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.