AMD Athlon 64 PC packages as low as $399.97

While you were busy standing in line at your local Best Buy to get your hands on the new PS3, you probably didn’t notice the excellent prices Best Buy has on computers.  If you order from BestBuy.com you’ll have the added convenience of ordering from the comfort of home, and you can even do it in your pajamas if you’d like.  Check out the selection of Compaq desktops, and you’ll notice find two sub-$500 desktop computer models, the Compaq Presario 3400 and the Presario 3500.  Both come with 512MB of PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM (upgradeable to 2GB), but the Presario 3500 gives you a bit more processor speed (2.2GHz vs. 1.8GHz) and a bit more hard drive room (160GB vs. 120GB).  Both have NVIDIA GeForce 6150 video cards, integrated audio with 6-speaker support, 56Kbps modems, and built-in 10/100Base-T network interface cards, although neither have built-in wireless.  The Presario 3400 has DVD-ROM and CD-RW, whereas the slightly more expensive Presario 3500 gives you a rewriteable DVD drive.  Depending on what you plan to use your system for, either configuration could meet your needs.

Both these Compaq desktops have excellent expansion possibilities.  Each has 3.5″ and 5.25″ bays available externally, and internally there are 2 PCI and 1 PCI-E slots for future use.  Each unit has 4 USB ports as well.  What I find a little bit odd is that neither comes with a serial, parallel, Firewire, or S-video port, although you can remedy some of those issues with expansion cards.  These are issues to think about, though, if you’re running an older printer that still needs a parallel port, or running some other device through a serial port.

Lots of software is preinstalled on these value-priced Compaq Presarios.  Microsoft Windows XP, Microsoft Works, Microsoft Money, and a slew of other programs like HP Photosmart Premier will give you lots to play around with.  There’s a one year warranty on parts and labor, with additional warranty options available through BestBuy.com during the checkout process.

While you’re placing your order, don’t forget to take advantage of some of the special promotions in place.  Right now, get $50 off any printer if you buy a desktop computer (meaning you can buy a printer for as little as $10), and you’ll also get a free upgrade to Windows Vista by mail.  The BestBuy.com desktop section is definitely worth browsing right now, and tomorrow, I’ll take a little trip through their notebook computer section to see what’s available.

This entry was posted on Monday, November 20th, 2006 at 7:20 am and is filed under cheap desktops. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.