Buying a computer

[trebor]

agrees with Slamin, dell does make decent but cheap comps. Mainly cheap I would say. The support while towted, is barley there. You call and wait, they come out you wait, you to the web site you wait. Take this from a guy that bought before he learned to build.

My advice is learn and build, always build. For support, you can always talk to yourself. LOL. Luck

 

[spfd]

EWWWWW DELL!!?!?!?

 

[jon15n]

I used to have an HP back in the day, bought a Dell, and recently bought an HP Pavilion a330n for $880.

HP lies about their products. When I bought it, I was under the impression it would be able to hold 2GB pc2700, but eventually over the phone HP realized the type of motherboard only holds up to 1GB. Therefore, it's like they were falsely advertising their products.
An HP corporate rep was more than happy to send me out the a350n, which does support the RAM and had an upgraded processor.
Compaq is a definite NO. Gateway is "o.k.". Dell is one of the best.
Dell offers the 24x7 tech support, but actually has support within America until a certain hour, at which it switches to technical support out of India, which sucks. HP has round the clock technical support out of India, yet you can be connected to a PC techie in the US if you hit the right buttons on the phone.

Building your own PC is the best way to go if you know what you are doing. If you don't know what you are doing, Dell is a good choice.

 

[silverfilly]

First off, thank you everyone for responding.

What we really only use the computer for is toying with the occassional photo, typing something on works, and surfing the web. We don't need something state of the art by any means. We do burn the occassional CD, but we don't play games or anything like that. I guess what we are looking for is something we're gonna be happy with for the next few years or so, something faster, and something halfway reliable. Like I said our current HP has been a good computer, not sure about the new ones. So I will still be thinking about it all.

Thanks

Also we want something else for internet. Right now we have dial-up. Any pointers at all?

 

[trebor]

go cable, all the way

 

[Cherubimon_3.20]

a friend of mine who had an HP, wanted to replace the PSU because it stopped working somehow, but he coulndt take it out becuase it was somehow "glued" to the chassis. When he called HP he got bs service.

 

[yammer44]

hey silverfly,

if you want to buy a stock system go for a high end dell. you don't seem to need a system that does too much. a dell is, for the most part, reliable and any computer over $1500 dollars is going to be so much faster than the computer you have right now.

Like you said, you don't know much about computer hardware. With that in mind, I would suggest buying your new system from a local company that specializes in making custom systems. I am in Kalamazoo, MI and we have a couple of stores here where I can walk in, tell them exactly what I want, and they will estimate the cost and time it will take.

Furthermore, this could be a great opportunity to learn a little bit about computers. Go in to a store like that and ask the difference between the options they give you. I know you said money is not important but knowledge is! In the end, you'll save some money, you'll get exactly what you want, and you'll definitely gain some valuable knowledge!

Good Luck silverfly



Cheers, Rob

 

[silverfilly]

Thank you Rob, I will have to look into that. I'll try going into a computer store and seeing what they can do for me . We must have a couple. I will tell them what we use it for and see what they say.

Thanks everyone for your time and effort!

 

[Cosmic~Fury]

silverfilly, building 'puters is really like putting lego's together, and I'm sure you can find somebody to help you build one, perhaps for free, or you can get help from us, or get instruction guides or http://www.pcguide.com .

If you're just a net surfer, photo-editor, and into music burning I'd recommend the following components:

CPU: AMD Athlon 2500+ Barton
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce 3 Ti500 AGP
Soundcard: SoundBlaster Audigy MP3+
Motherboard: any Asus, Abit, MSI, Soyo, or Shuttle mobo thats supports the videocard, soundcard, cpu, and memory you get...I recommend Asus

As far as monitors go, with your uses, a good 15" LCD is cheap and healthier on the eyes, as well as no radiation. Other benefits are they're cooler, more comfortable, light, and don't take so much room up. Go with the NEC MultiSynce LCD1565 you can also get the LCD1765 17" for a little more, or get a 19" if you're willing to spend $600+

