Motherboard recommendations

[Bob]

Er.. no.

Then how can the seller make any money at those prices?


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

What would you suggest for me for a graphics card? I am not a gamer, and I
hardly ever watch videos... I have a 19' 1280x1024 Sony monitor. I use
Photoshop on WinXP, I also use FreeBSD. I am looking for quality, but I
don't want to have an extremely good card, as I won't use it to its
highest potential...
Thanks,

Matrox G450 or G550. You can get G450s very cheap on eBay.

ss.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

Then how can the seller make any money at those prices?

If they are advertised as new, they are cheaper as the seller may have lower
overheads than a retail outlet. No rent, etc. Just make sure the goods are
quality items by asking the seller appropriate questions and only trade with
reputable dealers with 100% positive feedback.

ss.

 

[Justin Sane]

Matrox G450 or G550. You can get G450s very cheap on eBay.

(I'm reluctant in buying from eBay since I'm not from the USA...)
How about this one: ASUSTek V9520 MAGIC/T (128MB) or ASUSTek V9520-X/TD
(64 MB)?

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

(I'm reluctant in buying from eBay since I'm not from the USA...)
How about this one: ASUSTek V9520 MAGIC/T (128MB) or ASUSTek V9520-X/TD
(64 MB)?

I've got no experience with that card but I have tried a few older GeForces.
That card would be more powerful than a G450, so I'm sure it's fine for your
needs, and as it's an Asus I'm sure the quality is good too. I particularly
like the fact that it has no fan. If you plan to use two monitors you
should still keep Matrox in mind.

http://usa.asus.com/products/vga/v9520m/overview.htm

ss.

 

[GT]

(I'm reluctant in buying from eBay since I'm not from the USA...)

In that case, when you search on ebay, choose buy-it-now and paypal (options
on the left hand side after you search). This will restrict you to shops and
reputable vendors. And check (read through) the feedback before you bid.
Just post a link to the ebay item to this group and ask us what we think
before you bid...

 

[Bob]

If they are advertised as new, they are cheaper as the seller may have lower
overheads than a retail outlet. No rent, etc. Just make sure the goods are
quality items by asking the seller appropriate questions and only trade with
reputable dealers with 100% positive feedback.

I bought a Carrier Thermidistat on eBay for $99 shipping included. The
shipping cost the seller at most $5 if I include his gasoline to the
PO.

It was NIB. MSRP is $282.00, discount price is $239..00 - both plus
shipping. Those who offer it on eBay for immediate sale - no auction -
are priced around $140 with shipping.

I called Carrier in Indianapolis - it is owned by United Technologies
- and asked the Thermidistat Product Line Manager how someone could
sell the unit for under $100. I was told that it costs Carrier MORE
than $100 just to make them.

Does not compute. Yet the unit was NIB, and even had a very recent
product code. I am, of course, very pleased with the transaction, but
I would like to know how someone can make money selling it for that
price.

--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[GT]

I bought a Carrier Thermidistat on eBay for $99 shipping included. The
shipping cost the seller at most $5 if I include his gasoline to the
PO.

It was NIB. MSRP is $282.00, discount price is $239..00 - both plus
shipping. Those who offer it on eBay for immediate sale - no auction -
are priced around $140 with shipping.

I called Carrier in Indianapolis - it is owned by United Technologies
- and asked the Thermidistat Product Line Manager how someone could
sell the unit for under $100. I was told that it costs Carrier MORE
than $100 just to make them.

Does not compute. Yet the unit was NIB, and even had a very recent
product code. I am, of course, very pleased with the transaction, but
I would like to know how someone can make money selling it for that
price.

You do also get con artists on EBay. Let common sense prevail. If they don't
use paypal, I won't touch them. If they prefer bidpay or western union money
transfer, walk away!!

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

I bought a Carrier Thermidistat on eBay for $99 shipping included. The
shipping cost the seller at most $5 if I include his gasoline to the
PO.

It was NIB. MSRP is $282.00, discount price is $239..00 - both plus
shipping. Those who offer it on eBay for immediate sale - no auction -
are priced around $140 with shipping.

I called Carrier in Indianapolis - it is owned by United Technologies
- and asked the Thermidistat Product Line Manager how someone could
sell the unit for under $100. I was told that it costs Carrier MORE
than $100 just to make them.

Does not compute. Yet the unit was NIB, and even had a very recent
product code. I am, of course, very pleased with the transaction, but
I would like to know how someone can make money selling it for that
price.

I don't know about this case, but it is possible that it was stolen goods.
My father saw goods on eBay that belonged to him after they were taken from
a hurricane damaged warehouse in Florida.

ss.

 

[Bob]

You do also get con artists on EBay.

But this deal was not a con. It was legit.

Let common sense prevail. If they don't
use paypal, I won't touch them. If they prefer bidpay or western union money
transfer, walk away!!

I go one step further. I use PayPal but I pay with a credit card that
will remove the charge if I complain. Before I pay for the item I
write the seller with my terms of sale, which include returning items
at his expense.

I once had a seller who decided to ignore my terms and conveniently
disappeared when I told him the item was defective. So I called the
credit card company and they withdrew the payment. Immediately the
seller contacts me, sends me a prepaid mailer and two-day ships a
replacement.

