Computer knowledge needed...

[makaio]

Originally posted by Icemaster
Is your head spinning yet???

Yes! Since I'm not a real big computer user I think I'll stick with a Windows based machine. I should have included what I'm going to use it for so here goes:

70% Surfing the Pelican BBS

5% purchasing from Pelican

10% Digital pictures

5% E-mail

5% Misc. surfing

5% Other Misc. Digital videos, Excel, etc...

I'm pretty sure I'm going with Dell. For about $500 I can get the machine I want with printer, scanner, copier, & monitor.

It sounds like the celleron will be fine for what I need.

Thanks guys .

[dad911]

Sam's clubs & Costco have decent deals on eMachines, Compaq, and HP. The nice thing about buying from a wholesale club is/was their 'blanket refund policy' My Sony Laptop, bought from Costco, broke after 5 months, Costco took it back no questions asked, and I bought a repacement new for less. Just bought a Compaq Athalon 2.6 with dvd, CD-rw, and a LCD flat screen for $700.

I agree with the terrible support from Dell. I have also had trouble installing non-Dell printers and palm organizers.

[RickM]

If you think Dell support is bad try dealing with E-Machines. (Not recommended)

Matt, a big difference will be realized with a high speed internet connection. Perhaps cable as they're typically the fastest for the money. Also, if you plan on doing any Video editing I'd still suggest biting the bullet for the P4. It's not just the processor that's beefed up. Well worth the money.

[Icemaster]

......what Rick said.

If your thinking of doing any kind of video work and you want to stay Windows instead of Mac, go for the P4 . Trust me.

[makaio]

Should have mentioned I have a DSL connection currently. Alright, I guess I plop down the extra green for the P4.

[dglenn]

I would disagree that if you have broadband (DSL) that you need a quicker machine. Any old 2 year old machine will browse the internet on a broadband connection just as fast as the fastest machine out today. The data rates for broadband aren't even close to what a modern processor can handle.

If you are going to spend a bit extra money, spend it on more RAM. Make sure you have at least 512MB.

[jyl]

Those are really undemanding tasks.

So don't get lured into buying a "hot fast" machine, a Celeron or a AMD with 512MB RAM will do everything you need. And today's "hot fast" machine will be old bargain-bin stuff in a year, so there's no point in buying more PC than you need.

Do make sure you get Office bundled, if you don't already have a copy (since you mentioned Excel). I guess that's fairly obvious, sorry.

Before you choose a printer, go to the library and find a Consumer Reports test of inkjet printers. Check out the $/page cost. Lexmark printers have appealingly low upfront costs but surprisingly high $/page ink costs. DELL-branded printers are (currently) made by Lexmark.

Oh, I see you mentioned digital video too but you say that's only 5%. That's a demanding task, but are you serious about it? If yes you'll want a P4 with lots of RAM, lots of hard disk, and good graphics and sound cards - it's getting to be more of a high-end machine.

I'm a big Mac fan too, although you won't be able to get into one for $500. I used to be a 100% PC bigot - built all my own PCs on dual-processor server boards using all the RAM and the fastest SCSI drives I could afford etc. Then I got sick of constantly fixing and patching Windows, downloading new virus definitions, running Norton Utilities, rebooting, etc. So I started using my wife's Mac more and more. The last time my PC crashed I didn't bother fixing it, and now we're shopping for a second Mac. The things are just so damn easy to use.

As for Mac software, with a $129 student edition of Office X (they'll sell it to anyone) and the built-in Apple digital photo / music / video apps, webbrowser, and email client, you're all set. The only major consumer usage where Macs are disadvantaged, software-wise, is PC gaming.

Finally, remember to back up your data since PCs do crash and take your irreplaceable photos with them. I use an external hard drive (Maxtor makes some nice "One-Touch" products) but I guess you could just use a stack of 5 cent recordable CDs or DVDs.

Originally posted by makaio
Yes! Since I'm not a real big computer user I think I'll stick with a Windows based machine. I should have included what I'm going to use it for so here goes:

70% Surfing the Pelican BBS

5% purchasing from Pelican

10% Digital pictures

5% E-mail

5% Misc. surfing

5% Other Misc. Digital videos, Excel, etc...

I'm pretty sure I'm going with Dell. For about $500 I can get the machine I want with printer, scanner, copier, & monitor.

It sounds like the celleron will be fine for what I need.

Thanks guys .

[RickM]

Quote: "I would disagree that if you have broadband (DSL) that you need a quicker machine."

DG you may misunderstand the above mentioned comments. I agree that a slower machine will benefit from a faster internet connection. But a faster machine (P4) would be absolutely favorable for any kind of video editing....especially since it's only a few $$$ more. I also agree with bumping memory. But that can be done after the machine is purchased and most likely for alot cheaper than from the PC builder.

Start with a good base machine and take it from there. You can expand/upgrade the subsystems of the PC as you focus your use.