NewEgg: Acer Aspire AM3400-U4132

LeoRyell

New Member
Acer Aspire AM3400-U4132 (PT.SF702.014) Desktop PC Phenom II X4 955(3.2GHz) 6GB DDR3 1TB HDD Capacity AMD Radeon HD 6570 Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

My 4-year old computer recently crashed, so I am looking to get a new computer. I occasionally play games such as Starcraft 2, but this is not intended to be a gaming computer... more of an All Purpose computer.

I came across the above computer on Newegg; it was featured, not sure how much faith to put into it. Are Acer's generally pretty reliable?

What are your opinions?
 
Pricing is decent, probably better than what you will get at Staples/Best Buy/Walmart. You might be able to get a better deal by just browsing their computers.

Is assembling a computer yourself an option?
 
A few reasons why I wouldn't buy it:

6GB is not suited for a Phenom II system, especially if it's 3x2GB, you'll have no dual channel capability. That reduces memory throughput by half. It's also only got 1 year warranty. If you were to build your own computer from scratch, all the parts would have at least 2-3 years warranty, some, like RAM, have lifetime warranty. The GPU is also very weak for the price. It's also only got a 450W powersupply, and knowing OEM's it's likely not even suitable for that much output. The case is also tiny. Not good for airflow, not good for longevity of components, and is also a dust trap. There is also no mention of motherboard model, which means it's a very low end one. You'll also have no overclocking options and a feature stripped BIOS.

Here's what I would do with $600:

CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...08&cm_re=phenom_ii_955-_-19-103-808-_-Product (same as the prebuilt)

Mobo: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...&cm_re=am3_motherboard-_-13-131-646-_-Product

RAM: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...0231416&cm_re=8gb_DDR3-_-20-231-416-_-Product

GPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814161338&cm_re=5770-_-14-161-338-_-Product

HDD: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152185

PSU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817207012&cm_re=xfx_psu-_-17-207-012-_-Product

Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produ...m_re=coolermaster_case-_-11-119-195-_-Product

Total cost before shipping/rebates: $619.93 - After rebates: $569.93

What do you get over the prebuilt? The same CPU, more RAM that is also faster and more reliable, a quality motherboard that isn't feature stripped, a better graphics card, the fastest 1TB HDD on the market, a quality powersupply, and a better case. As well as warranty on the individual parts, and costing less money after the mail in rebates.

You'll only have to do a few things:

Read up on how to build the system - http://www.computerforum.com/104641-how-build-computer-step-step-photos.html

Manually set up the RAM speed, voltage and timings (easily done)

Do the mail in rebates

Register all the parts for warranty with their respective companies (not required for all of them)

Acquire or borrow an operating system
 
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