Black Friday Feature: PCs Under $500 $400

Stores these days move directly from back-to-school sales to animated Santa displays, but the official kickoff of the holiday shopping season -- the day after Thanksgiving, dubbed Black Friday for retailers whose businesses get into the black with fourth-quarter sales -- is the time to find some tremendous savings on desktop PCs. Combine seasonal savings with ever-lower component costs, and the $1,000 price limit of HardwareCentral's regular Grand Openings reports looks much too lavish. In fact, you can find a good PC for well under $400.