eMachine computer a good bet?

Well, Blip...

I didn't come in here to get blasted. Just to give an opinion. I know full
well who I am that's why I don't have a problem putting my email address on
my posts. As for the confusion, the TB is an inside joke. You wouldn't get
it. It's attitudes like yours that frequently scare newbies off from these
types of NGs, when you really could be adding a valid opinion and doing
something useful.

As for my qualifications, no, I do not work for GW in any capacity. But I
have been building and using both PCs and Mac's for over 20 years. I happen
to work for a company with the initials HP. Whether or not that diminishes
me in your eyes or not is beside the point. I am simply adding my opinion.
And at the end of the day, that's all any of this really is.

As for building a box, please read the following:

MB- Intel 915G Chipset $125.00
CPU- P4 560 (3.6G) 439.00
HD- HDS 250GB SATA 131.00
Mem- Samsung 2 512 MB 160.00
Mon- GW FP1750 17" LCd 299.00
VC- ATI Radeon X800 XT 529.00
Case- Antec 110.00
PS- Antec 330W 89.00
DVD RW- Samsung 16x 62.00
DVD ROM- Samsung 41.00
Windows XP Pro 199.00
Sound Card- SB Audigy 2 ZS 107.00
Speakers- 2.1 w/sub 50.00

Total- $2341.00

These prices are from Pricewatch.com and are current as of 3/1/2005 @11:49
AM. I used the very same equipment as is listed from SiSoft Sandra on my
new 7200XL-a Gateway box-for which I paid $2200.00 incl. shipping. I did
pay tax, but so will you on the above amount, which is in addition to the
shipping charges on all of those individual parts. Note I did not order from
the least expensive vendor. I chose vendors that had more than 50 reviews,
which in most cases ended up being Newegg or Xtreme Gear. I did that to
avoid vendor problems.

Quite frankly it would be stupid of me to build my own box. Not to mention
the fact that if I have a problem with hardware, I just call tech support
and it's fixed. I don't have to shell out anymore money.
TB

PSAll flames will be ignored.

"TR" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:27:26 -0800, "TB"
wrote:

GW has significantly improved its tech support and in all of the years I
have had to call, I have never spoken to someone with an accent anymore
removed from the States than Alabama.

Up until my last home desktop ran out of warranty I can say that
everyone I talked to at GW TS Between 2002 and 2004 had a distinct
South Asian (Indian) accent and knew nothing about computers except
what was printed on their terminal to say. Before 2002, they were
locals and I can truthfully say that half of them didn't have any more
of a clue than the Indians that took over their jobs. However, I can
say that I only came across attitude from American GW Techs on more
than one occasion while the Indians, if not having a clue, were always
courteous.

Even though I still have a GW laptop under Business Level Warranty
which always goes to a North American Techie that usually has a clue,
after dealing with GW support from 1996 till 2002 on home desktops, I
finally threw up my hands and gave a reputable local builder a try. I
have yet to regret my decision. Two home desktops in 2 1/2 years from
him and have had only one problem which was taken care of locally by
someone that actually built computers and wasn't reading canned
replies odd a terminal and which I was dealing with Face To Face.

Yes, it is true that [Most] all the parts come from the same place.
That isn't what is in question here. It is how those parts are put
together to make a final product and how that product is supported
that matters. All the spinning can not hide the fact that GW lost its
place in the market due to loosing the bulk of its customer retention
(returning customers) on their high end models. The joke going around
now is about some bumper sticker (I have not seen) that says something
to the effect "I bought a GW once". They now rely on those beginner
$399 boxes with training wheels and wide screen TV's to keep their
nose above water.

My two local builds came with the same warranties offered by GW. The
difference is that the Techie is 1 mile down the road and he probably
had a lot to do with the hands on building of my specific computers.
He doesn't read canned responses off the screen because he has a clue
and he's not only from my side of the world, he's from my home town.
And that's if I get the owners Techie. Usually its the owner I end up
speaking to. Also, I don't think I overly paid for my two local
builds. They are both AMD Athlon Performance machines in the $650 to
$750 range. And if I had chosen to use their integrated sound and
graphics instead, they would have been less.

BTW, I think he does offer a $499 beginner box like a lot of the
out-sourced-loving conglomerates do. The big difference is.... real
local support by a person that has a clue.