Hard Drive: Maxtor 60.0GB 7200RPM
Many say you don't need a floppy drive these days, but if you do happen to use them(school etc), a basic 3.5/1.44 will run you really cheap.
If not floppy, than a good 250MB zip drive, or if you're not worried about backup, than mevermind. You could get a second hard drive or use your cd burner for back up...

memory: 1 or 2 sticks(doesn't matter too much, although I recommend 2) of DDR333 PC 2700 I recommend Kingston's HyperX coz they're cheap and come with built on heatspreaders which you'll need to help cool your memory

Any logitech or microsoft mouse and keybord will do. I don't recommend cordless technology as you may encounter problems, but many peeps these days are cordless enthusiasts. Also, its hard to find good, cheap, basic keyboards the days which is why I recommend http://www.keytronic.com or Micro Innovations.

Any mid-tower case with front and rear ventilation will run run cheap. Remember, get at least rear and front ventilation as cooling is essential. You could find a case with front, rear, side, and top vent for the same price, and I highly recommend that. When you get your fans, they'll probably be 80mm get LED as they're quiet and cool. Your CPU will need a fan+heatsink. Best that heatsink is copper. Also get Arctic Silver 5, its real cheap and will drop your CPU temp considerably; its a kind of paste. Antec brand fans are really good, in fact, get that brand. Enermax, Antec, and Aspire make good cases. Watch out for your power supply, brands to trust are also Antec and Enermax. I'd recommend a 420W at least, no more than 500w, but you might get by on a 350w provided you're not doing heavy graphics, gaming, or watching DVDs...(just get 420w ) Make sure its dual fan, preferably LED fans.

Plextor tends to make the best burners I think. Really most 48x CD-R/RW will be good. Also, get a CD/DVD-Rom at 48x CD read and 16x DVD read, you can get them cheap.

You can build a better computer for cheaper than what you'd be paying for something not as good, not only that, but you'd own all of that puter. No by-the-balls, no hidden integrations(which can include hidden programs that attract pop-ups and disable blockers) Really though, you get ALL that you want, and its fun, doesn't take too long, and literally is as easy as putting together legos. You'll be able to look at the pieces and place them together. You might need help setting up the software and turning the puter on for the first time, but we'll help you...for free.

Also, while the suggestion on local custom building companies is good, a lot of those companies rip you off. They overprice the hardware, put hidden or unneccissary charges, and charges expsenive as hell on building fees, sometimes they integrate software for you without your knowledge/choice coz of some deal a compsny many have with the hardware or store. Sometimes they accidently put the wrong component in, or put in a refurbished/opened item that might only be "like" the component you wanted, and then they go off and charge you $200 for a $60 videocard or summit if that were to happen. Its not as cheap as it could be with you building all ur own, in fact, it could overprice you by approx. $1000...usually at least $700

You could get your stuff from fry's electronics, CompUSA, or any other puter stores, or online at http://www.newegg.com

You could also keep your current monitor, mouse, and keyboard to save some money, but either way, you're building a kickass machine for a killer price.

Cable is faster most the time. There are rare times when there are too many peeps online and it slows down, but not by much at that, and those times are rare. If you're just downloading music and surfing, cable for sure as its usually cheaper and more areas carry it.

If any of this was too technical, just ask, its easier than it seems...that or I'm underestimating you and you know everything I've said

If you're still not interested, and just wanna get a prebuilt, get a DELL, definatly. The new HPs aren't too nice, and Sony's, Compaqs, and Gateways, well...

 

[cyber_surfer]

I hear you - don't want to build.

For what you say you want to do with a computer I would back down from 3.0GHz to maybe 2.6. You couldn't tell the difference in what you plan to do. You should see the difference in the cost.
Could you get along with a 17" lcd.
Two changes and you should be in around $1300 or less.

I have purchased four Dells and had no serious problems
(now build my own). If you have problems you can really get frustrated dealing with their current support approach. It sounds like you could be happy with a Dell. I would buy the lcd at Bestbuy or CC where I could drive over and take it back if I wasn't happy. You can get into counting dead pixels before some vendors will take back an lcd.

In my area cable is just great. Get a router and surf with the old computer and new. Download large files in no time at all. Share a printer and files. The new fast machine won't seem that much different surfing with dialup.