ecollegepc configuration

[tigerman]

What do you think of this for under $,1200:
3600+ Athlon 64 AM2 X2 Dual-Core CPU Retail Box with Fan
Thermaltake Silent Boost Fan/Heatsink 21dBA
ASUS M2N4-SLI (nForce4 SLI, SATA Raid, Sound, LAN PCIEx, 2xPCIEx)
2GB (1GBx2) PC6400 DDR2 800Mhz Memory Major Brand
320GB 7200RPM 8MB Cache Serial ATA300
320GB 7200RPM 16MB Cache Serial ATA300
18X Samsung SH-S182M Double Layer DVD+/-RW/CDRW w/Nero
256MB nVidia GeForce 7100GS GDDR2 PCI Express DVI/Tvout
Microsoft Windows XP Home SP2
20.1in Black 1440x900 LCD Flat Panel Monitor 8ms Widescreen
450watt Silver Raidmax Sagitta w/side window w/2 fans (5 5.25, 5 3.5 bays)
430watt AGI High End PCI-Ex Connector (Recommended)
56K V.92 Lucent Chipset Modem
Wireless B/G PCI Adapter
Onboard Sound included
Stereo Speakers (black)
1.44 Floppy Drive
Logitech Black Wireless Keyboard and Optical Mouse Combo RF
Internal 51 in 1 Card Reader
Three year hassle free pickup and return

I will use the system mostly for digital photography (hobby), internet, and spreadsheets.

Does anyone here have any experience in doing business with ecollegepc?

[noneoftheabove]

the processor is a little slow compared to some others on the market. is this a prebuilt pc?

[blue60007]

You could probably get a better value for your $$ by building yourself...

The power supply included looks like a no-name shady quality. I wouldn't trust it. That's another reason to build your own...you control what goes in and you can be sure only quality parts are used.

If you'd rather not build, I'd look at Dell. You can usually get a desktop for basic use (ie, no intensive gaming) and a flat panel monitor pretty cheap. To top it off you can usually find coupons online to take even more off the price.

[tigerman]

Originally Posted by noneoftheabove the processor is a little slow compared to some others on the market. is this a prebuilt pc?

They build it for the customer's selection of parts that they offer.

[tigerman]

Originally Posted by blue60007 You could probably get a better value for your $$ by building yourself... The power supply included looks like a no-name shady quality. I wouldn't trust it. That's another reason to build your own...you control what goes in and you can be sure only quality parts are used. If you'd rather not build, I'd look at Dell. You can usually get a desktop for basic use (ie, no intensive gaming) and a flat panel monitor pretty cheap. To top it off you can usually find coupons online to take even more off the price.

When I selected the parts on their site I chose the 430watt AGI High End PCI-Ex Connector but I did not know if that is actually a power supply or just something that attaches to the power supply (that is why I don't want to build myself). I guess I could contact them and ask then exactly what it is.

[blue60007]

Hmm, yeah, I have no idea what the heck that is. There's also a 450W listed with the case. Now that I can tell you isn't quality. Raidmax doesn't use quality PSU's (as do many bunlded PSU's).

Like I said you might compare with say, Dell. I bet you could get something comparable for the same amount if not less. And it's a well known vendor that uses decent (or better) quality parts. I've never heard of ecollegepc.

[Stuey]

I'm with the others. If you're going to configure to that detail, you're better off purchasing and building it yourself.

The PSU is trash. Why are there two different speced HDs? Does that video card require the additional power adapter? That video card sounds like it's extremely low-budget.

What case is it in? What does "major brand memory" mean? To me it sounds like they'll give you the cheapest memory they can get. There are quite a few generic brands out there that can be considered "major brands".

What monitor is that? Did you request a modem, or once is included in the price? Modern mobos don't have modems. If you intentionally added it to the configuration, nevermind. But if you didn't add one and it's mandatorily included, then I'd say they're just trying to justify inflating the price a bit more.

Oh, I see the cae now. It's bundled with the PSU. I wouldn't use a Raidmax case as anything but a footstool. Most of their "budget" cases are shoddily constructed of flimsy materials. My buddy had to replace quite a few screws and rivets to get the case to stop wobbling as much, and then gave up and trashed it all for a CoolerMaster Centurion w/ an Antec PSU.

51 in 1 card reader? To me that just screams advertising ploy. You can easily add a card reader to a PC for low cost should you decide to build your own.

I'm going to head over to ecollegepc and evaluate the site.

Edit: Some of the prices seem ok, but it seems that they're using older components for certain parts. Like the HD - how come it can only come with say a 320gb 8mb buffer drive when you can add a 16mb buffer HD separately.

Also, there's no support phone number on the site. I shop at some sites which don't list their #, but for the most part they're established and reputable. There is a # for them on the whois site, but it might not be reliable.

I dunno, it just seems sketchy to me. I think that your best bet would be either purchase it from Dell or similar hands-off system builder, or do it yourself.

[LeftyAce]

For 1200 you can build an Intel Core2Duo based system with quality parts.....that's the route I'd take.

[jer888]

You will be happier with it if you build it yourself. Its not all that hard and you will get much better quality doing it yourself.

Heres the guide on this site http://www.pcmech.com/byopc/index.htm

There are many more guides over the web. Build it yourself. Read about it a little bit then someone here can give you the list of parts to get.