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The Best Desktop Computer Deals - Black Friday 2007

Posted by Jonathan | Filed under Electronics, Technology

As the American consumer prepares for Black Friday, it is often difficult to determine which deals are the best and which stores to actually visit. With the help of sites like bfads.net the consumer has a chance to find the best deal. I’m looking for a computer this Black Friday season and have been scouting the sales to determine which system that is truly the best deal.

Here are my sale recommendations for a desktop computer sorted by stores.

Best Buy -

$399 - Compaq Dual-Core with a HP 17″ monitor. This is a basic system with 1gb memory, a 250gb hard drive, and a CD and DVD burner. This is a bare bones system without a lot of frills. The only obvious downside to this machine is the 1gb of memory supplied to run Windows Vista. I would highly recommend double the memory to 2gb if you choose to purchase this machine for a 56% savings.

MicroCenter -

$199 - PowerSpec V200 This is truly a bare bones sale for the person that doesn’t require much from their computer for the next year. It has an Intel pentium D processor 805, Windows Vista Basic, 160GB HDD, 1GB DDR2 667 memory, DVD+/- RW. There are at least 10 per store, but a coupon from the MicroCenter ad is required to purchase this system at this price. Again I would recommend purchasing and additional 1gb of memory.

Circuit City -

$499.97 - HP Pavilion Media Center It has an AMD Athalon 64 X2 Dual-Core processor 5200+, 2gb of memory, 320gb hard drive, DVD Rw drive, Windows Vista Premium. It comes with a 17″ monitor and a standard HP printer. Friday morning the system will be reduced from $949.97 for a 52% savings. This is a good computer for those that would like a computer that will last several years, but have no desire for intense gaming. The downsides of this system is that it has no tv tuner, DVI input, or heavy duty graphics card. But if all you want is a deal on a system that will allow you to surf the internet, send e-mail and run small graphics programs with ease then this is the system for you.

* $769.97 HP Pavilion Media Center PC With an AMD 64 X2 Dual-Core 6000+ processor, 3gb of memory, 500gb hard drive, Vista Premium, TV Tuner, DVI input, WIFI, PVR and a Media Center. It comes with a 17″ HP monitor and a standard HP printer. The draw backs of this system is that it only has a 300watt power supply, and no additional video card than the standard integrated chip. However, this is a system that will carry you into the future with 4-5 years of adequate use. There is an option to upgrade the 17″ monitor to a 19″ monitor and there is a special for a 500watt Cooler Master power supply and several options for video cards at MicroCenter, CompUSA and Circuit City. This is the Editor’s Black Friday pick.

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Tags: , Black Friday, Computers, Deals, Electronics, Hardware, Reviews, Sales, Technology