Just spent money on vacation, and a few more big costs to go.
I'd buy anything under $500.
Let me guess, it's too cheap?
Way too cheap. Every desktop on Dell.com is above $800 if it doesn't suck.
The only <$500s you can get are Intel Celerons and you might as well not even bother with that stuff.
I even looked on Newegg and everything <$500 is either recertified, old spec or integrated video chip.