How much.....

[pollypurebred39]

can you expect to pay for a decent computer?

[auntie2many]

Polly, I asked my dh about the price for a decent computer. Not bottom of the line and not top notch either and this is what he said:

Desktop- $500-$750

Monitor $150

Printer $150

Be sure and watch for sale ads at Best Buy or your office supply stores.

A2M

[ladytoysdream]

When my computer was acting up last December, I bought this one I use now through the computer place where I go for any repairs.
Supposedly this was a 2 yr old machine back then, and the cost was $ 175 plus something else which brought it just over $ 200. It included the keyboard and mouse. I did break down at that time, and bought a flat monitor on sale for $ 100. My old one I had since 1999 was losing color badly and just did not look right.

I actually did a good thing by buying used. I got clobbered by a trojan the first friday in December this year, from a site I had visited daily. Sneaky trojans. And I had protection too. Sigh.
Anyways, when he called and told me I could pick it up, I got good news and bad news. Bad news, was the whole system had to be wiped out. Good news, because I bought it there, he had the image pkg and I only had to pay $ 24 for a total bill.

My machine before this Dell, was the Acer, I bought at a garage sale for $ 25. It still works as a backup. It was overheating and shutting down, when I stored it a year ago, but when I pulled it out for a backup this December, it behaved while the Dell was being worked on. I can't figure out computer behavior

Anyways....used might be a option for you. It works for me.

[Contrary Housewife]

Depends on how much computer you need. You can get a decent refurbished system for web surfing and email for about $200. If you need to do computer development you can get a much more powerful machine in the $750 range. Does not include monitor and keyboard.

[Hamada]

If you can hold out another 8 months you can get really good discounts on computers since they go on sale for everyone going back to school.

Would also give you enough time to research the computer and what your needs will be. When I purchased the one I have now I wanted a computer that would last for a while for my basic needs.

[pollypurebred39]

Thanks everyone. I was just putting out feelers. Our computer is a dinosaur. I'm not in the market right now, but I'd like to get an idea for the future.

When I was at the library I tried their computer and it was amazing! The websites loaded right away, no waiting. No freezing. It was like magic! LOL! And their monitor was not held up by a book because the base broke. LOL!

The only computer we ever bought was $179 for everything. Well that was oh, I don't know 10+ years ago, 15 years? Every year they come out with new computers and programs, never felt the need to update. Now there are sites I can't even get on, it all just freezes up. I'm guessing that means that eventually all websites will out new fangle my computer.

[Beejay]

can you expect to pay for a decent computer?

Bought my Acer Aspire computer bundled with CPU, monitor, keyboard, and speakers about 2 years ago at Walmart for $489.00. This was around the Thanksgiving - Christmas timeframe. This has Vista installed on it. Has lots of perks on it that I still don't know how to use. I thought this was a good price, because I know nothing about piecing components together. Still works great. No problems. Good Luck !

[flashyMcGee]

I'm in the market for a new laptop but I really don't want to spend more than $500 on it. I've been watching Slick Deals everyday for a bargain.

[Hamada]

Polly that is basically what happened with my old computer. Even getting on to FV was a pain. I waited until the end of August and was able to get a really good package deal which included the monitor and printer/scanner/copier for around $700. Definately worth the amount. I do not do any gaming so for my needs it is just fine. Most of what I do is web browing and e-mail. Some pictures.

[josantoro]

I just got a nu-2-me laptop for $100 on ebay. Before that I had another laptop from ebay for $160, lasted 18 months.
I have automatic continuous backup for my files, so I am not worried about that.

I was looking at new ones, cheapest was about $350 I think.

[Uniwolf]

Polly you have this

Walmart.com: Electronics: Computers: Desktop Computers


and this

Desktop Computers for Home, Office, or School - Sam's Club

It all just depends on what you want out of it, and where you shop at. I do strongly recommend that you do alot of research, and comparison shopping online before you make a decision

[mndtrp]

You can get a good home computer for around $300, especially if you already have a monitor and printer, and you only need something for general use.

Make sure you create the image/restore discs when you first get it home. So many people don't do that, and then can't reimage their computer if it becomes necessary.

[frugalwarrior2]

Costco had HP laptops fo5 $550. and $750. for the higher graphic one I got Ds.
You didn't say laptop or desk top?

[pollypurebred39]

Make sure you create the image/restore discs when you first get it home. So many people don't do that, and then can't reimage their computer if it becomes necessary.

Holy Cow!!! What's that!???

[mndtrp]

Computers used to come with a disc that allowed you to reinstall the operating system to how it came out of the box. If you got a brutal virus, corrupted the registry, or the hard drive just went to crap, you could start over.

Nowadays, it seems that those files are stored in a partition on your hard drive. This is fine, unless you lose your hard drive. There is a way to create the install discs yourself, so that you can store that image in a safe place. Unfortunately, people rarely do this.

If you are buying your operating system separately, it doesn't really matter, as you typically order an operating system disc containing those files. For example, if you are building your own computer, or upgrading an existing one.