Need help buying second hand PC

[Zuvio]

The top system looks really sweet for that money, incl. 17"CRT monitor?! wow! The vid card will play most older 3D games well enough, you got ALL the basics covered (Im guessing you dont want to use audio editing so onboard soundcard=ok) plus you get a nice printer with it. You really should check this one out! And it could very well be DDRAM, since that is quite common, even for that PC...

[Melusine]

Wolfie, you're a sweetheart!! [img]smile.gif[/img] Thanks for your help.

Zuvio - the site you gave me has one system that might be interesting....

- ATX Midi Titanium Black
- Jetway P4XF U P4 VIA Socket 478
- Intel Celeron 2.4 GHz
- DDRAM 256Mb PC2700 333MHz
- HDD 80Gb 7200rpm 2Mb cache
- CD Rewriter 52/24/52 (black)
- DVD ROM 16x Speler (black)
- FDD Diskettestation 3.5 inch
- VGA GeForce4 MX440 64Mb DDR
- Systemassemblage
- Logitech Optical mouse (black)
- Logitech Internet keyboard (black)

It doesn't have a monitor but I could see to that later, if I can get my own old monitor for a while. And it sounds good to me, apart from that. Costs 500 euros, and I really couldn't spend more than that. It's on special offer BTW, so I'd have to be really quick about it.
Anyone see any flaws in this system?

[Melusine]

Originally posted by Zuvio: The top system looks really sweet for that money, incl. 17"CRT monitor?! wow! The vid card will play most older 3D games well enough, you got ALL the basics covered (Im guessing you dont want to use audio editing so onboard soundcard=ok) plus you get a nice printer with it. You really should check this one out! And it could very well be DDRAM, since that is quite common, even for that PC...

That was what I thought too, that's why I feared it was probably too good to be true and I was missing something.

[andrewas]

Originally posted by Zuvio: quote: Originally posted by WOLFGIR: "I can't play UT2003 because I have an AMD CPU, VIA MOBO and a Nvidia card. Change the CPU to Pentium and it runs fine, so: get yourself a Pentium" Oki, Zuvio.. I said AMD and have for several years and I play way TOO much UT2k online with it Can't understand why that would be a problem really. What kind of mainboard do you run? (brand)

ASUS V8200 Deluxe = Geforce ti200
ASUS A7V333 = Via chipset
AMDXP2000+ = amd
512MD DDRAM PC2700 (perfect match with MOBO)

I can't play the game longer then 10 minutes or so before the inevitable lockup. System does not get above 60 degrees, star wars academy runs great, wolfenstein 3d great, splinter cell, rebel trucker etc.etc.
Change some parts and it runs fine.
[/QUOTE]Since you can't put an Athlon and a Pentium on the same mobo, I would suspect that the trouble lies in your VIA mobo. Although ASUS boards are generaly good. 60 degs is high even for an AMD chip though, my system flakes out at around 45 degs. (though I suspect its the NB and not the CPU). A little extra cooling in that box wouldn't go amiss. Run Prine95 torture test for a few hours, and Sisoft on the graphics. Should show if theres any instability.

Mel, first system looks OK to me cept its Intel and I dislike Intel. Can't put SDRAM in a P4 machine, probably RDRAM or DDRAM. Both are good. Geforce2 is getting obsolete now, but should be able to handle NWN. Dont expect the best quality though. Onboard sound on mobos that old tends to be more than a little ropey, but a decent soundcard is dirt cheap and easy to add later, so it makes no odds. RAM is a little low for running windowsXP, but thats easy to fix at a later date.

Second machine looks similar to mine. A lot more power than the first. Does it come with an OS though? It isnt mentioned, and a legal copy of winXP is not cheap. Again, RAM is a little on the low side. Graphics is OK, sound looks OK.

If it has an OS and you can get a decent monitor, I would go for this one.

[johnny]

Mel, i don't know how much money you can spare on a monthly basis, but why don't you go for a new one with spreaded payment ? I got mine like that, and the previous one, and i'm currently paying 40€ per month. It's not a huge amount of money, and the good thing is, your PC will be brand new, with up to date specs, and a 3 year warrantee. So break all you want, they'll replace it for free.

It's just a suggestion, do whatever you want. But there's always a chance that your secondhand PC dies after just a few months, and then what ?

If you can cough up the monthly expenses, i would go for a new one.

