Fuck this Gateway shit...

[Quiet_Cool]

"Still works" and "fairly decent" doesn't sound very promising when it comes to a monitor. But it's your call.

Long-story short, it's in good condition, but there's a scratch on the screen and it takes up more space than I'd like. It's not a priority in terms of replacement just yet. Basically, with this comp more or less becoming worthless, it doesn't matter how nice my monitor is.



Q_C

 

[sophia jane]

Some great advice. I'm a fan of custom built myself, but the warranty thing can be an issue. We've been able to fix everything ourselves (I'm fairly handy with troubleshooting, etc). The great thing about a custom is that you can pick and choose your priorities;
If you do custom, I second the Earl on AMD - we've used AMD for years and years, and have always gotten solid performance. Western Digital for the Hard Drive is also a good choice. Liar is correct that you need at least 512 of Ram, but as cheap as it is, you could probably go higher on that. Brand name, at least in my experience, isn't that important on RAM. We have always used Creative Labs for sound cards and have had good results (except for my fucking microphone not working, but that's another story).

A few other things- don't forget a cd burner. And if you custom build, make sure they install plenty of fans. We had a problem with our last custom because the case didn't allow for proper cooling and it basically destroyed our hard-drive.
The other great thing (but also pain) about custom building is with software- you only have what you want and don't have to deal with all the extra shit that the bigwigs install for you. The pain part of it is that you have to buy all the software you need (Windows is fucking expensive) and install all of it yourself.

Good luck!

SJ

 

[Dar~]

I go tmine custom built, and it has both a waranty on parts and the whole. The guy I bought it from answerrs the phone 24/7 with over the phone tech support and also will repair anything needing repair free of charge.

 

[impressive]

The pain part of it is that you have to buy all the software you need (Windows is fucking expensive) and install all of it yourself.

Word. (pun intended)

 

[TheEarl]

Windows is fucking expensive

Yes. Windows was expensive. When I bought it. Wiht my money. For my computer.

The Earl

 

[sophia jane]

Yes. Windows was expensive. When I bought it. Wiht my money. For my computer.

The Earl

I can't respond to this without revealing my dirty little secret , but this cracked me up Earl.

SJ