compilerxp
Thread Starter
- Joined
- Feb 24, 2002
- Messages
- 1,629
I've been on and off again on this site for a good many years...
I've seen many "scam" class junky computer products that allows vendors (normally fly-by-night, no quality types) to sell computer cheap with DIRT-CHEAP components.
Examples:
93-94, the "486DLX33" built onto the Mobo. costs was about $125, it was really a 386CPU with some "486-like" functionality.
94-95, the INFAMOUS "912" board, made by PC-CHIPS was sold all over the world. It was a HORRIBLE product. It was a 486 cpu board that could handle intel, Cyrix and AMD processors. Many of these had "FAKE" cache memory... meaning SLOW performance. It was sold under MANY different brand names.
97ish : The "TXPRO" boards... these were "name-liked" of off Intel's TX Chipset which was the LAST and very GOOD chipset from intel for the P1 cpus. Because it was a "pro"- people were thinking it was an improvement over the "TX" - it had built-in audio and video that the "TX" didn't have. This was another PC-CHIPs rip-off product. These were typically slower and had very high failure-rates of total death or contant errors.
Now for the present:
I would like to post a warning to something a client of mine ACCIDENTLY bought. She went about bought a computer without talking to me. She blew $750+ tax on a "AMD duron 1.4ghz with 256mb DDR, 40gb 7200 rpm HD on an ASUS mobo".
What she got was PURE junk worth about $250. A used 17" monitor (2years old), an Amptron BS mobo, a HD from a compaq PC (30gb 5400rpm), cheap keyboard & mouse & case... oh and 128mb of SD-RAM!! Windows XP & Office XP were of course pirated.
Had to call the police because the vender refused to refund the money back. Took a week, but money was returned and we went to SAMS and got ger a $595 computer with AMD XP2000, 256mb DDR, 40gb drive (5400, but shes getting what shes paying for), decent speakers & key/mouse.
The board she was sold on the 1st computer is PURE junk. heres a link from the manufacture :
http://www.amptron.com/html/MotherboardK7_m810dlm4_frame.html
Called the : K7- 810DLM4 (AMD 1400+)
Why is it junk?
1 - only venders I wouldn't trust would sell this product.
2 - It's sold as an "AMD 1400+ Mhz type system" - but Windows told me otherwise and of course it took some digging and going to the site to find out its a duron-950mhz.
3 - Its TOTALLY NON-UPGRADEABLE. No AGP Slot! The AMD cpu (if its legit) is not removable! The HSF (Heat Sink Fan - for cooling the CPU) is SCREWED onto the board and won't use standard HSF... so when it DIES, your CPU dies and you replace the whole thing.
4 - The drivers it came with worked like junk... the moron who built the machine (he was a moron, he couldnt hook up the power light for the case to the mobo) handed her a PC without all the drivers working... then again, the CD-ROM with the drivers didn't work at all.
5 - this board with its CPU may cost you around $50... its CHEAP and maybe worth it to YOU if youre on a budget. But its life span is about 0 to 6 months... Its not a long term, high performnce reliable product! They don't even have a PROPER listing of this product on their pages... don't expect to FIND anything about this model on their website in 6-9 months.
6 - This is a QUICK-SELL type product. When I was younger and new to the business, the company I worked for bought a WHOLE bunch of mobos like this with the 486-SX cpu built-on. Cost was about $50! Sold like hot-cakes. They were NOT bad... for the price back then. AMD no longer makes DURON cpus... Consider that the XP2000 costs about $75~100 (twice that of a Duron 1.2) 0 why bother? This company bought a WHAREHOUSE load of these CPUs (paid about $1-3 per chip) and glued them onto a minimal functional mobo.
PC-CHIPS is a group of companies linked to Amptron, ECS, Chaintec and ASRock which seems to have a LOGO simular to ASUS - the #1 Mobo maker in the world! The way they do their business - you don't KNOW exactly WHO you are doing business with.
I post this warning as a WAY to protect yourselves.
If you want a cheap board, ECS does make an upgradable SIS chipset board with AGP, etc. Starting around $50. You can then throw in a DURON 1.3Ghz CPU for about $35~45. Then add a fan for $10. So yes, its about $50 more in the end, but you'll have a product that will last longer and upgradable. Pay an extra $20~30 and get a board with the VIA KT333/400 chipset and get even more performance and a more trusted product.
The $50~75 saved.... is it worth it when the computer dies in 3-6 months? Having constant crashes? Down time... reinstalling drivers and windows while trying to trouble shoot a problem?
This is the same with the $20 PC cases I see on the street. They have very weak 200watt power supplies that can DIE quickly. These cheap cases don't usually have proper air-flow. A bad cheap Power supply can cause you down time with system crashes and instability and of course... could possible DAMAGE your electronics!!
