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other prebuilt machines. My daughter needs a new cheap computer for college, say $600 or less. I'm on chemo at the moment, don't think I have it in me to build her one right now, and she needs one quick.

I've looked at Dell, seems like reasonable prices at least. The question I have is are these Dell, Hp, whatever, prebuilt computers, can they be upgraded? With stock parts, or would I have to pay extra down the line for like Dell only parts? Will an ATX board fit in the Dell case? The Dell I'm looking at has onboard sound and video, which would be fine for her, but I can't figure out if the board has an agp slot in case she ever wants a card.

If anyone could just tell me about the pros and cons of one of Dell's advertised el cheapo's, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

todd wrote:

other prebuilt machines. My daughter needs a new cheap computer for college, say $600 or less. I'm on chemo at the moment, don't think I have it in me to build her one right now, and she needs one quick.

I've looked at Dell, seems like reasonable prices at least. The question I have is are these Dell, Hp, whatever, prebuilt computers, can they be upgraded? With stock parts, or would I have to pay extra down the line for like Dell only parts? Will an ATX board fit in the Dell case? The Dell I'm looking at has onboard sound and video, which would be fine for her, but I can't figure out if the board has an agp slot in case she ever wants a card.

If anyone could just tell me about the pros and cons of one of Dell's advertised el cheapo's, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks.

Assuming your daughter is only using this for school (documents, etc), just get the cheapest PC you can find. Something with a CD burner though.

Toss in a $200-$250 19" CRT, a spindle of 50+ bland CDs and your done.

As for upgrades, if it's for documentation and surfing hte web, don't worry about upgrades. Any pre-built PC can be upgraded. Add memmory, new video card, newer processor, etc whenever you want to.

Remember, this is for your daughter, not you(an enthusiast). She'll never need an upgrade they way you think of it. Replacing mobos, etc. When she needs a new computer, just get a new cheap POS. besides, I doubt she'll want to know about upgrading her bios and other headaches that sometimes come with DIY computers. OTS PCs are meant for people that don't want to deal with fixing it.

I am not aware of any OTS(off the shelf) PCs that lack an AGP slot. And I dounbt she'll be playing Doom 3 anyways. You can always pick a cheapo out and ask about an AGP slot.

Just keep it simple. Your daughter needs this PC, not you.

actually, i got a cheap emachines pc and it had onboard video/sound with no agp slot. kinda sucked, it could only play like warcraft 3.

however, my parents got a dell and it came with a gforce 5200 or something and a sound card.

chrusher97 wrote:

actually, i got a cheap emachines pc and it had onboard video/sound with no agp slot. kinda sucked, it could only play like warcraft 3.

however, my parents got a dell and it came with a gforce 5200 or something and a sound card.

I got an e-machines also. Made sure to ask if I could upgrade the video card first though.

Originally:
Athlon 2800+
512 meg
Intel video card

Now:
Athlon 2800+
1024 meg (1 gig)
Geforce 6800 (128 meg)

The memmory is the biggest helper to my system under "normal" conditions.

I guess it just proves the point that you have to ask.

Of the largest suppliers, it appears to me that the HP/Compaq Presarios are made with better quality parts than Dell or Gateway machines. Any of them can provide an inexpensive comptuer that will do nearly everything.

If you're not playing 3D games, it's hard to tell the difference between one PC and another based on the user's experience.

I'd vote for HP/Compaq, too. So far, I've played around with a couple and HPs have uniformly been easier to upgrade than Dells. I've never used an eMachines, though.

todd wrote:

The Dell I'm looking at has onboard sound and video, which would be fine for her, but I can't figure out if the board has an agp slot in case she ever wants a card.

The cheap Dell Dimension 2400 has no AGP slot. If you want to upgrade it, you're probably going to want to replace the motherboard. It is, however, a standard micro-ATX motherboard with an ATX power supply, so a quality replacement motherboard will fit. The more expensive Dimension 4600 does have an AGP slot.

Sorry to hear about your treatmant...here is a decent HP that should do the trick..i recommend them over Dell as well

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp ... aoid=15536

Oh, I almost forgot about my e-machines PC. When I got the 6800, I knew I'd need a new power supply. Cost $60 to buy a 520 watt one on sale at newegg I think it was.

Anyways, I took out my old power supply in almost pure horror. They gave me a 250 watt supply! I'm sure Dell/Gateway also do this to.

This is probably soemthing no one would know without taking the PC apart though. Could always ask though.

Also, where is Todd? He started this thread and hasn't responded at all.

LicketySplit wrote:

Sorry to hear about your treatmant...here is a decent HP that should do the trick..i recommend them over Dell as well

http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopp ... aoid=15536

Went an looked things over. Make sure to get 512 meg and atleast the 80 gig hard drive. That will cost more than the base $350 price tag. Of course, get the low end Atlhon. No point in paying mroe for little performance boost. You can always do that later for less.

I guess they do tell you about hte power supply:
Power Output Wattage 250 Watt