Better buy then build?

[NightShade01]

Hey all wanted a second opinion on something. Looking for a second computer for programming mostly and some light gaming.... was thinking of building another one but i found one where i work on clearence. It's an HP 1328x

Intel P4 3.06
512 RAM
160GB HD
DVD+/-RW with lightscribe
modem and lan card
keyboard & mouse
Windows XP media center edition
high def 7.1 surround sound card
also a 17" LCD with built in speakers

It's $399 - 10% (about $39.90) - $50 MIR + tax ($31.45) = $340.55

do you think it's all worth the money or is it better just to build my own? I think the package was worth it only b/c you get the 17"lcd with it... opinions anyone?

[doctorgonzo]

If you want to game, the video card is the most important piece. Since no video card is listed, and given the price, it has to have onboard graphics, which isn't conducive to gaming. Upgrading may be an issue as well.

That would be fine for a computer that was just used for e-mail, surfing, and word processing. For gaming it won't cut it.

[blue60007]

Because of the CPU used, I have a feeling that's an older 3.06 Northwood (not sure if there are any newer 3.06 P4's, other than Celerons) on a socket 478. *If* it's even got a video card slot, it's probably AGP, and AGP is on it's way out.

EDIT: I stand corrected. It's an Intel 524. It even has a PCI-E slot - *however* the specs I"m looking at doesn't specify x1, x16 etc. I also don't see anything about the PSU - so that may limit your upgrades even further.

Specs:
http://www.futureshop.ca/catalog/proddetail.asp?logon=&langid=EN&sku_id=0665000FS10076551&catid=&test%5Fcookie=1

[NightShade01]

the power supply is 350watt PSU and yes you are right there are two pci and 1 pci-e slots. Also the graphics are onboard so yeah that does kind of suck but i don't do anything huge that would require a large graphics card. Games i'm plaing are from 3+ years ago...lol. Thanks for the feedback though guys.

[glc]

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=1817973&lang=en&docname=c00587163

ATI chipset, and it does have a x16 slot. I can't find the PSU specs, but it should be able to handle a video card upgrade as long as you don't go too nuts. The onboard video is decent, but it eats a TON of system ram - up to 256mb. You will want to upgrade the ram before you do anything else.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.asp?Mfr%2BProductline=HP+-+Compaq%2BPavilion+A+Series&mfr=HP+-+Compaq&tabid=AM&model=Pavilion+a1328x&submit=Go

For that price, it's a good deal. It's not a TERRIBLE computer. It is going to have a ton of preinstalled garbage on it, and you are going to have to make your own restore CD's or DVD.