New Cheap HP. Is it worth it?

[TekkieFreak]

Hey guys.

Listen to my situation before you react with "Hell no. That's a peice of crap!"

I am the only IT guy at a company with 5 locations. Since money is tight, we never buy more than one computer at a time. Therefor, I can't purchase multiple computers at the same time to unify all hardware/drivers/software.

The perks of this machine is that:

1) It's cheap.
2) It's ready to run out of the box. (monitor, and whatnot)
3) At any point down the road, I can grab the drivers off of the HP web site.
4) I can go to one spot to order replacement parts.

The worst part of this machine, as far as performance goes, is that there is no AGP slot. However, this machine will be used strictly for office tasks. It will be running OpenOffice, Outlook Express, and a telnet program.

Here is the link. http://www.walmart.com/catalog/produ...%3A3944%3A3951

So. Knowing all of that. What are your thoughts on this machine?

Thanks guys.

(edit) This will be replacing at least one P133 with 48 meg ram, and maybe even an AMD K6-2 250mhz

[hudsonsmith]

Its probably fine for what it will be used for, but, HP's support for their consumer PC's is not as good as you will find on the business models. I believe the business models all give you at least one year on-site. The quality may not be as good either, but its hard to say if you are comparing it to the $500 business models.

You may not be able to grab drivers off the web site - very often HP will only post updates not found on the original CD (and then only when they feel like it).

You will not get a CD for the OS, just a restore CD that will put the system back to its original state. Don't think you get one with the business models either anymore.

[meatwad]

It's hard to say no knowing what it's replacing, but I also hate the idea of using XP Home for a business network. I've had almost no issues with Pro, but for some reason I see a lot of computer with Home issues. It wouldn't be my first choice, but like you said it's replacing a P1.

Make sure you at least get restore CDs. For a while, HP kept all of that info on the hard drives and didn't give out the CDs.

[geoscomp]

For what you are talking about, it is hard to beat the price..especially since it includes a 17 inch monitor..as I recall, the around 500 dollar business models dont include a monitor..as far as xp home, I agree that pro would be better, but there is an enhanced networking update for home on the windows update site that seems to help. The point about restore cd's is important..because most HP pc's do not include a restore cd..you have to order one from them and pay shipping..but this should only be a problem if the hard drive dies completely. I would say that if you set it up for minimal services and set it as a workstation computer..i.e. turn off all the eye candy, etc. it should be a good unit. As far asa warranty stuff..walmart generally has you just return for a new unit for the 90 days that the warranty is in effect

[Trout]

I live near tigerdirect in naperville Illinois,
They have a clearance center there,, Filled to the ceiling with those and similar returned PCs,AS-IS.
I'll bet theres 50 of those in there right now.
When you read the shipping labels on the boxes,, its interesting to see how many are returns Vs Shipping damages.
Most are under 300.00 in AS Is Condition,, And Really,even at 100.00 as a parts only machine, Id concider it risky.
my .02$
trout

[shamus]

It's an non-office HP being sold at Walmart loaded with XP Home.
That's three strikes for me...

[silencio]

I've got an idea that most people will probably hate but, check it out. A number of places sell old machines. I've seen old deskpro PIII 450s going for less than $50. If your apps aren't intensive you could buy 10 of them for $500 and replace a number of your machines with a unified platform. At $50 a pop you could also buy a few extra to act as parts. As far as an OS, with a unified platform you could create a base ghost image and put it on every box with ease (assuming you're in compliance). Just a though...