Guest Finn Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 I'm looking to buy a new computer and would like to hear any recommendations you all have. We really just use it to surf the net and for email, so don't need all the bells and whistles. Thanks, Craig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texan_Til_I_Die Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy How about an entry level Dell system for $300? It will do everything you need it to do. I would suggest purchasing the extended warranty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VermontHunter Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy [ QUOTE ] How about an entry level Dell system for $300? It will do everything you need it to do. I would suggest purchasing the extended warranty. [/ QUOTE ] And I would also suggest bumbing up the memory,, the 256 megs it comes with is really sub-par, any machine built today shouldn't have less than 512megs of ram..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeramie Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Dell, dell, dell, dell, dell..... Get the point. They are a great computer for the price. I run several different design and engineering programs. I have ran everything from run of the mill clones to HP, IBM, etc. Dell has by far been the best buy. I too would bump the RAM. Its a cheap upgrade and makes a HUGE difference. just my $.02.......... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarvDog Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Dell...without hesitation!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master_Chief Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy If you want Windows buy a Dell. However don't overlook a Mac either. They are more expensive but have their positives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Careful with brand loyalty in computers. Dell makes some excellent PCs but they also make some serious duds. So Google search some reviews on the particular model you are looking at before laying out the cash. My advice is look very carefully at the upgrades that are available with the PC you are considering. Even though you may think you may never want that particular upgrade if it's not offered up front it's usually not possible (without a major system rebuild). And be sure to ask if any of the upgrade possibilities become no longer possible once the system is built. Ex. They may offer a certain model with several different CPUs. Each CPU may have it's own particular motherboard. So buying the faster CPU chip by itself later and just popping it in may not be an option. The suggestion of bumping up the memory is a good one. In fact sacrificing some CPU speed to get more memory is a good idea. Windows allocates hard drive space as memory if the program requires more than the computer physically has. This seriously slows things down and a faster CPU won't compensate for it. Windows XP home can chew up 128MB of memory in a hurry and more. Run a couple programs and that 256mb gets used up pronto. 512mb is min. But 1 gig of memory is not outrageous and it really helps. Look carefully at the bundled software offered. Getting an email program like Outlook isn't necessarily automatic. Sometimes they only sell programs you really need bundled with ones you don't really want. The result is that cheap PC can get expensive in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
preacherman Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Dell......any other questions?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brownie65 Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy I also have been looking into a new computer. Haven't decided yet but it will probably be a Dell. Currently own a Gateway that is now several years old. I talked to my resident computer expert. He used to sell Dells & I was seeing if he was still going to sell them. Anyway he isn't ,said there was no way he could compete with Walmart & others on price. The biggest piece of info he gave me was to buy one with a pentium processor. Said to stay away from celeron & sempron. He said they were slower than pentium & there is no way to make them faster than what they are. Said that there isn't anything wrong with them but if you want something fast to avoid them. I don't know a thing about them thats just the advice I got. Anyway the one I buy will be with pentium & lots of memory. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mossyhorn Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy [ QUOTE ] Anyway the one I buy will be with pentium & lots of memory. [/ QUOTE ] I would have to go with AMD Athlon 64. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leo Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy [ QUOTE ] I also have been looking into a new computer. Haven't decided yet but it will probably be a Dell. Currently own a Gateway that is now several years old. I talked to my resident computer expert. He used to sell Dells & I was seeing if he was still going to sell them. Anyway he isn't ,said there was no way he could compete with Walmart & others on price. The biggest piece of info he gave me was to buy one with a pentium processor. Said to stay away from celeron & sempron. He said they were slower than pentium & there is no way to make them faster than what they are. Said that there isn't anything wrong with them but if you want something fast to avoid them. I don't know a thing about them thats just the advice I got. Anyway the one I buy will be with pentium & lots of memory. [/ QUOTE ] What your computer buddy told you isn't entirely true. Intel makes both the