Home office pc w/ Windows 7

[sendai]

APPROXIMATE PURCHASE DATE: mid December

BUDGET RANGE: $350-$400 including Windows 7, before rebates

SYSTEM USAGE FROM MOST TO LEAST IMPORTANT: MS Office, email, web surfing, solitaire

PARTS NOT REQUIRED: keyboard, mouse, monitor, speakers

PREFERRED WEBSITE(S) FOR PARTS: newegg, mwave

PARTS PREFERENCES: none

OVERCLOCKING: no
SLI OR CROSSFIRE: no

MONITOR RESOLUTION: 1680x1050

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS: Should be quiet. Small would be nice, too, but that's not critical. It would be nice to upgrade the cpu and memory in a couple years, but it's not essential. If an old version of Windows is available for cheaper, I would consider that.

 

[MadAdmiral]

Have you considered a Dell? I tried building about the cheapest I could find (disregarding quaility, brand, everything buy cost), trying to keep functionality, and was only able to get down to $475. Windows absolutely kills the price point. Almost 1/3 of your budget is used for the OS...

 

[Onus]

Cheapest parts list I got down to, maintaining quality, was $412. That doesn't include the OS. Although it kills any realistic possibility of significant parts upgrading, you may be a good candidate for a system like Dell or HP.