Hi all,
I'm trying to find a decent desktop PC for cheap.
No gaming or photoshop, etc…basic tasks.
Win 7 would be awesome (I know, a dream!!)…
I'm in WA, so local to Peel area or low/free shipping.
I know laptops are the shiz- but this is for someone who has a dead tower but nice monitor/keyboard/mouse & very set in their ways.
Are there any deals left?
Cheers!!
:)
It's weird how that tide turned?
Used to be the desktops were so cheap & the lappy's so high-priced? Then, everything tipped the other way…I'm still a mainly desktop user myself- & I believe that it's the way most people who use their PC for basic office tasks prefer (full monitor, larger keyboard, etc). If you have no need for mobility, that is.
I looked at the shops- still pricey. About the best for the $$$ so far is the lower-end PLE offering. Officeworks has some anaemic bundles—> where they've stuffed under-powered laptop cpu/gpu's into a tower pc? Ugh…If I were that desperate, I'd give the money to the charity computer shop- for $100, get Win 7 Pro + Office w/Outlook. I may have to recommend it, at this point.
The other option is that I have the leftovers for a decent system- but I really don't want to get into the building-as-a-rule biz because it's too much for a sole-trader to do (not enough mark-up & then having to warrant)-imho. I've built all of the computers used in my household plus others for friends- so it's not lack of knowledge (I love building, actually)- just too time-consuming.
Thanks for the reply Michael- appreciated!
This mob: http://www.budgetpc.com.au/ post deals fairly frequently on OzB that are generally quite well received for the type of system you're looking for. I hope this helps…
It's weird but completely understandable. For the same reason why an external hard drive can be cheaper than the hard drive inside it. Because the external hard drives are marketed widely (at places like Officeworks, Harvey Norman, Dick Smith, ect) and internal hard drives only through specialty shops.
Laptops used to be something for the business man, or a rich person. Everyone else was stuck with the desktop. Now days the laptop is becoming more common, even among middle to lower class, so they end up far more marketed than desktops. Bigger businesses get large discounts from manufacturers and compete price wise among other stores, giving the end consumer better prices for the laptops. Capitalism, baby!
You sound knowledgeable enough about computers so you should be fine, I'd guess. Good luck
ANY computer would be fine, even ones with limited RAM etc IF you use a good Linux OS.
Linux is totally free, supported by users all over the world and with many innovative features.
It's all I have used for years, and it works faster, better than Windoze etc.
No more defragging, no more scandisc, no more blue screens, no more expensive spyware/antivirus needed, and the list goes on.
I can have 8 programs running; pull the power plug; restart it and away it goes from where you left off!
Try that with Windoze! No way!!
I ask, WHY are people so hooked on rip-off Yank stuff?
Apple just announced they are applying to the Courts to stop Samsung phone/tablet sales.
Why? Cos the rip-off Yanks hate competition.
They just want monopoly with the world eating out of their hands!
Linux and any cheap computer is the way to go friends.
If you must use Window$ then put it in Linux/Virtualbox and it will run better and 3 or 4 times faster.
My WinXP does anyway! I use the stable Mepis Linux.
It will even run off a USB or CD which means you can use it on computer anywhere without installing it.
Who even needs a computer?
Imagine plugging in your USB stick and running it on anyone's computer and when finished you take it with you.
Leave it with you all.
@goers~
You'll not get an argument from me about Linux- I very much try to promote Linux Mint (13, the long-term, stable release).
http://www.linuxmint.com/release.php?id=18
I have a lot of oldies who are finding that their XP is becoming stuffed & then when I tell them that it will no longer be supported after Apr. 2014…well, they sort of panic.
Not to worry- Mint to the rescue! And for those who've either never heard of it, or who've heard it's some sort of "nerd-geek" thing, it most definitely IS NOT. The system runs best on a dual-core with 2 GB RAM, as a minimum. Also, I find that the Mate version is a bit easier on older hardware, as well. FYI.
In fact, for the oldies I've installed it for, they report it's far easier to work & to understand than Windows 8…lol.
So- to update this thread— the fellow I'm doing the PC for? I'm putting together parts I have to give him Mint. All's well that ends well!
Cheers! :)
I've recently upgraded my home PC and listed the old one for sale. Here is the link if you are interested - https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/123378
Intel Core 2 Duo 2.66GHz, 4 GB DDR2 RAM, 250 GB Seagate (SATA) + 500 GB SAMSUNG (SATA)
These are some specs for you, if nothing too heavy, you can probably get away with these specs.
Coolermaster RC344 - $67 - includes PSU
Asus H81M-E - $62
Intel Pentium G3220 - $69
8G Single 1333 Patriot-S - $83
Samsung 840 EVO 120G - $105
Grab HDD from your old tower, so no need to spend there.
With this build, I just went with a cheap case which includes a PSU, you can go for a SHAW or other no-name one, but I find that Coolermaster and Thermaltake's budget offerings are generally better. Slap that together with a cheap motherboard from a good brand, a Haswell Pentium, 8GB of RAM and an SSD and this will fly.
Windows 7 is also available from MSY.
You are all very sweet!
And I'm sure you'll baulk that the oldies are tight in some ways yet spend-crazy on other things?
I don't mind making a few $$$ on putting existing pieces together. I get plenty of support $$ in the course of a year + referrals.
To those who offered systems cheap- thank you- I'm in WA.
The new stuff- I'm sure I could talk the guy into it- but truthfully for what he does, it'd be way overkill. Some email & some docs- that's it.
Thanks you all!
You'd be best off buying components yourself from MSY or PLE computers and building it yourself. There rarely is good value for complete desktops, even second hand. Try gumtree for good priced for components. I myself was lucky enough to find a perfectly working computer on top of the rubbish dump and have been upgrading the internals ever since.