Some questions

[meltdown75]

1) I need to know if this is a good deal or not. I noticed it's refurbished - is this something to stay away from? This computer is for my sister - she uses it primarily for a sign-making business and will be upgrading from a Celeron 500 IIRC (I know it's a Celly - just not sure on the exact cpu speed).

2) There is something called a "dongle" which connects the computer to the sign cutter. WTH is a dongle? Is it PCI? Will I be able to use her current one, or will I have to buy a new one? Any dongle pros out there?!

3) Not really a question and sort of in relation to #1 - if you can find a better deal on a cheap system, post it here. She doesn't need a monitor, and it has to be from a Canadian e-tailer.

Thanks in advance - I'll check back in a few. :beer:

 

[minofifa]

i think i can answer number 2.

a dongle is a piece of hardware that a company sells with its software to protect it from piracy. i do a lot of digital audio production and a popular program called cubase makes people use a dongle with their product. its generally a usb plug. i dont' know how it works. it is a pain but i guess it serves a purpose.

 

[jackschmittusa]

Dongles can also connect to printer ports and even have pass-through. They contain encrypted, hardwired codes that are returned to the app when it starts to show that it is there. So, if you give someone a copy of the app, they can't run it if the dongle is not present to return the proper response when queried by the app.

As far as refurb goes, it usually depends on who does the refurb. There are no hard and fast rules about what constitutes a refurb, and some shadier companies consider a little cleaning to be a refurb. Most reputalbe companies clean, test and repair as necessary to the point where they feel comfortable offering a warranty. And a warranty is only as good as the company behind it.

 

[meltdown75]

those are quality responses guys. thanks.

bump for anyone else? is the deal ok?

 

[meltdown75]

one more bump for the evening crowd. thx in advance. going to shoot 9 holes soon, i'll check back later.

 

[TWills]

I've seen a couple tech gurus mention that a dongle actually connects to a PC card on a laptop that doesn't have enough space for the port i.e. type 1 card and rj-45 connector.

As for the PC in question, I think it's only a fair deal for what it's going to be used for. But if she's going to use it for sign-making, that implies photoshop and image editing, which eats up at lot of ram. Since 256 is only enough for winxp and outlook express, i'd say get some more ram on it, and your sister will be a lot happier. Be advised, this system is not very future proof, if that is a concern (agp, 3 pci, socket 754, etc...), you'll probably end up spending more money for her on a new computer down the road instead of upgrading...

 

[QD]

for graphics programs you need a gig or so of memory for smooth sailing and you may also not want the integrated graphics card. there are good cards for graphics app users out there

 

[nick1985]

PRICES INCLUDE SHIPPING

Case w/ 350 watt PSU $40

Hard Drive - Samsung 80gig $58

CD burner/DVD combo drive $32

RAM - 512 wintec pc-3200 $34.75

Motherboard - Biostar Nforce3-250 $55.50

CPU - Athlon64 2800 retail $120

Video Card - sapphire 9600pro 128 $79

Grand Total: $419.25


that should blow away that tigerdirect PC




lol, i entered my zipcode on the tigerdirect link in the OP, and they want $234 for shipping, and thats the only option they give me. wtf? hahahaha....