Pre-built Windows system recomendations

[markrb38]

I always build my own, but a friend at work really doesn't want to go that route and I can understand his reasons. He wants a basic, reliable system. He does almost no gaming and in general his usage with be pretty low end.

As for specific specs I can help him out there, but I am wondering about the current state of brand reliability and if he ever needs it technical support. I may not always be able to help him. A boutique system will be beyond his price range. We are more thinking the Dell, HP, Compaq, Acer, etc.. route.

Thanks,
Mark

 

[Puppies04]

Can you be little more descriptive as to what "basic" and "low end" usage is, different people could mean completly different things with those comments.

That said, send him down to the local PC superstore, tell him to buy the cheapest pc on offer and leave it at that. If he gets into any issues or finds it too slow then you can always remind him you could have quite happily built him one.

 

[markrb38]

I will deal with the specs part.
I am just looking for the current state of "brand name" PC's at this time. General overall quality and tech support of the different companies.

 

[piasabird]

Dell is running a deal on their model 620s with I-5 You might take a look at that. It was the model with the monitor. Upgrade it to a 24" monitor and it was around $800 - $1,000

It can be hard to find good deals on things like Hard Drives, and Dell probably pays little or nothing for the OS, so they have some advantages for that basic system.

They dont offer this with a 2500K but a lower end i-5. They do offer it with a radeon HD video card. Probably still a little low end for gaming. I am looking around right now for some kind of Mid-range rig I can watch internet movies on. One good thing is they offer this in a low profile case that can sit on its side.

 

[mfenn]

Can you be little more descriptive as to what "basic" and "low end" usage is, different people could mean completly different things with those comments.

:thumbsup: Agree. It is even worse when people say a "reasonable" amount of money. To some people, that means $500, to others it means $2000.

OP, there are good deals to be had on the Dell outlet. There are plenty of $500-700 machines with i5 and i7 processors.

 

[paperwastage]

for a cheapest usable system, my friend showed me the dell Vostro 260 slim tower.

Lowest config(then upgrade from pentium to i3)

$350 for i3 2120, 2GB, 250GB, no monitor though... but perfect for a replacement for an older system

http://configure.us.dell.com/dellst...c1&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&model_id=vostro-260s

 

[jae]

More details about what exactly he'll use it for and the budget. Some manufactures make great high-end products but awful cheap or budget products.

 

[DaveSimmons]

He does almost no gaming

You need to provide more details. Most store-bought computers use integrated graphics or at best a $50 graphics card, unless you buy a horribly overpriced "gamer" PC with much more CPU that you really need.

If it must be prebuilt, people here often recommend buying one of the Dell models with a decent power supply (be care about that part) then adding in something like a Radeon 5770 / 6770 or 6850 or better depending on gaming needs, budget, and what the power supply can handle.

 

[Charlie98]

As far as brand... I would stick with Dell; I would have bought one if I had not just built one (pushed over the edge by everyone here at AT I currently have 3 Dells... 1 2006 desktop, a business laptop (2005) and one for the kid (2007,) and they are still going strong. I'm currently in the process of upgrading all of them with better processors, memory, and hard drives (where appropriate) because I believe they will serve us well for the next couple years.

The only problem I've ever had was the PSU on the desktop died after about 3 months, replaced by Dell.

I would not EVER buy HP anything... I had an $1800 desktop built by them some years ago (in my pre-Dell days...) and it died in less than a year.... after taking a trip to the warranty station about 4 times.

 

[piasabird]

Things to look out for with a pre-built is that for a 24" monitor some people are getting ripped off. Dell charges about $249.99 for a 24 in Monitor. However, on most online sites that size of monitor goes for about $179.00. People that sell prebuilt systems often rip you off on the add-ons or extras. So go for a basic computer with all the features you want already.

 

[jacktesterson]

Go with a Dell.

My Pentium G620 is VERY fast for the price. (Faster than almost all Core 2 Duos). Not bad for a budget CPU. It even compares to a X6 in a lot of games that only use 2 cores.

It's basically an i3 sandy with hyperthreading disabled.

 

[KeithP]

If he buys a Dell system and is interested in an extended warranty, he should buy directly from Dell not a store like Best Buy.

Extended warranties purchased through a store are handled by the store, not Dell. For that matter, even the basic 1 year warranty is handled primarily by the store.

I would also recommend a Dell refurb from their Outlet. The Dell Outlet has a twitter account and a Facebook page where they regularly post coupon codes in addition to mark downs the outlet offers. I bought a system this way and was very happy with it.

-KeithP

 

[Charlie98]

If he buys a Dell system and is interested in an extended warranty, he should buy directly from Dell not a store like Best Buy.

Extended warranties purchased through a store are handled by the store, not Dell. For that matter, even the basic 1 year warranty is handled primarily by the store.

I would also recommend a Dell refurb from their Outlet. The Dell Outlet has a twitter account and a Facebook page where they regularly post coupon codes in addition to mark downs the outlet offers. I bought a system this way and was very happy with it.

-KeithP

Good point! I've bought all my Dells direct... I didn't know about the Outlet, back then, though.

 

[mfenn]

If he buys a Dell system and is interested in an extended warranty, he should buy directly from Dell not a store like Best Buy.

Extended warranties purchased through a store are handled by the store, not Dell. For that matter, even the basic 1 year warranty is handled primarily by the store.

I would also recommend a Dell refurb from their Outlet. The Dell Outlet has a twitter account and a Facebook page where they regularly post coupon codes in addition to mark downs the outlet offers. I bought a system this way and was very happy with it.

-KeithP

:thumbsup: Excellent point. One way that Dell is able to make their BB systems competitive with the online store is by putting the cost of warranty service off onto the retailer. Needless to say, the quality of service you would get from a BB warranty is much worse than what you would get direct from Dell.