Bought desktop from uBid.com--What do you think?

[ChrisNH]

I bought a new desktop from uBid.com and think that I got a fair deal. It's a...
Athlon XP 1800+
512MB PC133 SDRAM
40GB HD
64 MB Sis Display Adapter
AC97' 3D Audio Enhanced Sound
56K modem
10/100
12xDVD/40xCDROM combo drive
ATX Midtower Case, keyboard, mouse and speakers
Cost with shipping $594
Good deal?
What should I add in the way of Graphics and Sound to round out the system and make it suitable for basic gaming?
Anything else to add to make it better?
No OS is included. Should I buy Win XP?
I'm going to add a 20x10x40 CDRW. Any suggestions on make?
Thanks and regards,
Chris

[Bovon]

Well, this post really should be in another forum board I think, but sence its here, I'll put in my 2 cents worth.

That sounds like a deal to me. Understand that I personally like to pick out my choice of mainboard ect, but I also spend more $$$ doing so.

Concerning the CD-RW you will add sometime. I use Sony, and like it. Many people use and swear by Plextor. I really suggest that you get a brand that is not rebagged. So many burners are made by only about 3 or 4 manufacturers, and sell OEM to a whole slew of others that put their lable on it. You are in a real bind if tech help is needed or warranty. HP is especially bad about this. Choose a burner that is made by the brand name that made it. Plextor, Sony, Phillips (altho I have a bad history with Phillips products) I think Yamaha makes burners...and maybe others, Mitsumi?...

Some rebagged items are supported pretty good I think...Iomega rebags somebodys burners, and Iomega has a pretty good rep for helping their customers.

[Justjuice]

best bet it has a PC Chips motherboad...don't try to overclock or you will kill it. Personally i don't ever want a PC Chips motherboard in any computer I own. If it works, good luck, don't stress tyhe power supply either...chances are it could be a weal link, too.

[jbell255]

To get the true power out of your Athlon Xp 1800+, you would want DDR PC2100 ram. Even 256mb of that would be better than 512MB of the cheap stuff. BTW, unless your running heavy graphics apps or CAD software, you dont need 512MB ram. I would say 256MB is the minimum these days and 384MB is the max. Also, for gaming I would go with a GeForce 2 MX-400 64MB, its a good card with stable drivers and can be found on Pricewatch for about $53. As for windows XP, no way. Personally I prefer win 2000 pro because I have heard some bad things about XP and ME.

[Lord Sech]

Hey

The system sounds like a decent deal for the money. Just as Bovon mentioned though... i prefer to pick out my hardware the best i can. The DDR would make a HUGE difference. As far as graphics a Ge-Force 2 TI can be had for 115 for a decent make.

As far as OS i would go 2k. I had problems with ME and have heard horror stories about XP.

Btw, Make sure you purchase a decent cooling fan and heatsink just to keep your AMD cool.

-Lord Sech

[ChrisNH]

I have bought another system (couldn't resist after some of your comments). I'll sell the above system and use this one...

It's a:
*Athlon XP 1800+
*PcChips M830 Deluxe Mainboard
*256MB DDR RAM
*60GB HD
*64MB ATI Radeon VE Video Card With TV-OUT And DVI-OUT (Flat-Panel Connection) 4x AGP Video Card
*AC-97 Stereo Duplex Sound System
*56K modem
*10/100
*24x10x40 CDRW combo drive
*ATX Midtower Case withheavy duty Thermaltake Volcano-II; 320 Watt PS; CPU Fan and Heat sink included.
*Win XP is included.
Total with shipping $759.03
What do you think? Improvement?
Compare/Contrast
Thanks,
Chris