Need Advice on Choosing a Computer

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scalprum

Joined
Sep 28, 2005
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Hello, everyone. My parents are planning on using their tax return to replace our 6-year-old computer. They are considering a HP or Compaq.
Main uses will be internet (dial-up connection) and word-processing. I'm not sure of the budget, but it probably won’t go above $700. Any advice is appreciated.
 
Two words , Dell.
Not to ruffle feathers here but Compaq is junk and HP is a close second , aside from thier laptops. IMO all of the above customer service leaves something to be desired but Dell's is still the best of the three.
Do yourself a favor and for sure steer them away from Compaq , if they cant get a Dell , HP would be my second choice , although my first choice would be to build one myself.
Dont let cheap prices fool you , you really do get what you pay for , make sure it/'s not some refurb POS that your paying full price for.
 
Two words , Dell.
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Where's the second word?:D
Thanks for the tip. Also, new requirements. I based my first on what our current computer is used for, but my dad wants to use the new one for digital photography as well as the above uses. And the budget isn't as tight as I thought ($1000-$2000).
 
if they don't need to upgrade the monitor, and already have keyboard, mouse, and speakers then I would look at the Dell pc in tower only (yes they do sell them that way), or if they need a complete set up have them get a Dell with P4 processor, 512mb -1 gb memory, and the biggest video card they can afford. If you watch the specials you will see $500 off, free monitor, etc.. pick the special that fits your situation. Or you can go to http://www.newegg.com and pick up a barebones tower that will work for you.
 
For "package" deals, Dell is always a safe bet. (Hint: if you buy a Dell, throw away the color Dell brochure that will be mailed to you EVERY month - it will drive you nuts! Each month, you'll see the system you bought at a still lower price. If you don't understand that this is how computer retail sales work in general, you will be in analysis before the year is out. So - buy...enjoy...and never look at another computer "package" advertisement for the next 5 years.)
 
A Dell package is probably your best bet even if their overseas customer service is absolutely atrocious beyond compare.
 
scalprum said:
Hello, everyone. My parents are planning on using their tax return to replace our 6-year-old computer. They are considering a HP or Compaq.
Main uses will be internet (dial-up connection) and word-processing. I'm not sure of the budget, but it probably won’t go above $700. Any advice is appreciated.
Click to expand...

I also have a Dell, but thought I'd throw out another option. If you or your parents aren't skilled/ knowledgeable with upgrading computer hardware a local mom/pop store should be considered. Yeah it will cost you more, but you know you can walk into the store anytime and get good advice or drop it off and have it worked on right there.
 
Main uses will be internet (dial-up connection) and word-processing.
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If that's all they need it for, I suggest they buy whatever model/configuration is the advertised special at Dell this week.

-Bob

p.s. Also, if that's all they need a computer for, do they ~really~ need a new one at all? Perhaps their old one simply needs to reformatted with a fresh install of the operating system and drivers?
 
My wife used to have an IBM box, that we tossed.

Next, me being all computer savvy and stuff got one built locally from the best available components at the time. This was in 1998. That computer lasted us well until we moved, and needed to network.

I got a Dimension 4200 in 2002, and she got a Dimension 4600 in 2003. Her power supply blew up last week, and a replacement cost 40.00. Other than that, there have been no problems.

Dell customer support on the PHONE sucks, but if you can do live chat online, it is not too bad.

The flat panel monitors are worth every penny they cost.

Best Regards,

Steven Garsson
 
Another vote for Dell. I've had 3 of them, and it's all I've ever used at work. When I got my last one, I searched the Dell website, Ebay and the intrenet for hours looking for the best deal. Finally, I picked up the phone and called Dell. The girl on the other end was most helpful and talked me in to a better deal that I could find on-line. She also steered my away from using my company's corporate discount, becuase that wasn't what I was after. (I told her my intentions and she listed some options in my price range, then found one with a 3-1 printer/scanner/fax for free.)

