New Computer Suggestions

[Piglet's Pal]

We are purchasing a new computer and we need suggestions! The last time we bought a computer was in 1999...it is very old and barely hanging on. I use the computer for e-mail, documents for my volunteering and fun stuff like the DIS! I would love to use the computer for my digital pictures. My kids use the computer for homework, projects & games. DH really doesn't use it at all, actually he may not even know how to turn it on!
We want to purchase a desk top, we are not interested in an Apple, and we are not interested in a laptop. Our current computer is a Gateway (no complaints), we have also been considering HP & Dell. We do not want to spend more than $800. What kind of processor should we get, or should I ask what is best? What size hard drive? What else should I consider?
Thanks!

 

[Servants of Evan]

We do not want to spend more than $800.

You are going to limit yourself quite quickly. You can get a marginally decent computer for that amount, but you're not going to vault right to the head of the pack. If you're planning on documents and other work-type items, you're probably talking about using Microsoft Office software which will run $200 all by itself. That leaves you with $600 for a new machine. Basic 32bit processor, 512 ram, onboard graphics, and probably a 17" flat panel display. Get the biggest hard drive you can (120gb minimum)...

 

[hlbtimes2]

We bought a new one a few months ago. We found a great deal on a refurb one from costco.com. It has a decent warranty from HP, and extra coverage from costco. I would recomend you check there and see what you can get for your money.

 

[Charade]

I'll have to disagree with SOE. You can get a pretty decent desktop computer that more that meets your needs for about $800.

For word processing stuff there are alternatives to Microsoft products. Some are much less expensive and some are even free.

 

[kandeebunny]

minimum 64 bit processor and 1gb or ram are my suggestions (im in computer retail) vista (windows new OS) is slated to be released in jan. programs are already being written and geared towards that OS, so if you want your comp to last another 5-6 years...I wouldn't go below that.

Also and it should go without saying...make sure you have an anti-virus and remember with that you get what you pay for.

 

[schmitty]

You are going to limit yourself quite quickly. You can get a marginally decent computer for that amount, but you're not going to vault right to the head of the pack. If you're planning on documents and other work-type items, you're probably talking about using Microsoft Office software which will run $200 all by itself. That leaves you with $600 for a new machine. Basic 32bit processor, 512 ram, onboard graphics, and probably a 17" flat panel display. Get the biggest hard drive you can (120gb minimum)...

Youre wrong. 800 is a good amount to buy a good computer.
Dimension C521
My Components
PROCESSOR AMD Athlon™ 64 3200+
OPERATING SYSTEM & TV-TUNERS Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
MEMORY 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
HARD DRIVE 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
OPTICAL DRIVE 16x DVD+/-RW Drive
MONITOR No Monitor
VIDEO CARD 256MB ATI Radeon X1300 Pro
SOUND Integrated Sound Blaster®Audigy™ HD Software Edition
My Accessories
PRINTER FREE Dell Color Ink Jet Printer 725
SERVICE & SUPPORT Promo,90Day Ltd. Warranty,90Day HW Warranty Support,90Day Advance Exchange
SPEAKERS No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
KEYBOARD & MOUSE Dell USB Keyboard and Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse
FLOPPY & MEDIA READER 3.5 in Floppy Drive
MODEM 56K PCI Data Fax Modem

Total price $739

Also try newegg.com they have basic computers for really cheap. I found this one really quickly.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16883102664 and its alot cheaper than the dell. For antivirus buy esset nod 32 http://www.eset.com/
and for word processing openoffice is what you should get. Its free and a much better alternative to Microsoft Office.

 

[Charade]

minimum 64 bit processor and 1gb or ram are my suggestions (im in computer retail) vista (windows new OS) is slated to be released in jan. programs are already being written and geared towards that OS, so if you want your comp to last another 5-6 years...I wouldn't go below that.

Also and it should go without saying...make sure you have an anti-virus and remember with that you get what you pay for.

No offense but that's exactly what I would expect someone in the "biz" to recommend.

I've been building computers for 20 years and I've never needed the latest and greatest to do most things that people use computers for. I'm not into gaming so I don't have a souped up graphics card or anything else that hard core gamers need/want.

 

[Charade]

Here's a Dell for $599 with a 19 inch flat panel. You can configure it with upgrade and get to about $800 (with upgrades that I would recommend). But to say you can't get a decent computer for $800 is incorrect. There are many other possibilities besides this.


http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?c=us&cs=04&kc=6W300&l=en&oc=bdpd1bd&s=bsd

Components
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
No Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Selected
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
160GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16X DVD-ROM Drive
19 inch E197FP Analog Flat Panel
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Accessories
No Floppy Drive Included
No Modem Requested
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
Dell USB Keyboard
Dell® 2-button USB mouse
Software
No productivity suite- Includes Microsoft Works 8. DOES NOT INCLUDE MS WORD
No Security Subscription
Service
1 Year On-site Economy Plan
6 Months of America Online Membership Included
Purchase is not intended for resale.
Also Includes
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
C521
Windows Vista™ Capable
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 7.0
No Digital Music Software Requested
No Digital Imaging Software RequestedCompatibility Alert

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Quite honestly you could buy the cheapest thing out there and be impressed over the improvement over what you have now. I recommend something like this (click me).

You will be happy with 512 of RAM and will be hard pressed to fill an 80 gig drive unless you have a ton of photos (thousands) and gigs of music. And if you do that I would recommend external storage anyways.

Dell comptuers are great, their books come with a manual that will walk you through installing more RAM if you need it. My mom can barely turn on a computer and can install the RAM with no problem.

Do not get a computer with Windows Vista on it. XP is tried and true - Vista will come out with a lot of bugs and is getting horrible reviews within the Tech community. Microsoft will continue to make software that will run on XP.

You can buy MS Office XP for studnets and teachers because you have children who are in school. This will the word processing and spreadsheet software you will need.

I'm sorry but SoE is what you would encounter if you were to go into the store. Selling you more computer than you need.

I am a network admin and just purchased a $300 bare bones Dell (no monitor, already had one) with less stuff then the one I linked you to do my homework, banking and internet surfing.

 

[bicker]

That's a good point: Anything you purchase now will be impressive compared to what you have. The problem is that the lower the price, the more quickly it will become obsolete. My wife got me a $1500 laptop last year, and it is already showing its age, being unable to do critical things I want it to do.

Heed the warnings to get more memory. Nothing is worse than a computer that sucks wind. 512 MB is inadequate for most of the latest software. It works, but you pay the price via poor performance. Go for 1GB minimum. If you are planning on doing any serious photo editing, that's essential. If you might get a digital camcorder, you'll want an even more powerful machine for your video editing. Aim for 2GB and much better video cards than the ones some of the folks above have mentioned. Also, with a digital camcorder, you'll go through a 80GB hard drive very quickly. Aim for 160GB in that case.

The key is to not buy the computer you need today, but rather to buy the computer you will want to have just before you get your next computer. Unless you want to be buying computers every couple of years, you'll want to think ahead to what you might be using this computer for in the future, and be sure that it will be capable.

 

[Lynn CC]

The least inexpensive way to get a better quality computer than a brand name is to go on TigerDirect, Newegg, Mwave or one of those websites (I use www.tigerdirect.com) and buy the parts you need yourself. I'm sure there is someone in your area that can put it together for you. Someone put my last one together for $75.
If you need help putting one together ask over at www.notebookforums.com, they are a very knowlegable bunch like here on the DIS, but about computers!

They guided me step by step and I didn't know anything about buying parts for computers. I think it's the best way to go. I'll never go back to buying a Dell, or Gateway etc.

Good luck deciding.

 

[Piglet's Pal]

A huge "thank you" for all the responses and suggestions...I realize that no matter what I purchase now will be a HUGE improvement over what I have. I just purchased a new printer last week and my monitor is fairly new. I will assume that I will not need to buy new speakers (correct me if I am wrong). I do have an anti virus that is up to date...will I be able to carry that over to the new computer? I do have a digital camera, but I cannot upload my pictures because of my outdated system and I do want to be able to do this with the new computer...if I read & understand correctly, I should have external storage. I have heard the same things about Vista...stay clear until the bugs are worked out.
Hopefully we will not go for another 8 years without purchasing a computer, I know we are way overdue for a new one. The company I recently started working for will reimburse me $250 every 3 years for a new computer, a small compensation, but nice.

Thank you!