Help! I need an Tech Opinion on Another New Computer

01.28.04 | mlmr

[mlmr]

I found a computer that looks nice. I am going to have to upgrade to XP pro. I will need to buy a new screen. But I cannot tell if this is a good buy and a good computer. It costs about $900.

Microsoft® Windows® XP Home Edition

AMD Athlon™ 64-bit Processor 3200+

Hypertransport™ Technology (1600MHz Bus)

512MB PC2700 DDR Memory

80GB† 7200RPM Ultra ATA100 Hard Drive

CD-RW / DVD-RW Drive w/ Ulead VideoStudio 6

Realtek® Integrated Audio

128MB ATI® RADEON 9200 SE AGP 8x Video Card

56K v.92 Send/Receive Fax Modem

Realtek Integrated 10/100 Ethernet Controller

7 in 1 Digital Media Reader

USB 2.0 and FireWire Interfaces!

Systemax® Internet Keyboard w/ Optical Mouse

Monitor Sold Separately

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

You still around?

[Severa]

For the money? Hell yeah.

Only thing I'd worry about with Ernest's suggestion is how much would a 250GB HD plus an ATI Radeon 9600 cost? Wouldn't that run kinda high? I mean it's not like mlmr's wanting an uber-gaming system (am I right mlmr?)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

That addition is for serious video recording and limited gaming!

Looks like neither option is available from tigerdirect !

She hasn't said anything about money constraints.

It looks real good , but we do need to know what she expects to do with it?

[nutmeg]

.

[mlmr]

Thank you. I am comparing. Is this a reputable company

[mlmr]

I have a website to maintain using front page
I am buying a software package called therapist helper which requires XP PRO
I need to run accounting software for home
I live at fr
I need to run a network for the family computers

900 is the highest I can go since I have to purchase the pro upgrade and and speakers and a moniter.

[HairOfTheDog]

Thank you but I cannot use dell.

Is this a religious decision or is there a restraining order of some kind?

[mlmr]

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/875386/posts

So Dude, like I don't DO Dell!

[Sloth]

That is an ultrafast computer. Good if you are going to be doing heavy-duty gaming, but if you just want one for standard stuff, you could get it for about half the price.

http://www.mpcomp.com has some decent deals.

[HairOfTheDog]

So it is a religious thing. I see. I have been happy with my Dell.... apparently you were not so chosen. I am sorry!

Does he post threads about what soup to buy too?

[mlmr]

If you read down on the thread a bit you will discover that it wasnt the dell but the abysmal customer service

[HairOfTheDog]

I am just giving you a hard time for apparently posting threads whenever you have a decision to make! I don't want to read the history of computer decisions.

But... I have had a different experience with Dell that is quite the opposite. I had a GeForce video card fail right at the end of my warranty. Before they knew what had failed, they sent me a new and bigger monitor than I had. When that didn't fix it a Dell tech came to my house to replace the video card with the next generation video card. Got to keep the new monitor anyway.

[mlmr]

I am glad that things worked out for you. As I said in the beginning of this thread, FR is my husband replacement. giggle

[mlmr]

What is this computer, where can I find it? Would you freepmail me the link?

[mlmr]

And most of all is it 900 dollars??

[js1138]

I am being quoted 190 for XP home to Pro upgrade.

That is outrageous. Something smells bad here, because you can get XP pro retail for that much or less without buying a computer.

Who are you buying from?

I have bought two computers from ABS for my sister. They allow you to configure the system with many choices of hardware, and everything is name-brand. Try looking at the current Computer Shopper. They are running a Best of Year article. The disk drive for this class of computer should have an 8meg cache. This makes a huge difference in performance. More than a faster processor. 512megs of memory is considered the sweet spot for XP Pro, unless you are using a professional graphics program.

[mlmr]

I havent seen the upgrade on the internet for less.

[js1138]

http://www.pricegrabber.com/search_attrib.php?page_id=186&sortby=popular-&vendors%5B%5D=MST&lo_p=0&hi_p=0&form_keyword=&sortby=&ut=d8c71b5efedf821a

[mlmr]

Thank you I am impressed!

[js1138]

I shop online for a living.

Seriously, I do earn part of my income shopping for upgrades for business computers and building them from scratch.

I look at Computer Shopper occasionally for what's happening with ready-builts. I like ABS because they allow you to select from name-brand components. That way you can read reviews of products like CD/DVD burners and have your computer built with just the products you want.

I go for what I call the sweet spot -- the products that offer the most bang for the buck. Right now AMD has fast processors for lots less than equivalent Intel. (You have to figure in the motherboard/CPU/memory combination to get a price comparison.)

I currently like Western Digital hard drives because they offer 80 gig drives with 8 megs of cache for about $80. Everyone has different experiences with reliability, but I haven't heard anything really bad about WD.

Again, I'd at least investigate some of the companies that advertise in Computer Shopper that will custom build your computer.