Spend $75~100 for an In-win or Antec case... they have 300watts, less likely to CUT your fingers and will last a long time.
Good luck!
I've seen many "scam" class junky computer products that allows vendors (normally fly-by-night, no quality types) to sell computer cheap with DIRT-CHEAP components.
Examples:
93-94, the "486DLX33" built onto the Mobo. costs was about $125, it was really a 386CPU with some "486-like" functionality.
94-95, the INFAMOUS "912" board, made by PC-CHIPS was sold all over the world. It was a HORRIBLE product. It was a 486 cpu board that could handle intel, Cyrix and AMD processors. Many of these had "FAKE" cache memory... meaning SLOW performance. It was sold under MANY different brand names.
97ish : The "TXPRO" boards... these were "name-liked" of off Intel's TX Chipset which was the LAST and very GOOD chipset from intel for the P1 cpus. Because it was a "pro"- people were thinking it was an improvement over the "TX" - it had built-in audio and video that the "TX" didn't have. This was another PC-CHIPs rip-off product. These were typically slower and had very high failure-rates of total death or contant errors.
Now for the present:
I would like to post a warning to something a client of mine ACCIDENTLY bought. She went about bought a computer without talking to me. She blew $750+ tax on a "AMD duron 1.4ghz with 256mb DDR, 40gb 7200 rpm HD on an ASUS mobo".
What she got was PURE junk worth about $250. A used 17" monitor (2years old), an Amptron BS mobo, a HD from a compaq PC (30gb 5400rpm), cheap keyboard & mouse & case... oh and 128mb of SD-RAM!! Windows XP & Office XP were of course pirated.
Had to call the police because the vender refused to refund the money back. Took a week, but money was returned and we went to SAMS and got ger a $595 computer with AMD XP2000, 256mb DDR, 40gb drive (5400, but shes getting what shes paying for), decent speakers & key/mouse.
The board she was sold on the 1st computer is PURE junk. heres a link from the manufacture :
http://www.amptron.com/html/MotherboardK7_m810dlm4_frame.html
Called the : K7- 810DLM4 (AMD 1400+)
Why is it junk?
1 - only venders I wouldn't trust would sell this product.
2 - It's sold as an "AMD 1400+ Mhz type system" - but Windows told me otherwise and of course it took some digging and going to the site to find out its a duron-950mhz.
3 - Its TOTALLY NON-UPGRADEABLE. No AGP Slot! The AMD cpu (if its legit) is not removable! The HSF (Heat Sink Fan - for cooling the CPU) is SCREWED onto the board and won't use standard HSF... so when it DIES, your CPU dies and you replace the whole thing.
4 - The drivers it came with worked like junk... the moron who built the machine (he was a moron, he couldnt hook up the power light for the case to the mobo) handed her a PC without all the drivers working... then again, the CD-ROM with the drivers didn't work at all.
5 - this board with its CPU may cost you around $50... its CHEAP and maybe worth it to YOU if youre on a budget. But its life span is about 0 to 6 months... Its not a long term, high performnce reliable product! They don't even have a PROPER listing of this product on their pages... don't expect to FIND anything about this model on their website in 6-9 months.
6 - This is a QUICK-SELL type product. When I was younger and new to the business, the company I worked for bought a WHOLE bunch of mobos like this with the 486-SX cpu built-on. Cost was about $50! Sold like hot-cakes. They were NOT bad... for the price back then. AMD no longer makes DURON cpus... Consider that the XP2000 costs about $75~100 (twice that of a Duron 1.2) 0 why bother? This company bought a WHAREHOUSE load of these CPUs (paid about $1-3 per chip) and glued them onto a minimal functional mobo.
PC-CHIPS is a group of companies linked to Amptron, ECS, Chaintec and ASRock which seems to have a LOGO simular to ASUS - the #1 Mobo maker in the world! The way they do their business - you don't KNOW exactly WHO you are doing business with.
I post this warning as a WAY to protect yourselves.
If you want a cheap board, ECS does make an upgradable SIS chipset board with AGP, etc. Starting around $50. You can then throw in a DURON 1.3Ghz CPU for about $35~45. Then add a fan for $10. So yes, its about $50 more in the end, but you'll have a product that will last longer and upgradable. Pay an extra $20~30 and get a board with the VIA KT333/400 chipset and get even more performance and a more trusted product.
The $50~75 saved.... is it worth it when the computer dies in 3-6 months? Having constant crashes? Down time... reinstalling drivers and windows while trying to trouble shoot a problem?
This is the same with the $20 PC cases I see on the street. They have very weak 200watt power supplies that can DIE quickly. These cheap cases don't usually have proper air-flow. A bad cheap Power supply can cause you down time with system crashes and instability and of course... could possible DAMAGE your electronics!!
Spend $75~100 for an In-win or Antec case... they have 300watts, less likely to CUT your fingers and will last a long time.
Good luck!
