Desktop question, better suit for tech support who's up with current technology
 

Let me rephrase my question...
I am looking for a cheap as possible, but fast enough for a kid to read/listen on the internet, and homeworks. This one seem to be cheap emough, but is there any other better deal out there? Thanks.
FRYS.com*|*DELL

Depends on what you think his needs will be in a couple of years.

How old is he know?

For what you described that will do fine.

It's actually a generous amount of RAM and decent hard drive for the money. Intel l-3, not bad, usually that low a price has an AMD.

You realize it's limited availability? No shipping on it. In store pick up.

oldest is 11 year old

90% of the PC's sold today are much more than needed to browse internet and do homework (read wiki and type papers)

that machine will be more than sufficient as long as he's doing papers (which he won't be)

It's fine for watching porn too ;)

oh no, they have alot of search on the internet too. My kindergarten is listening to stories, with voice, and videos. Sometimes, we do let them play selected games too.

That souls be more than enough for web surfing, watching videos, playing simple games, etc

I'm not eager to be the first to suggest this...but for your needs I would seriously consider a used Mac Mini. A quick browse on Craigs list found a few in the $300 range. With Mac OS you don't have nearly as many concerns about internet security issues and general malware. Sure it's not 100% but then nothing is. Apple puts out good products and I'll bet a good condition used Mini will last as long (or longer) than the Dell you linked. If they outgrow the Mini - move it to the kitchen or garage for a simple internet access point.

Of course you did mention games...so if that is a realistic desire then none of the systems discussed so far are worthy. PC games require hefty graphics cards and memory.

Best of luck.

k, so we all know I'm a kool aid drinkin Apple fan boy.

The Dell is cheap, (he's on a budget) not a bad box, it's new, it's likely to have a warranty, PO is not computer savvy.

Based purely on the money factor I'm going Dell as long as it has a good warranty.

Baring that I agree with you.

See what your local colleges are sellign off as surplus. Last batch we sold (our "shop" closed due to mismanagement by the instructor) we had Dell OptiPlex 745s - 64bit 2.something ghz CPU, 2gb ram, 120-250gb hard drive, dvd writer for $100. Put some Linux on it, get a decent monitor for wally world and you are rockin for under $250.

+1 Get a cheap used PC. They usually come with a lot of usefull programming. Businesses always are upgrading or going out of business. Plenty of PC's from those sources. They usually don't do Apple. And PC's are much more flexible when adding components. Also you learn more with PC's about computers than with Apples.

This is my plan for my nephew birthday (but all the kids will be allowed). He will be 11 and limited on computer usage allowed. I planed on a new box, but $100 for that (id10t mentioned) sounds tempting. My computer right now is a dual core 2.8ghz. It's enough for me, then it should be enough for those kids. Off to search on Craigslist now. Thanks.

One of my coworkers is looking to sell her laptop for pennies on the dollar. Why? "It's too much for me, I got a MacBook Pro."

I'll be scrubbing it next week...