Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Jul 25, 2004 8:15:29 GMT -5
Well Keith, the price DOES sound good. However some questions come to mind. First being WHO is the manufacturer?! Being I'm "green" when it comes to purchases, I do need not only somebody to fall back on, but for support as well if I have any problems.
Not only that, but I want to make sure Windows XP Home Edition is installed already, plus some other thngs. I'm also looking at a "new system" and moving what I have into my office and using the 20 gig for my updoming business ventures. So, not JUST the harddrive, but keyboard, 17" flat screen CRT monitor, all in one printer/copier/scanner, and some other goodies such as the wireless card already installed. With my eyes installing one it too much of a hassle, so need ALL my ducks in a row and EVERYTHING included.
Thanks for the info of course, but will need to look into it further as I do have a reasonable offer on a Compaq 8999 series that has ALL I need AND I have a coupon., as I've bought from them before.  
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Jul 25, 2004 13:24:23 GMT -5
Well, then you should check these guys out, they offer some good prices and brand name stuff. They offer just about all brands of hard drives Maxtor, Western Digital, Seagate, etc. I just checked their Hard drive page:
www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_hdd.asp
They have a whole list of HDs for $100 or less, ranging from 80GB to 200GB.
Here's one:
BRAND INTERFACE CAPACITY(GB) RPM BUFFER AVG SEEK PRICE
Western Digital Ultra ATA-100 120 7200 8MB <9.5 $69.99*
They also sell monitors, keyboards, whole systems, whatever you need.
Here's their monitor page:
www.tigerdirect.com/applications/Category/category_tlc.asp?CatId=12
Just their 17" monitors are here:
www.tigerdirect.com/applications/category/category_slc.asp?CatId=167
Of course, if you are looking for an entire system with all the things you've listed I would highly recommend Dell. You'll get all your hardware and software choices pre-installed for you with backup install disks sent along as well. ( www.dell.com )
They have full systems, which include keyboards, mouse, monitor, etc. and they have service plans that are worth it. My wife's computer and mine are covered by a 4 years express service plan, I get high priority when I call for help, plus we paid for the 4 year in-home service plan too. On my old system I had the in-home service plan and they came out and replaced an entire motherboard for me at no charge.
Look at what they have on their website, but I would recommend calling and talking to a salesperson. The sales people and websites kind of compete for business and you can sometimes get free extras or upgrades by talking with a sales person. I got a free upgrade to 1GB RAM from the original 512MB and a free DVD+RW burner as my second CD device and one or two other small perks.
I bought the topline Dell Dimension XPS computer, its their "ubermachine". We got my wife a Dimension 4600 model.
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Jul 25, 2004 13:46:24 GMT -5
Thanks as always Keith!
It does come down to preference. I've had probs with Dell in the past so I won't do business with them. It is just my opinion, so won't dwell on it save to say thanks but no thanks.
I've had the same kind of relationship with Compaq/HP so where I intend to go and have done as you have in checking on extras with sales reps. It's just a matter of time and putting money together with my "fixed" income. It's just where my "loyalties" lie and I've been satisfied so why change with what works?!
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Jul 26, 2004 13:52:59 GMT -5
I don't have any of those type of games for the computer. I do have a set of Hoyle Puzzle Games that includes what Americans call Mah Jong, which is the one I like to play when I have it installed. I also occasionally like to just sit back and play a little Spider Solotaire and Pinball that came with Windows XP when I want to kill some time and want something simple to play.
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
|
Post by Phil Walker on Jul 26, 2004 15:00:33 GMT -5
Yes, I play Spider and Pinball too. As well as Hearts and even the Classic Solitaire. Although, not muc luck with Pinball with my eyes but all good ways to kill time. Boggle is a good one for that as you can set how long each game is. It can drive one nuts or be addicting so worht a try if you want to try something new.
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Redbirdy on Nov 28, 2004 21:03:25 GMT -5
Congrats on the surprise birthday gift AND the new machine, Phil. I had to invest in a new one as well, since CotN wouldn't run at all and Sims2 was running very slowly with all the options set at minimum. Now on the new one Sims2 runs faster with all the options maxed than it did with no options on the old one. After reading the requirements I'm sure that Pirates wouldn't run on my old one either.
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Nov 28, 2004 23:00:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the congrats Redbirdy!
Yes, it "knocked my socks off" to get something this time of year, especially as close as it is to Christmas. Worthwile suprise to say the least!!!
I know just what you mean about minimums as well. My first PC seemed ample as my first games were Deadlock and the Original C&C (Gold Edition). I found out soone enough it wasn't though. So, my second was better, but not quite as fast as I would like and was short on HD space. So, with a 3 GIG Pentium 4, one of the newest vid and sound cards, as well as 160 GIGs of memory SHOULD do me for quite awhile, at least I HOPE!!!  ;D  
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Nov 28, 2004 23:25:24 GMT -5
Phil, you should at least get a 3.6GHz P4 with Hyperthreading if you get a system with a Intel chip. Or wait for the P4 4GHz systems to come out. Might as well get the newest you can find.
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
|
Post by Phil Walker on Nov 29, 2004 3:34:34 GMT -5
That may be true Keith! However at $100/every .2 GHz would have stretched me beyond what I could afford at the time. It was one of those situations of NEEDING room as soon as I could get it rather than speed of the processor. SOMEDAY, I'll upgrade, but 3.0 will due for now at least!!!
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Dec 26, 2004 7:06:46 GMT -5
The only new game I have for Xmas is Rome Total War as I mentioned in the other thread.
I'll be getting some DVDs that my wife ordered for me. I gave her a long list of movies I'd like to have last year. She game me some last year for my birthday and xmas and the one's for this xmas haven't arrived yet.
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Phil Walker
Scharfuehrer
VERY opinionated. Best stay away from. You've been warned!!!
Posts: 251
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Post by Phil Walker on Dec 26, 2004 8:28:48 GMT -5
Well, I have no doubts you'll enjoy them. Afterall, it has been said as well that Christmas is not only a day but also a state of mind and SHOULD be reflected all year 'round. I did see your thread about Rome - Total War, so that may be another on my future to get list. I do have both Medieval as well as Shogun in the Total War series, so may as well try it. Another I saw of interest would be "Medieval Lords", so who knows, but as I've said, Medieval games I have a "bug" for! Hope you are enjoying yours as much as I am mine, and to all of you who received games as gifts!
Sincerely,
Phil
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Post by Keith Heitmann on Dec 26, 2004 13:19:10 GMT -5
For me it's ancient Rome, Greece, and Egypt. I never was attracted to knights and castles of the medieval period.
If you have the other Total War games you know what to expect more or less from RTW.
There was some talk about Medieval Lords on the boards a while ago, I don't recall if the impressions were good or bad. All I remember is that the game was devloped in German, IIRC.
There is also Knights of Honor which seems to have been a ripoff of Lords II and what Lords III was trying to be. I know the guys at Impressions asked me to remove any postings mentioning it from the official Lords boards. Last I heard KoH wasn't all that good afterall.
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