Pentium 3.0 being dumped at stores, some with decent prices????

[ykhan]

I have built osme before and just like hacing a support contract. In
that case, perhaps I should just not worry and buy a consumer model
from Best Buy and replace it in the future. I am not a developer. Just
a Project Manager (IT) currently laid off.

I know it gets addictive getting used to a corporate computer service
contract. But no such thing exists in the consumer space from any of
these companies. Therefore, no onsite servicing, no three hour
response times, no 7x24, etc.

I think the closest you'll get is to either buy a whitebox PC from a
local computer store, or to get one of the extended warranties from
Best Buy, Futureshop, etc. With the extended warranties, those stores
work on the computers themselves. You might still run into some
hassles with them, but at least you can drive the computer to their
shop and possibly obtain a fix on the spot or wait a couple of days.
Better than mailing the box to the mfgs and waiting for it to be
mailed back.

Yousuf Khan

 

[chrisv]

Yes, the Intel P4 3.0Ghz is actually now a pretty decent "entry-level
performance machine" these days.

It's kind of funny - I built my P4 3.0GHz machine a year ago now
(price for the CPU itself was $280 IIRC), and it's still a pretty
decent machine - very competitive with the latest Intel stuff.

 

[Patty Amas]

I think this last response is correct if I want service. People seem
to like the Best Buy plans. I was lucky back when when I got a Compaq
and had good support. People with Dells are always complaining.

Any comment on Alienware?

Thanks, Patty

 

[JK]

Not competative with an Athlon 64 though, especially for newer games
like Doom 3.

http://www.anandtech.com/cpuchipsets/showdoc.aspx?i=2149&p=7

 

[Allan Parent]

I think this last response is correct if I want service. People seem
to like the Best Buy plans. I was lucky back when when I got a Compaq
and had good support. People with Dells are always complaining.

Any comment on Alienware?

Thanks, Patty

I have had two Alienwares with no major problems. I had a bad cdrom
drive and I was told to box it up and wait for a fed-ex guy to show up
at my door. Sure enough 2 hours later the guy shows up and takes my
faulty drive. At the same time, Alienware fed-exes a new drive to me
and I get it the next day. My latest purchase was a Velocity Micro and
it comes with a 3 year warranty. Luckily, I have not needed to use it.

Allan

 

[jack]

: Not competative with an Athlon 64 though, especially for newer games
: like Doom 3.

Idiot shill......plonk!

J.

 

[chrisv]

Not competative with an Athlon 64 though, especially for newer games
like Doom 3.

But still plenty fast for newer games like Doom 3, when backed-up by a
good video card.

 

[Tony Hill]

I know it gets addictive getting used to a corporate computer service
contract. But no such thing exists in the consumer space from any of
these companies. Therefore, no onsite servicing, no three hour
response times, no 7x24, etc.

Err, perhaps not the 3-hour service times, but you can get everything
else by just purchasing a "corporate" style computer for home use. In
fact, I know HPaq has a couple of their commercial systems that they
half-expect to sell to home users (the current model being the
dx2000). These systems come standard with decent warranties (1 years
standard with a 3 year option) and somewhat better support as well as
on-site service to replace any dead components. Dell's probably got a
similar system.

I would actually HIGHLY recommend this for many computer novices who
don't want to go through buying from a reliable local vendor.
Especially good for Grandma and Grandpa for whom bringing a system
into the shop to get a dead power supply replaced might not be an
ideal situation.


The one trick with this is that you can't normally buy these systems
from Best Buy or CompUSA. Instead they tend to be sold through more
commercial-oriented resellers, like CDW, or through the company
directly.

 

[Tony Hill]

I think this last response is correct if I want service. People seem
to like the Best Buy plans. I was lucky back when when I got a Compaq
and had good support. People with Dells are always complaining.

Any comment on Alienware?

Keep in mind that the Compaq system you purchased (a Deskpro) is NOT a
consumer grade machine, it is a commercial grade system. It is
supported by an entirely different group of people and has rather
different support policies.

You can not buy such a system from Best Buy, no matter which company
you look at. If you buy a HPaq from Best Buy, you will get a
consumer-grade Presario or Pavilion system. If you want commercial
grade, you go to a reseller of commercial systems and you pay the
extra cost. Not entirely a bad idea if you want halfway decent
service, but it will definitely cost you extra.

 

[keith]

: Not competative with an Athlon 64 though, especially for newer games
: like Doom 3.

Idiot shill......plonk!

Gee, I thought you'd already announced this plonk.

 

[pattyjamas]

Gee, I thought you'd already announced this plonk.

 

[pattyjamas]

Gee, I thought you'd already announced this plonk.

 

[keith]

Did I miss your contribution here?

You know, a decent newsreader would have clipped my signature, so you
*could* have added your own.