cheap and powerful computers (need a new system)

[BlueSite]

looking for ideas on the best prices on computers. only thing- i dont have a cc or a checking acct, so whatever i buy will have to be paid with cash or a money order or whatever.

im looking into AMD athlon, because from what im reading the lower clock speeds are even better performing than intel chips at twice the speed? not sure if thats true or not, but i read it a few places tonight.

i was looking at an HP on amazon, but not sure of the HP brand. 720 bucks, but a 50 dollar mail-in rebate...around $700 is what i have to spend. the one i was looking at had 512 mb ram, amd athlon at 2.2.ghz, 160gb hard drive, a 64 mb video card (dedicated), i forget any other specs. tho it does have a dvd rw/cd-r combo drive, 7 usb connections, ethernet card (which i need for my cable modem- this modem works like crap with the USB connection).


just looked up the model- its an HP Pavilion A520N. looks decent...im down to barely any disk space now, my cd drive died months ago, my cd-r drive died a yr ago, something is screwed up in the video card or something, because i have weird grasy lines thru my screen- and its the same even when i switch out monitors...but i wanted to get some advice before i oput down 700 bucks on anything, especially a computer, since im always using it. i went to best buy a cpl weeks ago to buy one, but all they had anywhere near $700 were a cpl emachines- but i sorta wanna stay away from them, tho i guess thats just based on my knowledge of what they sold when they first came out with PCs.

thanks for any advice you guys might have.

[(jj)]

You might take a look around Tiger Direct (http://www.tigerdirect.com/), they usually have some decent buys and they do accept payment via money orders.

Just be sure to only look at the "Desktop PCs" unless you have the ability to build your own (they have lots of "kits").

[YvetteKuhns]

Be careful when placing orders online. I purchased items with Tiger Direct, but one time I logged in only to see that someone changed my address. I called Tiger Direct and the person assured me that my payment info isn't stored. But if I pay for something, I want it sent to me, not the person in California who edited my address! Orders can be placed by phone.

When upgrading, I often buy a barebones kit that has an ATX tower with the correct power supply for its motherboard and processor. You must install the processor and the other hardware that may be in your previous tower.

You may have friends who bought an entirely new system and you can get a floppy drive, hard drive, cd drive, video card, LAN card, sound card, modem and RAM. I have already purchased old towers at yard sales just to pick parts!

Last year I bought a Packard Bell (yuck) for $10. Included was a bag of accessories including a microphone, keyboard and power plugs. The owner had installed a brand new 30 gig hard drive which I removed to put in another tower. I also removed other parts!

You may find that you only need a few items and building a computer is more affordable. They are easy to build - just read the motherboard manual.

By the way, I have an AMD Athlon or Duron (I forget which is in this tower), 512 MB RAM (2 256 DDR), Radeon 128 MB video card and a cable modem. This computer is fast, so I haven't really felt the desire to spend money to upgrade it.

Shop around. Don't spend too much, because it always depreciates so quickly! ;)

[Skunkboy]

Originally posted by YvetteKuhns
By the way, I have an AMD Athlon or Duron (I forget which is in this tower), 512 MB RAM (2 256 DDR), Radeon 128 MB video card and a cable modem. This computer is fast, so I haven't really felt the desire to spend money to upgrade it.

*cough cough gag choke*

I've always sworn by grabbing a clockdo from here, a whirlygig from there, and a thingamajig from that other place then piecing the puzzle together and praying I have a Mona Lisa.

The advantage of a prebuilt system is warranty but if you build it from parts, that's just it... you built it... if you don't like it, that's your fault and you can change it if you want. At the same time, thinking of warranties, many parts have better warranties than you may think. I haven't picked up any hard drives lately but last I knew, most carried around 3yr warranties.

Of the warranties I've seen for home computers, I've tested Dell's warranty which was the longest I could find of the major brands out there and am impressed. 4yr onsite complete care... and they're out to fix the problem within two or three days. (I'll leave it at that)

[YvetteKuhns]

The advantage of a prebuilt system is warranty but if you build it from parts, that's just it... you built it... if you don't like it, that's your fault and you can change it if you want. At the same time, thinking of warranties, many parts have better warranties than you may think.

I know what I want and I research products for compatibility and other features BEFORE buying items. And parts do have warranties.

Prebuilt systems are a pain just to update the operating system let alone make other changes. But prebuilts are good for people who don't have the knowledge or the courage to take apart a computer! :D

[(jj)]

Warranties are often better for the individual parts than what they are for a pre-built system.

For example, some of the HP computers come with a Maxtor drive. This drive if bought as a single unit from a "normal" reseller would have a warranty of 2 to 3 years, but in an HP computer, it only has a standard 1 year warranty. Plus, that 1 year warranty is only good if you deal with HP, Maxtor will not repair/replace it directly.

"Build Your Own" is not for everyone, if it were then Dell, Gateway, HP, etc would be out of business :D But for those who feel comfortable inside a computer, it's often the best way to get a better system for less money.