celeron and the pentium processors and it is true that the pentium class chip is far superior to the celeron. However, Both Semprons and the Athlon 64 are made by AMD. Semprons are indeed a lesser CPU than the Athlon 64. But some Semprons have 64bit capability, I am not aware of any celerons that do this. If the Sempron CPU is in a 764 socket motherboard there is a good chance the motherboard can be upgraded to an Athlon 64 at a later date. So yes you can in fact make these systems faster. You may have to do a couple of very simple BIOS tweaks after this but that's it. And contrary to what a lot of "GURU"s will tell you no windows reinstall is required. Besides adding more memory, it's one of the most painless upgrades there is. This is not true with the celeron systems. Get one of those and you're stuck with it unless you want to swap the entire system board, CPU, memory and reinstall everything at a later date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Thanks for all the input. Now, does anyone have an extra $500 I can have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockefeller66 Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Gateway makes good computers, that is all we buy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisArcher Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy I build my own computers!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Finn Posted January 23, 2006 Report Share Posted January 23, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy [ QUOTE ] I build my own computers!! [/ QUOTE ] Really? What do you charge to make one? How far from Aurora, IL are you? We maybe could make a deal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hoyt_hunter Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy IMO i would wait to get a new computer, windows is supposed to be coming out with their new operating system sometime late summer if you could wait. A minor stback to that would be it is fresh and could have a few glitches, so i would wait for the updated version of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
007hunter Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Honestly, I would find a freind who knows alot about computers and have them build you one. They could build you a far superior computer for the same amount.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Illinoisbowhunter Posted January 24, 2006 Report Share Posted January 24, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy I worked at a computer sales/service store for a year, and was the system builder there. I am also currently studying in college to get my Certificate as a Computer Technician. Intel makes the Celeron D and Pentium processors. The Celeron D is the budget line of their cpus and are ment to compete with AMD's Sempron. Reason why they perform at a lower standard, is the celeron D's and Semprons only contain 256kb cache on their cpu cores, as opposed to (512kb-2mb) on the Athlon 64, Opteron, & Athlon X2 lines. One thing to not get fooled with when looking at processors is AMD's frequency rating. An AMD 64 3200+ is only rated at a frequency of 2.0Ghz. You may say well, Intel makes processors from 3.2Ghz and on up. Yes...BUT, youve got to look at AMDs Performance rating (3200+) They run many more instructions per clock cycle then do Intel's P4. (9 verses 12) So they are much more efficient in getting more work done at a lower frequency. Some of the socket 754 Semprons are 64bit and as are all the socket 939 Athlon 64's. As for the purpose u want this machine to serve, I would look into dells/hp/compaq lower line of PC's. If you want my honest opinion I would get something with an AMD 64 or Sempron 64bit cpu. Sooner or lately every thing is going to be 64bit. Windows XP 64 is out now but due to the lack of driver support its going to take a while for people to get switching over. And also, i would suggest nothing under 512mb Ram for running XP, as mentioned before. Ive custom built all my machines (of coarse) but it will prob end up being cheaper for you to just go with a lower line from one of the companies. A machine like ur asking can be had for $300-$400 and thats even including a new CRT or in some cases...an LCD monitor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IllinoisArcher Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Built this and assembled it myself for $900 ok it`s a >Intel Pentium 4 3.0GHz Processor >2 GB DDR RAM >GA- 8IPE1000 G >X60 500W ATX Case >120GB 7200RPM SATA Seagate barracuda HDD >40 GB maxtor >ATI 9550 128 mb (GETING A NEW 1 SOON) >pioneer DVD-RW DVR-108 16x >dvd samung player >liteon CD-RW 52x32x52 >OPTI-USP 575c >it has got 2 LED+3 Case fan`s >Liquid Cooling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HitRmisS Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy i love my dell laptop Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
okbowman Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy I have Dell everywhere, Home, Office and of course a Dell Laptop!! Never any problems! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 2500HD Posted January 25, 2006 Report Share Posted January 25, 2006 Re: Which computer to buy Just replaced my old computer with a loaded up Dell XPS 400. Do some searching on the net for coupons or specials for the Dells. Some coupons you can stack to save even more. My system loaded up was around $1500 w/19" Digital Flat monitor. After stacking the coupons I got it delivered to my house (in two days) for just under $1200. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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