Computer Nightmares

[papilio]

I have gone through some unimaginable computer problems of late. First, my computer, that was built by a friend about six years ago, crashed. I had just spent $200+ on it to get it fixed, rebooted & files protected, about six months previously. I have found that PC systems have gone way down. So two people recommended Fry's electronics as a place to buy a computer, one of these people builds PC's. I got an Hp at Fry's; the cd burner did not work. I did a test on it with Hp tech support and they said it needed to be replaced. I took it back to Fry's and got my money back. I have since purchased and received a Dimension 9100 from Dell and am about to box this piece up and send it back. I got it two days ago and the CD burners on this one doesn't work properly, and I can't get the Media Center to work. I think it is probably something simple like it is not configured to burn CDs in WAV or something that a little assistance would easily fix. Low and Behold, Dell's tech support will not help you with the factory installed software. They want to charge you $99 dollars per incident for tex support.

I am now thinking about getting an a1130n HP from Best Buy. They said they would help me with the factory installed software if it is not working once I hook it up. My friend got a PC from HP's site and everything works perfectly right out of the box!

Whenever I try and burn a CD with my Media Player, which is the way that I have grown accustomed to doing it, it gives me the error message "interface not registered".

Well, I can barely believe that I have gone through two supposedly new PC's and they have both given me multiple problems that could not be resolved through thier tech support. Dell just flat out refused to help me unless I paid $99.

My question is what PC do you recommend? Would you recommend buying a HP a1130n from Best Buy for $679 after rebate. This is what I am considering next after I send this Dell back.

I want a fairly capable/powerful machine. I will use it mainly for pictures, and possibly more video in the future. I really like the lightscribe offered by HP, I wish I would have given HP another try now after going through Hell with Dell tech support.

If anyone knows of a good place that builds good machines in the greater Houston area I have a budget of $2000, but this figure includes @ 20" flat screen monitor. Please help! Any and all advice and or comments will be appreciated.

[Dogdaysdude]

Pap...welcome to PCguide!
Take a look at this post from a couple days ago...it mentions places near the last entry to buy from. They may not be in your area...you may end up ordering from somewhere online.

http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=40403

[poppy]

Welcome! You could also check out Directron.com (http://store.yahoo.com/directron/index.html). They are located in Houston.

[classicsoftware]

Where do you live?????

Would you consider building your own?

[papilio]

The people at best buy said that they would help me with software and get things running and configured if I it isn't already. He said the processor in the a1130n HP has one of the best processors- something about dual core and front bus??? Plus, best buy is close and I know two people who recently got an HP that everything worked perfect right out of the box.

I have considered building my own but I am not confident in my abilities. I watched my friend build the last good one I had which lasted atleast five years with few problems. So I guess if you know what your doing, though, it is pretty easy. I live in The Woodlands area/South Conroe/ North Houston. I would definetly consider paying someone to build a custom one.

What do you think about buying LCD monitors on ebay?
Right now the a1130n HP from Best Buy seems like a good idea; I like the lightscribe.

Oh, yea, I have checked out, and am going to check out some more before I make my decision, Directron.com. I still didn't see where in HOuston the were located.

Thanks

[poppy]

Address: 10402 Harwin Drive
Houston, Texas 77036
713-773-9898

Driving Directions (http://store.yahoo.com/directron/direction.html)

[poppy]

He said the processor in the a1130n HP has one of the best processors- something about dual core and front bus???
Processor:AMD Athlon 64 3500+ 2.2GHz
Dual-Core??:The motherboard is Socket 939 and is capable of upgrading to a dual-core processor if you so choose in the future; does not come with a dual-core processor. I haven't been able yet to find out who manufactured the motherboard , but what it comes with is not too bad for the price point and an off-the-shelf system.
FSB (Front Side Bus):1000MHz
RAM:1GB

Comes with the Radeon Express 200 integrated video. This would be fine for general home use, surfing the web and checking email. Because it shares your memory, out of your 1GB you will have about 896MB system RAM left.

I would definitely consider putting in a dedicated video card for better performance. You will need a PCI-Express X16 card and again you could do this at any time if the budget doesn't allow for it now. If you don't plan on any heavy gaming, then the suggested budget cards in saphalline's sticky (http://www.pcguide.com/vb/showthread.php?t=39018) would probably suffice.

[classicsoftware]

You have several choices:

You can buy from a retail store.

You can buy from a manufacturer directly.

You can build yourself.

You can by from a local system builder.

What would you prefer to do.