In Luck-Need expert consultation

[Alma J Wetzker]

Bob wrote:
> Looks like my insurance is going to replace my computer.  Need expert
> advice.
> 
> should I go with an ASA computer: (Athlon, I saw an add in Linux Journal)
> 
> CPU AMD ATHLON XP 2400+ 256K 266FSB THOROUGHBRED B...(AXDA2400BOX)
> MEMORY 512 MB DDR PC2100(5MD21NUHG)
> FLOPPY DISK 1.44 MB FLOPPY DRIVE(FLOPPY)
> HARD DISK IDE 120GB 7200 RPM ATA100 8 MB CACHE (3 YEAR W...(I-012-07-0-8)
> VGA (ONBOARD VIDEO PORT) GEFORCE2 MX200 32MB AGP 2D/3D
> VIDADPT(3DFORCE2_MX-32)
> NETWORK (ONBOARD 10/100 NETWORK PORT) NETGEAR FA311 10/100 PCI RJ45
> NIC(FA311)
> CD ROM 52X CDROM(CD)
> DVD/CD-RW DVD AND CDRW COMBO(DVD-CDRW-COMBO)
> KEY BOARD None
> MOUSE Logitech 3 Button Regular Mouse(lg3o)
> MODEM/SPEAKER 56KBPS;V.90 Modem(Modem)
> MONITOR None
> OPERATING SYSTEM LINUX 0/S (SPECIFIY FLAVOR AND VERSION)(LINUX)
> MOTHERBOARD  ASUS A7N266 MOTHERBOARD.
> CASE  Med Tower ATX. 300W Power Supply.
> SOUND  Onboard Sound.
> 
> Slower system, but a real modem and a bigger hard drive.  The Dell is on the
> refurbished list so this one may be gone when I get OK, but they'll have a
> comparable one, I'm sure.
> 
> Or a Dell:
> 
>     SYSTEM SPECIFICATION
>     Dimension 8250 (System Identifier FLVAE5E0)
>     Dell Dimension 8250: Pentium? 4 Processor at 2.4GHz with 533MHz system
> bus/512K L2 Cache, Integrated Audio and NIC
> Microsoft? Windows XP Home
> 
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> 
> System Price $1,004.00
> Promotion Discount ($225.00)
> Discounted Price $779.00
> Dell recommends Microsoft? Windows? XP
> 
> 
>    Operating System: Microsoft? Windows XP Home
>    Memory: 512 MB PC1066 RDRAM (2 RIMMs)
>    Floppy Drive: 1.44 MB Floppy Disk Drive
>    Hard Disk Drive: 120 GB EIDE Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
>    Video: 64MB GEFORCE4 MX 420 with TV Out
>    Modem: 56K Telephony Modem for Windows-Sound Option
>    CD Read-Write Drive: 40X/10X/40X CDRW Drive
>    DVD Drive: 16X DVD-ROM
>    Software: Resource CD
>     Software
>     DPS Paint Shop Pro Try and Buy Software
>     Music Match 7.1 Software
>     Dell SecurityCenter by McAfee, 90-day introductory offer
>     WordPerfect Productivity Suite 10.0
>     Quicken - New User Edition 2002
>     AOL 8.0 ISP Software
>     DVD Software
>     Britannica Software
>     Image Expert Standard Software
>     Dell Support 2.0
>     Dell Support 2.0
>    Misc: QuietKey Keyboard
>     Logitech PS2 Mouse
>     Shipping Material
> 
>  Seems a shame to have to pay for all the M$ crap.

I like to spend the money on CPU, speed and RAM.  Peripherals are inexpensive 
and get more so if you wait a while.  Ask for a deeper discount to ship the 
system bare.  Worst they can say is no.

     -- Alma