Next time I get one, I'm going the build-my-own (I'll hit up some of the pro's I've seen on this message board for ideas, but if a person's getting a basic system (internet and WP), then Dell's the way to go.
 
Just because its what I'll do I'll come in and suggest custom built. Dell uses questionable parts and their customer service can be hell. all you really need is a 3.0 celeron, 512 megs of ram, and the rest is up to preference. Thats a standard build for workstations and thats all it will be used for. they can be built cheaply with quality hardware.

but if you do go prebuilt I would recomend dell over the others just for price really. HP and compaq(same company) are pretty bad especially in their lowend.
 
Buy Dell. I've had good experience with all the stuff i've bought from them. So far my family has bought from Dell 3 notebooks, 2 PC's, 1 PDA, 1 20inch widescreen flat panel monitor. Not one of 'em has had a problem other than a lightning strike which destroyed the motherboard of one of the PC's. They came to replace it the next day after we called them.

Dell always has some good deal every week. So find one that suits your needs and just buy.

However, this year i decided to build instead of buying Dell. At least i got what i wanted.

Intel 3ghz dual core
2gb ddr ram
2 x 250gb hard drive
1 dvd rw dual layer
1 cd rom drive
nvidia 6600gt graphics card
20inch dell widescreen monitor

I've been using this for my Photoshop stuff and the speed is amazing.
 
Bob W said:
p.s. Also, if that's all they need a computer for, do they ~really~ need a new one at all? Perhaps their old one simply needs to reformatted with a fresh install of the operating system and drivers?
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I agree with Bob W. Since the computer is 6 years old perhaps a different vidio card and a memory upgrade is all that is needed.:confused:
 
Hey, everyone, thanks for the advice.
Just to clear a few things up. When I made mademy first post all I knew was that we were planning on upgrading our computer. I assumed this computer would simply replace our old one, which is only used for internet an WP purposes. After talking to my mother however, I posted again stating that the new computer would also be used for digital photography(post #3 in this thread).

In reply to Bob. W and kamkazmoto, our current computer was actually given to us around 8 years ago by friends who were replacing it. It crashed 2 years later, at which time we had it rebuilt, hence it is six years old. We have upgraded memory and hard-drive since, but our OS is still Windows 95. We are no longer able to upgrade our anti-virus software because Norton doesn't make it any more. I agree, however, that, with a little work, it would probably work fine for internet and WP until we caught a virus. Even so, it would still be inadequate for photo editing.
 
Even so, it would still be inadequate for photo editing.
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Agreed. For photo/multimedia work I'd look for a machine with a decent amount of memory, a real graphics card, a multi-card reader, and a large-ish hard drive. I'd also want a flat screen monitor - not a flat panel LCD, but a real flat screen CRT monitor, like a Trinitron.

Happy Shopping,
-Bob
 
I agree with the Dell option.

The weekly specials are very good.

I'm typing this on my three year old Dell Dimension 4500, and the only failure I've had is with the CRT monitor. I replaced it with a flat panel LCD.

I also have two towers that were built by a local guy for me, one two years ago, and one last year, and they are both fantastic computers.

We also just bought our oldest daughter a Dell Inspiron E1505 laptop with all of the goodies, and it beats all three of the desktops. I'm seriously considering ordering another one for my wife. It was one of the specials two weeks ago on the Dell site. It arrived last Friday, and I only ordered it on the previous Sunday. How's that for service?
 
We have an emachine that was a very good deal after rebates. We bought it for the kids to use and it rivals my Sony in terms of speed and features at about half the cost. There haven't been any issues with it. If you want to spend a bit more Sony makes a darn good PC as well.
 
rebeltf said:
Not to ruffle feathers here but Compaq is junk and HP is a close second , aside from thier laptops.
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FYI, Compaq was purchased by Hewlett-Packard in 2002. :)

I agree with fulloflead. I got an Apple in December, after nearly a ten-year string of Windoze boxes...and I'm not looking back.

GeoThorn
 
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