The Cheapskate

This seriously well-equipped desktop costs just $325 (plus shipping).

(Credit: TigerDirect)

It's remarkable how much bang for the buck you can get from a PC these days.

For example, if you're looking to replace an aging desktop with something far more powerful, Tech For Less has a refurbished HP Pavilion a6700y quad-core desktop for $325.04. Shipping will run you about $25.

The system offers some mighty impressive specs for the price, starting with an AMD Phenom 9150e quad-core processor. Multitask all you want; it won't break a sweat.

It also comes with 4GB of RAM, a 500GB hard drive, a DVD burner, and built-in 802.11b/g (a rare perk in a desktop).

The system runs Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit. I'm sure most users would prefer Windows 7 at this point, but you can always upgrade later--and there's really nothing wrong with Vista as long as it's running on a powerful machine like this one.

The only mediocre spec here is the integrated GeForce 6150SE graphics--fine for everyday computing, but insufficient for high-end gaming and video. At least you can drop in a discrete graphics card later if you feel the need.

Like most refurbished PCs, this one has a 90-day warranty. But, hey, for $325, you can afford to roll the dice a little. And for what it's worth, you can buy a one-year extended warranty for $30.

Not long ago I paid nearly double this price for a system with fairly similar specs. Suffice it to say, this is a helluva deal (check out the stellar user reviews at TigerDirect, where it runs $379.99), one that's hard to pass up if you're in the market for a well-appointed desktop.

Backup deal: It's rare to find deals on Microsoft's new Zune HD, but J&R has a solid one: the 16GB Zune HD for $177 shipped. That's after applying coupon code paypal20 and using PayPal as your payment method.

Looking for a feature-packed MP3 player without the iPod price?

The iRiver H10 5GB MP3 player.

(Credit: iRiver)

Buy.com has the iRiver H10 5GB MP3 player (refurbished) for $33.99 with free shipping. The player works with Windows Media Player 10 and supports MP3 and WMA, as well as Secure WMA for online downloads and services.

The iRiver H10 is supersleek at 3.7 by 2.1 by 0.6 inches and 3.4 ounces. This model is a few years old but still has a 1.5-inch color LCD screen for viewing photos and a swappable battery that the company claims delivers about 12 hours of continuous listening.

When you get tired of listening to the same albums over and over again, you can switch to the FM tuner, which features 20 autoscannable presets. It also sports an integrated voice recorder with FM recording capabilities.

A CNET reviewer gave this model a rating of "very good" back in 2005, saying that the "iRiver H10 truly outclasses the competition in the features department...however, its controls aren't as intuitive as they look, and battery life was disappointing."

It's available only in Trance Red at this price. No word on how long Buy.com will be offering this deal, so if it sounds good, act fast.

Updated at 2:25 p.m. PST: The previous deal is sold out, but we found you an even better deal on the iRiver H10 at Buy.com. Get the same refurbished MP3 player as before with free shipping and a docking cradle and a leather case for $36.99. Cradle and case for three more bucks. If you missed out earlier, you just got a better deal.

Stock up on free holiday music (for kids and adults alike) from Amazon.

(Credit: Amazon)

Those of us who celebrate Chanukah may get eight nights of presents, but you X-mas folks get all the good music.

Thanks to Mrs. Cheapskate, who tinsels with the best of 'em, I've really come to enjoy Christmas songs over the years. Consequently, I'm always on the lookout for new (and cheap, natch) tunes to add to the holiday playlist.

Amazon has quite a bounty this year. For starters, check out these 29 free holiday tunes from artists like Tori Amos, Lady GaGa, and Big Bad Voodoo Daddy.

Over at Dealnews you can find 11 more holiday freebies from Amazon, including the kid-friendly "Christmas with a Monkey" and funk-tastic "Boogaloo Santa Claus."

Finally, you can download a free audio book of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" from Learn Out Loud.

Got a few bucks to spare? For my money there's no better holiday album on the planet than Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas," which Amazon sells for $5.99 (two bucks less than iTunes).

Update: Apple just joined the fun with 20 free holiday tunes, which are available for download via iTunes. Artists include Amy Grant, Sarah McLachlan, Aretha Franklin, and Weezer.

Score a 22-inch Acer LCD for $109.99--and get a three-year warranty!

(Credit: Staples)

Update (10:10 a.m. PT): Looks like everything but the Dell laptop is sold out. Sorry, folks! It's worth checking back on the other items, though, as sometimes stock gets replenished.

Ah, Cyber Monday. Now this is a day of deals I can get behind. No crowded parking lots, no unruly mobs, no pushing and shoving. (What? The old lady got in my way!)

