Cheapest PC right now?

[dmurray14]

My grandmother just called and said her computer is completely screwed up, and that she had a Comcast tech come out and check it out, and he said the same. I'm sure she doesn't know that Comcast only does the internet, but I think the guy has probably seen enough computers to know when one's hosed. Even if it isn't, it's probably time for her to upgrade anyway, as she has an old 166Mhz HP that's way past it's prime. So, my question is this - what's the cheapest Windows-based PC available now? She doesn't even need a monitor or anything else, and she doesn't want to spend a lot of money on it, just something simple. I think Dell and other mass manufacturers have come to a point where they are building computers more cheaply than I could do on my own, but who has the best deal? Thanks for any help...

Dan

 

[Schadenfroh]

emachines and packard bell all the way

 

[Howard]

Get her a Dell.

 

[amdskip]

I'd go the dell route.

 

[Lager]

Dell is the cheapest and the best.

The other alternative is BYO.

 

[Ornery]

Keep your eye out for Dell hot deals. You just missed a Dimension 4600 2.4GHz 256MB 40GB $139.

 

[loup garou]

One of those Walmart Lindows PCs + windows license would be cheap.

 

[XZeroII]

I would still recomend getting a nice machine. Build a nice one yourself for $600 or so and make it quality.

 

[Desslok]

Originally posted by: XZeroII
I would still recomend getting a nice machine. Build a nice one yourself for $600 or so and make it quality.

415 with quality componets.

 

[Twista]

Originally posted by: werk
One of those Walmart Lindows PCs + windows license would be cheap.

 

[Tetsuo]

Go with dell

 

[pennylane]

either a hot deal dell or just build her a decent machine.

You can build a computer that can play today's games (maybe not HL2) with an lcd for about $1000. You should be able to build something decent for considerably less.

 

[dexvx]

I'd also get a new monitor...

A PC from the P166 era would, by today's standards have a pretty bad quality monitor. Even the cheapest monitor from Dell would be signficantly better than any of those.

 

[BD231]

Dell Celeron, lowest clock possible. Cool running computers are always the most reliable in the long run.

PS: Make sure there's as little amount of extra software as possible, old people and software don't mix well.

 

[Zee]

Dell's only cheaper when there's a hot, maybe warm deal. Otherwise, tower to tower, building it is still cheaper.

 

[Ornery]

• Dell Dimension 2400
  Intel® Celeron® Processor at 2.20GHz with 400MHz front side bus, Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition¹²
  Qty: 1
  Price: $359.00
  
  Date: Saturday, October 11, 2003 7:42:25 PM CDT
  Catalog Number: 4 04
  Module Description Product Code Sku Id
  Dell Dimension 2400: Intel® Celeron® Processor at 2.20GHz with 400MHz front side bus BC22B [221-3163] 1
  Operating System: Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition¹² WHXP [313-7222] [412-0409] [420-1921] 11
  Memory: FREE UPGRADE! 256MB Shared DDR SDRAM at 333MHz (mail-in rebate not valid) 256M3P [462-2847] 3
  Keyboard: Dell? Quietkey® Keyboard QK [310-1582] 4
  Mouse: Dell® 2-Button Scroll Mouse SM [310-1871] 12
  Bundled Software: Productivity Pack including WordPerfect® and Money® COREL [412-0395] [412-0551] [412-0555] 22
  Security Software: Dell Security Center by McAfee, 90 Day introductory offer MCAFE90 [412-0547] 25
  Hard drive: 40GB Ultra ATA/100 7200RPM Hard Drive 40 [340-9481] 8
  CD or DVD Drive: 48x CD ROM Drive CD48 [313-1476] 16
  Floppy Drive and Additional Storage Devices: No Floppy Drive Included NFD [340-8688] 10
  Monitor: No monitor N [320-3000] 5
  Video Card: Integrated Intel® 3D Extreme Graphics IV [430-3900] 6
  Sound Card: Integrated Audio IS [313-0847] 17
  Speakers: No Speaker Option N [313-4514] 18
  Digital Music: Dell Jukebox powered by MUSICMATCH MMBASE [412-0298] 27
  Digital Photography: Dell Picture Studio, Image Expert Standard DPS [412-0271] [412-0273] 28
  Network Interface: Integrated 10/100 Ethernet IN [430-0441] 13
  Modem: No Modem Requested N [313-3607] 14
  Dial-Up Internet Access: 6 Months of EarthLink Internet Access ERTHLNK [420-3223] [412-0421] 37
  Limited Warranty, Services and Support Options: 1 Year Limited Warranty plus 1 Year On-site Service AUY111 [900-9054] [950-7960] [412-0360] 29
  Installation Services: No Installation NOINSTL [900-9987] 32
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Price
  Sub-total: $359.00

With free shipping and 1 year onsite service, that's going to be hard to beat. Wait a week or so and some kind of deal will pop up making it even cheaper!