[eze2208]

Well first off Howdy Ya'll!

This is my first venture off into geekdom. Here s my dilema, my daughters pc just died. so onto the new one. we have limited funds so searching for the right deal is important. here are some of the things she needs it for,
her & my granddaughter take alot of pics. did I say ALOT of pics. they both have canon 10 mp so lots of hi quality & they both use 8gb cards & believe me they use it all! Zunes & ipod downloads, some kind of music library with tons of songs. of course surfing the web facebook & such, online banking oh and she likes SIMS. just got sims 3. so where do I start? Ive seen a few different open box specials , some refurbished & of course brand new. Below is a couple that I have seen. any good?
so any help would be fantastic!!!
thanks in advance!
robert


ThinkCentre S51 - 8172 w/17" Monitor
Intel Pentium 4 Processor 641, 3.2 GHz, 1024MB Ram, 80GB Hard Drive, DVD/CDRW Combo, 8 USB Ports, Windows XP Home
Power Management
• Power 160 Watt
• Dimensions
• Width 12.2''
• Height 3.35''
• Depth 14.1''
• weight 19lbs
• Communications
• Data Transfer Rate 10/100/1000 Mbps
• Interface Type RJ-45 - Ethernet Connector
• Communications Description Intergrated LAN Support
• External Ports
• PS/2 Keyboard Connecters 1
• PS/2 Mouse Connectors 1
• Serial Communication Ports 2
• Parallel Ports 1
• USB Ports 8
• LAN Ports 1
• Audio Out Jacks 2
• Line in Jacks 1
• Microphone Jacks 2
• VGA Ports 1
• Processer Specifications
• Processor Interface LGA 775 (Socket T)
• Processors Supported 1
• Processor Speed 3.2 GHz
• Processor Class PENTIUM 4
• Processor Brand Intel
• Processors Onboard 1
• Hard Disk Drive Specifications
• Capacity 80GB
• Interface SATA
• Optical Drive Specifications
• Interface IDE
• Optical Drive Type DVD/CDRW
• Mouse Specifications
• Connection Type PS/2
• Buttons 3
• Mouse Type Standard
• Keboard Specifications
• Connection Type PS/2
• Keyboard Type Standard
• Desktop Specifications
• Operating Systems Microsoft Windows XP Home
• Form Factor Smal Form Factor
• Internetal Bays 3
• Bays 1 - 5.25" Drive Bay 2 - 3.5"Drive Bays
• Orientations Allowed Vertical/ Horizontal
• Platform PC
• Expansion Slots 2
• PCI Slots (Available) 1
• PCI Slots (Total) 1
• PCI EXPRESS Slot(Available) 1- PCI Express x1;
• Total PCI EXPRESS Slots 1
• RAM Memory Specifications
• Memory Size 1024
• Memory Speed 400MHz
• Memory Type DDR (PC3200)
• Maximum Memory Supported 2.0GB
• Memory Slots (Total) 2
• Memory Slots (Available) 0
• Total Memory 1024MB
• Graphics Specifications
• Video Interface VGA (15-Pin D Sub)
• GPU/VPU GMA 900
• Graphics Description Intergrated Graphics
• Audio Specifications
• Audio Chipset AC '97 Audio
• Audio Description Integrated Audio
• Supplemental Drive
• Capacity 1.44MB
• Type Floppy Drive
• 17" Flat panel LCD
• IBM 17" was designed for a variety of users ranging from home and small offices to large corporate environments.
• Display Type TFT LCD
• Viewable Screen Size 17"
• Maximum Resolution 1280 x 1024
• Power Consumption 40w
• Unit Dimensions 14.75"W x 15.6"H x 7.52"D


