Computer Suggestions?

[Mississippi Mudstache]

My wife and I have been without a computer at our home for the last 4 or 5 months (since our toddler stepped on, and destroyed our netbook). We have been okay just using our iPhones, but my wife enjoys blogging, which is a bit difficult to do without a real keyboard. We have decided that we do not want another laptop, but a stationary workspace. We already have the monitor, mouse, keyboard, and scanner/printer. All we need is the CPU. But I am a complete dunce when it comes to computer hardware, and my wife knows less that I do. I was hoping for a suggestion from some more technologically-savvy Mustachians.

Budget = $300

What we need to do:
-Internet Browsing
-eBay Sales
-Photo Editing and Storage
-Spreadsheets
-Word Processing

We are both long-time PC users. Our netbook that croaked was a Chromebook, and it sucked. Chrome does not play nice with eBay, among other issues. I'm not interested in Apple products, either. Am I just overthinking this? I've purchased literally ONE computer in my life - a cheap laptop from Wal-Mart - and it died after 2 years.

[Daley]

Any refurbished business class desktop would probably be plenty. Dime a dozen, even with 1 year warranties:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&N=100019095%201065504856&IsNodeId=1
http://stores.ebay.com/Aventis-Systems/Desktops-/_i.html?_fsub=18053734

Also, a well built laptop shouldn't be of concern, either. If you're interested in revisiting a laptop, consider the Lenovo Thinkpad T series. T60/61, T400/410/420, T500/510/520 are all fine machines. If you can find a good deal, the Dell Latitude E6500 is a well built laptop as well.

The secret is to stay away from junky, low-end consumer krep and stick with off-lease corporate/enterprise equipment.

[Mississippi Mudstache]

Thanks I.P.! I'm glad you chimed in, it looks like a refurbished model will be a good way to go.

[DTown]

I know you're looking at desktops, but I second the thinkpad recommendation. I recently bought an x61s in great condition off ebay for $130 shipped. It's a tank. Avoid nvidia graphics on the *61 machines, but otherwise anything from the T, X, W or R series should be a fine machine. They also tend to be much more repairable than other laptops.

I would also recommend looking into running Linux on whatever type of machine you end up with. You've already used a weird very limited variant on the Chromebook. I recommend Xubuntu. It's free, secure, runs really fast on old hardware, and fulfills the required uses you've listed. It also has a huge amount of free, high quality software that can easily be added/downloaded.

[Carl]

We are both long-time PC users. Our netbook that croaked was a Chromebook, and it sucked. Chrome does not play nice with eBay, among other issues.

I was going to say Chromebook before I got to this paragraph.  What kind of issues were you having?

[Mississippi Mudstache]

We are both long-time PC users. Our netbook that croaked was a Chromebook, and it sucked. Chrome does not play nice with eBay, among other issues.

I was going to say Chromebook before I got to this paragraph.  What kind of issues were you having?

I sell on eBay pretty regularly, and I had to download some special software in order to make eBay "think" that I was using Firefox instead. Chrome does not play nicely with eBay. Also, I am not a fan of Google's spreadsheet software. I am pretty much tied to Excel at this point with no desire to learn something new. For me, computers are not fun or exciting - they are just a tool to get done what I need to do. So, having used Windows for the last 15 years, I really didn't enjoy trying to relearn everything on the Chromebook. I have no choice but to use Windows at work, and I don't want to learn another system.

[gimp]

I agree with daily entirely. Last year's computers are fantastic. (This year's are all about power reduction; they're barely faster!)

[DocLago]

I have a very specific computer I have been looking at for a couple days now.  It is a refurb from lenovo outlet.  H430.  It has last years generation of I5 chip, which is just a little less powerful in most applications than the i7.  The newest chips are only a small margin better than last gen's.  Other than that it is a fully set-up system.  Problem is you have to do a little work refreshing and looking for the certain model number.  But for 238$ it is worth it if it meets your needs.

http://outlet.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/outlet_us/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:expandcategory?current-catalog-id=A4A41B4CA13D4754AE2FBF7721EBF357&current-category-id=71CA4FA889894DE833B851384B1F2D77&menu-id=products&ref-id=products#/?page-index=1&page-size=100&sort-criteria=1

Once that opens click the i5 on the left hand side to only see those and make sure you're sorting by lowest price, it'll be the first one on the list.  That being said, it only shows up 1-3 times daily.  I was able to find it 3 times yesterday.  I would have scooped it up then however I am really looking for a smaller form factor for an HTPC for video viewing.  And it doesn't have USB 3.0 which I don't need but would like.

[daverobev]

Have a look at the Asus Transformer T100 - new, and a smidge more expensive, but it can be a tablet or a laptop - the dock is included. It might not work for you, but it might.

[hybrid]

For your needs you should be able to get a used workstation preloaded with Windows 7 computer for well under $300.