[BlueSite]

not so sure i wanna try to figure out how to build my own...tho, im sure i could figure it out. ive justnever done it, and no little about the insides of a system.

i was looking at tiger direct as was mentioned and the prices look decent. are e machines any good? im not sure if anyone mentioned...thjis is the sort of system im looking for, and the price is nice-
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=630746&Sku=C426-1000 P&CatId=118

but, its refurbished. is that a good idea or no? i like that it has a dvd/cd burner and a big enough hard drive- i could always upgrade to a second HD later, i guess...plus, its a lot faster than the 450mhz im running now! i want at least 512 mb of ram. plus, i like a lot of usb ports on front and back- handy for the digital camera and webcam i use a lot.

what do you guys think of this setup? overpriced? or is it pretty good?

i was also wondering...do local shops (i know of a few in my area) usually build systems for you? im thinking they do that, but i forget. is that a normal thing? if i could just tell someone ill spend x amt and i need this fast a chip, this much ram, x gb hard drive, etc- would make things so much easier. i found a lot of computers that were fast enough, and had a great deal of HD space, but didnt have a dvd burner...and some had a dvd burner but were barely over 1ghz in speed.

i seriously need to learn how to build systems! some day. :)

[YvetteKuhns]

I think even Tiger Direct can build your system for you! Hey, my husband does little more than check Hotmail and www.palottery.com, but he builds computer towers! He was always good at fixing cars, too.

As long as you can read the motherboard manual, you can put a tower together. It is that simple. Oh, and if your hands are big, you have to be more careful attaching hardware. Not a problem for my dainty little fingers. ;)

[BlueSite]

is it cheaper to buy all the stuff separately and build it yourself? i mean...could you install 512 mb of ram, a dvd burner, cd burner, a huge HD, etc and still have it be cheaper? if so, how would you start? what resources are out there, i mean.

[(jj)]

Originally posted by BlueSite
is it cheaper to buy all the stuff separately and build it yourself? i mean...could you install 512 mb of ram, a dvd burner, cd burner, a huge HD, etc and still have it be cheaper? if so, how would you start? what resources are out there, i mean.

It's not always cheaper to build your own, mostly because as you select your components you tend to look at the better quality component instead of the lower end of them.

As far as refurbished units, my experience has been that 90% of those are just as good and sometimes better than brand new. But I'm sure that some people have had bad experiences going with refurbs.

eMachines had become a decent system, but I haven't seen any reviews since Gateway bought them out.

If you do decide to do a "build it yourself" system, just remember to be very careful about static electricity. You can kill a CPU before you even get it into the system if you are not careful.

The first place you want to start is to do your research and make a list of all of the components you would need. Everything from the case and power supply to the floppy drive. Nothing more frustrating than ordering all of your parts and discovering after they arrive that you forgot something ;)

Tom's Hardware Guide (http://www.tomshardware.com/) has reviews about most of your hardware needs.

Motherboards.Org (http://www.motherboards.org/) has reviews about most every brand of motherboard available.

[YvetteKuhns]

It's not always cheaper to build your own, mostly because as you select your components you tend to look at the better quality component instead of the lower end of them.

:D

But you get what you want. :)

I got a refurbished Sony digital camera (worth $800) for less than $300 in 2001 and still use it. That was a deal I couldn't refuse. But usually I buy new AND on sale. ;)

You can save money by using items that are compatible and in your existing tower.

If you do decide to do a "build it yourself" system, just remember to be very careful about static electricity. You can kill a CPU before you even get it into the system if you are not careful.

Wear sneakers, put a rubber mat under you, keep your hardware unplugged while installing parts, and be sure to use those little plastic plugs to properly seat the motherboard before installing the CPU. Use the heat sink and install the fan before plugging in and turning on the tower.

The first place you want to start is to do your research and make a list of all of the components you would need. Everything from the case and power supply to the floppy drive. Nothing more frustrating than ordering all of your parts and discovering after they arrive that you forgot something

If you have an existing tower, make a list of items in it. Describe the items so you can later compare and see what items can be used in the new tower. You can always replace those items later (hard drive, CD/DVD drive, floppy drive). Compare prices by typing "compare motherboards" in Google or whatever item you need.

[blueflowers]

My friends have had good luck here...
http://www.compusaauctions.com/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/CategoryDisplay?cgrfnbr=32917649&cgmenbr=32764874

Its compusa's auction site. Generally you get a good deal, not many people use there site for bidding. Less competition... One of my buddies got a complete system, athlon 64, ati 256, 120 gig hard drive (10k), 1 gig memory all for just 780 bucks. Even has a warranty... That might be what something to look into if dont want to learn how to build one yourself.

IF you build one yourself, I have had great luck with www.newegg.com. Usually have the better price compared to tigerdirect.com. Building a computer isn't really that tough. Especialy now a days... Everything is pretty much idiot proof and color coded. The only thing ya gotta watch our for is esd. GOOD LUCK!

[Ironcleaver]

I've had great luck buying from ZipZoomFly.. here is there link for their AMD desktops..

http://www.zipzoomfly.com/jsp/ProductList.jsp?ThirdCategoryCode=030103

but I noramlly buy my parts from them and build my own :)

hope this helps..


~ Iron.

[mrmagill]

When upgrading, I often buy a barebones kit that has an ATX tower with the correct power supply for its motherboard and processor. You must install the processor and the other hardware that may be in your previous tower.;)

Your comment about power supplies is a very good one. With the Athlons and Durons (particularly) make absolutely certain the power supply included in your box is rated for those processors. Some of the cheaper boxes (under $30 variety) may have 250+ watt power supplies, but lack sufficient resources on the 12 volt rail, according to sources at Tiger Direct. They advise making absolutely certain that the power supply states clearly it is rated for Duron use. Otherwise, the board may either not work at all or will be unstable.