Buying first prebuild need some input

[artisticjen]

Time has come to replace the 15+ year old beast. Here's what I'm looking for in a new Pc.

1. Has to be a prebuild. Dad won't build em any more and I don't have the patience any more.

2. Has to be around the $500 mark.

3. Will be used for (on a heavy use day): watching DVDs/TV while downloading while checking email. You get the idea, has to be able to multitask well.

Bonuses: We can get something from HP site, that would be great, dad gets a small retiree discount there. Also 6 or more USB ports. Wi-Fi would also be nice.

Possible: Install graphics card if necessary.

Ideas would be greatly welcomed. I saw one on HP site that was possible, but dad didn't like the $585 price for an i3.

Haven't had to pick out a pc ever, always built them in the past. But I've been out of the loop for a while. Dad is getting this for my for b'day/Christmas present, so gotta work with his budget.

I also need this pc to last for a good long time without much upgrading to worry about.

Put it this way, the machine that's retiring has 1g ram and a Gforce 6200 graphics card in it. The DVD burner stopped working years ago, and I had to get a USB hub bcuz it only had 3 (of4) working USB ports.

Yes, lol, it's pretty old. Oh yeah, I've only been able to run Windows XP on it. So this will be my first adventures with a desktop numbered Windows system. Tho I do have Win 8 on my Surface (which I'm using to type this).

Thanks for any suggestions.

Jen

 

[ScrewySqrl]

Hmm. a $500 limit on a prebuilt?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103852

This should work nicely. If you aren't gaming, this should work just fine. At $369, yo have enough left over to get a monitor as well

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009421

 

[artisticjen]

Hmm. a $500 limit on a prebuilt?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883103852

This should work nicely. If you aren't gaming, this should work just fine. At $369, yo have enough left over to get a monitor as well

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824009421

Nice.

I should also add, I don't need a monitor. Also hd doesn't have to be huge, I have an external I store almost everything on.

Jennifer

 

[ScrewySqrl]

heres a few other options if you don't need a monitor:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113265

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113255

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883265699

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220401

 

[navyboy887]

For $500 you can get a good system for what you need. I would stay away from new HPs because they are overpriced. Acer & Lenovo are likely your best bet if your budget is $500.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883265700
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883255375
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220407

I would honestly choose the first link because it has OK graphics, 8GB of RAM for multitasking and a 2TB Hard Drive to store files.

Up to you, but there are plenty of better options than $585 for a Core i3 HP.

 

[artisticjen]

Navyboy887, that's it, that Lenovo is pretty much what I'm looking for (and got dad to agree to it, lol).

Just one question, any suggestions on a video card upgrade? Doesn't have to be top of the line, just wanna make sure the set up will handle watching TV and DVDs. Kind for future reference.

Thanks so much for the help. Think I'll have to do less lurking from now on.

Jen

 

[ScrewySqrl]

all the suggested PCs will do that just fine off the on-chip GPU. the a10 has the strongest GPU of all those listed.

all the systems could put in a GT640 or HD 7750 with no PSU change

 

[navyboy887]

Navyboy887, that's it, that Lenovo is pretty much what I'm looking for (and got dad to agree to it, lol).

Just one question, any suggestions on a video card upgrade? Doesn't have to be top of the line, just wanna make sure the set up will handle watching TV and DVDs. Kind for future reference.

Thanks so much for the help. Think I'll have to do less lurking from now on.

Jen

The A10 and the Core i5 Lenovo's should be able to handle DVD playing just fine. I would honestly go with the A10 based machine and put in a 7750 or 7770 just in case you want to play a game ever once and a while. The A10 also has 8GB of RAM and 2TB Hard Drive, which is pretty rare in a $499 system.