This Computer Seems Awfully Cheap...

[jason_hamilton]

I was browsing futureshop.ca and found these \"refurbished\" computers in their clearance section:

WebID: 10083155
Mfr. Part Number: GM5094E RA
Processor Type  AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200+ Processor
Processor Speed  2.2GHz
RAM  1GB DDR (Exp. to 4GB)
Hard Drive  320GB (7200RPM)
Optical Drives  DVD +/- 16x Multi-Format Double Layer
Graphics Card  NVidia GeForce 6100 Integrated
Available Expansion Bays  2 - 3.5\"
Available Expansion Slots  1 - PCI-E x1
Cache  2 x 512KB L2
Fax/Modem  56K ITU V.92 Ready Fax/Modem
Network Card  10/100 Mbps Ethernet LAN (RJ-45 Port)
Other Control Devices  Mulimedia Keyboard and Optical Mouse
Preloaded Operating System  Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005
Sound Card  8-Channel (7.1) High Definition Audio
Speakers  Amplified Stereo Speakers
System Bus  2000MHz
Warranty  90 Days Limited Parts & Labour
FEATURES:
I/O Ports: 7 - USB 2.0, 1 - VGA External Connector, 3 - IEEE 1394 Port, 1 - Parallel Port, 1 - Serial Port, 2 - PS/2 Ports.
Included Software: Microsoft Works, Adobe Reader, CyberLink DVD Solution Suite, Microsoft Windows Media Player, Quicktime, Gateway BigFix.

They're selling it for $599.95. I priced out a similar setup at NCIX and it came to over $1500.
Seems like a lot of computer for the money, no?
Comments from people who know more than me about hardware?
 

[Mowser]

RAM  1GB DDR (Exp. to 4GB)

Graphics Card  NVidia GeForce 6100 Integrated

Gateway BigFix.
 

Without going and checking it out personally the items that come to mind would be checking the quality of the Motherboard, ram, and hard drive (320Gb is a huge drive, I'd rather have a smaller one and an external).  Make sure you are comparing apples to apples... or in this case pc's to pc's :lol:

I've always geared away from Gateway computers myself ....  

[Bubba]

Sounds like an ECS or equivalent type budget all-in-one motherboard.  The clue is the integrated graphics controller, and one pci slot.  These tend to share system ram and slow your computer down when resource tasks use big chunks of ram, which is a lot of the time on a Windows box.

I have built a few of these type of computers over the years for family members on a budget, but they have also given me a fair amount of grief.

If you are buying it as a second computer, or a kid's computer, you probably won't do much better on price.

Ya get what ya pay for.

Csaba

[Chris]

Gateway Refurb

90 day warranty

Technology that is almost 2 years old

$599.95

You get what you pay for.

Jason if you need a system talk to me, I can help you with pricing.


And why would you want a smaller drive?  

[jason_hamilton]

Thanks guys.

To give you an idea, my current computer came from ATIC in the spring of 99. At the time I paid $1150 knowing it was a pretty basic model and un-upgradeable. I don't know what processor's in it, but it was never fast, even back in the day. It runs Windows 98, and has a 20 GB hard drive (now full) with 56MB of RAM (now useless).

I don't know if this new one is refurbished by Gateway or Futureshop, but it does carry a full manufacturer's warranty in addition to the Futureshop 90 days bit.

Thanks for the offer Chris, but I ordered it yesterday morning. At that price even if it's a piece of junk I can turn it over to my nephew and buy a good one next time around (in which case I'll be calling you first).

[AlanU]

Jason,

That confuser/computer will be smooth and fast.  You can open up the case and see what kind of goodies are inside. It can be asus, gigabyte, abit, ECS and many other brand mother boards. Whatever you get it'll more than likely be decent.

Onboard stuff is great. An onboard graphics processor like the 6100 will be good for most \"normal\" people that are not hardcore gamers. You can allocate memory to whatever you like probably from 32mb to 128mb or even 512mb. Whatever the case it''ll be very little compared to the 1 gb ddr  you have. If you can feel the system slowing down due to onboard graphics card your probably running photoshop and other resource hungry programs. My friend is a serious power user and he even said the likelihood that your system will bogg down that slow is very slim for the average moderate power user.

That system is a killer deal for most people. I have the asus M2NPV-VM with similar specs (onboard stuff). This motherboard is rated one of the best bangs for the buck. I have SATA2 with the new ddr ram adn 6150 nvidia. Thing about \"U\" builds is that you can configure things with higher end \"name brands\" to your preference.  You can configure the system with aftermarket quieter fans. My current system you can barely hear with the ANTEC quiet computer case.

Funny thing is I know alot of guys running ECS mother boards for a good 3-5 years with NO issues.  I've been running a ghetto cheap 1.6 ghz (2800+ athlon) for about 3.5 to 4 years and its been rock solid.

I prefer ASUS mother boards because they are one of the big boys in manufacturing. They are made in china as well as other big name brands.  

I doubt you'd be passing this computer to your nephew. You'll enjoy it for a while.

 

[steveo_32]

I just built a Asus 4200 dual core, Raidion X1950 256mb, with 2gig of ram (ddr2) and a 250gig hard drive for about 600, using what i consider to be good stuff ie Sata drive, panasonic ram, ect.
Its all on what you what for your dollor. alan says it pretty well, You will use that unit, and its great.
cheers