I currently have a HP desktop. Its ancient by computer standards. It runs Windows 7. Yes. It was refurbished and I has given me any trouble
So I'm looking at getting a new one. The super cheap refurbs run Windows 10. Any reason to pay a bit more for Win11? Any particulars to look for or avoid? All I'd use this thing for is surfing the net, watch YouTubes. No gaming, or hardcore video editing. Any website better than others?
Did I mention I want it cheap?
I know little about IT stuff, but if you're surfing the internets and watching the Youtube machine, a Chromebook is great. What you're describing is all I do with a computer and I have been totally satisfied with cheap Chromebooks from Amazon. The one I am typing this on was 97 dollars about two years ago. I couldn't be happier.
I think I would pimp for Windows 11 now instead of face the situation where Windows 10 stops getting security updates. The date for when that happens is supposed to be in October of 2025. I'm using Windows 11 here at work now and it's.... okay. It's probably just fine for someone managing their own computer and can put some tweaks into it that make it look the way they want to, but corp. IT policy hampers that somewhat. In any case, I'd go with Windows 11 on this one.
A refurb from Dell Business is probably where I'd look for a cheap desktop that is nice and quiet.
Define cheap.
Also, do you have access to a brick and mortar Microcenter? They tend to have the best deals out there but force you into the store.
If you buy Win 10, you will get the free upgrade option from Microsoft. That lets you switch when you want. I have been buying refurbished Dell equipment from Newegg and have been very happy.
In reply to Mndsm and Appleseed:
There is one in Westmont
In reply to mtn :
Oof. That drive is brutal.
Cheap is $2-300. The refurb I'm running right now was $200. I have external storage, so that wont be a problem.
Copied and pasted from Angry's thread.
I buy these or something similar from Amazon. Stupid fast, stupid cheap, very durable. I give them to my employees as work laptops and my kids to beat around on.
Lenovo Thinkpad T460, Intell I5 2.4GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB Solid State HDD, Windows 10 Pro. $175.99
If you do a search for Refurbished Thinkpads it comes up with a bunch of them ranging from $140 to $600.
Don't go out of your way to pay more for the Win11 upgrade since it can be had for free, if the hardware meets the requirements - anything you can buy new from a retailer with Win10 these days will.
A Chromebook could do what you want, but if you're not upgrading for newer hardware and just need newer software, just switching your desktop to Linux could too, and once you've made the switch it can save you money on both software and hardware in the future. Most of my PCs run Linux (I'd recommend Linux Mint with MATE specifically).
Toyman! said:Copied and pasted from Angry's thread.
I buy these or something similar from Amazon. Stupid fast, stupid cheap, very durable. I give them to my employees as work laptops and my kids to beat around on.
Lenovo Thinkpad T460, Intell I5 2.4GHz, 16GB RAM, 512GB Solid State HDD, Windows 10 Pro. $175.99
If you do a search for Refurbished Thinkpads it comes up with a bunch of them ranging from $140 to $600.
dang that's an incredible deal. my thinkpad from 2012ish still works but is quite slow now. I agree they are tanks.
What Toyman said. The Lenovo jobs just seem to work. I have a small one I'm actually going to be getting rid of once I can find the time to transfer all my stuff. I think I paid $189 like four years ago. Might have been as much as $250. My only complaint is the small screen and lack of 10-key.
*edit to clarify
NOT A SALES PITCH!! You don't want mine. The battery is starting to go. You want to buy an equivalent.
I bought a ThinkPad touch screen just the other day off ebay for 157 bucks, for the MB STAR setup that I finally decided to buy..
I'm not a fan of laptops, palmtop, pads, etc. Never liked the feel and missing keys needed to get it all to fit. I know there are docking stations, remote mouse, but no, no thank you. I'm looking at regular, old desktop chunks.
Microcenter prices are definitely hard to beat.
I just picked up a 15"HP laptop from Walmart for $249. 8G memory, 256G SSD. Passmark (cupbenchmark.net) is about 11K, which is about 8x faster than the one it replaces. First thing I did was to make a Windows recovery USB in case I need Windows for a hardware warranty claim, then wiped windows and loaded Linux. Works great out of the box, and it's pretty fast. Picked it up last night, they might still have some.
Amazon also has refurbished desktops. This should be a decent machine for $243
In reply to Toyman! :
That might be the droid I'm looking for.
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