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| Thread ID: 97459 | 2009-02-17 00:47:00 | PC for kids..Value for money or a dog? | Gedc (11466) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 748525 | 2009-02-17 02:25:00 | Pulled the old one apart for the kids and suffice to say its goosed. 3 caps on the board burst ..Saw the following for $500 in Dick Smiths and keen on your thoughts. It will be used for games Its an HP Pavillion a6120a ... This is WHY you don't buy "brand" PCs, you have no idea what brand and model of motherboard are in them. **** motherboards are known for this sort of thing. Not to mention brand of HDD, optical etc etc. And some **** thing won't be of any use for games anyway. Just let them have some use of the new one. |
pctek (84) | ||
| 748526 | 2009-02-17 02:32:00 | Its a UK pc..Mesh computing 2002 windows xp...Licence still works but requires LOTS of downloads to get it upto speed but certainly doable... Quick question....It was a recovery disc with XP on it that came with the PC...Will that also load relevant drivers for the old motherboard - Asus nforce chipset or would it be fine on the new mobo i.e would it cause any clashes you would be aware If you had motherboard A and then get motherboard B then you should download the drivers you need before a re-install of XP. A problem with recovery disks is that they are supposed to put the PC back to an as shipped condition which means that any partitions created with other software will disappear. |
Sweep (90) | ||
| 748527 | 2009-02-17 02:59:00 | Thx for all the replies. This board is a wealth of knowledge.Am currently speccing a new machine as below from computerlounge for the kids... I did consider for approx 30 seconds letting them use my new one then realised, they would have total control of every electrical gadget in the house..This is currently Dad's only toy..That and a beer fridge :clap COMBO DEAL: MB(7584): ASUS M3A78-EM MicroATX AM2 AMD 780G DDR2, CPU(7204): AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ CPU (AM2, RAM(3391): Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2 x 1GB DDR2-800 Raidmax Elite 208, Black, 450W ATX 2.0 PSU, 120mm fan, CPU Air Duct ASUS DRW-20B1ST 20X Black DVD Writer With regards cooling for the CPU...Do I need to stick anything aftermarket on it or do they come with standard / stock cooling fans etc. I dont plan on overclocking or killing it.. Will add XP home into it as well. Have the monitor, keyboard, mouse and speakers. Will use onboard sound and gfx. TOTAL inc GST $538.70 + XP home |
Gedc (11466) | ||
| 748528 | 2009-02-17 03:02:00 | The stock cooler will be perfectly adequate. | stormdragon (6013) | ||
| 748529 | 2009-02-17 03:15:00 | pctek might disagree (no poking more teasing) with this but trademe is probaly the better option. should be able to find something in your area similar alot cheaper and more ram for vista a must, dedicated graphics almost a must for games |
hueybot3000 (3646) | ||
| 748530 | 2009-02-17 03:43:00 | Good point and something I did last night...Frankly amazed at some people selling an old system for $100 and the next bloke flogging an identical model for $600 :lol: Have my eye on some ex internet gaming cafe machines (Cchurch local) - nice spec including lcd monitor and preloaded with XP and around 7 games ( disks and licences included). Starting price of $350...A 1 year RTB warranty from the bloke / company selling them. No doubt itll get upto a bit more but certainly a possibility.. Not sure how much battering a PC and monitor takes from previous history but I suspect these beasts will have been on for 12 hours a day..Approx 14 months old... |
Gedc (11466) | ||
| 748531 | 2009-02-17 04:07:00 | more like 24hours a day, but that doesnt matter so much. Might with the monitor but the actually pc should be fine if he says it is I have my gaming machine, server and laptop pretty much always on and they seem happy enough. Hard drives are probaly the first thing to check out but they're reasonable cheap to replace anyway Good luck biddin if u go down that path |
hueybot3000 (3646) | ||
| 748532 | 2009-02-17 04:12:00 | Good point and something I did last night...Frankly amazed at some people selling an old system for $100 and the next bloke flogging an identical model for $600 :lol: Have my eye on some ex internet gaming cafe machines (Cchurch local) - nice spec including lcd monitor and preloaded with XP and around 7 games ( disks and licences included). Starting price of $350...A 1 year RTB warranty from the bloke / company selling them. No doubt itll get upto a bit more but certainly a possibility.. Not sure how much battering a PC and monitor takes from previous history but I suspect these beasts will have been on for 12 hours a day..Approx 14 months old... I purchased my current pc from trade me. Had a few problems with it whe I first got it :crying. It had a problem where the computer would give you a BSoD after about 5 - 10min use. The seller insisted there was nothing wrong with it, so I sent it back, he charged me $40, sent me a different machine (despite saying he'd fixed the first one) and (nearly (pressf1.co.nz)) everything has been fine since. This was just one seller, so don't let my bad experiences put you off finding a bargain. |
davidmmac (4619) | ||
| 748533 | 2009-02-17 20:38:00 | . Am currently speccing a new machine as below from computerlounge for the kids . . . COMBO DEAL: MB(7584): ASUS M3A78-EM MicroATX AM2 AMD 780G DDR2, CPU(7204): AMD Athlon64 X2 Dual Core 5000+ CPU (AM2, RAM(3391): Corsair TWIN2X2048-6400 2 x 1GB DDR2-800 Raidmax Elite 208, Black, 450W ATX 2 . 0 PSU, 120mm fan, CPU Air Duct ASUS DRW-20B1ST 20X Black DVD Writer Excellent idea and a reputable shop with EXTREMELY good after sales service . But not the PSU, chnage it to Enermax, Corsair (might be a bit expensive) or Coolermaster or SIlverstone . |
pctek (84) | ||
| 748534 | 2009-02-19 21:37:00 | So I stuck in a bid on that ex internet cafe gaming machine (1st one of 6 he has to sell)..Was lead bid at $656 but didn't meet reserve. I priced the components new as he had specced the machine out and it would cost approx $1050 to $1150 for the hardware - 14 months old, been hammered a bit so thought around the 650/700 mark was fair.. Turns out his reserve was $1386 :lol::lol::lol: :D It did come with around 8 games that could be bought on trademe from $6 upwards... Off to computerlounge as the selection from the Cchurch marketplace doesn't appear too great ! Thx again for the advice. |
Gedc (11466) | ||
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