Need a cheap basic pc - ideas?

Northtim

I need a new basic pc for daughter. She has had my old pc in her room - about 7yo 1ghz mesh which I have patched up over the years but it has now gone bang. After replacing power and HDD recently I have decided it has given good service and time to retire it.

She will just use it for internet and games (not up to date ones, newest will be about 3yo so no big demands - got a wii for gaming really). I am looking to spend no more than £200 and can use some bits from old pc if necessary (eg DVD writer, graphics card if agp motherboard, may even be able to pursuade MS to reregister XP on the new machine). Don't need monitor or even keyboard or mouse.

Best option I have to date is the cheapest Dell Inspiron 530 at £194. That includes Vista basic which i don't need/want! Anyone know any other pc sellers that will do a cheap basic system. I am quite good with pc's - have rebuilt systems from spares before but don't have the time at the moment so want an easy option, but cheap.

Many thanks for any replies!

totalsolutions

1. Try freecycle
2. Build you own only takes 30 mins or so.
3. PC shows in a town near you this weekend. Goolge british computer fairs
4. Tesco sell pc nowadays so they are cheap basic and with an OS..
5. Try computer store for base pc only

stan747

have a look on fleabay for a used dell, i got a 2.8ghz optiplex a few months back for £50, it came with xp pro, dvd/cd writer, 20gb hdd (upgraded with a spare 80gb i had lying around) and 512mb of memory. very quiet and rock solid. i use it in the living room and use through the tv to watch recorded films and also acts as a file server and never had a problem with it.

gardner1

ebuyer have 2 business pcs

Esys Computer System Celeron 3.2GHZ 1024MB 160GB 2MB 16X Combo. Linux £149.99


ACER POWER E210 SEMP/3600+-2GHz 80GB 512MB DVD Linux £134.99


just dump linux and install xp

i bought esys 7 months ago no problems at all

Robin_T_Cox

just dump linux and install xp

Not a very smart move, if you are a money saver.

To buy XP Home Edition with SP2 will add another £150-160 to your bill, not to mention the additional software you'll need to buy in order to replace the free software that comes with a Linux system. And then you'll have to deal with all the virus and spyware that just doesn't run on a Linux system.

gardner1

Robin_T_Cox wrote: »

Not a very smart move, if you are a money saver.

To buy XP Home Edition with SP2 will add another £150-160 to your bill, not to mention the additional software you'll need to buy in order to replace the free software that comes with a Linux system. And then you'll have to deal with all the virus and spyware that just doesn't run on a Linux system.

the op stated he might use original xp disc so what you have said is irrelavant

Mobeer

I have bought second-hand from RDC before and they seemed reasonable
http://www.rdc.co.uk/shops/main.php
Look in the Item Shop or Bargain shops.