People who know computers~ opinion needed

[Vicky]

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.gsp?product_id=1957335&cat=3951&type=19&dept=3944&path=0%3A3944%3A3951

Could someone please tell me thier opinion of these computers? I told my husband I would ask some of you smart computer people for your opinion before we decide on these. Thanks .:cool: We are buying computers for the boys and want them to be able to use them for large downloads and graphics (computer/video games) and also for homework and things like that. I don't want to go this cheap if it will be filled with problems or we find we have to add on and on until the price is as high as, let's say an intel pentium 4 with great stuff, would be. I mean we may have to go this cheap anyway but at least we will have an idea about them. My problem is, that these look like they have everything so I'm wondering why they are so inexpensive? Appreciate any ideas.

Vicky

[Shake-Man]

Hey Vicky, Geek-Man is here to save the day.

15-inch color monitor (14.1 inches viewable) kinda small, but will do the job

VIA C3 800 MHz processor offers comparable performance to the 800 MHz Celeron processor not the best for gaming. On average, a Celeron is not nearly as fast as a Pentium 3 at comparable speed, and this one ain't exactly smokin'

133 MHz frontside bus okay, average

128 MB SDRAM, expandable to 1 GB ok for Windox 9x, but this one has Windows XP, which really needs a minumum of 256, but this can be upgraded after purchase for next to nothing

133 MHz memory speed okay, average

10 GB Ultra-ATA 100 hard drive, 5400 rpm (total accessible capacity varies depending on operating environment) decent, but kind of on the low end, especially for hard drive hogs like games

52x CD-ROM drive fine

Integrated Trident Blade 3D/Pro Media AGP 4x graphics uggh, this is really too slow for most games

Up to 8 MB shared video memory ugggh, squared. 8MB is crap nowadays

Integrated AC'97 Audio with 3D enhanced sound I prefer a sound card rather than an integrated, but this one would be ok

Integrated 10/100 Ethernet connection should be fine

56 Kbps modem basically, a dial-up modem is a dial-up modem is a dial-up modem, should be ok

Micro ATX tower case (14"D x 7"W x 14"H)
Available drive bays: one 5.25-inch external, one 3.5-inch external, one 3.5-inch internal ok

2 PCI slots available ok
1 ISA slot available ok
High-speed serial port ok
Parallel port ok
2 front and 2 rear USB ports ok, better than average
Game port ok
104-key keyboard ok
2-button mouse with wheel ok
Audio port (line-in, line-out, mic-in) ok
Stereo speakers ok
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition ok
1-year warranty, return to Microtel ie., don't bring it back to us at Wally World, cuz we don't know what to do with it

These are just my opinions, but for just a few hundred more, you could get a decent gaming rig for the kiddies. Based on the price, this one would be ideal for somebody that just surfs the net and uses office applications (with the exception of the anemic RAM), but the ho-hum processor and crap video card does not the best gaming PC make.

You might want to check the latest stuff at www.dell.com. Another place that has good, cheap stuff is www.buyabs.com. That's where I got the PC I'm using now, and it's pretty sweet.

[Vicky]

Thank You!

[sunfrog]

Have you tried Tiger Direct? (http://www.tigerdirect.com/)
They have some good buys for $399. Some are off brands but if you look around a little you can find some Compaqs, HPs, even Dells. Make sure you read the fine print to see which ones come with or without a monitor.

[uglyboyjohn]

I'd have to agree with shake man For gaming your going to want a fast Chip P3 or P4 or a (Athlon XP better price & just as good of quality) no less than a 32mb video card 64mb pref And all the ram you can afford but don't buy the ram installed you'll pay less for the ram at places like Crucial (ram is very easy to install a no brainer) Dell has great support and very competitve Gateway is pretty good to, I'd stay away from HP & Compaq! You might want to consider a referbish system from dell to save some money
IMHO When you don't know alot about computers you need great support and dell is tops and has won many awards to prove it.You also might want to get a X-Box for games and a slower computer for surfing? Dunno


X-box has a 733mhz chip and a great video card lots of good games also a hard drive and Bill will have games to play for pay on the net : )

Hope this helps! ugly boy john

[fullabull]

UBJ's idea about a refurbished DELL is a good idea. Tech TV has said that you can get some great deals on the refurbished computers because even if they are returned by a customer just because they changed their mind, they can't be resold as new and must be sold as "refurbished."

You might get some good info from Tech TV's website about making a purchase that fits your needs, and they are also having a promotion this coming week to WIN a computer. Maybe one of those has your name on it!:grin5:

[Vicky]

Thank You!