Help a miltary officer with PC choice!

[bob4432]

what about the dell outlet? if you keep an eye out some good deals can be had their. imo, i would rather you get a amd system due to the fact that their cpus, atm are more efficient and offer more performnace per $$$, the problem is for $500 you a little on the low side for a build it yourself with gaming even in the near future. if you could do $700 then i think we could help assemble you a nice rig that would run the newer games at a decent fps.

to your other question - are they hard to build. no, not really, but there are times when things just don't work correctly or you may get a doa part. this can be discouraging for a beginner. as they say, sh!t happens. just last night i swapped out my p4/intel m/b with a opteron 144(the one ribbon13 recomended) & nf3 m/b and i thought from what i have read i could have just swapped out the equipment and all would be found since the os is pnp, along with other reasons. it didn't turn out that way and i had to do a full, new install. not that this was a big deal, but irritating none the less.

 

[VERTIGGO]

Originally posted by: ribbon13
Maybe she can get it real cheap being in the military?

being in the military doesn't make anything cheaper, and if it's procured through the military, it won't be worth using. lol!

 

[Q]

www.ibuypower.com

GO there.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Originally posted by: Aztech
You don't sound ready for building your own. Save the time and hassle and buy something pre-built or customize something online. Check Hot Deals daily for the latest deals. Office Depot has been clearing out desktops at great prices. HP, CompaQ and eMachines.

I agree. Staples, Office Depot, Office Max offer loss leader specials for less than HPShopping even with education or whatever discounts. She might as well get a complete sub $500 package and snap in an extra 512mb of RAM. Deals good thru Saturday:

Office Max

Office Depot

Office Depot2

Starting Sunday:

Staples
I think this last one with an extra 512mb RAM stick added gives the bigest bang for the buck.

You can plug your old hard drive in the second 3.5" bay, remember to set the jumper to slave, so you can access all of your existing data on the new computer. The choices above offer lots of built in goodies like larger or LCD screens, media card readers and cd/dvd burners. Heck, put your old CD-ROM in the second 5" bay to make fast backup of all your CD's, no more swapping read to write disks.

Good hunting!

 

[KDOG]

This one looks like just the ticket.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Originally posted by: KDOG
This one looks like just the ticket.

I am not a big Celeron fan. I still like the Staples Compaq AMD, then add 512mb RAM yourself for $50 or so. Under $400 total.

 

[bmiesle]

Thanks all. Does anyone know anything about Microtel as a PC vendor?

 

[John]

Get a $500 Dell notebook.

Microtel? Never heard of them. http://www.microtelpc.com/

 

[Viditor]

Originally posted by: bmiesle
Is this a good system for the price?
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp...s/hp_pavilion&storeName=computer_store

Yes...I would increase the ram to 512MB, select the combo drive, select the 80GB HDD.
That looks like $459...

BTW...Thank you for serving!

 

[arsbanned]

Get a Dell. Otherwise it'll be "Help, my new build won't boot up!" and "these damned fans are so noisy I can't hear myself think!", etc etc etc etc etc.
I've built many PCs over the years, the best PC I've ever owned is my current one, a Dell 8400. Dead silent and fast, not flakey at all like some of my self-built units. Check www.gotapex.com for excellent deals on a Dell.
Dude, get a Dell.
Right a reasonably fast unit with a 17" flat panel for around 500 bones. It's a no-brainer.
Microtel? Ummmm, no you!

 

[thecartographer]

Along with the above suggestions I would add that it is always good to have someone familiar with computers around when the system is being built. Even the most seasoned assemblers have random problems with custom builds. Just something to alleviate further frustration. Good Luck.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: bmiesle
Thanks all. Does anyone know anything about Microtel as a PC vendor?

Do some "google searching" for your PC vendor. If they've sold many PC...there should be some feedback posts on forums to check out.

For you...I'd also recommend buying a pre-made PC. Building your own PC SHOULD be of MUCH higher quality and be upgradeable compared to a store bought PC, but it will cost you more $$$$.

Also, if you're looking to build 1 PC every 5 years...it's not worth the effort. IMHO.

