What do you guys think?

[zacspeed]

A mate has asked me to look out for a cheap system, what do you guys think of this for the money (£478)?

PROCESSOR - AMD 2800:
MOTHERBOARD - Asrock K7Upgrade-600 ATX 400Mhz FSB Socket A Motherboard, 4 PCI, AGP 8x, ATA133,8x USB 2, 1x 10/100 LAN 2x DDR Slots, Upgrade slot for a Socket 754 Board
MEMORY - 512Mb PC 3200 DDR
HARD DISK - 120Gb 7,200rpm Hard Drive
SOUND - C-Media AC-97
GRAPHICS CARD - ATi Radeon 9200 128Mb DDR
MODEM - Intel Hardware PCI V92 56K Modem
DVD ROM - 16x DVD ROM
CDRW - 52x32x52 CDRW
MONITOR - 15" TFT
SPEAKERS - Altec Lansing 2120 Speakers
FLOPPY DRIVE - 3.5
KEYBOARD - Logitech Wireless Multimedia
MOUSE- Logitech Wireless Optical Wheel Mouse
CASE - 350Watt Midi ATX Tower
SOFTWARE - Windows XP Home Edition , Fax/Answerphone software, Nero Burning Rom, InterVideo DVD Software, all original CD's are shipped with the System
z.

[Peerzy]

What does your mate want to do with this PC? Thats not really a gaming pc, more of a casual once in a while game and just email and internet machine.

[zacspeed]

I don't think gaming will be an issue, more for P2P downloading & CD/DVD copying use (he's got a DVD writer already).

[Skiz]

I think if this machine isn't going to be used for gaming (not that it couldn't handle today's games), then he'll have more than he needs. That's ok though, he won't have to upgrade for awhile either. :)

[zacspeed]

I think if this machine isn't going to be used for gaming (not that it couldn't handle today's games), then he'll have more than he needs. That's ok though, he won't have to upgrade for awhile either. :)
I've trawled through the interweb for ages now & I think for the money, this seems the best system for him.
I just wanted to know if there was anything obviously wrong with those specs/manufacturers (is the mobo prone to melting, shit like that)
:confused:

[silent h3ro]

The mobo most likely won't be melting unless u do some insane o/cing.

[zacspeed]

The mobo most likely won't be melting unless u do some insane o/cing.
Aww :(

LOL

[peat moss]

If he has a dvd writer already ,mabye save him some coin and skip the dvd . and cd-rw . :)

[silent h3ro]

Aww :(

LOL
:whistling

[lynx]

Is he likely to want a 64-bit chip in the near future?

If the answer is yes, then you can probably get one for a small amount more now so go straight to it.

If the answer is no, then why spend extra money on an upgradable motherboard when the upgrade board will cost almost as much as a new motherboard when the time comes.

Either way, I wouldn't waste my time getting that mobo, I've seen too many of these "upgradable" systems over the years, and I've yet to see one that has actually been cost effective as an upgrade path.

[Harsh!]

A mate has asked me to look out for a cheap system, what do you guys think of this for the money (£478)?
z.

Jesus!!...
that works out to be about $1500 NZ :ohmy:

[lynx]

Jesus!!...
that works out to be about $1500 NZ :ohmy:1265 NZD. Your conversion is out by almost 20%. :rolleyes:

[clocker]

A mate has asked me to look out for a cheap system, what do you guys think of this for the money (£478)?

PROCESSOR - AMD 2800:

What flavor of chip is this? I'd be willing to bet that it's a Sempron, AMD's new budget CPU.
Basically a gutted Athlon XP, AMD is attempting to pass these dogs off as the "next greatest thing" when in fact, they are simply a stopgap between socketA and the a64 platforms.
Socket A is an attractive option today IF you realize that it's basically at the end of it's life and are willing to forgo 64-bit architecture for a while. The platform has matured and there are several very good boards still available. Just be sure that you are getting a real Athlon and not it's dumbed down sibling.

[Formula1]

Wtf , my system (look in sig) only cost 730 USD ( exluding shipping ) and that's like only 400 GBP ?? You can definetely get alot more with 478 GBP .... I'd look into atleast an AMD Athlon 64 2800/3000, another motherboard (a good one around 80$, which would already come with a sound card) and of course, a better video card (atleast 9550, or even 9600)...

[Peerzy]

Parts are more expensive in the UK. That price seems about right but i would push for an AMD64 bit as thats the way to go, anything 32bit thats AMD will be out of date soon enough.

[zacspeed]

Thanks for the advice you guys! I knew your vast knowledge wouldn't let me down :D