Of course, as regular visitors to The Cheapskate know, nearly every day is Cyber Monday--the deals keep coming all year 'round.

But this Monday is special, so I've rounded up four particularly sweet bargains that are good today only. And, as always, the sellout risk is high, so get your mouse-clickin' finger(s) warmed up.

1) In the market for a monitor? Staples has the Acer X213HBbd 21.5-inch LCD for $109.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). Specs include VGA/DVI (HDCP) inputs, a 5-ms response time, and a three-year warranty (score!). This is the lowest price I've seen on a new 22-inch monitor.

2) Need a desktop replacement? Dell has an Inspiron 17 laptop for $549 shipped. It sports a whopping 17.3-inch display, a Core 2 Duo processor, and Windows 7 Home Premium. You can customize just about every feature to your liking, but the base configuration is mighty solid. That's the best deal on a 17-inch lappie I've seen all year--not the lowest price, mind you, but the best bang for the buck.

3) Still shopping for the perfect portable PC? Best Buy has the Samsung N140-14R Netbook for $279.99 shipped (plus sales tax in most states). That's higher than other models I've posted recently, but this is a decidedly high-end Netbook. Specs include Intel's Atom N280 processor, a 10.1-inch screen, a 250GB hard drive, 802.11n, and a six-cell battery. The OS: Windows 7 Starter.

4) Here's a great stocking stuffer: Newegg has the Zune Premium Headphones for $9.99 shipped. I've had a pair for years; they're my preferred earbuds for travel. They do a great job isolating outside noise (like airplane engines), and they're extremely comfortable. Obviously you don't need a Zune to use them; they'll work with any phone or MP3 player. Microsoft sells them for $39.99, so I can't recommend this deal highly enough.

Well? See anything you like? If not, don't worry--there's always tomorrow. In the meantime, hit the comments to share your tales of Cyber Monday scores.

P.S. Anybody catch me on Good Morning America today? No worries: you can catch me daily on CNET's Holiday Help Desk at 1 p.m. PST.

Microsoft's second-gen Zune isn't quite as sexy as the new Zune HD, but it's still a versatile, feature-packed media player and a worthy iPod alternative.

And now it's a cheap one, too: Buy.com has the refurbished Zune 80 player for $129.99 shipped. It sold for $249 when it debuted a couple years ago, and is still running around $200 new.

Obviously a big draw here is the whopping 80GB hard drive, which should be enough to hold even the largest music libraries, with room left over for photos, videos, podcasts, and the like.

You get to view all that stuff on a 3.2-inch glass LCD--way bigger than the screen on the only comparable iPod, the Classic.

Other perks include an FM radio, wireless syncing/sharing, support for Microsoft's Zune Pass subscription service (one of the few such services left), and a terrific interface.

What's more, a free firmware update endows the Zune 80 with many of the features added to the third-gen Zune, so be sure to read CNET's review of that model.

If you have a lot of media you want to keep in your pocket, the Zune transports it in style. My only complaint is with the 90-day warranty--a far cry from Apple's 1-year coverage for refurbished hardware.

iPodMeister promises to turn your unwanted CDs and DVDs into bona fide gadget goodness.

Like many people, I have a fairly sizable collection of CDs sitting in a storage room collecting dust. It's literally been years since I even touched a CD, let alone played one. So why am I hanging onto them?

Forget Craigslist. Forget eBay. Forget garage sales. Do you want to spin that jewel-cased straw into gold? Head to iPodMeister, where you can trade your old CDs for a brand-new hard drive, iPod, or even iPhone.

Here's how it works: You pack up your CDs (or DVDs), then e-mail the company to let them know how many boxes you have. It then sends you prepaid FedEx labels. That's right: iPodMeister covers the shipping cost.

The number of discs you send determines what kind of booty you can get in return. The minimum, 150 discs, gets you a 1TB hard drive or an iPhone 3G. (Actually, you get a check covering the cost of an iPhone 3G, as iPodMeister can't do activations and all that.)

Scrape together 250 discs and you can land an 8GB iPod Touch or 16GB iPod Nano (current-generation models in both cases). For 350 discs, you can cover the cost of an iPhone 3GS. See the iPodMeister Web site for the complete list of trade options.

Interestingly, iPodMeister also gives you the option of digitizing your CD collection, meaning you get back not only your free gadget, but also a set of DVDs containing your music in (presumably) MP3 format. But that "costs extra" (meaning more discs). My guess is most folks have already ripped their CDs to MP3s.

I'll admit that all this sounds a little too good to be true, but I've yet to find a single complaint about the company. For your reference, check out Consumerist's recent interview with iPodMeister, this guy's review of the service from March, and the company's Facebook page.

