I have to disagree with Dandy... Personally my feeling on Compaq Computer is this, the new Compaq Presario is very easy to upgrade, very roomy (easy to put new parts in and out). the drives are screwless, so replacing them if needed takes only seconds. One thing I don't understand is why everyone says they are proprietary. These computers are equivalent or better than what Dell, Micron, HP, or any other has to offer. Plus they come with free tech support for a year. This blue screen of death as Dandy puts it is probably something he caused. Nothing more than a software conflict of some sort. I agree building your own clone has its advantages but for the price and the tech support you can't beat a Compaq!!!
P.S. I think Compaq has a bad wrap because of the old systems they used to manufacture. These were very proprietary but the new systems are more standard with Quality Parts. Such as NVIDIA, Creative Labs Products, Athlon and Pentium Processors. Don't forget the old saying "You get what you pay for". I mean if you buy a low end unit with shared memory and only 64MB of Ram. Chances are Quake 3 will not run as well. It all comes down to being educated on what you are buying and what it will be used for.
P.S. I think Compaq has a bad wrap because of the old systems they used to manufacture. These were very proprietary but the new systems are more standard with Quality Parts. Such as NVIDIA, Creative Labs Products, Athlon and Pentium Processors. Don't forget the old saying "You get what you pay for". I mean if you buy a low end unit with shared memory and only 64MB of Ram. Chances are Quake 3 will not run as well. It all comes down to being educated on what you are buying and what it will be used for.