In closing, I don't know if this is true or not but on a few of the
Techie sites a while back, they were posting that GW had to pull its
ads where it showed GW boxes being assembled in America.... because
they got caught with the fact that they weren't. Now they are showing
ads of a herd of people running across a field delivering the
computers because they purchase complete assembled boxes out of
Taiwan with the GW name stamped on them. I don't know if this is true
but I do know that the ads showing a N. AM. assembly line have not
been shown since the new ad showing GW delivery herds running across a
field showed up on TV.

If nothing else, even though the parts are made in GW's beloved
Taiwan, lets at least keep our assembly and support money locally...
Buy a Local Build and keep your money flowing in your own community.
I have had no regrets since deciding to quit GW and support America,
as much as one can in a computer, once again.

TR

I agree with everything you said. But lets agree that "buying locally"
is not always buying American. Let's agree to say that [for a few
examples] if you are Australian, buy Australian builds, if you are
Canadian, buy Canadian builds and if you are Taiwanese, then by a
Gateway or Dell.

I also noticed that this confused idiot TB quoted your entire message
and then in his confused reply to it, slammed you for what someone else
said to him. Why quote a message if you don't have the intelligence to
read it before replying to it? It only makes you look like the torrid
idiot you are.

Like TR said.... wherever you are from, buy locally and for whatever TR
didn't say, ask the imbecile TB.

NIK




TR wrote:
On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:27:26 -0800, "TB"
wrote:

GW has significantly improved its tech support and in all of the
years I
have had to call, I have never spoken to someone with an accent
anymore
removed from the States than Alabama.

Up until my last home desktop ran out of warranty I can say that
everyone I talked to at GW TS Between 2002 and 2004 had a distinct
South Asian (Indian) accent and knew nothing about computers except
what was printed on their terminal to say. Before 2002, they were
locals and I can truthfully say that half of them didn't have any
more
of a clue than the Indians that took over their jobs. However, I can
say that I only came across attitude from American GW Techs on more
than one occasion while the Indians, if not having a clue, were
always
courteous.

Even though I still have a GW laptop under Business Level Warranty
which always goes to a North American Techie that usually has a clue,
after dealing with GW support from 1996 till 2002 on home desktops, I
finally threw up my hands and gave a reputable local builder a try.
I
have yet to regret my decision. Two home desktops in 2 1/2 years
from
him and have had only one problem which was taken care of locally by
someone that actually built computers and wasn't reading canned
replies odd a terminal and which I was dealing with Face To Face.

Yes, it is true that [Most] all the parts come from the same place.
That isn't what is in question here. It is how those parts are put
together to make a final product and how that product is supported
that matters. All the spinning can not hide the fact that GW lost
its
place in the market due to loosing the bulk of its customer retention
(returning customers) on their high end models. The joke going
around
now is about some bumper sticker (I have not seen) that says
something
to the effect "I bought a GW once". They now rely on those beginner
$399 boxes with training wheels and wide screen TV's to keep their
nose above water.

My two local builds came with the same warranties offered by GW. The
difference is that the Techie is 1 mile down the road and he probably
had a lot to do with the hands on building of my specific computers.
He doesn't read canned responses off the screen because he has a clue
and he's not only from my side of the world, he's from my home town.
And that's if I get the owners Techie. Usually its the owner I end
up
speaking to. Also, I don't think I overly paid for my two local
builds. They are both AMD Athlon Performance machines in the $650 to
$750 range. And if I had chosen to use their integrated sound and
graphics instead, they would have been less.

BTW, I think he does offer a $499 beginner box like a lot of the
out-sourced-loving conglomerates do. The big difference is.... real
local support by a person that has a clue.

In closing, I don't know if this is true or not but on a few of the
Techie sites a while back, they were posting that GW had to pull its
ads where it showed GW boxes being assembled in America.... because
they got caught with the fact that they weren't. Now they are
showing
ads of a herd of people running across a field delivering the
computers because they purchase complete assembled boxes out of
Taiwan with the GW name stamped on them. I don't know if this is
true
but I do know that the ads showing a N. AM. assembly line have not
been shown since the new ad showing GW delivery herds running across
a
field showed up on TV.

If nothing else, even though the parts are made in GW's beloved
Taiwan, lets at least keep our assembly and support money locally...
Buy a Local Build and keep your money flowing in your own community.
I have had no regrets since deciding to quit GW and support America,
as much as one can in a computer, once again.

TR

On 1 Mar 2005 16:22:41 -0800, wrote:

I agree with everything you said. But lets agree that "buying locally"
is not always buying American.

Very presumptuous of myself and I stand corrected.

and if you are Taiwanese, then by a
Gateway or Dell.

