Hi, I'm looking for a barbones system that'll be used mainly for browsing
internet, MS Office apps, some light gaming,
Google maps. Need PC that's quiet, stable, easy to maintain (no esoteric
hardware)
So far, I've browsed global computer.com website/
Seeking recomendations for other bare bones system vendors?
http://www.jncs.com. Outstanding service, very helpful sales people
who will help you (via phone or email) make decisions about what parts
to use. Motherboard bundles and barebones systems are assembled and
*tested*, running diagnostics, not just checking that it POSTs.
After-sale tech support is available via phone, and is pretty good
(which is much better than most vendors, where it is non-existant).
Located in Rochester, NY, so charges NY state sales tax.
http://www.mwave.com. Acceptable service, good prices. They will
assemble a motherboard bundle, and make sure it POSTs, but no further
testing. I've never had to call for tech support, so no experience.
Located in California.
http://www.newegg.com. Good prices on components. No motherboard
bundle assembly. Located in California.
Someone mentioned TigerDirect. I had problems with them years ago, and
haven't used them since. Their rating at resellerratings is below
average, so I don't think they have improved much since. I would look
elsewhere.
Now, after that, I will make another suggestion, which is to check
out the low-cost system vendors, such as Dell. For a low end machine
such as you are looking for, it doesn't really pay, in my opinion, to
build your own. They can build and sell it cheaper than you can get
the parts. And they will include a hard drive, optical drive, and
operating system for that price. The only issue you mention that might
be of concern is quiet -- the low-end Dells are pretty quiet nowadays,
but you can probably do better by buying a good quiet power supply,
and a motherboard that supports variable speed CPU fan.
I am sure you will get lots of response to this post saying that the
build-your-own system is better, with better parts, etc. But for a low
performance system, I don't think it is worth the additional cost.
Just my $.02.
Terry
