Inexpensive desk tops

self ^ | November 7, 2019 | knarf

[knarf]

OK ... I am cheap .... REALLY cheap, and my sound card went out ...

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

You are funny... really really funny. An IMac? An IPad?

Buy a 7 dollar usb sound card and install Linux Mint.

https://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-External-Adapter-Windows-AU-MMSA/dp/B00IRVQ0F8/ref=zg_bs_3015427011_1?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=EATTDWZ3FB9WZZZ5KNWF

Whatever you have will run faster and Mint is an easy transition for Windows people.

[BBQToadRibs]

My last 3 rigs have been from I Buy Power. You can literally configure everything from the case to motherboard, memory, you name it. It will not allow you to mis-match incompatible parts. It’s warrantied, you can even set a budget.

https://www.ibuypower.com/config/easybuilder

[LesbianThespianGymnasticMidget]

See 21

[Haiku Guy]

I got a Dell refurb desktop a couple of months ago. It works fine. Does everything I need. Has Windows 10. Less than $100.

[bicyclerepair]

Built my own. Super Gaming pc. Video games today require serious desktops.

Last cyber Mon I got my gpu(video card)on sale for $149 from $399. If you get it piece by piece it’s more affordable.

Power Supply, case, dvd, keyboard, mouse, free. All I bought was the motherboard, cpu (8 core amd), 500g SSD and 16g or RAM. Think total was $550 for a $2k machine.

[conservativesister]

I’ve bought 2 at the local auction for $25/ea., checked them out at preview and they are fine.

[yarddog]

I have had real good luck with refurbished computers. The one I am using right now is a refurbished Dell. I have been using it for a couple of years.

I get mine from Rakuten and they carry a warranty.

[NYAmerican]

“I like a mouse and I like a tower with a cup holder and all that.”

The cup holder on my desktop broke recently. It was a “CD” type cup holder. I replaced it with a newer “DVD” type cup holder and it works great, highly recommended.

[jonascord]

In passing, go to Wallyworld and get a wireless mouse, the kind with a little plug that goes into the USB port. Mine cost $15. The battery lasts a couple of years, even with constant use. No wire. Lap top or desktop...

[Wuli]

Stables online has a set of pages directed to buyers who are a “small business”, though no proof of being a small business is required.

I got a good deal on a refurbished small desktop PC from HP a few years back, that I bought for an older brother. It even came with a warranty, and even though Win 10 was out it came with Win 7 Home Premium. No keyboard, no mouse, no screen/monitor just the PC. I think it was under $300, had decent memory and decent hard drive and a CD/DVD read/writer.

Try this:

https://www.staples.com/Refurbished-Desktop-Computers/cat_CL167288/63i8k

or

https://www.dellrefurbished.com/desktop-computers?filter_operating_system=215

or

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/all-desktops/refurbished-desktop-computers/pcmcat212600050009.c?id=pcmcat212600050009&sp=%2Bcurrentprice%20skuidsaas

or

https://www.frys.com/search?query_search=&cat=-68380&nearbyStoreName=false&pType=pDisplay&sort=price%20asc&start=0&cat=-68380&from=0&to=19

[mmichaels1970]

You know you can use a mouse with a laptop and a full keyboard as well.

You can even connect a monitor via HDMI cable to the laptop creating a "virtual" desktop. Wireless Mouse, Wireless Keyboard, Monitor via HDMI and you're all set. You can tweak the laptop to do nothing when the lid is closed and it will REALLY look like a desktop. Or you can leave your laptop open and take advantage of dual monitors.

As long as you're not a gamer, you'll have everything you need and you can pick up your "desktop" and travel with it.

Laptop also basically provides you with a 2-3 hour battery backup in case of power failure.

Unless you need raw power, I don't see why a $500 (or less) laptop wouldn't do the job.

[Dr. Sivana]

Amazon, Dell and Newegg all have certified refurbs for under $200 that will do the job. I would recommend getting the BUSINESS (not consumer or workstation) line, Dell-Optiplex, Acer-Veriton, HP/Compaq-Pro... NOT Pavilion, Inspiron, or Aspire). Try to get an i5 or i7. An 512GB SSD is available for under $50 from Newegg and will make even an old computer more than fast enough for your purposes, but not necessary.

I don’t like Lenovo because of the Red China connection.

[Sequoyah101]

Vinyl plank flooring is what I am using for my work bench top. Very durable, waterproof and inexpensive.

[smoky415]

Here is a simple Window 10 solution. Just plug it into the HDMI port on you monitor, connect a keyboard and mouse and you are set. Highly portable so you can take it anywhere you go.

https://www.pcmag.com/review/347631/intel-compute-stick-core-m3

https://www.amazon.com/Intel-Compute-Computer-Processor-BOXSTK1AW32SC/dp/B01AZC4NHS?SubscriptionId=AKIAJV4KMHBMUG36SMIQ&tag=pcm_rounduptable-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=2025&creative=165953&creativeASIN=B01AZC4NHS&ascsubtag=fb5e4d4c-f1ea-44d3-a535-c5e34db387eb

[ConservativeMind]

Sir, this post is a winner, if you can’t wait until Black Friday or Cyber Monday.

[Varmint Al]

https://www.newegg.com/p/pl?d=referbeed%20desktop%20computer&Page=2&order=PRICE

Good Hunting... from Varmint Al

[caver]

Are you sure you didn’t spill a beer into the tower with the attached drink holder?

[Hugh the Scot]

What I love about Free Republic: Ask for help on one thing, get ten replies telling you that you asked the wrong question.

[Justa]

Those Dell refurbs are the best. I bought the Ex one off of Amazon for $170. It has a Quad Core i7, 8GB of RAM. I upgraded the RAM to 16GB with some sticks I had laying around and put her old computer’s 1TB SSD into it and now it’s Smokin.

[Cboldt]

I do the same thing. Built a nice Ryzen machine for daughter, around $500, near top shelf power supply (Seasonic semi-modular gold).

For myself, I am still using the Antc case bought in 2003. It’s housed three different mobo in that time, etc. I run about a generation behind “bleeding edge” when buying, and run for 5-7 years, or until they (MoBo/CPU/RAM) drop dead.