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#51
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Inspiron Small Desktop | Dell
380 no rebate; you'll probably pay sales tax and shipping; it's got a 1 TB hard drive. Win 8.1 64 bit.
Gateway SX2885-UR10 Desktop PC - Intel Core i5-4440 3.10GHz, 4GB DDR3 Memory, 1TB HDD, DVDRW, Windows 8.1 64-bit - DT.GESAA.001
also a 1 TB hard drive and Win 8.1 64 bit; stronger processor than the Dell, but not a factor worth mentioning for your intended uses.
430 plus tax and shipping, less 50 rebate if you get it.
Amazon.com : Lenovo ThinkCentre M78 10BR000AUS Tower Desktop (3.70 GHz AMD APU A4-6300B Processor, 4GB DDR3, 500GB HDD, Windows 7 Professional) : Computers & Accessories
378 free shipping. Does Amazon charge sales tax in your state? They do in mine. Win 7 Professional.
Smaller hard drive than the other 2. I'd reject due to processor alone.
I don't understand your hard drive size concern. Both Dell and Gateway have 1 TB hard drives. The Lenovo has a 500 GB drive. If you are concerned about the Dell 1 TB drive, why aren't you concerned about the Gateway 1 TB drive?
Refresh my memory: when this thing lands on your doorstep, you are going to remove the hard drive? And then do what with that hard drive? It contains a Windows license that is worth something. Are you going to just throw that license away? The only place it can be used is on the new PC that lands on your doorstep. Maybe you are going to clone or image this new hard drive OS to an SSD? I've forgotten the details.
Personally, I'd probably go with the Dell at 380 as I am leery of not actually getting the rebate. If you want to take that risk and eventually get the rebate, the Dell and the Gateway are probably very close in price--in which case go with the Gateway due to the stronger processor--even though you won't make much use of the added power.