In the market for a new PC ($400-$500 budget)

[Buuhan1]

My crappy old Dell (16GB HDD, 300mb RAM) of 8 years finally bit the dust. Probably a blessing in disguise cause even the net itself was getting to the point of not running on this thing. We are fairly strapped for money and even $400 will require extensive Over-Time to cover, but we know getting a good computer for less would be outrageous.

We rather not build our own, so we're trying to find a good cheap computer. So far this is the best (that we know of) we've found: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/HP+-+Pa...rive/1209412.p?id=1218234418710&skuId=1209412

Is it good? I've read reviews of previous HP Slimlines, and they're not pretty.

As for what we're looking for: 500GB HDD, atleast 1GB ram, and good graphical support. I'm a gamer so I'd love to game on this, but I know for my budget it's not happening. I ain't looking to play Crysis on this thing, but atleast something that can do light gaming.

We're also opened to laptops.

 

[Sporego]

Ibuy power= best friend
ibuypower.com

http://www.ibuypower.com/Store/AMD_Athlon_II_DDR2_Configurator
Just upgrade the graphics to something in your price range

 

[mikeyakouba]

I am gonna be a little biased on this because I dont like the idea of buying HPs or anything thats not custom built... if you have the know how or know someone who does I would spend that money to get yourself a custom build. Although if you want a warranty then you can go for that. Slimlines arent the best. and are ugly too. but it also depends on what you want to do with it.

 

[foothead]

If you are looking for something to game on with that budget, and are opposed to building, I suggest spending ~$320 on a pre-built HP or similar (sales are your best friend. Read all the ads in the Sunday papers and shop around until you find something good. Don't rush it. If you can hold out till Black Friday, you can get an incredible deal. Also, open box, scratch-and dent, and clearance could get you a deal). Spend the remaining $80 or so on a decent graphics card. Something along the lines of a 4670 should be sufficient for light to medium gaming, though something with DX11 support would be a plus in 5 years (assuming you keep it for as long as your last one). Again, look for sales on a video card, though I suggest buying this online. Sites like newegg and tigerdirect can save you a ton of money. Open box deals are great as well if you are pressed for cash.

If you have any questions, or would like recommendations, please feel free to ask.

BTW, avoid budget laptops for gaming. All but the lightest games will be unplayable.

EDIT: If you go the route of upgrading the video card, make sure you get a full-width tower. That means this, not this or this. If you go with a slimline/mini, it will become incredibly difficult or impossible to find a decent graphics card that fits. Also, make sure it has a PCI express x16 slot. Any full-sized desktop should, but after my last Dell, nothing would surprise me.

 

[Buuhan1]

Thank you, foothead. I didn't even think about Black Friday. I have an Electronics Express which has like 50% off sales every month, so I should probably check them out. I think I'm depending on the net too much. I know whatever I get I'll be stuck with for a long, long time, so I'm just trying to make a good choice.