Acer Aspire AM3641-BE4700A 22" wide-screen TFT LCD Core 2 Duo E4700(2.60GHz) 3GB DDR2 320GB NVIDIA GeForce 7100 Windows
General Spec
Brand Acer
Series Aspire
Model AM3641-BE4700A
Recommended Usage Home / Home Office
Colors Charcoal-black
Processor Intel Core 2 Duo E4700(2.6GHz)
Processor Main Features 64 bit Dual Core Processor
Cache Per Processor 2MB L2 Cache
Memory 3GB DDR2
Hard Drive 320GB SATA
Optical Drive 1 Super-Multi drive (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
Graphics Integrated NVIDIA GeForce 7100 graphics
Audio Sound card - Integrated
Monitor Monitor: X223Wbd
Size/Type: 22" wide-screen TFT LCD
Maximum Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Dynamic Contrast ratio: 2500:1
Brightness: 300 cd/m²
Response time: 5ms
Speaker External USB Speakers
Keyboard USB MultiMedia English KeyBoard
Mouse USB Optical Mouse
Operating System Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit (English / French)
Software Included Microsoft Works 8.5 (full version)
Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 (60-day trial)
Motherboard
Chipset NVIDIA GeForce 7100 + nForce 630i
CPU
CPU Type Core 2 Duo
Installed Qty 1
CPU FSB 800MHz
CPU Speed E4700(2.60GHz)
L2 Cache Per CPU 2MB
CPU Socket Type LGA 775
CPU Main Features 64 bit Dual Core Processor
Graphics
GPU/VPU Type NVIDIA GeForce 7100
Graphics Interface Integrated video
Memory
Memory Capacity 3GB DDR2
Form Factor DIMM 240-pin
Hard Drive
HD Capacity 320GB
HD Interface SATA
Optical Drive
Optical Drive Type DVD Super Multi
Optical Drive Spec Super-Multi drive (DVD+R, DVD-R, DVD-RAM)
Audio
Audio Chipset Integrated
Display Spec
Display Type wide-screen TFT LCD
Screen Size 22"
Communications
LAN Chipset Integrated
Front Panel Ports
Front USB 4
Front Audio Ports 2
Card Reader Media Card Reader:
Secure Digital, SmartMedia, Memory Stick, Memory Stick PRO, Memory Stick Duo, Memory Stick PRO Duo, CompactFlash I/II, Microdrive, xDPicture, Reducedsize MMC (RS-MMC), MMCmobile, USB 2.0, IEEE1394
Back Panel Ports
COM 1
PS/2 2
Video Ports 1 VGA, 1 HDMI
Rear USB 4
Rear IEEE 1394 1
RJ45 1 port
Rear Audio Ports 6 ports
Expansion
PCI Slots (Available/Total) (1/1) PCI Express x1
(1/1) PCI Express x16
(1/2) PCI v2.3
Mouse
Mouse Type USB Optical Mouse
Keyboard
Keyboard Type USB MultiMedia English KeyBoard
Speaker
Speaker Configuration External USB Speakers
Manufacturer Warranty
Parts 1 year limited
Labor 1 year limited

[Advertisements]

What is your budget for this new system?
If I may ask what happened to the old system? The reason it crashed.
What make and model was it?

Edited by rshaffer61, 17 July 2009 - 09:19 PM.

[rshaffer61]

What is your budget for this new system?
If I may ask what happened to the old system? The reason it crashed.
What make and model was it?

Edited by rshaffer61, 17 July 2009 - 09:19 PM.

[mpascal]

Also if you're feeling confident, you could also try building your own computer. One of our very own Troy has written a great guide to building your own computer, and it is almost always cheaper than buying a pre-built computer. If you want the volunteers here would be more than happy to help you pick appropriate parts and to get it up and running.

Just another idea

-mp

[eze2208]

ok budget between 400 - 600. and i would like a monitor so thats another 100 - 150.
as for building my own mmmmmmmmm nice idea but i work in retail sales so i dont have alot of time and me build a computer .... i wouldnt buy it. lol. but thankyou though.

[Pete1229]

I have been seriously thinking of changing from my PC to a Mac. My hobby is photography (digital. The Mac Mini is in your price range, the Apple website has loads of info on all their models, the basic Mini retails for about $599.00. The nice thing about "basic" with the macs is, it comes with 1 gig of ram, a 120gig hardrive, but you will see all that on the website, check it out. Also I suggest either ebay or the COMPUSA website for a monitor, I've seen 22 and 23" LCD's for less than 200 bucks on compusa. And keep in mind one of the greatest thing about a mac is NO NEED FOR ANTIVIRUS software!

[Xaisho]

the basic Mini retails for about $599.00. The nice thing about "basic" with the macs is, it comes with 1 gig of ram, a 120gig hardrive, but you will see all that on the website, check it out. And keep in mind one of the greatest thing about a mac is NO NEED FOR ANTIVIRUS software!

Those are really low hardware specs for $600, and please don't say there is no need for anti-virus software just because it's a mac. Apple itself recommends using anti-virus software.

Below is a couple that I have seen. any good?

The Acer Aspire you listed looks pretty reasonable depending on the price you can get it for and it will run rings around the first one you posted. 320GB of hard drive space should be plenty for all those pictures and music, plus it includes the monitor. I'm not sure what size monitor you had before but if it was small 22" will seem gigantic.

[eze2208]

Thanks Pete Xaisho,
But Im just not a MAc guy
and along with those pics she has the SIMS 3 so i dont know if the Geforce 7100 will work. its not listed.

SUPPORTED VIDEO CARDS
NVIDIA GeForce series
FX 5900, FX 5950
6200, 6500, 6600, 6800,
7200, 7300, 7600, 7800, 7900, 7950
8400, 8500, 8600, 8800
9600, 9800, GTX 260, GTX 280

[Xaisho]

Yeah that was a point of concern when I looked over the specs.
The problem with buying pre-built computers is that it's usually a pain to find one with something more than on-board graphics.
I guess you could try Dell's site and see if you can configure a computer with a graphics card but I'm not sure how much that would cost. I would look it up for you but I have to run.

If that Acer Aspire is around $600-$650 you could take the money you would of spent on a monitor and get yourself a graphics card also.

I'll try to help more later if you still need it.