need help buying new computer

[mystified]

I will buy a new computer system shortly and would like to find out if this system is a good one. I don’t play games on the computer but I like to design greeting cards. Etc. and surf the net and email.
Asus CUSC Motherboard
256MB PC-133 RAM
SIS 650E Video (up tp 64MB shared)
Cmedia 3D Audio (onboard)
SIS 7016 10/100 LAN (onboard)
ASUS 50x CD-ROM
Jazz 3 pcs Spkrs/1.44FDD/Keyboard/Wheel Mouse
Fujitsu 30.7GB, UDMA 100, 2MB, 8.5ms
Intel Pentium III-750E, 100 MHz
Hack 17” .25dpi Monitor
Sony CDRW
2 USB ports and plug-in for headset were on the front and 2 more USB ports on the side
The price I was quoted in canadian Dollars is $ 1405.--
I also have another quote for the following system that is Cdn$ 1660.-- Upgradable MSI-6378 Motherboard
Dual USB & PS2 Ports
AMD Duron 800 MHz Processor, Heatsink/Fan
256 Mb DIMM RAM 133 MHz
FUJITSU 20.4 Gb. ATA-100 UMDA IDE Hard Drive
PANASONIC 1.44 Mb. 3.5" Floppy Drive
16 Bit Full Stereo/Full Duplex Sound
MLI Amplified Desktop Speakers
8 MB Video Graphics Card onboard
GVC 10/100 Network Card- cable ready
PS-2 Mouse PS-2 Win'98 Keyboard
ATX Tower Case with 250 W CSA Approved Power Supply
Microsoft Windows "Millennium" on CD c/w Manual
8x4x32 CD Re-Writer
extra CD ROM
The plugin for headset and the USB port were on the back, which I don't like as well. I wish I was more knowledgable in these things, but I only know how to use a computer, not what goes into it :-)
Any comments are greatly appreciated

[kaos]

Welcome mystified,
I'll let the other PC guru's comment on which one of those is the better one. I'd just like to say imo (because I know there will be disagreements), the most important things to get are--7200rpm HD,(look up ariel Density on the web if you want to understand more about what's important in a HD) Video Card with at least 32MB memory, for graphics I would get a minimum of 256MB 133MHz memory. CPU is of the least importance. As long as you get 600-800, you'll be set for a couple more years. Obviously, the faster the better, but, don't create other bottlenecks in the CPU, upgrade the others that I just listed first. Duron wouldn't be my first choice, if you can, see about Athlon or even PIII. Of course I'm saying this not knowing if you have a budget or not, so it's easy for me to spend your money, I just don't like Durons very much. Onboard sound/video eats up precious CPU cycles, so if you can, get Cards.
What I did on my PC is downgraded my CPU from 1GHz to 866MHz and upgraded the sound and video cards. If you want let us know how much you're willing to spend, and I bet you some people here will get a great rig hooked up for you.

[mystified]

thanks for quick answer. Right now I am using a laptop and was happy with that, but it's getting crowded in there. It only has 2 Gigs and 32 RAM. So I will be starting from scratch with a desktop (nothing to upgrade)
I will wait and see what I can gather from other kind souls as well. I have no idea about the inner workings of a computer and what is good and what is only marginal, so I am very grateful for any advise.
Thanks again

[kaos]

Always a good idea to hear out as many opinions as possible. When I said
"don't create other bottlenecks in the CPU" That's a typo. I wrote something and then deleted it and that was a remainder from the deleted sentence. I meant to say don't don't create bottlenecks by getting a fast CPU w/o upgrading the other things I mentioned.

[mystified]

I hope this is not too much to post, but I have another system quote and wonder what all you knowledgable people think of this one:
Touch computer system
AMD Duron 900 mhz
Asus A7V mother board
256 mb pc 133 ram
mid tower with 300 watt power supply
1.44 floppy disk drive
logitec 2 button mouse
Windows 98 second edition with CD rom
maxtor 20gb hard disk drive
nVidia Riva TNT2 video card 32mb AGP 4X
LG 52X CDrom
LG 8x4x32 CD read/write with software
Creative Labs soundblaster Live
US robotics 56k v90 voice/speakerphone modem
Altec lansing 200 multimedia speakers

$ 1299.00 plus taxes

3 year parts and labour warranty
fully CSA & ISO 2001 compliant

of course I would also need a monitor. I wonder in particular if the components are of good quality.
Thanks