Easiest - Walmart on Wedgewood has a HP Pavilion 570-p023w Desktop Tower for $559.00.
Don't like it, you can take it back. It has Intel Gen 7 Core i5, SSD plus 1TB HDD for file storage.

If you don't need a DVD drive, consider a small ZOTAC ZBOX-MI640 NANO Desktop...just add SSD and RAM.
It has latest Intel 8th Gen Core i5.

I use Photoshop Elements. We have a nice monitor 24" with integrated speakers.

Love my mouse!

Spend.....$600 to $700 is fine.

I also have an external hard drive that I use for backing up, as well as thumb drives.

I do appreciate all responses and guidance!

my son actually makes his own desktop computers. he buys the best components that way. maybe you can find a techy type to do that for you.

I'm just thinking out loud. If I had $650 to spend I might buy a new laptop that I use as a desktop. Once you turn it on you could close the lid, push it aside and use you favorite keyboard and mouse and the monitor you like. I am using a hp envy laptop 15" screen that is sitting on a coffee table. I have an external keyboard on my lap and got use to using a touch pad but I could use a mouse.



I agree with buying a name brand. Take a look at these desktop brands.
Best Desktop Computer Brands | Popular Desktop Computers

I believe in the advice and reviews I get form The Wirecutter.

Take a look at this.
The Best Mini Desktop PCs: Reviews by Wirecutter | A New York Times Company

and this
Lenovo ThinkCentre M710 Tiny | 1L Micro Desktop PC for Business | Lenovo US

chat with tech and tell him what you want to do

Well since you need Quicken, you need a PC, if you just used Mint then you could everything else on a Chromebook.
I've been using a Chromebook for about 6 years now. And before you poo poo it, I'll let you know that I was a MIS professional.

Window makes you life harder, keep it simple with a Chromebook.

I'll have workshop table set up for the Computer Club at La Hacienda on the 22nd 1pm ($5 yearly membership fee required), but I'll also be at Eisenhower for workshop on July 23rd 1pm (no fee).

Come by and see how the Chromebook really works.

I love my chromebook too. And if I need to provide technical support to someone I steer them towards a chromebook.
I use paint quite a bit. Do you have a good substitute that will work on my chromebook? I like wordpad too. If I cut and paste something with a lot of formatting I like how wordpad strips it away. Do you have a wordpad knockoff i can get to easily.
What I especially like is the price. I bought mine from the scratch and dent department for less then $200 directly from acer. So if I drop it or leave it someplace I'm not out a bunch and you need a password to make it work.

And if you own a monitor, keyboard and mouse you could make it like a desktop too.

Actually, Quicken will work on a Linux box. There is a Windows emulator called WINE. Also, there are a few Linux accounting apps that will import quicken files.

I've successfully put Linux on a Chromebook. (Which is LINUX based like Apple.)

I use Clonezilla to clone hard drives.

If you are in need for a new computer, please check us out Computer Corner!

Computer Corner • Computer Repair, Sales & Service

(352) 460-1155 • 205 W. North Blvd • Leesburg, Fl 34748
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I was thinking of getting a Chromebook but learned that everything on it goes into the cloud which I am not ready for. Further it requires the user to use their Google Documents instead of letting him use Corel's Wordperfect of which I am a fan. In other words, it does not let the user use many programs that are not Google programs. But I am not all that fond of Windows either.

Buy a Dell

Since you have iPads, you are familiar with the Apple infrastructure. You might want to consider getting an iMac or a MacBook with an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse. The best deals are refurbished systems from Apple's website. They carry the normal 1 year warranty and typically a 15% discount.

From the list of applications that you are using you would be well served by a solid general purpose system. Nothing fancy, nothing expensive. The only item that would drive the price up is if you want and All-in-One with a touch screen. We also didn't discuss if you need a new monitor. There are good package deals. Contrary to other opinions, I don't find that the sales people at Best Buy nor most of the stores that sell PC's have any idea on how to determine the needs of a customer. They are 95% speeds and feeds people. (I should know, I've tried to train a lot of them :) ).

Here are a few recommendations:

Best Buy
https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavi...?skuId=6111244

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavi...?skuId=6253600
(this one looks VERY good for $399)

https://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-pavi...?skuId=6203109
(2 disks, with one Solid State)

Costco
Lenovo IdeaCentre 720 Desktop - AMD Ryzen 5 - 1GB AMD Graphics

Hope this helps...

I too, like Dells; you can go onto their site and "custom build" what you want, very often they will have sales. They are also easy to repair. I must admit that this time I got a Toshiba Satellite laptop because a boss had one and I was impressed with it. Reasonable price, never any problems, and I've got 1 terabyte of memory. More than I will ever need!

I agree. Refurbished Mac - Apple ALSO Definitely get a SSD drive!