vote up 1 vote down star
1

I want to get my dad a decentish PC for christmas to place his terrible 1999 G4 Mac computer he has still.

A barebones computer seeems to be very affordable (<100 in some cases) but doesn't come with an OS. I have copies of XP I could put on there but then I would have to spend 50+ dollars shipping it back to him, making it hard to hit the 25th of December deadline. A barebones seems fine for a cheap internet surfing computer for the family since I can set it up myself, but what about my dad?

Is a netbook the best way to go for this?

Thanks!

flag
86% accept rate

5 Answers

vote up 2 vote down check

if 199 dollar doesn't exceed your budget, have a look at the Acer Aspire Revo

1.6 GHz Atom z230 CPU

1 GB RAM

nVidia ION Graphics

160 GB HDD

Windows XP Home

edit: if you want more, here are to similar models but with dual core Atom, 2 GB RAM and Windows 7 preinstalled.

Acer Aspire Revo AR3610

ASRock NetTop Ion 330-BD (with Bluray drive)

link|flag
That is excellent! Very affordable and has Windows already installed. – bobber205 Nov 25 at 21:52
How do you think that would run Windows 7? – bobber205 Nov 25 at 21:57
if you add the price for windows 7 and the mandatory memory upgrade on top of the $199, the offer no longer sounds 'very affordable' ... for that money you might as well buy the Apire Revo with dual core atom, 2 GB RAM and windows 7 or the Asrock equivalent which also comes with a Blu Ray drive (added links to my post). but technically, windows 7 runs reasonably well on single core Atom based computers. – Molly7244 Nov 25 at 22:54
I have copies of Windows 7 from my school but yeah I forgot about the needed ram upgrade> – bobber205 Nov 25 at 23:44
well, you may get it to work with 1 GB alright, but 1 GB RAM for Windows 7 is absolute entry level specification while 1 GB RAM is memory galore for windows xp. – Molly7244 Nov 26 at 0:20
vote up 1 vote down

Most barebones only include a case, power supply and motherboard. Some include the CPU, but almost none of them include the hard drive, DVD drive, video card (some have onboard), etc. Make sure to check the contents of the barebones with the vendor, but most likely for $150 you aren't getting a hardware-complete system.

link|flag
Never mind my earlier (now deleted) comment, I read the question again. – Macha Nov 25 at 19:55
I was thinking about something like this: newegg.com/Product/… – bobber205 Nov 25 at 19:56
That doesn't have a hard drive, DVD drive, RAM, or OS. Adding those will significantly increase the price. – MarkM Nov 25 at 20:05
My mistake, it does include RAM, but no optical or hard drives and no OS. – MarkM Nov 25 at 20:06
vote up 0 vote down

Get your dad a gift certificate and an explicit recommendation. This will save you on shipping costs, and allow your dad to try the floor model of the computer out in the store before he ever owns it.

Just think about how many little kids get a puppy for Christmas when all they wanted was a toy train!

link|flag
1  
Him buying a computer for himself would be Armageddon. :) I will still think about that though. – bobber205 Nov 25 at 19:46
vote up 0 vote down

Dell mini 10v should do well for him ...

link|flag
vote up 0 vote down

I am thinking that you're best bet is to buy the computer mentioned above http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16856119013

And install Ubuntu 9.10. Very easy to learn, free, and takes up very little space. If you have a harddrive lying around I would just stick it in and be done. If not you could pick one up at newegg for about $40

That would bring your total to about $140, very affordable

Hope I helped, Jeremy

link|flag
i think you forgot the RAM in your calculation. :) and this barebone only comes with an Intel GMA which may not be suitable, for decent video playback you definitely want the ION platform. – Molly7244 Nov 27 at 3:24

Your Answer

Get an OpenID
or
never shown

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.