ec,

> I took a friend's sister over to Elitepc yesterday to
> look at the '32 bit' machines and we got 'side
> tracked' looking at the new xp3200+ 64 bit as it is
> only about $200 more than a 2600 with upgrades. She
> and I were impressed with price/value? of the basic
> xp3200+ 64bit machine there.

Take a look at my post on Slashdot concerning the future of the AMD64 line.

http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=89726&cid=7752000

The basic recommendation is to wait for the 2nd generation motherboard 
chipsets sporting the 939-pin sockets (2004Q1 ETA).  The future 939-pin 
package will  support dual channel unbuffered DDR, allows for 4 layer 
PCB motherboards (cheaper to make boards) and a faster HyperTransport 
external link.


> My thougths were since it looks like 64 bit processing
> is coming that she might want to get one of the
> 'bottom' line 64 bit amd's that they sell. Believe it
> or not, the machine is under $1k in minimum config. It
> is the xp-3200+, not the fx51 version. It will have
> 512k, 80gb wd hd, use old monitor and kb, mx440-8x
> video.
> 
> We know that 512K ram is 'choking' it some, but $$$ is
> the problem. She has to borrow just to purchase it at
> about $1150 tax and all out the door.

Take a look at RedSeven Computers (http://www.red7usa.com).  We can 
build a machine that will perform very well for her for about $820.

AMD Althon 2400+, 256MB RAM, 40GB HDD
http://store.yahoo.com/red7usa/reme.html

All of RedSeven's new computers include 1 one year warranty, local 
support, and free setup and delivery.

Disclaimer: I do work for RedSeven, but I wouldn't recommend them if I 
didn't believe that they provide the best price and service in the valley.


-- 
Chris Lewis
shadow@digitalnirvana.com

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...Unix, MS-DOS, and Windows NT
      (also known as the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly).

- Matt Welsh
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