Techies! I seek you!

Alright, currently I have a Celeron running at 1.3 with 128 mb SDRAM, and I'm looking to upgrade to about an AMD 1.6 with 512 MB DDRRAM. What do you think? Should I look for a better system, can AMD match up with Intel? Also, the computer I want is refurbished, is that generally a safe buy? Here's the link to the computer, tell me what you think... https://www.microexchange.com/index.jsp?ac=id&it=236847&wsi=634844&wvi=911183&zed_prod_ses=j%3DIBE%3A4081%3AIBEGUEST%3AUS%3A%3AUSD%3ADD-MON-RRRR%3AJTFUCSS.CSS%3Ajtfpfalse%3Ajtfpi-1%3A671%3A50404%3A17843018%7Ezv%3D17842992%7Ezs%3Dt%7Ezed_prod%3D4EE6703FCC6388AC%7Ezp%3D95049%7Ezo%3D2%7Ezm%3D10101%7Ezj%3DGuest%7Ezi%3D95049%7Eza%3D71801%7Ewsi%3D634844

Once you go mac, you never go back. And don't believe that they're so overpriced either, check out the new iMacs.

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to be honest - I don't know what that is. My Powerbook has L3 cache, I think that's good ;)

;-)

:shrug:

Its a Compaq. Get a nice clone box or build it yourself. Compaq and IBM make some of the most difficult to service computers in existance.

If you must buy somthing from a major firm, Gateway and Dell are good choices.

Why are you upgrading? A 1.3 ghz Cellery is good enough for most uses. Unless you are a gamer who loves Quake 3 and UT2003, just upgrade to 256mb of ram and see how it works.

AMD can more than match Intel, so that's just fine, but a refurbished unit? and a refurbished Compaq...? not so sure about that.
One of the good things about buying locally is that you can take it back if something's wrong. But I'm spoiled 'cuz the only computer shop in my town is completely honest. Have you tried checking out local shops? Any of them can build one for you at very competitive prices; the trick is just to find one that's on the up & up.

No Mac tihs from me... I mean, new ones cost $1000, come with less RAM, less HD space, an OS which even Mac users say performs better with 1GB RAM compared to 512MB RAM (even WinXP isn't THAT bloaty)... ignore their parc, they ARE more expensive.

HP A220N is a nice model; same specs but more USB 1.1/2 ports and has a faster CPU (Athlon 2700+ rated at 2.08GHz) http://shopping.yahoo.com/p_hp-pavilion-a220n_desktops_1991284797 Longer warranty too.

Do ditch the Celeron though. Those are :puke: !

I use my computer pretty heavily and quite honestly it isnt suited for such stuff. Im a fairly avid gamer, I play Counter-Strike, Rise of Nations and all that good stuff. I listen to 85% of my music here and watch CSPAN here and everything so I need something that will hold up. Local shops eh? Do you think they could keep it withing the 400-ish range?

First off let me say that I'm just a general all around geek. Jack of all trades... blah blah blah... I prefer Linux to Windows and I assemble all my computers from parts.

The main thing I ask people is what are you going to be doing with your computer? Internet, email, chat, and downloading porn? Then you will be perfectly happy with a refurbished computer. If you do just about anything else with you computer (gaming, databases, digital photos or video, etc.) sit tight until the middle of January (or maybe even February) and spend $800 on a new system. NEVER BUY A COMPUTER IN THE MIDDLE OF DECEMBER! Unless it is an absolute emergency. Take your time and get a nice system that is, if not cutting edge at least current. By current I mean, ~2.8 GhZ, at least 512MB DDR/PC2700 RAM, the biggest hdd you can afford (+- 200MB).

If $800 is too rich, check out HP:
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/cto/computer_customize_start.do

Also do a little research on Linux and if you can turn a computer on you've probably got the chops to load it up and then you can skip the Micro$haft tax you pay for Windoze heXP.

If you have any more questions or need more advice feel free to message me.

