A little computer advice...for a christmas gift

Published on December 12, 2003 By Hus In WinCustomize Talk

My sister wants to get her boyfriend a PC for Christmas (what a nice sister, huh?), anyway...her absolute limit is $1000, that has to include everything. I did a little research on companies other than Dell. Here's what I found, and would like to know if you think this is a good deal before I make her buy it...

Abit NF7 Motherboard (LAN, Audio, USB, etc.)
512mb Dual Channel DDR RAM
AMD Athalon XP 2600+
Western Digital 80gb HD
nVidia Geforce FX 5200 128mb DDR w/TV out & DVI
NEC Dual Format DVD Burner
6-in-1 Flash media reader (they give it to you for free)
17" Viewsonic E70fb monitor
XP Home Edition
Free ground shipping

Total cost: $972

His current PC has a nice set of speakers which he bought as an upgrade, audio and LAN are onboard, plus is comes with your generic keyboard, mouse and a ATX case etc.

What do you think?

BTW, this is from CyberPower Inc. http://www.cyberpowersystems.com
[Message Edited]

Comments (Page 3)

paxx

on Dec 12, 2003

The only thing about DELL though is that if you order now, you'll be lucky if you get it before Christmas.
That's my only complaint about DELL, it can take a while. But it can be quick too.
When my boss ordered his laptop, he got it less than a week later. But for mine, it's been a week since I ordered it, and they told me on the phone I should maybe get it towards the end of next week. Hopefully before the Holidays. Man! I was a tad pissed and told them so on the phone. They said they'd put a rush notice on my order, but there is a part that's back-ordered... *sigh*

kongit

on Dec 12, 2003

It took 2 and a half weeks after I ordered my dell laptop

kona0197

on Dec 12, 2003

Well I got mine on ebay of all places. Took 5 days.

kongit

on Dec 12, 2003

I don't trust ebay that much. Just me

Hus

on Dec 12, 2003

Dell supplies my job with our servers and PC's so I did check there first...but they were too expensive. Anyways...sorry about your bad luck paxx...I hope this one will get there in time too...
[Message Edited]

kona0197

on Dec 12, 2003

it's not ebay you have to be worried about. It is the sellers on ebay. When you buy something make sure it has a money back garentee and a non DOA (dead on arrival) in the listing and make sure when you get your computer that it works great with no problems. I have returned many a item and left negative feedback for items that do not work and/or misleading.

kongit

on Dec 12, 2003

About the only thing I don't buy new is clothes...I get my tshirts for a quarter at a used shop. I am planning on buying a used copy of photoshop 7 to upgrade from 6. Should be cheap if i can find it on there.

kona0197

on Dec 13, 2003

digital_trucker

on Dec 13, 2003

After watching the crap my girlfriend had to go through with her DELL, I wouldn't have one for a doorstop. She never did get her problem sorted out, either...despite several hard drives, a couple of motherboards, a power supply, and countless hours on the phone. Build your own...it's easier than you think, you get more bang for your buck, and you'll have a system that you can actually upgrade because the stuff in it isn't all proprietary (although the major manufacturers HAVE been getting better about that last bit).

kongit

on Dec 13, 2003

My parents have two dells and I have a dell laptop. Only recently have we been having problems with a dell and its a 4 yr old p2 450 (maybe even 5 or 6). Its because of win98 though, and I think the floppy drive just tanked.

Mine and the other dell (a 1.8 p4 dimension) haven't had any problems to speak of.

themorphium

on Dec 13, 2003

Every setup looks fine
If it's better than mine

[Message Edited]

Tech-Cat

on Dec 13, 2003

AMD = GOOD

INTEL = BAD

Not necessarily. AMD has the price advantage while machines installed with Intel are not as noisey as AMD machines. I am using an athlone processor and I think it works well for my needs. I don't like the noise all the fans needed makes. I'm thinking of maybe getting an Intel machine in the future (a few years from now) just for the lower noise emission.

[Message Edited]

Stumpy

on Dec 13, 2003

Hmmm.... A lot of threads by people who cannot make up there own minds, very strange

kona0197

on Dec 13, 2003

You are nuts Jesse. Heatsinks and fans for Celerons and P4 chips are BIGGER than heatsinks and fans for AMD chips.

Sometimes I think you are talking out the side of your neck.

AMD systems are cheaper and quieter. Your problem is that you probanly do not have a coolmaster or a volcano 9 colling fan, both of witch cost over 40 bucks but can not be heard.

Keith Perry

on Dec 13, 2003

Well, I have had Three different computers in my lifetime. AMD, Dell, and dont kick me for this but a Gateway. Of all three I prefer the Dell. If you buy the one you are looking at, you will have future headaches ahead. By all means do not, I repeat DO NOT buy a Gateway.
I say go with Dell

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