Advice on purchasing a cheap computer 200-300

[saulat_99]

Helping a friend out and his computer has a max capacity of 512 Mb RAM. It also has some sort of celeron processor I believe. I found no virus and concluded that his slow performance was due to the machine. Internet Explorer shutting was one of the issues he mentioned. He only has 256 Mb of RAM and I told him he could upgrade to 512 but if it were me I'd get a new computer.

He is asking my help and looking at 200-300$. I am looking at tigerdirect and

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=2032280010 4018&name=$200 - $300


I don't know much about these emachines and asus computers. My friend mainly wants this for educational games for his kids and stuff like email and word processing. He would need a Windows XP disc and a Cd-r drive. I could more than likely transfer his cd-r drive and hard drive into the new computer assuming they have the right connections.

Anyone have any input on the computers on newegg or anywhere else for 200-300$?

 

[Euklid]

Get it with Windows. You'll have to pay $100 later, as compared to about $30
when you buy a system already with Windows.

I think he'll need a DVD drive.

Check craigslist for computer. People usually sell for less than they're worth.
You might save some money getting it there.

Check places like BestBuy. You likely won't find value computer for better price
than there.


Best Buy $216 - http://www.bestbuy.com/site/Dell+-+Inspiron+Desktop+with+AMD+Athlon%26%23153%3B+X2+5000%2B+Dual-Core+Processor/9250909.p?id=1218068109061&skuId=9250909

Windows Vista
2 CPU Amd x 2.6ghz
320GB HDD
3GB ram
DVD-RW
No Wifi

 

[mtb211]

you can build a dell pos of shit with no monitor for around 350, I've done it, upgrading his shitty pc with ram wont be worth it. Trust me, i had a celeron and they are utter pieces of shite.

 

[saulat_99]

Think I found him one. It is a dell 505gr on craigslist for 220$ Any clue if this is a decent price I am not finding any for sale online.

Processor Brand Intel®
Processor Class Pentium® 4 Processor with Hyper-Threading Technology
Processor Speed 3.0 GHz
Bus Speed 800 MHz
Cache Size 1 MB
System Chipset Intel 915G Express Chipset
# Memory 1 GB installed memory
# Four DDR SDRAM Dual Inline Memory Module (DIMM) sockets that support the following:

* 2.5 V (only) DDR SDRAM DIMMs with gold-plated contacts
* Unbuffered, single-sided or double-sided DIMMs with the following restriction:
* Double-sided DIMMS with ×16 organization are not supported.
* 4 GB maximum total system memory.
* Minimum total system memory: 128 MB
* Non-ECC DIMMs
* Serial Presence Detect
* DDR 400 MHz and DDR 333 MHz SDRAM DIMMs

Hard Drive Capacity 200 GB
Drive Controllers Serial ATA (SATA)

PCI Slots 2
PCI Express x1 Slots 1
PCI Express x16 Slots 1
Slots Notes 1 PCI Express x16, 1 PCI Express x1 and 1 PCI open
Included Drives

* CD-ROM
* DVD+/-RW
* Hard Drive

Expansion Bays

* 4 3.5-inch (2 open)
* 2 5.25-inch

 

[linkin]

Pentium 4 machines should belong in a museum by now.

It's not worth upgrading from a celeron to a pentium 4, in my opinion.

What you want to do is go with a pentium dual core or a core 2 duo (perhaps some older ones, like the E2200 or an E4500, which is what i have but i've overclocked it a fair bit) either of which will wipe the floor with a pentium 4.

So search for computers that have a Pentium Dual Core or a Core 2 Duo as a processor. You will also get DDR2 RAM which is much better than DDR.

The machine you mentioned above has a PCI-E X16 slot. that is good if your friend wants a graphics card, but the rest of that system is old and will not last long.

 

[2048Megabytes]

That Dell has a Pentium 4 processor in it. The Pentium 4 is an outdated slow processor. He should at least get a system with a dual-core processor in it.

I also agree with Mtb211. Celeron single-core processors are useful for one thing, recycling material. They are obsolete and slow.

Take a look at this refurbished Desktop Computer for $250 plus shipping costs at TigerDirect:
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5367568&CatId=2632

Some of the specifications are:

Processor: Intel Celeron E1500 (2.2 gigahertz) Dual-Core
RAM: 2 gigabytes of DDR2
Hard Drive: Serial ATA 320 gigabyte
Operating System: Windows XP Professional

 

[daisymtc]

The best buy/ tigerdirect dell looks ok to me.
I won't get near to emachine. While for asus, the spec look the same as those netbook. it would be better to get a netbook with same price.