Buying a computer. . .

[Turner]

. . . anyone know of any sites in the US where I can configure it online and have them ship it to me?

I've done HP, Compaq, IBM, Gateway, MicronPC, Systemax, Powerspec and Dell.

So far, Powerspec and dell are the frontrunners, but my discount at IBM might come in handy. . .

So, any other place I can check out?

 

[Jeratain]

I would recommend Dell over any other PC maker right now. Other than that I'd say make your own if you want to / know how.

 

[JonathanValjean]

Be sure to check out these two places:

1) www.buy-atlas.com

2) www.unitedmicro.com

Dell does make an excellent product, but for a system builder, such as myself, I don't like the fact that they use a lot of proprietary parts, which makes it more difficult to upgrade.
Good luck, and if you have any questions, feel free to send me a PM.

 

[Turner]

Cool. . .thanks.

I might get around to posting the specs of the systems, but it's up in the air until I find out what grants I have coming to me. Target for getting it is in August some time. PowerSpec has the advantage of me being able to go to the store and pick it up. But it's not upgradeable. Dell. . . well. . . I've been hearing a lot of bad things about them, but weighing that against my five years experience - with no flaws in them at work - They're still a contender.

Well. . . I'll keep y'all updated.

 

[HAND]

Make your own! A little research(maybe an understatment) and you have the pc you want..Also you'll know alot more about it so if theres a problem you'll probably be able to fix without phoning various people and taking it in to the "experts" for a price!

 

[DaEezT]

There's also Alienware although, the last time I checked, it was quite expensive

 

[Turner]

Originally posted by HAND
Make your own! A little research(maybe an understatment) and you have the pc you want..Also you'll know alot more about it so if theres a problem you'll probably be able to fix without phoning various people and taking it in to the "experts" for a price!

I'd like to, however my wife's faith in my abilities is less than, well, decent.

This will have been my third computer since Oct. 99, and both of my old ones have had problems with it. Just my luck, I guess. but I would prefer to have someone I can take it too and complain to them about it on why it doesn't work, instead of having my wife come to be about it.

My first computer was an Acer, and now that I think about it the only problem I had with it was the recovery cd went AWOL. Oh, it had some stupid setup where I had no PS/2 ports, just USB. And that Acer really, really liked my Acer USB keyboard. So much so that if it wasn't plugged in - working or not - the computer wouldn't work.

Don't get me started on my HP Crapillion.

 

[Cedric Greene]

I'm a big fan of ABS and you can check their site at: http://www.buyabs.com/ . They used to be cheaper but still good stuff and some cool cases.

 

[Turner]

Looks like I'm going to have to wait until September before I can buy a new system. But I was reading this post, and had a question.

All of these computers have AGP graphics. I'm going to trash my last system, and pull some componets out. I've got a dvd drive, ad 4x cd burner, a 42 gig hard drive, and a PCI Nvidia card. I was going to install the PCI Nvidia card into the new computer that has AGP graphics for dual monitor support. Can you mix PCI graphics with AGP? I realize the AGP card won't fit in a PCI slot and vice versa. . . .

 

[gonzo_for_civ]

I was going to install the PCI Nvidia card into the new computer that has AGP graphics for dual monitor support. Can you mix PCI graphics with AGP? I realize the AGP card won't fit in a PCI slot and vice versa. . . .

I would purchase an adapter for the dual monitor support, using the PCI card would lead to some interesting output if you consider it's capabilities are quite pathetic compared to the AGP card. Not to mention the adapter method is much cleaner, and MUCH easier.

 

[Turner]

True. . . I figured if I already had the card, why not use it. But I can see your logic.

Also, anyone know the difference between XP Pro and XP Media center edition?

 

[katka]

XP Media Center Edition is sold only to OEMs and works with a very limited amount of hardware (which is why it's not sold to consumers). Really there's not a lot of difference except that Media Center has native support for TVIO like things, but you'd be better off with 3rd party software.