Ron Colby wrote: > I have recently come to find out that Compaq computers are > also proprietary and this has caused me some reason for concern since I am > seriously considering purchasing Compaq's latest offering, the Presario > 4860, 333 Mhz 'puter. When I called Compaq and tried to glean information > regarding the chip set on the motherboard and back ground information on > the various mechanisms that make up the computer I was informed that that > information was unavailable. I would appreciate any information regarding > Compaq computers in general and where on the Net I could possibly locate > information concerning what goes into a Compaq computer. The main thing you should think about if you are thinking about purchasing a computer that is manufactured by a large computer company is that they will not use the same brand name parts you would. This keeps their cost down, but could possibly cause you a large amount of grief. I purchased a Compaq computer for my son, to get him off mine. It is the only computer that I have ever purchased from a major company. My son is almost seven and has had the computer for approximately one year without any major problems. I just wanted an inexpensive machine that I could add a network card to and that is why I purchased a pre-built machine. Compaq makes a good computer and as far as I know offers good support. My company purchases Compaq computers and in general they work fine. The problem will come if/when you plan on upgrading your computer. You will find that it will be more difficult than if you had a system built for you. Having a system built for you will cost a little more, but it is well worth it. You will know what parts are in your computer and they will be able to be replaced without undue hassle. In building your computer you can skimp on the parts that are unimportant to you and spend extra on those that are important to you. If you build it yourself you also get the pride of knowing that you can do it. (The problem with that is that if it doesn't work, you get to fix it. :-) ) Those are my thoughts, Robert -- Look, Listen, Learn Information is being provided for educational purposes only Fact IS stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense. -- Look, Listen, Learn Information is being provided for educational purposes only Fact IS stranger than fiction. Fiction has to make sense.