Help! My bro is moving and taking the PC with him. I need a cheap one now!

[VanillaGorilla]

I'm looking for a new cheap ass PC, since my brother is moving out of my house, and taking the computer (which he technically owns) with him. I don't care if it can play games at all, all I need it to do is:

Have Windows Media Center 2005
Have a dual CD-DVD burner drive

That's it. I don't need a monitor, keyboard, mouse, or speakers either. Anyone know where I can get one for cheap? I've tried looking on Dell's site, but it's a navigation mess, as is Monarch Computers (way too much tech jargon for me).

[friedram]

Cheap ass computer- I.E. 2000 bucks, and you've got yourself a good gaming rig.

Hi-def gaming or go back to the console.

Go to www.newegg.com and check out parts there.

[Beana Blasta]

looking at spening maybe 800, for a decnt gaming rig, check out new egg

[rodeojones903]

Get a mac mini once the intel chips are in them. :D

[nwaugh]

Why did the first two responders mention gaming PCs when the OP specifically said he didn't need one?

[nwaugh]

What are you considering cheap? $1000? $500? $100? The double layer drive (which I think is what you want) will be about $50, but Windows Media Center 2005 will cost you much more especially if you get it in a pre-built PC. What do you need it for?

[VanillaGorilla]

Well, it would be nice to have the Media Center, since I have a 360. But it's not a huge must have. And I'm only looking to spend between $500 and $700, it doesn't need a huge hard drive (30 GB is just fine) or a kick ass video card.

[Murcielago77]

http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=T6420

that would be a good choice, has a 16x PCI-E slot if you ever want to upgrade your vid card. youre gonna have to find it somewhere else though since they dont sell it on the site

[allout1986]

Well, it would be nice to have the Media Center, since I have a 360. But it's not a huge must have. And I'm only looking to spend between $500 and $700, it doesn't need a huge hard drive (30 GB is just fine) or a kick ass video card.

You could build yourself a decent machine for that amount. I'm sure some of the more PC savy folk will be able to direct you to the correct stuff. I personally would consider building it rather than a prebuilt.

[whoknows]

Eh, I built my PC for ~$600 and its capable of playing FEAR on high.....so....even though you dont want it for gaming, with that amount of money that option can still be open.

[mr ryles]

ya dude check out newegg.com and find a nice case and just get all the parts yourself.

[alongx]

I'd say build a shuttle, since they're tiny and nice. The mac mini is sweet (that's what I've been using almost exclusively for the last year), but I don't think it'd fit your needs (media sharing with Xbox 360). Pick pieces off of newegg, you could probably build a Shuttle PC for cheap enough.

If you don't want to go Small Form Factor, I'd say look at bensbargains.net and find a deal on a case (many can be had for under $30).

Either way, find the CPU/GPU you're looking for. Storage isn't an issue - 160 GB HDDs can be had for super cheap these days. Mid-range/low-range GPUs can be had for cheap - my Radeon 9800 SE was less than $100, and that was 8 months ago.

[dafoomie]

Go here and sort by price.
http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=22&l=en&s=dfh

And search Fatwallet for dell, and look for any other computer deals that might be there.

[VanillaGorilla]

Ha, building a PC is certainly NOT an option. It took me a good 3 hours to figure out how to install my CD burner.

[Photomotoz]

Since building is not an option why not go with this Dell : http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/entdt_e310?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~tab=specstab#tabtop

It has the Windows Media Center you want. Then you can go an buy the DVD burner and install it yourself. It is exactly like installing a cd burner.

[munch]

What about this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16883102654

Looks right up your alley. i'd get some more RAM, though.

[Ender]

Dude, get a Dell if you want to go cheap.

[nwaugh]

Dude, get a Dell if you want to go cheap.
True, although recently, it means cheap quality in addition to cheap price. Dell has really been skimping on support and using a lower caliber of parts lately. In anecdotal evidence, I've seen more power supplies fail on newer model Dells. In less anecdotal evidence, they partition away 4-5 gigs of your hard drive for recovery instead of providing you with a DVD with recovery software on it.

While the initial cost is cheap, the end cost-of-ownership may not be what you're looking for. That said, I know lots of people that have newer Dells and are happy with them, and I have several older ones that couldn't have served me better.

[$hady]

DUDE!!!!! YOUR GETTIN A DELL!!!!!

[Vinny]

Check this: http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/computer_series.do?series_name=a1330e_series&catLevel=2&category=desktops/hp_pavilion&storeName=computer_store

Pick XP Media Center, select the free upgrade the Ram (you'll need with XP MC), pick whatever else you like. You can easily get it under $500. The only problem is that hey make you take certain things you said you don't need (keyboard, etc.).

[dts5000]

$699.99 after $100 MIR (PC ONLY!)

MEDIA CENTER PC FEATURING INTEL® Viiv™ TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM AND AN INTEL® PENTIUM® D 820 PROC

CompUSA/GatewayPC (http://compusa.shoplocal.com/compusa/default.aspx?action=browsepagedetail&storeid=2502582&rapid=235654&pagenumber=5&listingid=-2095624536&ref=%2fcompusa%2fdefault.aspx%3faction%3dbrowsepag elarge%26storeid%3d2502582%26rapid%3d235654%26page number%3d5)

http://image.compusa.com/prodimages/41/52580025-84c9-4aa5-bc25-4c8bb727669f.gif

(2X 1MB L2 Cache, 2.80GHz, 800MHz FSB)
• Double Layer DVD±RW Multi-Format Drive and DVD-ROM Drive
• 1GB DDR2 RAM
• 250GB Hard Drive2
• Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition9 2005 Software
GT5040

[Ender]

Do Not Buy A Gateway.

[Ender]

True, although recently, it means cheap quality in addition to cheap price. Dell has really been skimping on support and using a lower caliber of parts lately. In anecdotal evidence, I've seen more power supplies fail on newer model Dells. In less anecdotal evidence, they partition away 4-5 gigs of your hard drive for recovery instead of providing you with a DVD with recovery software on it.

While the initial cost is cheap, the end cost-of-ownership may not be what you're looking for. That said, I know lots of people that have newer Dells and are happy with them, and I have several older ones that couldn't have served me better.

Yea, I'm aware of some of the problems with Dell. Bottom line, though, is that they are the cheapest, and the quality still isn't that bad. I certainly think they are better than an eMachine or Gateway. And, in my recent experience, the parts and service are pretty good.

I have a Dell Dimension XPS, built for gaming. I got a goodish price on it, and it has worked like a charm.

I think that, for the OPs intents and purposes, the Dell is the best choice.

[$hady]

I've had nothing but good experiences with Dell and recommend them to anyone wanting a budget system.

About 2 years ago when they were having those killer deals both myself and one of my friends bought Dimension 8300s for around $650 delivered. My buddies is still stock except for a dvd burner I installed for him and he's never had problems with his. My system I've upped the ram to 1g, thrown in 2 more HDs, added a dvd burner, better video card, and pci slot fan. I run it 24/7/365 and it's solid as rock.


Keep your eyes peeled to Fatwallet for PC deals..

[CaseyRyback]

check craigslist. I have seen a ton of great PC's on there recently. Somone was selling an athlon 4400 with two 7800 Gt's a gig of ram, 500 gig hard drive, and an x-fi sound card for 900 bucks.

Though this is on the high end, you could nab something cheap if you look (there are tons of cheap pc's available).