Ok, I’m going to try this whole computer thing again–this time, if I have to drive all the way to Orem to return any defective items, I’m going to bring a baseball bat with me. I’m going with an Asus A7V266-E board, an AMD Athlon XP 1600 cpu, 512MB Micron DDR RAM, a cheap-ass PCI soundcard, and possibly an IBM 40GB drive (7200 RPM), all for around $560. I have to drive up for work on Tuesday anyway, so I might as well get it all then. I don’t really have the money to pay for all of it, so some of it will have to go on my credit card. My current computer needs to be rebooted several times daily in order to keep it running smoothly (if you can call 266 MHz smooth), and I’m just getting sick of it. And since I can claim it on my tax return as an unreimbursed business expense, it’ll be that much less I have to pay taxes on when I file in a few months.
DO NOT BUY THE IBM 40 GIG DRIVE!!!
The IBM drives 40GB and up are made with glass parts inside them. This is for speed and cost efficiency. These glass parts break easily and often, and the drives are known for going bad within 6 months.
I know this, because I work at Alienware and we have ceased carrying the drives because we were having such big problems with them over time.
Go with a Seagate or some other reputable brand, but not IBM.