Good deal? (used computer)

eMachines T3616 and 19" MAG monitor - $200

I'm switching to a laptop.
This tower computer is less than a month old.
Monitor has brillant color and excellent pixel detail.

AMD Sempron 3600 2.0 GHZ
512 MB
NVDIA Video Card
120 GB hard driver
DVD +/- RW DL
Windows Vista Basic
Includes Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers, Original Box and all documentation and CD's

Click to expand...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883114036

Even with vista basic you're gonna need to up the ram but otherwise should be fine as long as you don't do much gaming

[quote name='sweeetja713']Even with vista basic you're gonna need to up the ram but otherwise should be fine as long as you don't do much gaming[/QUOTE]
Well, I'm expecting to use it as more of just a spare machine. I'd probably even pop Linux on it, as that's how I roll.

The question is: is $200 for all that a good deal? Or just a fair price?

Eh it's ok depending on what you want to do with it. The biggest thing is the ram because Vista (POS imo) can't run on 512mb. It will need at the very minumum 1GB, if not 2GB. If you're trying to run games on it then it's a horrible deal because the games you may want to play (Crysis, Stranglehold, etc) will not be able to run on it. If it's just a family computer for word processing and school work, then it's fine. Other than that though, I would hold off.

Also, look for a computer with Windows XP on it. You'll thank me later.

[quote name='PyroGamer']Well, I'm expecting to use it as more of just a spare machine. I'd probably even pop Linux on it, as that's how I roll.

The question is: is $200 for all that a good deal? Or just a fair price?[/quote]

Sorry for double post but if it's just a Linux box, then it's fine. It's a fair price more than a deal though, monitor included, because you could build the same system for either the same amount of money or less.

eMachines make unreliable systems. If you don't care about Vista you can get a better deal at Geeks.com, I got my computer there a few months ago for about $120 and it works great.

http://www.geeks.com/products.asp?cat=SYS

[quote name='Pck21']Eh it's ok depending on what you want to do with it. The biggest thing is the ram because Vista (POS imo) can't run on 512mb. It will need at the very minumum 1GB, if not 2GB. If you're trying to run games on it then it's a horrible deal because the games you may want to play (Crysis, Stranglehold, etc) will not be able to run on it. If it's just a family computer for word processing and school work, then it's fine. Other than that though, I would hold off.

Also, look for a computer with Windows XP on it. You'll thank me later.[/quote]

My one friends sister just got an EMachines with Vista on it. It's a major pita(Vista), since for every little thing you want to do on the damned computer, you have to re-enter a friggin password. Mind you, it's great that the security is that tight, but it gets tedious after a while.

Plus, my friend wanted to play Rome Total War on it and even running it in BC mode(thanks to those who informed me on where to find BC mode in Vista), it played like crap and kept crashing.

It looks like Vista is yet another unstable OS released by MS, which will inevitably be patched and re-patched until the next new OS comes out.

Not bad for a tower and monitor. As others have mentioned, Vista will run like crap. If you are looking to run a Linux distro, though, that would be fine.