A very quick example is this one, $215 with free shipping.  Note it took me only about 1 minute to find this, with just a little research you can probably do better.  I have used Rakuten (formerly buy.com) for several years for work and the side hustle and have had good experiences.

http://www.rakuten.com/prod/dell-optiplex-755-sff-computer-core-2-duo-2-66ghz-4096mb-ram-250gb-hdd/252834473.html?listingid=296356884

If you get a Win 7 computer make sure it has at least 4 GB of RAM.  Hard drive space is mostly irrelevant these days and processors are typically quick enough for what you need.  OpenOffice is a fine free replacement for Microsoft Office.  Otherwise I would get an older copy of Office from eBay (such as Office 2007).  For most folks Office is Office is Office, the edition does not make much difference.

[hybrid]

Oh, and I typically prefer Dell all things considered, and shy away from HP.

[dragoncar]

I say whatever makes the front page on slickdeals around the holidays.  Any new computer should meet your needs, you just want a cheap one from a reliable brand

[sleepyguy]

Agreed older Thinkpad X series are built like tanks!  I use quite a few as well.  X60s and X61 have great 4:3 screen which is WAY better for work then 16:9 stuff.  $130 is a great deal.

I've seen nice X200s go for pretty cheap, well under $300.  If you can get one for $150-200 that would be a great deal.  Wait a bit for Lenovo refurb deals, they usually have them quite often for 20-30% off their already sale prices.

I agree, HP is garbage.  I've dealt with hundreds of laptops as I support them at my FT job, my rating would be Lenovo (X series) > Dell (Latitude) > HP (Business Class, or Elite)

I know you're looking at desktops, but I second the thinkpad recommendation. I recently bought an x61s in great condition off ebay for $130 shipped. It's a tank. Avoid nvidia graphics on the *61 machines, but otherwise anything from the T, X, W or R series should be a fine machine. They also tend to be much more repairable than other laptops.

I would also recommend looking into running Linux on whatever type of machine you end up with. You've already used a weird very limited variant on the Chromebook. I recommend Xubuntu. It's free, secure, runs really fast on old hardware, and fulfills the required uses you've listed. It also has a huge amount of free, high quality software that can easily be added/downloaded.

[ritchie70]

Oh, and I typically prefer Dell all things considered, and shy away from HP.

That may be true in the business lines, but my last experience with a consumer-grade Dell will in fact by my last Dell. Utter garbage. The HP I bought my wife more recently is quite nice.

But my work-provided ThinkPad T430s is better than any of them.

[tzxn3]

Build your own computer. Install a free operating system on it. The only thing you list that you might need Windows for is photo editing.

[LennStar]

Any used Computer with a multi-core (no Pentium4!) is fast enough for your purposes, since you don't use them often judged by your post. (I strongly advise for at least an Intel i3 though)
Photo editing: Here's why you should use a dual-core and at least 4GB of Ram. Also at least 500GB of disk space. And a second /external HDD for backup.

The Rakuten has a small HDD and only DDR2 RAM. Pretty old. But cheap.

From the long Lenovo list linked by DocLago this looks like your new PC:
http://outlet.lenovo.com/SEUILibrary/controller/e/outlet_us/LenovoPortal/en_US/catalog.workflow:item.detail?hide_menu_area=true&GroupID=445&Code=57RF0151

#
Processor
Intel Core i3-3240 3.4GHz 3MB Cache
#
Operating system
Windows 8 Standard 64 - English
#
Graphics
Intel HD Graphics 2500
#
Memory
6GB (2GB & 4GB) PC3-10600 DDR3 1333MHz SDRAM UDIMM Memory
#
Hard Drive
1TB, 7200RPM Serial ATA 3.5" Hard Drive

RAM and HDD bigger for your pictures, fast 2-core. The Intel Graphics makes Full-HD Videos run. It does everything fast except Games.
$312.16 (without coupon) is slightly over your budget, but it is really worth a few extra bucks.


Try to use LibreOffice (more free and (I think) better version of OpenOffice). If you are adventuroues, get a dual-boot Linux to have a look how to get by without paying Microsoft. Its saver and faster, too.

----------
I just want to make a point for a different choice for users who sit before the screen for several hours a day.

I'm a sort of Computer Fan and the energy price in germany is very high (next year I will pay nearly 27 €-cent per kWh), so I prefer to buy them new.
This way you get a better Watt-Efficiency, which gets important of you use the computer for several hours each day at these prices. Also newer systems tend to be more durable, of course.
For Office use you can have a look at small form factors. I just have seen a 280€ (hardware only) small box with an Intel Core i3-4100U (Haswell is the newest generation). About as big as a netbook, only higher. No DVD-drive! (you can get external)
That little thing had about the power of the linked rakuten. But with only a 40W power supply (and likely dont use more then 30W) and very silent ;)

In short: If you use the computer very much and could use more space, better get a small new one, even if it costs 400$ and has no DVD-drive.

----
build a new one:
YOU dont need to. But if you need to, get a half-geek like me who has done it several times from somewhere around you, set him a tight budget, say what you want to do and say that is should be a silent computer (I always stress silent).
Let him search for a day for the best parts.
Then let him come to you on a weekend and let him show you how to do it. This way you also learn how to make "repairs" like changing a RAM or a drive.