Vzio Computers Any Good? Or Best Computer To Get..

[rainman]

i'm looking to buy a new workstation, for around 40,000 baht (or less) ...i saw those Vzio machines but dont really trust them. does anyone have experience with them? i've been looking at HP/Compaq computers in Panthip and so far they're my best deal..

[lopburi3]

Case is sexy and fairly good quality - internals are not. Believe Laser line would be a better inexpensive choice. You should be able to buy a near top line machine for 40k at one of the custom build places.

[Firefoxx]

With that kind of budget, you would get a better system overall if you built it yourself (or let a shop build it). 40k can get an awesome system.

[Shivek]

Alienware computers are good, havent got any info about Vzio but if ur spending 40k then that must be a gaming rig coz if u want a general house or office computer then it wud come in a price of 20-25k.

[francois]

hi'

my 2cts here ...

for 40k, well , you could build the top one!

latest chipset, good processor, fast video card, nice sound card, best keyboard and mouse, and a nice sound-system, all this with a flat screen

just ask to someone to build it for you, you don't need any name, the only thing that a brand name brings you is a low cost motherboard stamped for this name ...

you'll never get the best with a so called great name ...

or may be spend twice and get yourself a real workstation ...dual xeon and all this tech stuffs that you don't need

francois

[Shivek]

hi'

my 2cts here ...

for 40k, well , you could build the top one!

latest chipset, good processor, fast video card, nice sound card, best keyboard and mouse, and a nice sound-system, all this with a flat screen

just ask to someone to build it for you, you don't need any name, the only thing that a brand name brings you is a low cost motherboard stamped for this name ...

you'll never get the best with a so called great name ...

or may be spend twice and get yourself a real workstation ...dual xeon and all this tech stuffs that you don't need

francois

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Yes, if a mobo is good then u can upgrade ur PC to better and newer hardware like RAM, CPU, video card, etc. Mobo also makes a base of the PC and its the most important, too.

[rainman]

i've built two computers in my life and they ran well, but that was about 5 years ago ..i could still figure it out i guess but i dont really have the time for it right now (yes, very busy). i assume some of the shops at panthip build custom computers if i get all the parts together? i dont need to spend 40k, if its less thats great but i'm looking for something around the Pentium 4, 1GB RAM, 80GB hard drive with a decent graphic card (Nvidia?), CD burner and a flat screen, thats about it. i think that could be squeezed in the 40k range ...never really wrote down the individual parts prices in Bangkok, i'll head for panthip tomorrow to check

[rainman]

Alienware computers are good, havent got any info about Vzio but if ur spending 40k then that must be a gaming rig coz if u want a general house or office computer then it wud come in a price of 20-25k.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

i've had an AlienWare before, but that was in the US, not in Thailand...i assume they dont sell them here..?

[rainman]

well, i just got myself the following configuration, for exactly 30,000 baht. i'll just have to build it together in the next days.

Pentium 4 2.4Ghz

1GB Kingston DDR RAM

80GB SeaGate Hard Drive

Samsung 18" LCD Flat Screen

Samsung CD-Writer Combo

ATI Radeon 9600Pro 256MB Video Card

X-KO Speakers

LAN Card

including case, motherboard, etc.

[Shivek]

well, i just got myself the following configuration, for exactly 30,000 baht. i'll just have to build it together in the next days. 

Pentium 4 2.4Ghz

1GB Kingston DDR RAM

80GB SeaGate Hard Drive

Samsung 18" LCD Flat Screen

Samsung CD-Writer Combo

ATI Radeon 9600Pro 256MB Video Card

X-KO Speakers

LAN Card

including case, motherboard, etc. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thats an excellent PC and the price is fine, too! Did u buy it for gaming?

[rainman]

Mainly for work (graphics/programming - the later not really needing the above power) and occasional gaming that my schedule allows, about 1-2 hours per week.

Edited August 2, 2005 by rainman

[Thanh-BKK]

Hello

Stay away from that VZIO crap. I am RIGHT NOW in the process of trying to fix one of those which died after a power surge. The mainboard and the power supply are fried. I actually found this thread, googling for "VZIO mainboard type".

Power supply: Miniature, non-standard size, No-Name.

Mainboard: No-Name, no type, nothing!

Hard disk: No-Name ("SuperStor")

RAM: 2x 128 MB DDR, of course "No-Name".

Swapped mainboards, found out that the Windows would not boot - of course after such measure. HOWEVER recovery methods fail since no recovery console etc are installed! The 80 GB hard disk was formatted to a single partition, and in FAT32!

For what a VZIO costs you can build a better-spec machine with quality parts........

Best regards.....

Thanh

[A_Traveller]

psst Than, look at the date of the OP, it's 2005.