Ooh! However, I am sure that in most countries that there are
reputable box builders that need the business of their countrymen, er.
need to be politically correct here, new word... countrypersons.

I also noticed that this confused idiot TB quoted your entire message
and then in his confused reply to it, slammed you for what someone else
said to him.

I have grown use to it and have grown to expect it. I have found that
the average NG user participant to have a reading and comprehension
level compared to that of a opossum. Yes, it is extremely hard to
understand that they can actually put a quote of your entire message
in their reply and then turn around and misquote what you said and
make stuff up of what you actually said. The real scary thing is,
they probably drive, vote and worse of all, breed new generations of
their own. Next to this newest one we have here, one of the worse I
ever came across is one of the microsoft NG MVPs.

wherever you are from, buy locally and for whatever TR
didn't say, ask the imbecile TB.

Ooh... you're on a role today......

Regards,
TR

Well...

Doesn't take much to get everyone in an uproar. Pardon me for clicking on
the wrong button. However, my post was meant for the entire string of
messages here, not TR's specifically.

My bad that I didn't realize that some folks that inhabit these NGs don't
have anything better to do than take offense at what someone said. No
wonder America has such a problem with litigation; everyone's ready to take
immediate offense to something someone "said" or "didn't say".

I originally posted a response in order to address a question regarding
emachines. For those of you that don't or can't understand that, go back
and read what I originally posted. If you still don't understand, then
please find something more productive to do with your time. To the rest
that just come here to gripe, get a life!

TD
"TR" wrote in message
...
On 1 Mar 2005 16:22:41 -0800, wrote:

I agree with everything you said. But lets agree that "buying locally"
is not always buying American.

Very presumptuous of myself and I stand corrected.

and if you are Taiwanese, then by a
Gateway or Dell.

Ooh! However, I am sure that in most countries that there are
reputable box builders that need the business of their countrymen, er.
need to be politically correct here, new word... countrypersons.

I also noticed that this confused idiot TB quoted your entire message
and then in his confused reply to it, slammed you for what someone else
said to him.

I have grown use to it and have grown to expect it. I have found that
the average NG user participant to have a reading and comprehension
level compared to that of a opossum. Yes, it is extremely hard to
understand that they can actually put a quote of your entire message
in their reply and then turn around and misquote what you said and
make stuff up of what you actually said. The real scary thing is,
they probably drive, vote and worse of all, breed new generations of
their own. Next to this newest one we have here, one of the worse I
ever came across is one of the microsoft NG MVPs.

wherever you are from, buy locally and for whatever TR
didn't say, ask the imbecile TB.

Ooh... you're on a role today......

Regards,
TR

So now your story is that you are a HP tech analyst who speaks openly on
the usenet about how he buys, and advocates to others that they buy,
their computers from a competitor?

TB wrote:
Well, Blip...

I didn't come in here to get blasted. Just to give an opinion. I know full
well who I am that's why I don't have a problem putting my email address on
my posts. As for the confusion, the TB is an inside joke. You wouldn't get
it. It's attitudes like yours that frequently scare newbies off from these
types of NGs, when you really could be adding a valid opinion and doing
something useful.

As for my qualifications, no, I do not work for GW in any capacity. But I
have been building and using both PCs and Mac's for over 20 years. I happen
to work for a company with the initials HP. Whether or not that diminishes
me in your eyes or not is beside the point. I am simply adding my opinion.
And at the end of the day, that's all any of this really is.

As for building a box, please read the following:

MB- Intel 915G Chipset $125.00
CPU- P4 560 (3.6G) 439.00
HD- HDS 250GB SATA 131.00
Mem- Samsung 2 512 MB 160.00
Mon- GW FP1750 17" LCd 299.00
VC- ATI Radeon X800 XT 529.00
Case- Antec 110.00
PS- Antec 330W 89.00
DVD RW- Samsung 16x 62.00
DVD ROM- Samsung 41.00
Windows XP Pro 199.00
Sound Card- SB Audigy 2 ZS 107.00
Speakers- 2.1 w/sub 50.00

Total- $2341.00

These prices are from Pricewatch.com and are current as of 3/1/2005 @11:49
AM. I used the very same equipment as is listed from SiSoft Sandra on my
new 7200XL-a Gateway box-for which I paid $2200.00 incl. shipping. I did
pay tax, but so will you on the above amount, which is in addition to the
shipping charges on all of those individual parts. Note I did not order from
the least expensive vendor. I chose vendors that had more than 50 reviews,
which in most cases ended up being Newegg or Xtreme Gear. I did that to
avoid vendor problems.

