Dell Small Business has the Dell Dimension E521 Athlon64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ System for $399 w/ free shipping. Select No Monitor to substract $180. Thanks Dancancook.
Specs:
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ edit
Genuine Windows Vista™ Home Basic edit
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs edit
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ edit
16X DVD ROM Drive edit
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU edit
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio edit
1 Year On-site Economy Plan

That's a pretty deal for under $400. Rep+

Looks good except Vista Home Basic

This is the system I purchased before Xmas, but with a 20" widescreen LCD (was roughly $575 shipped). This system has been nothing but a pleasure so far and is plenty fast for what I use it for (internet, word processing, data entry, and low-end gaming). The best part is that if you all order enough of these and Dell runs out of the 3800 X2 processor, they've been known to toss in a 4200 X2 for free (like they did with mine!).

$549 with the dual core 5000+ processor upgrade. Throw in a decent video card and you have a killer rig for gaming!

Just a FYI, I think these only come with SATA ports, no IDE. You need to find a SATA DVD-RW drive if you don't choose that option from Dell. I haven't seen many deals on SATA DVD+/-RW drives but I haven't really been looking...

great deal IMO. +rep

Quote from Dancancook : Definitely not hot, but somewhat warm with the free shipping. (Unfortunately, not tax free for many of us.) Dell Dimension E521 AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+ 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs 160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™ 16X DVD ROM Drive NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio $399 Shipped. Note: Choose "no monitor" to see the $399 price. If you're not getting "free shipping" you're likely not clicking on "free 3-5 day shipping" http://configure.us.dell.com/dell...wbbz&s=bsd

I won't thread cap about the heat of this deal, but I'll add my opinion that the computer is great for me. It's not one of those machines that the geeks argue about which one is 0.004% faster running some pretend-like-you're-a-wizard game on a Tuesday after a full moon, but the one I got last month has been a pleasure to use.

As nhokt said, I couldn't use the IDE drives from my old computer, but I found a deal on an external enclosure, and now I have a portable 160 GB drive.

If you're happy with the deal, and you don't have pasty white skin from spending 22+ hours in front of a computer, buy it and you'll be happy!

So how much better is this than the Compaq Presario SR2150NX that I just got for $249 after rebate? I'm going to need to buy more ram for it and if I'm going to do that - I may as well spend another $100 for a much better computer. Here's the specs on the compaq. I'd love to know what I should stick with.

Intel Celeron D Processor 356
512 MB pc2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM
120GB 7200RPM Serial ATA HD
SuperMulti dvd burner with Lightscribe technology
ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 Graphics
Windows Vista home basic
Norton internet security 2007 (60 days)

I just want it for internet use and light word processing, kids games.

Nice deal...+rep.

Quote from MeScubaToo : So how much better is this than the Compaq Presario SR2150NX that I just got for $249 after rebate? I'm going to need to buy more ram for it and if I'm going to do that - I may as well spend another $100 for a much better computer. Here's the specs on the compaq. I'd love to know what I should stick with. Intel Celeron D Processor 356 512 MB pc2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM 120GB 7200RPM Serial ATA HD SuperMulti dvd burner with Lightscribe technology ATI Radeon Xpress 1100 Graphics Windows Vista home basic Norton internet security 2007 (60 days) I just want it for internet use and light word processing, kids games.

if you've already bought this pc, and you're happy with the deal, don't question it! you'll just drive yourself crazy, and there's nothing you can do about it now, anyway.

it sounds like you got a good deal, so be happy!

Quote from csl463 : if you've already bought this pc, and you're happy with the deal, don't question it! you'll just drive yourself crazy, and there's nothing you can do about it now, anyway. it sounds like you got a good deal, so be happy!

I haven't used it yet. lol It's still got the plastic wrapping on it and I haven't bought the increased RAM yet. So I can still take it back, no problem. I got it from staples a few days ago. That's why I was wondering.

This Dell is definately a better deal I must say. The Athlon dual core blows the Celeron D out of the water. You will notice a difference, even with basic web surfing and music. Go for the dell.