May God bless you for your helpful advice. I know the mfg are only putting parts togeth4r, and their quality and interaction is key, but the white box type offer more for the money, and you can often choose what components you want.
I did look up the mobos on some and upgraded estimates if they only had 2 memory slots. Of course,
The http://www.computerlx.com/view_cart.aspx one gives 3 yr. warranty and lifetime free email support, while http://www.pricewatch.com ones are even cheaper. I prayerfully helped someone get a PC from the a few years ago and found the former co., and the 400.00 PC from them has always run fine. And i looked up the parts and could not have built it cheaper, with the OS. Came with an actual, non-bloatware OS CD as well.
What is your take on Intel Vs. AMD? Does 3.2ghz with the latter mean the same as it does to the former? Thanks for the rating on mobos. I had an old 650mhz AMD for years (till about 2005), with an MSI mobo. Competition has helped here in man’s fallen condition (just imagine if all computers were gov. issue).
The Lenovo was attractive because of its full size, as i am wary of small form factors. anyway, while i do not know if i will be doing anything soon, may i ask what would be your prayerful pick be for a PC under 450.00 like from here, http://www.pricewatch.com/gallery/computer_systems_with_os/3.5ghz presuming AMD is best? CPU find favor with many: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103894&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle-_-Processors+-+Desktops-_-AMD-_-19103894
If you are content with the experience, then why look elsewhere? I mean, LOOK elsewhere, but you gotta give some point advantage to the guy you know will treat you right... just sayin.
What is your take on Intel Vs. AMD?
Heh. That's kinda a Chevy v. Ford or Linux v. Windows kinda question there... Both are fine... But I am an AMD fan. As a general rule, Intel is more stable, and will probably last longer... But AMD just flat out performs... And I like performance. I don't need it to last all that much, as I really tend to upgrade at least one machine a year, so none of my boxes are more than 4 years old anyway. Durability is a relative thing in a fast moving technology.
The Lenovo was attractive because of its full size, as i am wary of small form factors.
So nice to meet a full on desktop guy - most folks have gone away from them... but I agree about full-size. Easy to work on, easy to add to... Still, all things considered, The machine I am writing to you on is an over-sized laptop - And I use it more than all the rest combined - I even operate the others from this one. I simply love it. It's portability, even around the homestead, makes computing a whole different thing... Down in the lab, out on the porch, easting breakfast at the kitchen table, even sitting here in my easy chair... Quite nice not to be tied to the desk and benches anymore. So don't knock a 'smaller form factor' without some consideration. It might just change your life for the better... And this laptop is in your price range too.
[...] may i ask what would be your prayerful pick be for a PC under 450.00 [...]
I don't feel comfortable pointing ONE out... I don't know what you need exactly. What I will say is that you should spend the money on power supply, CPU and RAM primarily (providing of course, a quality MB in the first place). Get the biggest and best you can afford. Vid and HDD are important, but can be added easily later after you have recovered from the initial hit.
Good graphics are really important to performance though - I really would recommend spending that money when you can, but most folks can make due for a while using the on-board stuff.
And HDD may be important (more important) to you - It isn't for me, as my OS drive is seldom over 100g anyway. A 250g front drive is huge to me. And if one has a full size desktop, one can always sling terrabyte and bigger drives in behind that first drive as needed later. And your HDD from your dying machine can be added as additional immediate storage right away too.
Gigabit Networking is another pretty serious advantage too, if one pipes vid to the tv or if you have a local LAN - I need the extra local bandwidth pretty badly as there is a lot of file transferring going on here when the bench machines back up to the server at night. BUT, if your local LAN (to include switches and router) cannot handle 1000x speeds, it wont do you any good at all until the whole works is upgraded for that capability... And like vid and hdd, it can be easily added on later.
Good access to USB (front) is important... and USB3 would be a gain (though still hard to find). A DVD-RW is important too. And don't forget a card reader for cam flash drives. Though again, all this can be added easily later. Those are the main parameters that are necessary to consider and prioritize according to your specific needs. But do not compromise on CPU, PS, and RAM.