Lots of good, interesting advice floating in. If what you want is a commodity machine that runs office software and hooks up to the Internet, then here is a "runs out of the box" range at RefurbDepot.com.
HP PAVILION SLIMLINE S7400N <http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=5149> Intel Celeron M 380, 1.6GnoHz, 512MB Ram, 160GB, DVD-RW/CDRW Combo Drive, 9-1 Media Reader, 56K Modem, NIC, Win XP Home, Vista Capable
List Price: $799.95 Our Price: $299.95 You Save: $500.00 (62.5%)
HP Media Center M7467C <http://www.refurbdepot.com/productdetails2.cfm?Product_ID=4646> Intel Pentium D 940 Dual Core 3.2GHz, 2.0GB DDRAM, 300GB Hard Drive, DL DVD±RW, 10/100 NIC, 56K Modem, 9-in-1 reader, Windows XP Media Center
List Price: $1,999.95 Our Price: $799.95 You Save: $1,200.00 (60.0%)
Shipping is about $30 depending on your zip code.
Add a 17" CRT Monitor for $79. Add a 19" flatscreen for $200-300.
I prefer buying monitors locally, so if they die in the first 30 days, I can haul them back.
The non-profit I work for bought four of the refurbished HP high ends, and they have been running for months with no problems. I get no kickbacks from RefurbDepot.com.
:-)
-Chip Berlet
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