Jungle - Complete sys - AMD Athlon XP 2800 1Yr WARR WIN COA
Details:
256MB DDR 40GB DVD/CDRW COMBO FDD VIDEO(64M)/SOUND/LAN ONBOARD USB 2.2 MID ATX 400W
Part - JXO28WBAS
Updated - 11/16, 7:19 PM

$400.00 (includes Shipping)

http://www.pricewatch.com/1/43/5136-1.htm

Always go to pricewatch.

get yourself over to Tiger Direct and get a MoBo/processor combo and some 512 of DDR for a little over $300.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=191

https://www.microexchange.com/index.jsp?ac=id&it=308860&wsi=634844&wvi=911183&zed_prod_ses=j%3DIBE%3A4081%3AIBEGUEST%3AUS%3A%3AUSD%3ADD-MON-RRRR%3AJTFUCSS.CSS%3Ajtfpfalse%3Ajtfpi-1%3A671%3A50404%3A17843229%7Ezv%3D17843228%7Ezs%3Dt%7Ezed_prod%3DBDD720EA3F1F595D%7Ezp%3D95049%7Ezo%3D2%7Ezm%3D10101%7Ezj%3DGuest%7Ezi%3D95049%7Eza%3D71801%7Ewsi%3D634844

When they say "No windows operating system" does it mean it just comes...dead basically?

you would have to install everything from scratch with this. Since it's refurbished, they probably have it set to where it boots up to a C>.

I build computers for folks as a part time business and would recommend avaoiding a refurb if you can.

Also, no Windows with that one so add $100.00 (Linux is great, but not for a novice).

Also, if someone wanted to spend a bit more...

AMD Athlon XP 2800 Win XP CD COA PRICE ACCURACY GUARRANTEE
Details:
Asus A7N8X-VM,512mb DDR333 60gb ATA133 Geforce4 Video Audio Lan CD-RW 52X24X52 Case Front USB
Part - UMIXPW-A7N8XVM-28
Updated - 12/2, 8:16 PM

$530

Great MB, 333 FSB Good video card... This would do most of what you want.

They have a warehouse here near Raleigh, so I have to pay taxes and they just opened a "retail center" that looks like shit.
Crappy product, badly presented, slimey looking "sales" people and bunches of folks wandering around thinking they're getting a good deal.
Reminds me of this "computer expo" I once paid $5 to get into at the fair grounds... complete and total rip off.

Bleh.

Mojo

of course you commit to 2 years of 21 per month AOL charges.

and you point her towards AOL. Shame on you!:P

me

:-(

:-(

Do NOT buy a refurbished Compaq. Even when it was new, it was out of date.. Compaq makes some of the worst machines I've ever dealt with (and then there is Packard Bell...) Compaq is known for using old parts (that is, out of date) and being very proprietary.. they are a ROYAL PITA to work on. You couldn't GIVE me a Compaq, even a new one.

Listen to the posters above - especially if you want a fun gaming system. If you were looking for a never-fix-it, reliable, needs-no-tweaking machine I'd point you to Intel parts... great support, rock-solid reliability, and predictable results. AMD CPU's tend to match with non-Intel chipsets, and those machines can require a little more know-how. Don't get me wrong - there is some GREAT hardware in that realm.. but I wouldn't want a VIA chipset on a Taiwanes board from a company with poor support on a corporate dekstop, you know what I mean ?

On the other hand, if you like to get geeky, overclock, and tweak it out like a race car, AMD-supporting boards are the way to go. The net is rife with forums and advice, (start at TomsHardwareGuide, for example - and check out CPU magazine) and you can really get crazy.

See what others have to say.
http://www.resellerratings.com/

This place rocks for finding great computer/tech deals:
http://forums.anandtech.com/categories.cfm?catid=40

And you might want to check out NewEgg.com.
They have a refurbished section and have pretty good prices in general, plus they're good about customer service stuff.

Mojo

Syn_Dem (me) is a male.

On another note...

Thank ya for all your help!!!! Looks like Ill have to keep shopping.

and bought a used Compaq from them.

The first one had a bad daughterboard, and they replaced the whole machine with no questions asked a couple of days later.

But, I drove up to the place-- shipping would add cost, time, and hassles.

The replacement was POS, but it wasn't their fault. Compaq uses some wierd drivers and one of the worst flavors of Windoze. My ancient HP almost never crashes, but this one goes down on a daily basis. Both run Win98se. I'd never buy another Compaq. I don't know if the merger made Compaq better or dragged down HP-- I'd stay away from both for now.

Slow as molasses, too-- seems to be some problem with bus mastering.

The AMD chip is a good one, though, better than a Pentium at some things, and much better than a Celeron.

Got a great Dell 19" monitor from them at what was a great price back then.

Bought other stuff there, too. I have no complaints about their service-- at least at the store I go to.