[Melusine]

And then there's this one... (whack me when I should shut up)

Intel pentium-4 1700mhz compleet, 512mb ram, 64mb geforce4 mx440+tv vc, 40gb HD, 16x40x dvd player, 1, 44mb floppy 10/100mbit network, ac97 soundcard, keyboard, mouse, 17inch monitor, 550 euros.

[Melusine]

Originally posted by johnny: Mel, i don't know how much money you can spare on a monthly basis, but why don't you go for a new one with spreaded payment ? I got mine like that, and the previous one, and i'm currently paying 40€ per month. It's not a huge amount of money, and the good thing is, your PC will be brand new, with up to date specs, and a 3 year warrantee. So break all you want, they'll replace it for free. It's just a suggestion, do whatever you want. But there's always a chance that your secondhand PC dies after just a few months, and then what ? If you can cough up the monthly expenses, i would go for a new one.

I see your point mate. I agree it's a bit risky to go for a second hand PC. It's just that this popped up quite unexpectedly and at a bad time, so I hadn't counted on it financially and haven't saved up money, or too little, anyway.

The thing about monthly payments is ... well I guess my mother always told me not to do it. No, seriously - the thought of being stuck with monthly payments for a long time is just scary. And I'm guessing the price, when you add up all those monthly payments, will be much higher than when you just pay the total price at once.
I'm still a student, and I have lots of monthly costs already and no very stable situation. So while the idea sounds attractive... I dunno. If you have a website or some more info though, that'd be appreciated. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[johnny]

Sure thing, i got mine here. And if the money in your pocket itches that much, you could always speed up the pay off process. I like it just fine the way it is now though.

[Mouse]

Originally posted by Melusine: And then there's this one... (whack me when I should shut up) Intel pentium-4 1700mhz compleet, 512mb ram, 64mb geforce4 mx440+tv vc, 40gb HD, 16x40x dvd player, 1, 44mb floppy 10/100mbit network, ac97 soundcard, keyboard, mouse, 17inch monitor, 550 euros.

Actually, that one does not seem so shabby [img]smile.gif[/img] The video card is not so hot and the HD could be a little bigger, but overall, it seems reasonable. I would ask if it comes with a registered operating system and any other software (with discs) and if there is any warranty/guarantee. It also could do with a modem

[Melusine]

Well yeah, but why is it better than the others? I mean, it's cheap with the monitor included, but for just a little more I could get a new one without having to worry about warranty. And the monitor is not a first priority, I think my mom will lend me mine back...
God, this is so hard to decide on!!

OK everybody, I found two offers from something which seems to be a more or less legitimate company, i.e. not second hand.
Bit dodgy because you can phone them on weeknights and weekends during the day, so it's not really a company. But the offers sound interesting:

Offer 1

Intel Pentium IV 2.4 Ghz
Luxury silver midi tower ATX
Mainboard DFI P4X400-AL
Dolby Digital 6 channel audio
Lan network connection
Memory 512 MB DDR (400Mhz)
Floppy drive 1.44MB
16 x 48 DVD player
CD-Rewriter LG Goldstar 52x32x52 including software
80 GB Harddisk 7200 rpm (Maxtor)ATA-133
Nvidia VGA AGP Geforce2 MX400 64 mb
4 x USB (2x front/2x back)
Multimedia keyboard and scroll mouse ps2
6 in 1 USB 2.0 Card reader
128 MB Smart media card 3.3 volt
3 years service warranty (1 year hardware)
Includes (installation)software
Total € 609,00

Offer 2

System Budget 2000 (Celeron 2000Mhz)
Luxe silver midi tower ATX
Mainboard DFI P4X400-AL
Dolby Digital 6 channel audio
Lan network connection
Memory 256 MB DDR (266Mhz)
Floppy drive 1.44MB
CD-Rewriter LG Goldstar 52x32x52 incl. software
40 Gb Harddisk 5400 rpm (Seagate) ATA-100
Nvidia VGA AGP Geforce2 MX400 64 mb
4 x USB (2x front/2x back)
Multimedia keyboard and scroll mouse ps2
3 year service warranty (1 year hardware)
Includes (installation)software
Total € 369,00

OPTIONAL
17" CRT Monitor LG 700S € 139,00
15" Princeton TFT monitor black/silver € 329,00 incl. speakers
17" Princeton TFT monitor black/silver € 429,00
19" Princeton TFT monitor black/silver € 525,00
56 K modem PCI intern € 19,00
HP Deskjet 3820 € 69,00
Windows XP Home NL € 99,00
DVD Rewriter NEC 1300 +/- € 149,00


What do you think??

[ 11-14-2003, 04:09 PM: Message edited by: Melusine ]