Can you get a good computer for under $500?

[Blue_boost]

I have a mate that wants a computer, he asks me why to get for $500 or less?

I dunno , I said I would stay far away from used or refurbished units, as they are old crap that someone else probably picked their nose or arse and started typing all over it. Plus they are selling it because it’s f$&ked, prob water damaged or the battery is gone

but for a new computer, what can you get for under $500? It seems to me they are all fine for surfing the net, word processing or excel spreadsheets or watching videos?

I dunno why people spend more than $500 was my answer? Go to Officeworks and grab something under $500. If the computer nerd at Officeworks starts with processor speeds or ram, give em an uppercut? Then kick him in the arse.

You don’t need a computer for gaming, use a proper gaming system Xbox or ps5.

 

[hayes]

https://renewd.com.au/ is excellent site to purchase refurbished laptops and you can get good discounts and good customer service.

 

[CroydonDog]

Depends on what you want to with it and how long you expected to last

I ran my old business with 2 laptops.

First was a Acer 17 inch desktop replacement. Costs $2,500 and in 8 years it hasn't skipped a beat.

Second was a little 11 inch lenovo which i bought for travel. Paid about $400 and from the get go was a slow heap of crap. I turfed it years ago and replaced it with a tablet for those occasions when I was interstate etc.

 

[south of heaven]

I have a mate that wants a computer, he asks me why to get for $500 or less?

I dunno , I said I would stay far away from used or refurbished units, as they are old crap that someone else probably picked their nose or arse and started typing all over it. Plus they are selling it because it’s f$&ked, prob water damaged or the battery is gone

but for a new computer, what can you get for under $500? It seems to me they are all fine for surfing the net, word processing or excel spreadsheets or watching videos?

I dunno why people spend more than $500 was my answer? Go to Officeworks and grab something under $500. If the computer nerd at Officeworks starts with processor speeds or ram, give em an uppercut? Then kick him in the arse.

You don’t need a computer for gaming, use a proper gaming system Xbox or ps5.

Lol yeah nah , million things you can do on pc that can't on gaming consoles

 

[Rockford]

Second vote for Refurbished, but get ones that are ex-Corporate, tend to be made with better parts. Won't be the latest and greatest but will do the job. Ideally something with SSD. Like this... Dell OptiPlex 3040 Desktop (manlylaptops.com.au) I've used them before and had no issues, they give them a clean. They also do Lenovo, HP etc so you could build a fairly decent PC on there for $500. (If he gaming then yeah get a console)

 

[Hacky McAxe]

"Good" is a relative term. If it's just for using office products, browsing the web, etc, then yeah. You can get a decent refurbed unit for under $500.

 

[COVENS]

Including monitor, keyboard and mouse?

No

 

[Hacky McAxe]

I mean, if it's just basic stuff then you can get a NUC, a wireless keyboard mouse combo, and a cheap monitor (or use the TV). That's pretty affordable. Or get a refurbed laptop.

 

[habs]

https://whirlpool.net.au/wiki/rmp_sg_whirlpoolpcs

 

[habs]

I mean, if it's just basic stuff then you can get a NUC, a wireless keyboard mouse combo, and a cheap monitor (or use the TV). That's pretty affordable. Or get a refurbed laptop.

+1 for NUC

Or get an RPi4.

 

[Wahesh]

You can get brand new laptops at JB for under $500 but they are small. Good for basic stuff such as web surfing, excel, word and videos, but lack Ram so not good for gaming. My custom rig which I bought last year cost me $1300 and that was just the cpu and just for gaming.

 

[DaBulldog]

Second vote for Refurbished, but get ones that are ex-Corporate, tend to be made with better parts. Won't be the latest and greatest but will do the job. Ideally something with SSD. Like this... Dell OptiPlex 3040 Desktop (manlylaptops.com.au) I've used them before and had no issues, they give them a clean. They also do Lenovo, HP etc so you could build a fairly decent PC on there for $500. (If he gaming then yeah get a console)

I’ve also bought quality refurbished monitors from Manly Laptops - really good stuff but not too expensive.

 

[Blue_boost]

Why buy refurbished? The battery on its way out? The keys battered. I’d rather a lower power computer but brand new than a crusty old refurbished laptop with a dead battery.

what can you do more on a gaming PC than a proper gaming console like ps5 or xbox

 

[The DoggFather]

I mean, if it's just basic stuff then you can get a NUC, a wireless keyboard mouse combo, and a cheap monitor (or use the TV). That's pretty affordable. Or get a refurbed laptop.

+1 for NUC

Or get an RPi4.

Help a brother out boys, I kind of know what a NUC is, how much can I expect to pay for a decent one.

Basically will be used for home schooling on a un-used 50 inch tv.

 

[The DoggFather]

Lol yeah nah , million things you can do on pc that can't on gaming consoles

Bro, KE used to hate PC's and loved consoles, now his console is collecting dust.

Are they good for all types of gaming or are they more so for simulators?

 

[south of heaven]

Bro, KE used to hate PC's and loved consoles, now his console is collecting dust.

Are they good for all types of gaming or are they more so for simulators?

Everything really saying that nothing wrong with console gaming what so ever

 

[south of heaven]

.

what can you do more on a gaming PC than a proper gaming console like ps5 or xbox

Run triple monitors , play i racing hell let's loose many other games, connect more controls, between flight and race i think i have around 30 different controllers, yokes,throttles ,force feedback steering wheels ect that cannot be run on gaming consoles plus a full motion platform.
That's a few examples the list goes on though.

 

[Hacky McAxe]

Help a brother out boys, I kind of know what a NUC is, how much can I expect to pay for a decent one.

Basically will be used for home schooling on a un-used 50 inch tv.

Decent ones are around $800 for the cheapest, $1200 for good quality.

If it's for home schooling, I would suggest a laptop over a NUC. You can usually get a laptop for a little cheaper, it's portable, and you don't get the lazy psychological effect.

NUCs work well as a PC but their main job is to act as a media centre for your TV.

You also get the problem that the kids will associate the TV with play time/relaxation time. So it makes it much harder to concentrate if they're sitting in front of the TV when doing school work.

 

[Hacky McAxe]

Bro, KE used to hate PC's and loved consoles, now his console is collecting dust.

Are they good for all types of gaming or are they more so for simulators?

I remember when I was trying to pre-order an Xbox Series X. KE said, "why? You have a PC"

 

[CroydonDog]

Second vote for Refurbished, but get ones that are ex-Corporate, tend to be made with better parts. Won't be the latest and greatest but will do the job. Ideally something with SSD. Like this... Dell OptiPlex 3040 Desktop (manlylaptops.com.au) I've used them before and had no issues, they give them a clean. They also do Lenovo, HP etc so you could build a fairly decent PC on there for $500. (If he gaming then yeah get a console)

SSD is a must.