Dean Kukral wrote:
> My concern is that she purchases a computer that can be easily
> repaired and upgraded in the future.  I have read on this list
> that some computers have proprietary cases and motherboards,
> which do not take standard ATX form factor motherboards.

Purchasing from Dell, HP or the rest will give you a one size fits all
system that is proprietary and will not give you much room for upgrading if
you decide to stray away from their product line. As for "standard" form
factors they have them, they are built by such names as Intel and they are
branded systems. This meaning they have set it up to lessen the calls to
Technical Support. If you run into trouble.... The rest is history.

To begin with I'd like to ask a few questions which I usually do before
building a system for a client. What does this person what to do with the
computer? What does she want the computer to do for her? One can only guess
at this point. 

I would recommend something simple if this person doesn't have much computer
experience. Selling or building a Porsche when the person really needs a
General Motors brand is a disservice to the person buying the system.

If the person is going to use the computer for Email and chatting with
friends they don't need all the bells and whistles. If they are serious
gamers, they will need speed and memory to seamlessly play such games a Doom
or for that matter, any computer crashing game. 

Moving up the list to those who want to transfer cassette tapes and or LP's
(remember those days' guys?) they will need something along the lines of
Creatives Audigy and something like Leadtechs VIVO. (Video in Video out) It
all depends upon what the person will needs.

I prefer Intel for motherboards and processors, Western Digital for drives,
Enlight for cases, Plextor for burners, Viewsonic for Monitors and the list
goes on. Why have I chosen to align myself with these companies? Good
products at a reasonable cost.

An example,
Barebones system which includes the following.
Intel 845GEBV2L Motherboard with Intel Celeron 1.7G CPU
256MB PC2100 Memory
48x16x48x CDRW
Enlight 7250 case which includes 1.44 floppy case cooling fan and a P4 ready
power supply. 

This is low to mid range with a cost of around five hundred dollars.

I chose this motherboard due to the fact it has built in sound, video and
NIC for networking or DSL. The board itself allows upgrades for sound and
video as future needs arise. You can also upgrade the CPU and add more
memory if needed. In a nutshell there you have it.

Sincerely,

Frank Suszka
netTek Computers
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