PCA Forums

For a non-computer savy family member and it must be pre-built, new and come with a reasonably sized LCD (17" or greater).

OS would be nice, productivity software not needed. this will primarily be a net-surfer any recommendations besides Dell?

You should try the place FP just got his: http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/

http://www.gotapex.com/

some of the dell deals could work for you...worth a look.

One day sale page - the Vosto 220 for $389 is a good deal. Pentium dual core but adequate for a non-power user: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/segt ... l=en&s=bsd

Also Dell weekly specials here - they usually expire every Wed at midnight: http://www.dell.com/content/topics/topi ... redirect=1

This is from the business division which means you get better tech support and a 1 year on-site warranty. Just use your name for the business name. Everyone does that.

The Vostro 220 for $449 is a good machine. Stock mini tower so all the parts are standard and easily replaceable. Despite the fact that the photo shows an 18.5" LCD it actually comes with a 20" for that price.

The 2Gb on Win7 is adequate for a non-power user although more would be better.

Also check the weekly flyers for your local Office Depot, Staples and Best Buy. A lot of stores have had pretty decent deals on sub $500 PCs lately. Usually they have Pentium dual cores or AMD X2 CPUs. Adequate for a non-power user. I like Dell, Acer, Asus and eMachines. I don't like Compaq and HP.

The build quality on some of the newer HP Pavilions has actually improved somewhat lately, but it's incredible how much bloatware they put on those things. You're almost better off wiping the drive and starting from scratch.