Buying a new PC

[Tary]

Hi -

I'm currently looking to buy a new PC for college. I configured a PC on abspc.com as follows:

• Inwin S506 ABS Mid-Tower 300Watts Case
• Asus VIA A7V333 KT333 Chipset ATX Motherboard Retail Boxed
• AMD Athlon XP 2200+/266 FSB 256K Processor
• Dynatron DC1206BM-L615 High-End Cooler w/ 5300 RPM Fan (Support Upto 2100+)
• Samsung 512MB PC2700 DDR RAM
• Western Digital 80GB 7200RPM Hard Drive - 8MB Cache Special Edition
• Leadtek Geforce4 TI4400 128MB 128-Bits VIVO Video Card
• Pioneer Internal EIDE 16X DVD ROM Drive (40X CD-ROM Speed)
• Lite On 32x12x40 CDRW Model LTR-32123S
• CTX PL7C 17" Monitor
• Sound Blaster Audigy Sound Card w/1394 Firewire Port
• Altec Lansing AVS300W Speakers with Subwoofer
• Ambient (Intel) 56K V.92 PCI Modem
• 3COM 905CX-TXNM PCI 10/100 Network Card
• Mitsumi 1.44MB Floppy Drive
• ABS 104 keys PS2 Keyboard w/Palmrest
• Microsoft Intelli Optical Mouse
• Multimedia Microphone with Base
• ABS Mouse Pad 8" X 9"
• Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition OEM
• Corel Office WordPerfect 2002: WordPerfect 10, Quattro Pro 10, Presentations Paradox 10

The total for the system (not including shipping) is $1406.

My questions are as follows:
Is ABS a reliable PC vendor?
Are there any noticeable problems with the above system?
Does it pay to spend the extra money on getting a 3COM NIC card and USR modem, as opposed to some no-name brands (Ambient for the modem, Linkskey for the NIC card)?

I understand that ABS received some flak for their tech support, but I rarely require tech support anyway, as I usually troubleshoot my own problems.

Thanks for all your help!
-Michael

[jtzou]

Wondering... if you troubleshoot most of your own problems, could you build your own PC too? Usually the only way you save money from buying a computer from a company is if you would've bought all the software they include...

[thekingofpain]

Welcome to TechImo :-)

ABSPC hasnt been rated yet at resellerating.com
Only thing I see is your heatsink choice
Note this part: (Support Upto 2100+)
Might not be up to snuff for your 2200+

[Tary]

Thanks for responding.

Yeah, I noticed that on the CPU fan as well... I'm going to have to email them about that.

I could probably build my own PC, but I'm pretty scared of screwing it up and being forced to buy a new part that I've burned.

-Michael

Followup: ABS is reviewed on resellerratings.com, under the name ABS. They have an overall rating of 6.99. The more recent ratings (since about March 2002, or so) are VERY positive, but before that, they are somewhat mediocre. It's more than possible that ABS decided to shape up. Also, many of the negative reviews are from novice PC users which might have more trouble diagnosing their own problems.

[AuraEdge]

ABS has been around for a long time - Before i knew how to build my own computer, i was considering buying from them. I ended up building my own anyways. The company goes back at least 4 years, and has been rated on PCWorld's top computers before. Not sure about thier current trends, but back when I used to just read alot of computer magizines (4 years ago?), they were always in there.

[Cody]

Well if you are trying to save space you may be able to upgrade your 17" CRT to a 15" LCD (same viewable size) and they look terribly WICKED!

Cody

[Tary]

I'm probably limited on space (dorm rooms are cramped), but I'm also limited on funds (college wallets are crimped ), so, alas, I'll have to stick with a CRT.

-Michael

[dragonb]

just a few suggestions..

I've found buying a monitor usually doubles the shipping, and since you are going for basically a generic 17", look around locally and save yourself the shipping. I can usually find them between 110 and 120 around here at the moment.
Also, if you are trying to save money, I was wondering if you have good reasons for all the high end stuff..
Why not get just a 2000 instead and save some money. I never buy the best out there, but try to get the best bang for the buck. And the 2000 is at least 100 cheaper than the 2200 isn't it?
Also, why the audigy? Unless you are need something it has, I'd just assume get an SB 5.1 Live(or even a Live value) and save money there.
As for modem and NIC, I really don't notice that much of a difference. As long as it's 56k, and 10/100, with a machine that powerful it won't make a difference.
Assuming your a gamer with that vid card choice, if not that's big time overkill.
good luck..

If you can trouble shoot any hardware, and usually tinker with the insides of your computer, I would suggest building it yourself. I put off building a few systems because I wasn't sure, and didn't want to fry anything too. But, I regret the ones I put off, they just haven't been the same. And, once you do it once, and spend all day being extra careful and making a few mistakes, then it'll be no problem. It's funny to think I was nervous about doing it, now that it's 3 years and at least a couple hundred systems later.
good luck, dragonb

[Yankees4]

tary, i bought my system from abspc (check my review at resellerratings.com), my system is similar to what you are getting, bottom line is, they do a great job and the price is always good, make sure you take advantage of one of their weekend promotions and if you have any questions about them, feel free to pm me

btw, i got the ambient modem, it works fine, especially if you are planning to get a cable modem or dsl soon, i wouldn't worry at all about that

another sidenote, when you get your little binder with all the software and driver disks organized for you, do not start opening all the software because if you ever wanted to return the computer, they would charge you for the disks

[Tary]

While my budget is limited, I can go as high as $1500, so I'd like to get the latest hardware, so that the system could last for as long as possible. Though, I will definitely look into buying the monitor locally.

Thanks for pointing me to your review, Yankees. I read it... sounds good.

-Michael