TigerDirect offers many recertified desktops at various prices. I previously wrote about a basic IBM desktop for $134 and a mid range Acer nettop for $179; what should you consider if you’ve got up to $339 to spend and want more power?

Never fear! Below are four different options, from most powerful to least powerful.

eMachines ET1331G-05W, $339 + shipping.

The ET1331G-05W is a modern system for those who want both today’s power and tomorrow’s ability to upgrade. It’s got a speedy dual core 2.7GHz AMD processor along with 4GB of (DDR2) RAM. The combination of this fast processor and RAM simply means that this machine can handle all your multitasking with a breeze. If you feel the need for speed in the future you can add up to 8GB of RAM. The video card here is the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE. This graphics video card has enough oomph to handle all your everyday computing needs and will even handle some basic 3-D games. Be aware, it doesn’t have quiet enough power to handle today’s ultra intense 3-D games. This isn’t the system to buy if you’re a hard core gamer.

The 750GB hard drive is absolutely huge and runs very fast (runs at 7,200rpm). 750 Gigs of space is a lot! You’ll be able to easily add data to this drive for years to come. Other features include a DVD RW optical drive, flash card reader, and 6 USB ports. It also comes with today’s standard features: onboard 7.1 High Definition Audio, wired internet connectivity, and a 300W power supply. The final feature I want to highlight here is that this machine comes with Windows 7. This newer operating system completely blows the doors off of the older Windows Vista operating system…thank God! Windows 7 is infinitely easier to use than Vista and runs a whole lot faster. The USB speakers are pretty basic; wired keyboard and mouse are included. The machine is all enclosed in a mid level tower; down the road you can add additional hard drives and optical drives.

All in all this a great machine for only $339. Walmart sells the system brand new for $378. Here’s the ET1331G-05W on eMachine’s website.

HP Pavilion a4313w, $299 + shipping.

One step down from the ET1331G-05W we find the HP Pavilion a4313w. This slimmer mid tower designed to accomplish everything you need to do in the office and at home. This machine has a single core (AMD Sempron LE-1250) processor running at 2.2GHz. It won’t be quite as fast as the machine above and won’t be quite as speedy at multitasking. If you mostly use three to four programs at a time you’ll be fine with this system.

It comes 3GB of DDR2 memory, a 320GB hard drive, integrated graphics and Six (6) USB 2.0 ports. It’s also got the Windows 7 operating system. Another nice feature here is the SuperMulti DVD±RW LightScribe optical drive. The LightScribe you can burn DVDs, flip them over, and burn any black and while image you want.

$299 is a pretty great price when you consider that brand new the a4313w costs about $100 more. You can see it here on HP’s website.

Acer Veriton L460 ED5200C, $259 + shipping.

The Acer Veriton L460 ED5200C is a 2008 Ultra Thin desktop that will handle most of your home and office work. It brings to the table a single core Intel (Pentium D E5200 2.5GHz) processor, 1GB DDR2 memory and a 160GB hard drive. I’ll admit that a single core cpu with 1GB of RAM certainly won’t blow your mind. It is however, much more powerful that systems that came out six years ago. It’s not a multitasking monster but will adequately handle a couple of programs at the same time.

Acer boasts that it’s a home entertainment computer, that you can use the DVD-RW Slim/Slot Loading Drive to play DVD’s & CD’s and rip/burn them. The Intel video card (Graphics Media Accelerator 3100) will work fine serving up graphics for word processing, internet surfing, and basic 2-D games. There’s front accessible audio and USB 2.0 ports.

Two of the nicest features the L460 ED5200C has is fast wired internet connectivity (Gigabit LAN) as well as Wireless G. That you means that as long as you have a router you can put this system most anywhere in your house and it will connect to the internet wirelessly. Of course it’s got a keyboard, and mouse and 2 front speakers. It does have the Window Vista OS, not as fast and streamlined as Windows 7. The good news is that you can upgrade Vista to Windows 7 for free by mail in coupon.

Brand New the L460 ED5200C costs about $600; $259 is a steal for this desktop. It only came out in 2008!

eMachine EL1331G, $239 + shipping.

Last in our lineup, the eMachines EL1331G is your basic desktop for all around simple use. The single core (AMD Athlon 2850e 1.8GHz) processor and 2GB of DDR2 memory won’t win any awards but will be adequate for those using one or two programs at a time. It comes with the Windows 7 operating system. Goodness!

This desktop comes in a beautiful black modern-looking thin tower design with easy access front ports. Your video card here is the NVIDIA GeForce 6150 SE integrated graphics. eMachines says that this card delivers  “crisp and vibrant” video to your monitor. Keep it away from games or alot of multitasking and it will remain crisp and vibrant! The 320GB hard drive spins at 7200 rpm which means it’ll handle all your tasks with zippy speed. Other features include 16x DVD±R/RW Supermulti Optical Drive, 9 USB ports, wired internet port, keyboard, mouse, and USB speakers.

TigerDirect sells it for $239, brand new it cost well over $300. See it here on eMachine’s website.

Similar Posts:

• Here’s a Basic Almost New Desktop for Only $134
• The eMachines EL1352-03 is A Great Basic Desktop
• eMachines ET1331G-03w is a Nice Home/Office Desktop
• Here’s a Mid Range Nettop for $179
• Best Buy’s Most Popular Gaming Desktop is a Budget Gamer

Related posts: