Good deal for this Computer?

[tifc8lraz]

My parents just got a new Sony Vaio RB Vgc-rb33gy, and they paid around 1k for it. Here are the specs:

Intel P4 @ 3.6Ghz (2 cpu's) (800FSB)(1MB L2 Cache)
1024 Mb DDR Ram (Pc3200)
Ati Radeon X300 128MB Video Card
Dual Layer X16 Dvd Writer
Secondary Dvd Drive
250GB Maxtor Hard Drive @ 7200 Rpm Serial-ATA
Windows Xp Media Center 2005 w/Service Pack 2 Preintalled
19" Sony LCD w/Dvi Output
Realtek Sound Card
Tv Tuner Card

Do you think that's a good deal?

 

[i_am_a_newbie]

Two CPU's? That specific computer model(not even on sony's website, which is odd) lists one cpu of the type you posted.

 

[GeekieNick101]

I'm guessing its hyperthreading thats why you stated its 2 cpu's

 

[tifc8lraz]

In device manager and dxdiag report 2 cpu's, and the website http://www.systemrequirementslab.com shows "You have 3.60ghz performance rated at 5.4 ghz."

 

[tifc8lraz]

I'm guessing its hyperthreading thats why you stated its 2 cpu's

It does have hyper-threading technology

 

[tifc8lraz]

Here are more specs:


Processor
Intel® Pentium® 4 Processor 560J with
Intel® Hyper-Threading Technology
(3.60GHz, 1MB L2 Cache)

Front Side Bus Speed
800MHz

Chipset
Intel® 915G

Memory
1GB PC-3200 400MHz DDR
(512MB x 2)
(Expandable to 2GB)

Hard Drive
250GB 7200rpm Serial ATA Hard Drive

Graphics
ATI Radeon® X300
128MB Video Memory
TV-Out / VGA-Out / DVI-D Out
16x PCI Express
Giga Pocket® MPEG2 Realtime Encoder/Decoder board with TVTuner

DVD+R Double Layer / DVD±RW /CD-RW Drive
Double Layer
+R
DVD+R Write (2.4x MAX)
DVD±RW5
-RW
DVD-R Write (8x MAX),
DVD-RW Write (4x MAX)
+RW
DVD+R Write (16x MAX),
DVD+RW Write (4x MAX)
CD-RW
CD-R Write (32x MAX),
CD-RW Write (24x MAX)
DVD-ROM
16x MAX DVD Read
40x MAX CD-ROM Read

Modem
V.90 compatible data/fax modem (RJ-11)

Ethernet
10Base-T/100Base-TX Fast Ethernet
(RJ-45)
Expansion Slots
Multi-Media Card Reader6 (Memory
Stick®, Memory Stick PRO/Duo™,
Compact Flash® Type I and Type II,
SD/ MultiMediaCard™, Smart
Media/xD Picture Card®)
One x1 PCI Express
Two PCI (one occupied)
One x16 PCI Express (occupied by
Graphics Card)

Expansion Bays
Two 5.25” Half-Height (occupied)
One External 3.5” (occupied)
Four Internal 3.5” (one occupied)

Port Connections
Six USB7 2.0 (two front/four rear)
Two PS/2® (Mouse/Keyboard)
One VGA Out/ One DVI-D out
One Parallel Port
One 6pin i.LINK® 7 Port (rear) / One
4pin i.LINK® Port (front)
One Line In
One Headphone
One Microphone
S-Video Input (rear)
S-Video Output
Composite Video/Audio Inputs (rear)
Coaxial Input (VHF/UHF)

Power Requirements
Min. 305W
100-240V 7A (50/60Hz)

Power Management
ACPI 1.0 Compliant

Operating System
Microsoft® Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005

Sony® Original Software
Click to DVD™ - DVD Creation
PictureGear Studio™ - Digital Photo
DVgate Plus™ - Digital Video
SonicStage® - Digital Music
VAIO Media™ - Network File Sharing

 

[i_am_a_newbie]

Hyper threading simply makes it look like you have two cores. I'm not quite sure how it works, but it simply is not as powerful as a dual core rated the same would be.

Anyways, it probably is worth it, but I can't find that processor from any online retailers and most of the stuff in OEM builds is generic, so you might be able to actually find a better build for about the same price.

 

[tifc8lraz]

I fount out about ht online. Here is the processor:

http://www.overstock.com/sm-intel-p...ocessor--pg-proframe_pi-2056535_ti-82124.html

It makes up half of the budget!

 

[i_am_a_newbie]

I fount out about ht online. Here is the processor:

http://www.overstock.com/sm-intel-p...ocessor--pg-proframe_pi-2056535_ti-82124.html

It makes up half of the budget!

That's a load, lol. You can get a much better processor for much less.

Just a comparison, look on the right. They have an AMD 64 3200+ "listed" at $240(when really it's worth under $100).

 

[tifc8lraz]

http://www3.shopping.com/xPO-BOX_PE...0J_3_6GHZ_800_HT_XD_EM64T_S775_B~r-1~CLT-INTR

Here are some more of them. I couldn't find it on newegg...strange.

 

[wolfram]

Everything seems fine on that machine. The bad thing is that it was really expensive.

And another bad thing, is the video card, a X300.... For that price, they should've included a 6600GT or something better...

 

[i_am_a_newbie]

Everything seems fine on that machine. The bad thing is that it was really expensive.

And another bad thing, is the video card, a X300.... For that price, they should've included a 6600GT or something better...

I believe he also mentioned it was a floor model for quite some time.

I sincerely hope they gave you an appropriate discount?

 

[wolfram]

Hopefully....

I'm pretty sure that CPU added a lot of cost to the final price. Most people still believe that a 3.6 GHZ Intel CPU is the best one available, because it's priced very high...

And then, the Pentium4 3.6GHZ CPU is beaten by a way cheaper Core2 Duo.

 

[pctec]

It's not a bad price...
I'm still waiting for the price to drop on LCD's for me to upgrade.

 

[tifc8lraz]

Hopefully....

I'm pretty sure that CPU added a lot of cost to the final price. Most people still believe that a 3.6 GHZ Intel CPU is the best one available, because it's priced very high...

And then, the Pentium4 3.6GHZ CPU is beaten by a way cheaper Core2 Duo.

The cheapest I can find the processor onling is $500.00 (http://www10.shopping.com/xPO-BOX_P...0J_3_6GHZ_800_HT_XD_EM64T_S775_B~r-1~CLT-INTR, cheapest one I could find), so it made up about half of the price. I listed some links above. I did do a spec sheet to see if I got a good price, and tried to match the computer as best as I could with the same processor and Intel 915G motherboard, and the price came to about $1200, which is more than what we paid for it. Should I have my father return it (came with a 6-Month store warrantee as the manager told us, even if the problem is that we don't like it, they'll accept it)?


Oh, and the original marked down price was $1499.99, and was dropped again to $1099.99, and was originally around $1800 at the store (wholesaler). It is a Sony Vaio Rb Series Vgc-rb33gy to add.

 

[blue_dragon]

reality check

the 3.6 P4 dont go very far
here to clarify somethings go to newegg.com and check out the core 2 duo (conroe)
then go to http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html its link to see cpu charts and see how conroes (below 300usd) outpower a 3.6 p4 with HT

 

[tifc8lraz]

I realize this, as the processor is dated from 2004-2005. I was just wondering if my parents got a decent deal, or should they return it? This was the only nice computer that I saw at the store (rest were Gateways, or HPs, and I don't like either one, especially Gateway).