Movie Junkie Posted July 16, 2006 Posted July 16, 2006 My son wants to purchase one of the so-called budget computers and I would like to know if anyone here has purchased one they would recomend or suggest he stay away from? I know I could do a search on the 'net but I would rather see if any of the users here have had experiences with these computers. He won't be doing any "heavy" gaming except for gaming over the 'net (Final Fantasy). I'm sure he will also be making MP3s as well as some other good stuff.
kevdriver Posted July 16, 2006 Posted July 16, 2006 MJ, from what I've heard budget comps aren't too too bad, depending on manufacturer. They're weak link a lot of times are the PSU and memory, meaning that it's under ramed or if it has good ram numbers the ram is usually value ram. Not at all a pro at these type of comps, but usually they're reasonably priced and might be good as a starter comp. They usually have a bit of room for upgrading at a later date. One of the other guys probably will have more info to give you on this......
cornholio7 Posted July 16, 2006 Posted July 16, 2006 personally , i would steer clear of budget type p.c.'s . usually they have shared graphic cards and components that aren't up to much. you could probably assemble the p.c. with components you want in it for not too much more, dependant on you can assemble it yourself .
Movie Junkie Posted July 16, 2006 Author Posted July 16, 2006 personally , i would steer clear of budget type p.c.'s . usually they have shared graphic cards and components that aren't up to much. you could probably assemble the p.c. with components you want in it for not too much more, dependant on you can assemble it yourself .Thanks Corny. I don't know why I didn't think about that. Most of the time the cheap systems are not readily upgradable and since I built my computer in 2004 (and had NO problems with it) I should be able to build one for him at a reasonable cost.
Shamus_McFartfinger Posted July 17, 2006 Posted July 17, 2006 MJ: Depending on what sort of system you're looking for, you might want to try something like an auction house or clearing house for ex-government PCs. I've bought loads of stuff over the years including PCs, printers, monitors, servers etc etc that's dirt cheap and works perfectly from places like this. With the start of the new financial year, many businesses offload their infrastructure/assets as part of their contract with hardware suppliers and vendors. It's a great time to go shopping.
chewy Posted July 17, 2006 Posted July 17, 2006 sell/give him your old one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...82E16813131541R last years mobo/open box http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...82E16814102475R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819103533
polopony Posted July 17, 2006 Posted July 17, 2006 have to agree with the steer clear of these systems for the above reasons .You can assemble a great computer if you dont want to use the latest and fastest processor and other components .If you use a cpu and other hardware thats a few steps down from the fastest the prices are reasonable and you have the option of upgrading parts when you feel like it .It wasn't mentioned but you dont get an actual OS with the budget systems only a recover/repair and in my opinion having the OS disc is a must.Since you built one yourself putting together another will be a snap or help him build one it would be a great learning experience.I know that lots of people dont like ebay but I built a comp for a friends mom for about $160 not the fastest by any means but all she uses it for is the net ,e mail and swapping photos of family and some card games
Movie Junkie Posted July 17, 2006 Author Posted July 17, 2006 MJ: Depending on what sort of system you're looking for, you might want to try something like an auction house or clearing house for ex-government PCs. I've bought loads of stuff over the years including PCs, printers, monitors, servers etc etc that's dirt cheap and works perfectly from places like this. Thanks Shamus. Are there places you would recommend?
Movie Junkie Posted July 17, 2006 Author Posted July 17, 2006 sell/give him your old one? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...82E16813131541R last years mobo/open box http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...82E16814102475R http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?...N82E16819103533 I actually still use my old one. Plus I want to give him something quite a bit faster than 450MH. I want to give him something closer to the 3.4G that I built.
chewy Posted July 17, 2006 Posted July 17, 2006 my 92$(was 145) amd64 3000 @ 2500 gives any single core P4 a run for it's money at far less power and heat in video encoding. Temperatures: Motherboard 35 ?C (95 ?F) CPU 37 ?C (99 ?F) wait a few weeks for the X2's to drop or get an 820 intel dual core the new intel core duo are gonna turn the apple cart over, apple may have the fastest desktop once again
Shamus_McFartfinger Posted July 18, 2006 Posted July 18, 2006 MJ: Depending on what sort of system you're looking for, you might want to try something like an auction house or clearing house Thanks Shamus. Are there places you would recommend? Not unless you're in Brisbane. Try Google. (city name + computer auction)
Grain Posted July 18, 2006 Posted July 18, 2006 A buddy who's in the wholesale end of PC parts called on the weekend when I wasn't home, he had 2X 500GB HDD's he wanted to sell me for $150CAD, today was too late :sob:
Movie Junkie Posted July 18, 2006 Author Posted July 18, 2006 MJ: Depending on what sort of system you're looking for, you might want to try something like an auction house or clearing house Thanks Shamus. Are there places you would recommend? Not unless you're in Brisbane. Try Google. (city name + computer auction) I forgot about where you live. I'll give Google a try.
Movie Junkie Posted July 20, 2006 Author Posted July 20, 2006 I can't hear you, you young whippersnapper, could you please speak up?
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