Get a refurbished Apple iMac with 1TB of storage for only $175 (yes, really)

a 21.5-inch imac from 2012 against a red, yellow, pink, and orange background

TL;DR: As of March 25, a refurbished 21.5-inch Apple iMac from 2012 is available at Woot for only $174.99.

A $175 Apple iMac? In this economy? It's more likely than you think.

OK, so it's not exactly the latest and greatest machine available: We're talking about a refurbished, 21.5-inch iMac from 2012 that's technically "obsolete" (meaning Apple has discontinued hardware service and third-party providers can't order parts for repairs). But if you need a basic desktop for short-term use or light tasks like browsing and word processing, Woot has it listed for only $174.99 as of March 24 — that's an incredible price considering it was originally sold for $1,299.

This particular iMac comes equipped with a 2.7-GHz Intel Core i5 processor, a NVIDIA GeForce GT 640M graphics card, 8GB of RAM, and a whopping 1TB of storage. The LED-backlit 16:9 widescreen IPS display features a 1920x1080 resolution and a built-in FaceTime HD camera, which won't be anything special but should do the job for quick video calls. Connectivity-wise, you're getting four USB 3.0 ports and two Thunderbolt ports.

Woot has this deal scheduled for the next four days or until it's sold out, so hop to it.