I combed this message board for ~2 years before I felt "froggy" enough to leap and build my own PC. It's not that building a PC is too difficult, but as you can see from the 100's of posts on this board alone...there can be "issues" with self-built PCs (also the same with vendor made PCs to be sure, but at least they have tech support to help out).

If you really have an interest in building PCs, get to REALLY know your own NEW PC (purchased at Dell, etc.) by printing and reading the literature on your PC. Then you'll have a basic understaning of the components in a PC (e.g., CPU, motherboard, RAM, etc.).

Then start reading this forum which will help you become more familiar with PCs in general...your knowledge base will take off from there.

Regards,

Bud

 

[mike3uz]

Microtel is the company that makes linux boxes at walmart.com. We were going to buy one of those cheap pc's as a domain controller. Ended up keeping the 90 mhz machine as a domain controller.

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: mike3uz
Microtel is the company that makes linux boxes at walmart.com. We were going to buy one of those cheap pc's as a domain controller. Ended up keeping the 90 mhz machine as a domain controller.

ANY vendor connected with Walmart is a NO go in my opinion. In order to do business with Walmart...EVERY vendor eventually has to cut toooooo many corner to keep Walmart's business which results in the vendor going broke OR cutting more corners to survive.

I recommend buying elsewhere even if you have to pay a little more

 

[google01103]

The problem cost wise to building your own is that if you need to buy Windows its $100 for the personal ($maybe $85 discounted) and this really blows the budget if you're trying to keep costs low.

BTX? One of those technologies that don't yet (if ever) seem to matter.

To save money go with something with rebates, seems that pretty full systems go for $400 or so After rebate, but hope and pray that you get them back.

 

[WalkingDead]

Don't build it yourself. All of the recommanded specs are overkill for what you planning to do. Just get a mid priced Dell for that price. Make sure it has a graphic card slot of some type for adding one if you needed.

 

[i1o0i]

Nice Compaq
you can buy this if you dont mind to pay more than 500 dollars ($550)

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: WalkingDead
Don't build it yourself. All of the recommanded specs are overkill for what you planning to do. Just get a mid priced Dell for that price. Make sure it has a graphic card slot of some type for adding one if you needed.

If your kids are "entering" the gaming scene at all...make sure the graphics slot is "PCI-E". If it's AGP...your "new" PC will already be quite obsolete And since your kids sound sorta young (e.g., less than 7 or 8?), I wouldn't pay anything extra for a video card upgrade. Just take whatever video card comes with the PC in your price range.

In a year or 2 (when your kids are a little older and will appreciate better looking graphics), you can learn how to upgrade your own graphics card (save money and get a MUCH better card in the future) via this message board. That's how I started "tinkering" with PCs (i.e., I needed to upgrade my graphics card...and haven't stopped upgrading one thing or another ever since

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: i1o0i
Nice Compaq
you can buy this if you dont mind to pay more than 500 dollars ($550)

This "PC" doesn't appear to have a graphics port. Some of the E-machines do, but you have to make sure!! If you buy at a B&M store, ask the sales person to physically remove the side panel and look for a graphics slot on whatever model PC you're considering. NOT HAVING A GRAPHICS SLOT TURNS THE PC INTO A DUNG PILE imho:shocked: and is the BIGGEST mistake a novice makes in picking out a PC which will serve them in the future.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Specs say 1 PCI-Express

 

[Budarow]

Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
Specs say 1 PCI-Express

I stand corrected Also, monitor NOT included but you could use your old monitor.

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Originally posted by: Budarow

Originally posted by: HomeAppraiser
Specs say 1 PCI-Express

I stand corrected Also, monitor NOT included but you could use your old monitor.

CC ad says the monitor is included.

 

[Budarow]

Your link differs from the previous posters...your link indicates inclusion of a monitor and your price is less by $20? Yours is by far the better deall

Previous Link:
http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Compaq-P...atOid/-12962/rpem/ccd/productDetail.do

The other deal has less in MIRs ($50 verses $220), but omits the monitor.

 

[Jeffito123]

air force eh? go army

lol

 

[HomeAppraiser]

Game over, get up early and buy this Presario sr1610nx now.

Thank digme if you get one.