Quite frankly it would be stupid of me to build my own box. Not to mention
the fact that if I have a problem with hardware, I just call tech support
and it's fixed. I don't have to shell out anymore money.
TB

PSAll flames will be ignored.

"TR" wrote in message
...

On Mon, 28 Feb 2005 13:27:26 -0800, "TB"
wrote:


GW has significantly improved its tech support and in all of the years I
have had to call, I have never spoken to someone with an accent anymore
removed from the States than Alabama.

Up until my last home desktop ran out of warranty I can say that
everyone I talked to at GW TS Between 2002 and 2004 had a distinct
South Asian (Indian) accent and knew nothing about computers except
what was printed on their terminal to say. Before 2002, they were
locals and I can truthfully say that half of them didn't have any more
of a clue than the Indians that took over their jobs. However, I can
say that I only came across attitude from American GW Techs on more
than one occasion while the Indians, if not having a clue, were always
courteous.

Even though I still have a GW laptop under Business Level Warranty
which always goes to a North American Techie that usually has a clue,
after dealing with GW support from 1996 till 2002 on home desktops, I
finally threw up my hands and gave a reputable local builder a try. I
have yet to regret my decision. Two home desktops in 2 1/2 years from
him and have had only one problem which was taken care of locally by
someone that actually built computers and wasn't reading canned
replies odd a terminal and which I was dealing with Face To Face.

Yes, it is true that [Most] all the parts come from the same place.
That isn't what is in question here. It is how those parts are put
together to make a final product and how that product is supported
that matters. All the spinning can not hide the fact that GW lost its
place in the market due to loosing the bulk of its customer retention
(returning customers) on their high end models. The joke going around
now is about some bumper sticker (I have not seen) that says something
to the effect "I bought a GW once". They now rely on those beginner
$399 boxes with training wheels and wide screen TV's to keep their
nose above water.

My two local builds came with the same warranties offered by GW. The
difference is that the Techie is 1 mile down the road and he probably
had a lot to do with the hands on building of my specific computers.
He doesn't read canned responses off the screen because he has a clue
and he's not only from my side of the world, he's from my home town.
And that's if I get the owners Techie. Usually its the owner I end up
speaking to. Also, I don't think I overly paid for my two local
builds. They are both AMD Athlon Performance machines in the $650 to
$750 range. And if I had chosen to use their integrated sound and
graphics instead, they would have been less.

BTW, I think he does offer a $499 beginner box like a lot of the
out-sourced-loving conglomerates do. The big difference is.... real
local support by a person that has a clue.

In closing, I don't know if this is true or not but on a few of the
Techie sites a while back, they were posting that GW had to pull its
ads where it showed GW boxes being assembled in America.... because
they got caught with the fact that they weren't. Now they are showing
ads of a herd of people running across a field delivering the
computers because they purchase complete assembled boxes out of
Taiwan with the GW name stamped on them. I don't know if this is true
but I do know that the ads showing a N. AM. assembly line have not
been shown since the new ad showing GW delivery herds running across a
field showed up on TV.

If nothing else, even though the parts are made in GW's beloved
Taiwan, lets at least keep our assembly and support money locally...
Buy a Local Build and keep your money flowing in your own community.
I have had no regrets since deciding to quit GW and support America,
as much as one can in a computer, once again.

TR

Poor little misunderstood thing you are..... And now its everyone
else's fault that you are so stupid that you reply to a person,
quoting their entire message in your reply and then jump all over them
for something someone else said. Next thing you'll be trying is that
the devil made you do it. Fess up, you are an idiot and you blame your
own mental shortcomings on others... But, it don't make cheese here
kid.

Let me give you a hint there stupido'

1. If you have an issue with person A then you reply to person A, NOT
person B. Duh!
2. If you put a quote of the message you are replying to in your reply,
then have the intelligence to actually read the quote and reply to the
specific contents of that quote, not something fabricated. That will
keep you from screwing up #1.
3. If you want to reply to the whole thread, then reply to your
original message, not a single person in that thread. That will keep
you from screwing up #1 & #2.
4. Get a brain. That will keep you from screwing up #1, #2 & #3.

What a loser!



TB wrote:
Well...

Doesn't take much to get everyone in an uproar. Pardon me for
clicking on
the wrong button. However, my post was meant for the entire string
of
messages here, not TR's specifically.

