (the computer I'm currently using) I have:

Celeron D 420
DVD Burner
Foxconn LGA775 motherboard (Supports Quads too!)
2GB DDR2-667 CL5 Corsair
Rosewill ATX Case
80GB Excelstor 2MB PATA
Radeon X1550 128MB (512MB w/ HyperMemory)
1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
1x 80mm Case Fan (included w/ case)
???W Logysis PSU (It was like $15-$20 though)

And I love it. It's quiet, fast, and dependable. No problems on first startup either.
 
guys he doesnt know what your talking about! he doesnt know what the letters mean... just go to circuit city, maybe best buy, or costco may be great. look on costco's website
 
mortonman1 said:
guys he doesnt know what your talking about! he doesnt know what the letters mean... just go to circuit city, maybe best buy, or costco may be great. look on costco's website
Click to expand...

I have a basic grasp on hardware terminology, but I'm mostly a software person. I can alter and install various programs and use various OS, but I can't tell you the difference between one processor and another.

Also, if people want to make lists of gear, could you put it in a labeled format? like:

Processor: blah blah
Graphics card: blah blah
Case: blah blah
 
oscaryu1 said:
E1200
G31
ValueSelect 2GB DDR2-667
Excelstor 80GB
Rosewill ATX Case
hec 585W
7300GS
DVD Burner PATA

...

$100 for a OS.

For $250 (the computer I'm currently using) I have:

Celeron D 420
DVD Burner
Foxconn LGA775 motherboard (Supports Quads too!)
2GB DDR2-667 CL5 Corsair
Rosewill ATX Case
80GB Excelstor 2MB PATA
Radeon X1550 128MB (512MB w/ HyperMemory)
1.44MB 3.5" Floppy Drive
1x 80mm Case Fan (included w/ case)
???W Logysis PSU (It was like $15-$20 though)

And I love it. It's quiet, fast, and dependable. No problems on first startup either.
Click to expand...

I know what the Corsair Memory is. DDR2 is better than DDR. For the Celeron D 420, what does the number mean, and how fast is it? (Ghz)?
Is that graphics card (The Radeon X15500 good? I'm used to NVidia so I'm not farmiliar with Radeon numbers)
 
If you're going to use a 32-bit Windows, you won't need more than 3GB ram. 32-bit Windows can't handle more. If you build 4 GB in, windows will detect between 3GB and 3,5GB. If you're going to use a 64-bit OS, you can use more Ram memory, but you'll also need a 64-bit CPU.
 
Vermin said:
If you're going to use a 32-bit Windows, you won't need more than 3GB ram. 32-bit Windows can't handle more. If you build 4 GB in, windows will detect between 3GB and 3,5GB. If you're going to use a 64-bit OS, you can use more Ram memory, but you'll also need a 64-bit CPU.
Click to expand...

Is Windows Vista 64 bit? I guess I could just be fine with 3GB.
 
I (used to) religiously disagree w/ buying cheap retail pcs, but Wal-Mart has a Compaq pc for $279: AMD Athlon 64bit 1.8 gHz, 120 gb hdd, 1 gig ram, key, mouse, Win Vista Home Prem. Great deal, runs like a top (at least the pc, not Vista; now that it has Fedora it runs like a top)

btw, Vista is 32 and 64 bit, dep on your choice
Vista needs at least 1gig. RAM, Ive seen people run vista on 512mb (1/2gig) NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!

What's interesting: out of curiousity, I finally got a 486 to run Xp Home Basic a while ago.
It was so slow, it actually took ten minutes for MS WordPad to load, 30 mins for the os to load
it was fun to see it struggle though! poor thing, I put light-load Debian Linux back on to it.
 
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concorde said:
I (used to) religiously disagree w/ buying cheap retail pcs, but Wal-Mart has a Compaq pc for $279: AMD Athlon 64bit 1.8 gHz, 120 gb hdd, 1 gig ram, key, mouse, Win Vista Home Prem. Great deal, runs like a top (at least the pc, not Vista; now that it has Fedora it runs like a top)

btw, Vista is 32 and 64 bit, dep on your choice
Vista needs at least 1gig. RAM, Ive seen people run vista on 512mb (1/2gig) NOT RECOMMENDED!!!!

What's interesting: out of curiousity, I finally got a 486 to run Xp Home Basic a while ago.
It was so slow, it actually took ten minutes for MS WordPad to load, 30 mins for the os to load
it was fun to see it struggle though! poor thing, I put light-load Debian Linux back on to it.
Click to expand...

That is a great deal. I forgot to check Wal-mart for PC's. lol, I was just there looking for RAM yesterday, didn't even cross my mind, thanks!

EDIT: I just went to Walmart.com and I'm looking around, and I don't know the difference between some of these processors. I'm farmiliar with Intel up until 4. (Obviously it goes 1, 2, 3, 4. Don't know why they stopped that) I have a... D In my current computer, 2.6Ghz.

Is GHZ the only thing that matters when it comes to a CPU?

EDIT AGAIN:
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=8586833

Is this computer decent? I like that it can hold up to 8GB. It has a dual core processor, but it says it only has 1 PCI slot and it's full. It does say the network is intigrated which is what I normally have in a PCI slot. (For the webernet) Is 1 PCI slot enough?

I liked that it had 2 PCI-e 1, and a PCI-e 16. But what are they for? Just video cards?

Any reply is appreciated. ^.^
 
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