Would you buy this PC?

Curry_Queen

After spotting this on another thread I wondered if anyone could give me their opinions on the eSys ePC Celeron-D 315 desktop system please?

Features-

* Processor: Intel Celeron D 315 (2.26, 533, 256MB)
* Memory: 256MB DDR expandable to 2GB.
* Disk: 40GB 7200Rpm
* 52 X CD-Rom, additional slots available to add more optical drives.
* Modem/LAN 10/100
* ASROCK Intel 845GV chipset with built-in 64 MB Intel Extreme graphics
* Audio on board incl. Front Pannel Audio
* 6x USB 4 Rear - 2 front
* PARALEL Port
* SERIAL Port
* Game MIDI Port
* External bays: 2 x 3.5, 2 x 5.25
* Expansion slots: 2X PCI, 1XAMR
* PS/2 Keyboard and Mouse
* Mandrake Ver 9.2
* Open office included
* Warranty: 1 year Return to Base


All for just £154.98 inc!!! :eek:

I need another machine for someone to use primarily for internet use and the usual basic stuff, so don't need anything fancy with whistles and bells, and I doubt I can even build anything so cheap myself!

I'd swap the HDD for a spare 80GB one I have here, and use the one supplied as a secondary HDD in my own machine, as I've been wanting to learn Linux for a while now

I also have a spare 17" CRT monitor, so the only extra thing I would need to buy for it would be a wireless NIC!

Would it be worth me grabbing this machine at this price or could I do better!

Browntoa

on board graphics will grab 64mb of your Ram

but...whats wrong with leaving the mandrake on it ??

how will you boot your PC to Linux if the 2nd hard disk is in your own machine ?

Curry_Queen

I can always stick more memory on it if necessary but I had my own machine running on 256mb for long enough with a 64mb graphix card in, and it was adequate, although it's much better now of course

Yes, I appear to overlooked the booting up don't I LOL! :doh: I was thinking it worked the same as a dual boot HDD, which I did once before, but of course it wouldn't as it can only boot up from the master drive :rolleyes:

That's not a problem anyway, and the person who will be using this machine may well want try out Mandrake anyway, and if not I'll just install the other HDD with XP on it. I'm sure I could put the OS onto disc and turn the 40GB HDD into a share-drive for music and photos. The possibilities are endless!

So ... is it worth me buying then?

Browntoa

looks good

Curry_Queen

I just need to justify to myself spending this money, albeit for what seems like a decent bargain, rather than refurb one of the old desktop units I have sitting here :think:

But ...

a) it's less hassle and is ready to plug in and go when it arrives (albeit with a couple of possible minor adjustments) ...

b) it's a lot higher spec than either of the "spares" I currently have (one is an old P266 and the other, I think, has only around a 900mhz processor and probably an older style mobo)

Decisions, decisions LOL!

Tharweb

Have you read the customer reviews. There's a good few 5 star reviews for this system.

I wouldn't hang around too long if I were you. I ummed and aahed about a budget system from this retailer, I eventually decided to get one and it was sold out a few days later.

Curry_Queen

I'm just reading through the reviews now as it happens, and while it seems to have received good ratings back in June, presumably when it first went on sale, the more recent ones aren't so good at all, and the PC as advertised by Ebuyer is not the actual one you receive!!!

People are reporting that the mobo isn't an Asrock, the gfx card is 8mb not 64mb, no modem installed, floppy installed when it shouldn't be, HDD jumpers set to slave, OS not working properly etc and requiring passwords which aren't provided etc etc etc ... seems maybe they restocked with an inferior batch, so I'm definitely going to take my time thinking about this one!!


Oh, and they still have over 200 in stock, but I did note that this number had dropped by about 20 since I started this thread :rotfl:

Curry_Queen

Hmmmm ... interestingly, a quick search finds exactly the same machine on sale at The Linux Shop for £249.99!!


If it wasn't for those later reviews reporting so many problems, and obviously it being a totally different machine that Ebuyer are supplying to that advertised, I'd buy it like a shot, but something just doesn't feel quite right about it at the moment

Rex_Mundi

I can't see how you can go wrong with this at that price if it's just for general surfing. If the graphics are a problem, even a real cheapy graphics card should sort this out just for everyday stuff.

scheming_gypsy

'built in 64mb graphics' that sounds to me as though it's sharing memory and this can usually be set in the BIOS. If this is set to 8mb as default the people complaining might not realise.

Curry_Queen

Rex_Mundi wrote:

I can't see how you can go wrong with this at that price if it's just for general surfing. If the graphics are a problem, even a real cheapy graphics card should sort this out just for everyday stuff.

Yes, I could do that but then if I'm going to buy something that I need to upgrade to use, I may as well just upgrade one of the units I've already got

I won't be making a decision tonight anyway, for one thing I'm waiting for my credit card statement to be produced in the next day or two before buying anything so I've got an extra month to pay for it (wouldn't have done that pre-MSE days :rotfl: ) and it will give me chance to have a good look at my old machines to see if I can feasibly do anything useful with them


Thanks for the suggestions though, much appreciated :beer: