Computer ?

[4theloveofdisney]

I asked a question on the budget board about the cheapest fix for a computer but got to thinking that maybe I need to ask a better question. If you were going to purchase a new computer, what are some of the things you wouldn't do without and why?

Thanks!

 

[ceiligh1]

I am not a computer person but I just recently bought a computer with Media Center on it. THis allows me to record tv shows and watch them later. In addition we made sure to get an extra tuner card so we can record two different shows at once. It has allowed us to record shows that we want to see and watch them when the baby wakes us up late at night. Because of this we end up watching less tv as we only watch the shows we want. Plus unlike tivo we do not have to pay a service fee for it. I was really not sure about this but my DH talked me into it and now we are so happy we got it. YOu can also listen to music off of it and many other things.

 

[sulleyfan]

Here's my recommendations:

1. Get as much memory as you can possibly afford, don't get less than 512MB, this will really affect how fast your computer will run, regardless of the speed of processor. My old computer w/ 1/2 the processor speed of my laptop computer runs almost as fast because it's got the 512MB of memory same as the laptop and my new desktop runs quite a bit faster than the laptop w/ only a minimally better processor but has 1GB of memory. With the exception of the old desktop these are all the same processor family (Pentium 4).

2. Go for the DVD burner. It's really great to have the option to burn to DVDs/CDs etc. Anymore, these are pretty common and you can often find them very inexpensively or as a free upgrade on a new system.

3. Get the biggest hard drive you can afford, especially if you're into music, movies, or digital photography or think you might get into it. There is no such thing as too much available hard drive space.

 

[oogieboogie]

Memory, hard drive, and processor are the three most important things for me.

It really depends on what you're going to use the computer for:

- if it's for email and internet surfing, with some Quicken and writing letters on the side, then how fast the processor is doesn't matter. 512mb will work fine, and 40GB hard drive will be sufficient.

- if you want to use it for gaming, or watching videos or tv on your computer, then processor matters, memory matters, and hard drive space matters, and one more thing that matters is video card. You'll want a good memory card that is separated from the processor.

- I couldn't live with a CD burner at the very least, but having a DVD burner is great too.

- If at all possible do a custom build, that way you can get exactly what you want in it and it won't get bogged down with all the unnecessary items that come prefilled or preinstalled. Ask yourself: do you really need that 20-in-one media reader? Do you really need that blinking, pretty pretty lights in the front, do you need the AOL connection, etc etc.

Good luck.

 

[4theloveofdisney]

Thanks for the great advice! We did buy a new computer tonight and I went with the most memory we could afford, the fastest processor we could afford, and the writeable CD/Dvr thingy. (Sorry...I can remember medical terminology but not computer lingo so "thingy" should suffice!!)

Anyway, the guy from the "Computer Geek Squad" swore to us that we were good to go for a loooong time.

I can only pray...he doesn't know us. ; )


ANYway...love these boards and love you all for your great advice! Thanks again!

 

[airhead]

...never get a computer with a screen less than 19".

 

[4theloveofdisney]

...never get a computer with a screen less than 19".

Happened to get that too as it was only a $50 upgrade.