I'm getting tired of fighting with old PCs and hoping a new setup would/could be worth some headache.

My old PC (P4C800E-Dlx) was an outstanding stable system, and unfortunately, it has died.
I got (2) Lenovo M57 computers, and both are unstable and having driver/hardware issues (These are old too... 7-8 yrs?)
The on board parallel ports operate fast (27300+ mhz) Zfluctuate quite a bit and even drop to zero causing lost steps.

Considering these parts:
ASUS H81M-A LGA 1150 Intel H81
Intel Celeron G1820 Haswell Dual-Core 2.7 GHz
G.SKILL Ripjaws Series 4GB 240-Pin DDR3
Rosewill RC-302E - PCIe 1-Port Parallel Card
APEX DM-387 Black Steel Micro ATX with 275w PSU

I get can this new setup for under $300cnd
(I now have $200 tired up in used parts that aren't stable) 

Think this would offer up a good stable system? 
I will put on Win7 32bit for now to keep the PP and C10 BOB in use
But I plan on switching up to Mach4 and an ESS later this year.

Thanks,
Chris

I dont know about the PC you mention but for my last cnc I bought a used Dell Optiplex, Intel duo core, 17" LCD keyboard and mouse for $53cdn + tax. There are a few stores here in Montreal selling used PC's and in the past and now I'm very happy with the selection they have. My experience with PC's for Mach3 is the oldest the better and I never connect them to the Internet. I always use Dell and never had a problem. If you are close to Montreal, visit Encan Depot, 1170 rue Begin, Ville St Laurent, H4R 1X1, 514-331-5353, www.encandepot.com

Good prices!
No shops in town here would offer those kinds of prices.

Although I have found a private sale for a Dell Optiplex 360 $45
I'm waiting on a email to see if its still available.

I'm really hesitant about going the used route again...

Okay, now I'm 99.9% sure its the computer...

I just finished rewiring everything (literally - I now have a full and proper star ground)
I used to have 0.3uF caps and a debounce of 300 to stop false triggers.

I now have the computer set at ZERO debounce and NO caps, and I get NO triggers!
But I did have to set the debounce to 250 as when I homed the machine, the limit
switches wont react fast enough and triggers the limits.

I was watching the frequency and it averages 27,250mhz, and bounces around 100hrz
(27,200 though 27,300) and I'm still losing steps

Think that the fluctuation is cause of lost steps?

Hi Mogal,
I haven't tried the combination of hardware you listed but I think that combination would work.
I like you was none too keen on a recycled PC and wanted to buy new. I settled on a MiniITX
board from Unigens, a Tawainese manufacturer. The board is based on a dual core ATOM at 1.8GHz.
I fitted 4G RAM (overkill I decided later) and a 64G SSD. It has a built in PP and one PCI slot for a second
PP. I recycled my PSU and monitor and installed Windows 7 Embedded as OS.
Been stable and reliable from the get-go.
My experience is that new hardware can run Mach3 and PP which runs contrary to some other comments
made in the forum.
Have to say that the prices you are talking for brand name second hand platforms would be mighty appealing
to me. I do have a certain satisfaction about 'building' my own system tho...

Craig

Well, I got the components listed earlier except the case... just got a modular 400w PSU insted.
Screaming price of under $200 including tax and free shipping (gotta love the internet and price matching!)

So far, everything seems good. Installed Win7 32bit (performed all updates) and mach3.
The parallel port is a little slow (23,380) but its stedy to withing 5 or so hrz (bounces some)

Haven't had a chance to run any tests yet, and I'm short about 10 feet of 4c shielded cable
Once I have the cables run I'll be able to run tests... but so far its looking promising.