Regards

[Tywais]

psst Than, look at the date of the OP, it's 2005.

Regards

Yeah. I started reading it and saw Pentium IV and thought, huh! Then checked the date.

[Thanh-BKK]

psst Than, look at the date of the OP, it's 2005.

Regards

Oooops

I really didn't look for that....... as mentioned, came across the thread via Google, trying to find info on those dodgy mainboards in those machines...... HOWEVER that VZIO which i fixed (reinstalled Windows in the end) was just a few months old, "warranty" of course wouldn't cover a power surge damage and the computers are still for sale in places like Tesco Lotus.... so maybe someone else wants to buy one (DON'T!!!) and comes across this thread........

Best regards.....

Thanh

[PattayaDavid]

Personally, I would never buy one of these, so called, name brand computers. One or more of the internal components will always be compromised, primarily the motherboard and limit upgradeability. I just had my computer built by a shop called Busitek at Pantip Plaza. I am in no way affiliated with this company as I am retired and living in Pattaya, however someone had suggested their website to me, http://www.busitek.com/, so I will pass it on to you. Although I was surprised by the small size of their shop, they have a pretty nice website, a pricelist that is updated regularly on their site and very knowledgeable and in my opinion, very professional in their behavoir. You have 40,000 baht to spend, peruse their website pricelist and see what you can get for your money. I think you will be please at what you can build for this amount of baht. By the way, after determining what components I wanted installed in my computer system, I visited their store and discussed my system requirements. I asked, if I were to order a computer from you, how long would I have to wait for it to be completed, basically when could I return to pick it up? I figured that I would have to drive back to Pattaya and return several day later or possibly the following weekend. No way, 2 1/2 hours later and my system was up and running. The technician plugged it in, did a performance test, went to the systems page to show me the components installation list, shutdown, packed it back in the box and carried it out to my car. Actually, it was a very enjoyful experience and a learning experience. By the way, when you look at the pricelist, you'll see that they carry very high quality components. Now is a very good time to build a computer because Intel, as of July 22nd, has reduced CPU processor prices on some of their older models by 50% including the Core2Duo Quad Q6600 2.4 Ghz that I had installed in my system. Intel had also released new processors which are better and cheaper than their predecessors such as the Core2Duo E6850 3.0Ghz with 1333Mhz front side bus. By the way, Busitek's prices compare favorably to other shops and are considerably cheaper than most shops in Pattaya. Anyway, check out their website and pricelist. I printed out their pricelist and used it as a guide to what components were available and also used it at other shops for price comparison. I hope that I have been of some help to you. Good luck.

Pattaya David

[ariesram74]

Wow this post is old but for anyone looking for buying a computer in the present day it's all good advice in this thread. You only buy a new name brand desktop when you really don't have any special requirements or don't know enough about computer components and their functions to build your own - I am more in the latter category of computer noobs than the former but I am learning.

The original poster had 40,000 THB to play around with - in the end he only spent 30,000THB - but that was a few years ago and prices have dropped. Nowadays you can probably get a very nice custom built machine for 20,000 THB not including a monitor. This nice machine would have a dual core processor, 2 GB of RAM, an adequate hard drive or two, a video card with at least 256 mb of dedicated memory and dual view, a DVD burner, a memory card reader, and stock mouse, keybaord, and speakers. Not bad for 20,000 - now all you need is a monitor - expect to pay anywhere from 5000 to 12,000THB for we nice new monitor or check out classifieds for hot deals on buying second hand.

Oh yes, and Windows operating systems: most kind people will recommend getting Windows XP Service pack 2 because its tried and true. While Vista looks great, getting new drivers to work on old hardware can be painful and time-consuming. Also Vista is a resource hog and takes up at least 12 GB of your hard disc and requires at least 2 GB of RAM - running Vista Home Premium with all applications off its it's using 800mb of RAM. With 2GB of RAM with XP SP2 you'd be fine.

If you are at all curious about gaming do not ignore the video card (aka display adapter, VGA, GPU, graphics card) and do not settle for the Intel GMA. You don't need a high end card but you don't want onboard or shared memory for your videoL: nVidia 8500GT or 8600GT are OK and cheap.

Happy hunting.

[sniffdog]

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By the way, Busitek's prices compare favorably to other shops and are considerably cheaper than most shops in Pattaya.

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I took my preferences from Busitek's site .... went to JediCool (ground floor Pantip) and saved 1,200 baht (on a total of

43,000 baht .... not a lot. However, got a wireless keyboard/mouse combo for the savings ...

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nVidia 8500GT or 8600GT are OK and cheap.

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I would say don't take anything less than a 8800GTS or a 8800GT if you're serious about gaming. Even my 8800GTS sometimes

underperforms on some games.