My bad that I didn't realize that some folks that inhabit these NGs
don't
have anything better to do than take offense at what someone said.
No
wonder America has such a problem with litigation; everyone's ready
to take
immediate offense to something someone "said" or "didn't say".

I originally posted a response in order to address a question
regarding
emachines. For those of you that don't or can't understand that, go
back
and read what I originally posted. If you still don't understand,
then
please find something more productive to do with your time. To the
rest
that just come here to gripe, get a life!

TD

I am use to seeing it but undoubtably unlike you, I am not use to it to
the point of not pointing it out to these brain dead idiots that
practice it even when they are doing it to someone else. On another NG
someone had a good idea to put a stop to this rampid disreguard for any
reasonable facimile of intelligent exchange. They suggested that there
be a test that must be passed in order participate in the newsgroups.
That test would determing if an idividual had an IQ above plant life
and if they did, then they could participate. That would "weed" out
about 50% of the particiapants and 100% of the misquoters and false
accusers.

NIK




TR wrote:
I have grown use to it and have grown to expect it. I have found
that

On 2 Mar 2005 10:23:02 -0800, wrote:

I am use to seeing it but undoubtably unlike you, I am not use to it to
the point of not pointing it out to these brain dead idiots that
practice it even when they are doing it to someone else.

Oh, every now and then, I'll point it out to one of them, but you have
to remember who/what you are dealing with and usually, when you point
out what they did, they try to turn it back around on you and make it
your fault that they are so ignorant. So the best thing to do is just
not communicate with them and leave them to wallow in their own
stupidity. Remember, the intelligent ones that you really wish to
communicate with can see for themselves what they did so you don't
really need to broadcast it any further. It just makes the idiot more
rabid.

That would "weed" out

No pun intended, right?

I wanted to ask but forgot last time.... Are you a past/present GW box
owner that has/is going to convert one's patronage to a local builder?
As I said in my message, I have never regretted moving from GW to give
support to a local builder. The price of a comparable box has been
very close and the support given by the local vender has overshadowed
that of GW's outsourced support 10 to 1 in my experience. And there's
nothing in the whole world that can compete with a face to face
meeting with support people that actually had a hand in the building
of your computer and not Abdul who was pulled off a bamboo plantation
and given the equivalent of $50/hr Am to read canned messages off a
computer screen. Too bad we can't get local built laptops.

Regards,
TR

I've had three gateways. I still have the last gateway I ever bought
which is coming to the end of its 3 year warranty. It's the poor
level of outsourced service rendered under the warranty on that gateway
that led me to making my latest acquisition from a local company. And
yes, the local company did charge me more for what I would have paid
for a component comparable machine from gateway, a whopping big $75
more. Service from someone that speaks one of the two languages I do
is worth the extra $75 to me. And like you said, the guy that will
service that machine probably had a lot to do with building that
machine.

Just to have fun with you ---- Buy Canadian!

Just yanking your chain there TR.

NIK




TR wrote:
On 2 Mar 2005 10:23:02 -0800, wrote:

I am use to seeing it but undoubtably unlike you, I am not use to it
to
the point of not pointing it out to these brain dead idiots that
practice it even when they are doing it to someone else.

Oh, every now and then, I'll point it out to one of them, but you
have
to remember who/what you are dealing with and usually, when you point
out what they did, they try to turn it back around on you and make it
your fault that they are so ignorant. So the best thing to do is
just
not communicate with them and leave them to wallow in their own
stupidity. Remember, the intelligent ones that you really wish to
communicate with can see for themselves what they did so you don't
really need to broadcast it any further. It just makes the idiot
more
rabid.

That would "weed" out

No pun intended, right?

I wanted to ask but forgot last time.... Are you a past/present GW
box
owner that has/is going to convert one's patronage to a local
builder?
As I said in my message, I have never regretted moving from GW to
give
support to a local builder. The price of a comparable box has been
very close and the support given by the local vender has overshadowed
that of GW's outsourced support 10 to 1 in my experience. And
there's
nothing in the whole world that can compete with a face to face
meeting with support people that actually had a hand in the building
of your computer and not Abdul who was pulled off a bamboo plantation
and given the equivalent of $50/hr Am to read canned messages off a
computer screen. Too bad we can't get local built laptops.

Regards,
TR

On 2 Mar 2005 17:55:38 -0800, wrote:

Just to have fun with you ---- Buy Canadian!

Ah... Neighbor to the North.

BTW, sent you an email before your last message on here and haven't
gotten a reply to it yet. Did you get it?

Regards,
TR