Need advice on buying complete system

[MATTRICK1976]

This is what I am considering a computer with the following:
Intel Celeron 300Mhz
6 GB harddrive
24X cD rom
56k ITU V.90 Modem
32 MB SyncDram
15" Monitor
Okijet 2500 Color Inkjet Printer
Microsoft Small Business software package
Microsoft Windows 98.

All this for $1099 from Compaq,

Does anybody know where I can get same deal or better at a cheaper price?

[ENVY]

umm,you should build it yourself guy.should be a little cheaper and you get what you want and you can upgrade in the future.most retail machines ie:compaq ,hp,packard-bell are proprietary and will not let you upgrade to better hardware.oki's are junk printers and compag uses fishbowls for monitors.you can build the below listed system yourself for around 850.00.check out pricewatch.com

[augidog]

...what he said...

[Nathan]

Build or have it built for yourself. I would include the following;

1. 64 MB of ram
2. 8 MB video card
3. Get a modem that is compatiable with your ISP. Usually the v.90 will take a small performance hit. I personally like the X2, but my ISP supports it. It does great things here in the midwest US.

You'll get a lot of opinions. But the bottom line is we don't have to live with it. You do.

[dawgtuff]

Mattrik-Don't buy a name brand!If you live near a large city,you can by a PII-400/64 sdram/56k(I recommend Zoom DualMode)/6.4 or better HD/32 CD-rom/etc./ from an independant shop for around $700.I'd buy a good 17" monitor though,off the Net.Check reviews,then go to pricewatch.com for the best prices on a good monitor.....Don't buy a cheap one!Your eyes will thank you for it!

[Nathan]

Ditto on that monitor. Forgot to mention that.

[ANTONIO E GUERRA]

Yes, you will be better off building that system yourself. If you don't know how there are several workshops in your area that will do that for less than that price. Compaq has a proprietary design and you will regret later--when you decide to upgrade. Two major flaws of Compaq:
(1) motherboard and case. It is almost impossible to service one of these systems without removing all the devices. The space is very small to work inside
(2) Devices are integrated. There is a tendency to integrate all the devices (video, sound card, etc). It is almost impossible to replace these devices.
I guess, that is the problem when you buy brand name: they want you to stay with them.

[JP]

http://members.xoom.com/PSComputers

[sassinad]

Couldn't agree more. BUILD IT YOURSELF. I just built one 2 weeks ago and used the parts that I wanted. By the way, I've never built a system before. I thought the hard part was going to be the CPU but turned out the easiest part sinve it already had the heat sink and fan installed. There are several sites that will help you in you adventure. My advice, it will be great, DO IT.