Geek squad is a fraud operation run by their corporate mother-company, Best Buy . Here are two of the price quotes I have heard from them.
To encrypt your wireless network with 64-Bit WEP - $91
Downgrade from Vista to XP Professional - $480
What The FARK? Who do they think they are?? I wouldn’t pay that much if they had Jessica Alba setup my WEP encryption in the nude. (well actually I probably would, but WTF)
I went out to build a machine that was cheap, but still decent in the speed department. What I got was a breath of fresh air, and not all that expensive. I’m going to break down what I got, where I got it, and how much it cost. Later I’ll update with some benchmarks and final thoughts.
Firstly: The case: Cooler Master Centurion 5 mid-tower case (without side window)
Where: CompUSA
Cost: $59 (Was $69.00 in store)
Pros: Comes with nice power supply (300W), Very good looking, ‘hardwareless’
Cons: Weights alot!
Motherboard: MSI K9VGM-V
Where: Newegg
Cost: $45
Pros: AMD FX,X2 compatable, cheap
Cons: Only 2 SATA connectors, supports only 2GB of RAM (boo)
Verdict: I’m getting something else.
Processor: AMD Athlon X2 4600+ 2.4Ghz (retail CPU in a box)
Where: Newegg.com
Cost: $89
Pros: Overclockable to 2.7Ghz
Cons: Runs hot! (~110° F) Locked in multiplier of 12x
RAM: 2GB A-DATA 800Mhz DDRII
Where: Newegg.com
Cost: $27.99 (per 1GB stick)
Pros: Fast, cheap.
Cons: None.. It’s RAM
Internal HD: 2x 200GB SAMSUNG 7,200RPM SATA in RAID 0
Where: Newegg.com
Cost: $55(each) total of $120 for 2 shipped
Pros: CHEAP
Cons: Mediocre speed
Optical Drive: Pioneer 18X DVD±R DVD Burner Black E-IDE
Where: Newegg.com
Cost: $35
Pros: Black, cheap, fast
Cons: not “as black” as the front of the case. This could be fixed with some gloss spray paint, but I’ll let it be.
Graphics Card: EVGA GeForce 8600GT 256MB 128-bit GDDR2 PCI Express x16
Where: Newegg.com
Cost: $99
Pros: Fast and quiet.
Cons: not DDR3 RAM
Total price: $518
Closest machine made by Dell:
Pros:
* Comes with Vista (is that a pro?)
* Bigger drive +100Gb
Cons:
* Slower CPU (1.8Ghz per core compared to 2.4Ghz)
* Slower RAM (667Mhz compared to 800Mhz)
* Worse graphics card: 128MB NVIDIA GeForce 8300GS
* Slower front side bus: 800Mhz rather than 1033Mhz
* Bloated with adware and extra garbage you don’t need
It’s not October in Utah without snow on the ground. I’m going to hate this. Driving to Provo from Lehi is bad enough without the snow the way most Utahans drive.
