Hanover  - Even priced between 200 and 300 dollars, discount PCs are not necessarily a good deal if you don't think through the purchase carefully beforehand.

Relatively powerful hardware can be found for as little as 250 dollars, reports Germany's c't magazine, which tested various systems in that price class. That means, for example, a dual core processor, two gigabytes of RAM, and a DVD burner are standard components even for low-cost PCs. "You shouldn't be expecting a high-end configuration, though," the report notes.

Many of these PCs are particularly loud or consume an unnecessarily high amount of energy. The discount hardware makers are particularly thrifty when it comes to graphics cards, meaning current 3D games won't work on them. The experts also recommend looking for a digital monitor connector, meaning the computer should be advertised as offering an HDMI or DVI port. (dpa)