I will say that the iPodMeister site looks atrocious and, suspiciously, offers no contact information except for an e-mail address and toll-free number. But with a little Google recon, I had no trouble finding an address and local number.

Did I mention I'm packing my CDs as we speak? It may take a couple weeks to complete my trade, but I'll definitely report back once it's done (so bookmark this article if you want to learn what happens).

In the meantime, I'm just kind of happy that I can clear out some boxes and don't have to spend a dime on shipping.

If you've tried iPodMeister, please share your experience in the comments!

Looking for a compact, feature-packed MP3 player that's as good for the car as it is for the gym?

Newegg has a refurbished 8GB Zune player for $69.99 shipped with a free leather case and Microsoft Zune Car Pack.

So let's do some math. A new Zune 8 player sells for $128. The Car Pack costs $70. Add around $30 for the leather case and you're up to around $230.

With this deal, your out-the-door price is $70. Nice!

A quick refresher course in Zune goodness: This flash-based player offers a 1.8-inch screen, an FM tuner, Wi-Fi file sharing and syncing (which is truly awesome), and compatibility with Microsoft's underrated Zune Marketplace music-subscription service.

Normally $69.99, the Zune Car Pack comes free with your purchase of a $69.99 Zune.

(Credit: Microsoft)

The Car Pack includes a charger and an FM transmitter, which can broadcast music from your Zune through your car stereo.

The transmitter will automatically select the best available frequency, which eliminates a lot of the hassles of traditional FM-radio gizmos. It also offers two presets for easy switching between commonly used stations.

There's even a dashboard "grip pad" so you can lay your Zune on the dash and not worry about it sliding all over the place. (A windshield mount would be better, but beggars can't be choosers.)

Newegg doesn't offer any details about the leather case, nor about the Zune's warranty, which we'll assume is 90 days.

Bottom line: mighty nice deal. A refurbished iPod Nano would cost you $30 more, and you wouldn't get Wi-Fi, FM, a car kit, or a case. Might not be a bad little stuffing stocking stuffer.

By the way, if black's not your color (or it sells out), you can also get the Zune in blue or pink.

Looking to get a jump-start on your holiday shopping? Here's a can't-miss gift: Apple has the refurbished 2nd-generation iPod Touch (8GB) for $149 with free shipping.

It wasn't too long ago that first-gen refurbs were selling for more than that, so this is a decidedly sweet deal.

What can I tell you about the Touch you don't already know? It's an iPhone without the phone--though if you plug in a headset and use an app like Fring or Skype, it can do a damn fine impression of one.

As I've mentioned before, Apple's refurbs are usually indistinguishable from new units, right down to the same bundled accessories and one-year warranty. The only real difference: They come in a brown cardboard box instead of the flashy plastic one.

My daughter has this exact Touch, and she looooves it. And what's not to love? Music, videos, games, apps, Internet--no wonder CNET awarded it 4.5 stars out of 5 and an Editors' Choice.

The Apple Store has been known to sell out of certain refurbished models, so if you want one of these, I'd act fast.

Bonus deal: Need an HDMI cable? Buy.com has a Belkin 12-footer for $7.99 after rebate--plus the awesome, awesome "Planet Earth Vol. 1" on Blu-ray.

Bonus deal #2: What's better than a Nintendo Wii for $199? How about a Wii for $199 and a free game? That's the deal over at eToys, where you'll get the console and "Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games" for $199.99 shipped. (Add the Wii to your cart; the game gets added automatically.)

Like an underwater-themed Bejeweled, Big Kahuna Reef offers puzzle fun...for free!

(Credit: Amazon)

I'm back! Miss me? I missed all y'all so much that I'm kicking off this week with two, count 'em, two great freebies.

Amazon is offering a free download of Big Kahuna Reef, a Bejeweled-style puzzle game for Windows PCs. (The product page shows only XP, but it's running fine in Vista.)

Better still, when you "buy" the game, you'll receive a $5 credit good for any Amazon MP3 purchase(s). In other words, you get five free songs or $5 off any album. (I highly recommend Brendan Benson's new one, "My Old, Familiar Friend." Awesome stuff.)

Big Kahuna Reef is by no means a new title (it debuted in 2005), but it's still a great little puzzler for fans of casual games (and, um, fish). Check out GameSpot's extremely positive review.

You will need to have an Amazon account already set up to take advantage of this deal, and you'll need to install Amazon's Games and Software Downloader to grab the game.

Other than that, there are no catches to this splendid pair of freebies. Let me know how you like the game and what music you're going to download with your credit.