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hippocampusFlag for United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

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Buying a PC on a budget

My friend has been told her PC will cost more than it's worth to fix.

She is on a tight budget of £200. Is it possible for her to find a refurbished desktop or laptop for this amount?

What basic questions should she be asking? I've told her memory, processor, hard drive, operating system, after sales support.

She wants a printer, monitor and mouse all in. Is this being a little optimistic at £200? Don't want to disappoint her but she needs to be realistic. Where should I help her look for reliable refurbished machines and are there any specific buying questions when going for the secondhand option?
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rbudj
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You get what you pay for.... bottom line.  
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rbudj

Yes that may be true but I do think that asking the right questions when approaching your local computer shop can help, surely? That's why I've posted for some advice. My friend is not a charity case, but she doesn't have enough money to go for a budget laptop or PC from one of the bigger chains. It's a shame because I know that even £350 or so will get you a decent basic machine.

My question is all about how to ask the right things when exploring the refurbished option. That is her only option. I'd still appreciate some help on what questions to ask. Thanks.
You can get a refurbished Dell Inspiron 530 desktop without monitor for 150-200. Just don't get one of the systems with a Celeron, the Dual cores that are the same price are faster.
http://outlet.dell.com/Emea_Dfo/EuDispatcher?target=InventoryPage&action=filter&lob=INSPDT&unique=1202160176584&sessionID=HnCPVQjb!-1418874326!1202160143134
Thanks, am checking link out. Still planning to call round a couple of local stores so any pointers welcome
Okay, here's what the two local stores have come up with...which one looks best anyone? Both £180. One with printer but without monitor. One with monitor but without printer. Feedback much appreciated. It's all down to how and where you can get hold of budget peripherals I suppose...

SPEC 1

Winfast Motherboard
Sempron 2800+
512mb Ram
80gb Hardrive
Aopen DVD Writer
Lan Onboard
Geforce 5200 Graphics 128mb
32 Bit Sound Card
6 USB Ports
Windows XP Home
 Epson DX4450 All In One Printer Scanner
 
SPEC 2

Base Unit
Intel Celeron 2.4
512m DDR
80G Hard Disk
DVD
Keyboard
Mouse
15" CRT Monitor    

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rid
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rid thanks. Am emailing her this comment, as it's great advice
A good bit of guidance for my friend's budget PC conundrum thanks :-)