Looking for cheap machines!

I work at a fairly small school that is looking to update their ancient computers. Essentially, we want these machines to run MS Office and be able to browse the internet relatively painlessly for the near future. They will not be used for anything graphically intensive such as gaming or video editing.

Basically, our budget is slim, so cost savings is a must. Manpower and time are also slim, so we cannot buy the parts and build them ourselves. I know these forums are generally geared more toward high-end systems and such, but I was hoping there would be somebody here who could point me in the direction of a place or person were I could find 3 or 4 cheap machines that do the job.

As a point of reference, cheaper than the $350 machines over at Dell would be excellent. Thanks for your help in advance!

You could try to find offices that are upgrading to new systems. If you are looking for something new it is pretty hard to beat Dell prices for low end stuff.

Have you thought about buying used PCs off Craigslist or from some forum members?

Though if you're willing to make the switch to linux (Open Office is a pretty decent replacement for MS word) look for the Everex gPC from Walmart (in store or online) for $200. Check out the following website for cheap linux PCs:
http://koobox.com/

I would look for something with a warranty and rapid on-site repair for a school-like environment

If you have little manpower and time, then a company like Dell is probably your best bet. After all, you're not willing/able to do any dumpster diving or make custom builds in order to get cheaper parts. It sounds like you probably don't want to worry about bad/dying hardware either.

Dell.

They've got good education rates, and they'll really work with educational institutions without a lot of scratch. They want to put Dells in front of the eyes of all of those young, impressionable kids.

You can get severe discounts on entry-level Dells at the outlets as well.