Advice for a newbie -- purchasing first system

[veganpa]

Hello all,
I'm a long-time Apple user (back to the Apple IIc), and am looking to buy my first XP PC. I'm relatively handy with computers -- the Mac I have now doesn't have anything original in it (upgraded processor, memory, HD, CD-RW), but I don't know enough to really feel comfortable building my own machine. So I'm looking to buy. Something along the lines of an XP 1.7+ (I don't do intensive work like video. Heck, I can't even get a broadband connection here.). A friend in Chicago is a big fan of the nForce board in his built machine, and ABS has an nForce machine. But if this isn't worthwhile, NuTrend looks a little less expensive.
Any suggestions? Thanks!

 

[akiraxtc]

You should really check Dell Computer's refurbished section. Their Dimension 8200 refurbished line sometimes has very good deals. Grab the ones that have lots of hdd space, memory and good video card.. somewehere along the line of geforce 3

 

[MikeMike]

check micron pc they have sweet comps and also build athlons!!! and can do bout ne thing you want

oh yeah welcome to the boards!!!

 

[4824guy]

You almost can't beat the low prices that places like Dell and Gateway are having right now. Dell is running some hot deals on p4 PC's, not the refurbished ones. Here is a sample:

<< Dell 4300S P4-1.6 Ghz Desktop 128MB SDRAM, 20GB XP Home MS Works now $499 shipped free. ($50 off shows up in the cart) Free Printer or PDA! >>



Check out a web site called techbargins.com. Every so often the post some specials that Dell has.

 

[veganpa]

Does anyone have opinions on ABS and / Nutrend? They can build AMD boxes for less than Micron.

 

[AA0]

I know someone with a Nutrend, she is very happy with it. But she also built like 5 of her own computers recently too, including her server.

 

[veganpa]

Also -- any opinions on getting the nForce based machine from ABS vs. the K266A machine from NuTrend? A friend likes his home-built nForce machine, but he mostly likes the minimalist approach and open slots for future.

 

[obenton]

The MSI nForce board has built in Geforce MX400 video. good sound, and network adapter. I just put together such a system, and it's very stable. Considering the built in video, which is ample for anyone but an avid gamer, and the built in sound, it's really quite cheap. Assembly is simple, and with a friend to help, when necessary, you might enjoy it. You don't need the fastest cpu, but should put in ample memory - two sticks of 128 MB (or preferably, two sticks of 256 MB) should do well (two DDR DIMMS are necessary to utilize the fast memory bus). If you buy a ready-made system, get ample memory but don't waste money on the fastest cpu.