After he got his money back, he whined that I should have been patient
and not yanked the payment because it cost him $35 in fees and it goes
on his merchant account record. I explained to him that I have a
policy of Zero Tolerance with mail order. Like WalMart, I will be
satisfied. He found out the hard way that I was not bullshitting.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[Bob]

I don't know about this case, but it is possible that it was stolen goods.

I never thought about that. Couldn't the authorities trace the serial
numbers?


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[kony]

Then how can the seller make any money at those prices?

Because they're old tech, maybe used, bought in bulk, etc,
and lower overhead.

Often vendors buy at bulk discounts and find once the tech
is old it has depreciated and they can't move them at the
original price. It then becomes a matter of choosing to
reduce the price or sit on them while they depreciate even
further. Set an ebay price too high and you have to relist
too.. how much time is it worth to make an extra $5?

 

[kony]

I called Carrier in Indianapolis - it is owned by United Technologies
- and asked the Thermidistat Product Line Manager how someone could
sell the unit for under $100. I was told that it costs Carrier MORE
than $100 just to make them.

Well there you go, they feed you a line of BS.
It definitely does not cost over $100 to make it.

Electronic HVAC parts are ridiculously overpriced. I recall
one winter I had an ignition module go out on a furnace, it
cost over $150 for the simple little board that was
comprised of parts I could've bought and assembled myself
for $20 had it been summer and I wasn't in a rush to get the
heat back on.

Does not compute. Yet the unit was NIB, and even had a very recent
product code. I am, of course, very pleased with the transaction, but
I would like to know how someone can make money selling it for that
price.

Would you expect Carrier to admit that they marked up
everything 400%?

 

[kony]

I think that it would be a shame to buy something as fast as an
Athlon64 and then hobble it with slow integrated graphics because even
the fastest such graphics (probably NVidia's or ATI's) are so slow that
even many cheap plug-in graphics cards are faster. Also the integrated
graphics I've seen from Socket A mobos with SiS or VIA/S3 chipsets
displayed major flaws.

I agree, it makes more sense to buy a sempron and put the
savings towards any-random-$40 current generation card.

 

[kony]

I never thought about that. Couldn't the authorities trace the serial
numbers?

Did you call the authorities and give them the serial
number? If not, I'd have to say no, they can't trace them.

I'm sure there are stolen goods on ebay, but we can't
conclude that anything having a seemly too-low price is
stolen or couterfeit or (any other particular)... Could be
anything really, even excess stock of an old model once they
move onto a newer model.

 

[Bob]

Could be
anything really, even excess stock of an old model once they
move onto a newer model.

The unit I got was dated 6 months old.

I have a feeling it was a bankruptcy auction.

--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[Bob]

Because they're old tech, maybe used, bought in bulk, etc,
and lower overhead.

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I think this was a bankruptcy
auction. The seller has been offering one each week for about a year.
At first he got a higher price but when I bid prices were at the low
end of the range. I got mine close to the bottom.



--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[Bob]

Well there you go, they feed you a line of BS.
It definitely does not cost over $100 to make it.

That is probably true because there is not much to it. There is, of
course, a well-designed relative humidity sensor, but beyond that it
looks like any microchip-based embedded system.

Electronic HVAC parts are ridiculously overpriced. I recall
one winter I had an ignition module go out on a furnace, it
cost over $150 for the simple little board that was
comprised of parts I could've bought and assembled myself
for $20 had it been summer and I wasn't in a rush to get the
heat back on.

I spent many years in the embedded systems business designing and
manufacturing industrial systems. I fully appreciate what you are
saying.

Would you expect Carrier to admit that they marked up
everything 400%?

I would not expect a Product Line Manager to lie to me, once he knew I
was a fellow design engineer.


--

Map of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/vrwc.html

"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
--Benjamin Franklin

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

PCI-X and PCI Express (PCIe, PCI-E) are two different things. PCI-X are
64-bit expansion slots like found in the Apple Powermac G5.

You're right. My mistake.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

What would you suggest for me for a graphics card? I am not a
gamer, and I hardly ever watch videos...

http://graphics.tomshardware.com/graphic/vga_charts.html has speed
comparisons of graphics cards, including for older models that are
still being sold.

www.tweaktown.com/document.php?dType=review&dId=693 has an article
about 9250 cards. The title says "Battle of the Bottom", meaning that
the Radeon 9250 is a slow chip for gaming.

You may want a card with both DVI and VGA connectors so you can use
either analog or digital input monitors, and I've found that this
doesn't cost extra. Also avoid any card with a fan cooler, not only to
avoid noise but also because the heatsink will be so small that the
graphics chip will burn up if the fan ever fails.

If you never play games, can't you get by with the slowest card, even
if it has only 8Mmegs of RAM, provided that it supports the refresh
rate that you want and has support for your operating system?

If you play games at all, maybe you should get a graphics card based on
at least an ATI Radeon 9550 or 9600 or NVidia FX5700, but there are
several variations of each of this chip, sometimes along with wide
differences in performance (i.e., 9600SE, 9600, 9600XT).