Those days are long gone friend. The computer I am on right now is a 'gold code' XP install, meaning that I had a copy of XP within days of it being release. Still smooth and fast. Service pack, anti-virus, defrag, repeat.

But I know what you mean. I could never make a Win 98 install last more than 6 months. It would run, but after 6 months it would be crawling.

HD,

I have been running W2000 on my main server at home for almost a year now, with no issues and no slowing down. Agree that the newer versions of the OS are better than the old W98/ME and can last longer.

That said, I format and renew every year or so just to clean up all the crap that has accumulated on the hard drive. It takes a day but thats life...

I know I shouldn't be going here, but...

I always read how people say their PC's crash much more than their Macs.

I don't understand this. What are people running on their PC's to make them crash? I've been running the same install of Win2K for probably 4 years and it never crashes and still runs great. I run Office 2K3, Photoshop, any number of games, Nero, MP3 editing software, ftp programs, etc., but never a crash.

I don't really think this is a problem for Win2K and XP. If you do get crashes, it's most likely a poorly written app, driver, or a flakey piece of hardware that's causing it. Win98 and earlier OTOH were total pieces of crap...

Just my 2,

ianc

I have used Dell, IBM, Toshiba, HP and SONY (too many model to remember). Not particularly thrilled with the HP.
That being said- upgrade to SONY Vaio laptops about a year ago. Really enjy the laptops, wireless capacity - so that I can use them anywhere in the house, or garage or backyard. Great to be able to download from the BBS when you are doing something on the car in the garage. 60-80Gb HD is sufficient. Everything else is copied onto a CD/DVD. Download/copy music and movies for multiple IPODs for the family. Network through linksys wireless router/print server. 15.4" screen on the laptop, external LCD 19"...
Running Windows XP- which is the biggest PITA.

Costco special that started yesterday on a Dell, 3 gig Intel processor, 1 gig RAM, 7200 rpm 160 gig hard drive, DVD burner and 19" flat panel monitor.

http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11107007&cm_mmc=Bcemail_134-_-DellDesktop-_-30-_-Bcemail_134_988714

$999 with a 2 year warranty. Buy it using an AmEx card and the warranty is now 4 years. Costco's warranty allows you to return it at almost anytime.

Only downside is that POS MS Works office suite. One of us can probably find you something better! :)

Joe A

I buy computers for our company - I will no longer buy gateway. I buy nothing but dell now - a few hiccups but they have been handled quickly and efficiently by dell.

My home computers - I have used Sony and had good experiences from them. At a minimum 512 mb of ram - prefer 1 gig. minimum of 60 gig hd. min of 18" monitor. get on dell's email list and wait for one of their email specials (the only time I buy, btw) I just bought 6 new computers - forget the model - but pretty mid range power desktops - 1 gig ram, 80 gig hd, dvd/rw's with the free lcd 18" upgrade and office 2003 basic for under $900 shipped.

Hey Milt,

If you decide to go with a Dell then make sure you take advantage of all their latest coupon codes and discounts. This site, gotapex.com, is updated daily with the latest deals.

I made this exact statement in the mid 90s.

it was late 90's for me - guess I'm slow to change... ;)

Heh heh......


Hey Ed, great site!

That ViewSonic 211 is an insane monitor. Extremely clear, bright and acurate. Not cheap, but completely worth it if you can spend the cash.

Back to PC's... My wife is a Dell certified tech. She worked for a very large Fortune 500 company as a tech and that company had a mix of about every brand out there. She's worked on just about everything out there and by far prefers Dell product. They are just better built and hold up better under abusive operators. Whenever someone asks her what brand of PC to buy (desktop), it's Dell only.

Her brother had a 2 home built PC's. My wife would be rebuilding these PC's every quarter since he kept messing with them. She finally got sick of it and told him to buy a Dell since she was no longer going to fix his home built junk anymore. That was 3 years ago and we haven't had to fix his PC since. So, if a Dell can hold up to his abuse, it's gotta be decent.

We've got 3 Dells running in my household. An old 600 that's 6 years old now that's still kicking. My Dimension 4500 has been rock solid for 3 years with no hickups at all and my wife's 3.02 Dell has been on non stop for 2+ years now with zero problems.

I agree that RAM and hard drive space are more important than processor speed. Music and video files are HUGE.

My wife just fixed a Gateway yesterday for her friend. I'll agree that Gateway is not the best...

Building a PC from scratch can be fun, but it seems the days of saving huge amounts of money by sourcing your own components and then building them yourself are kinda over. The systems from the big boys are cheap enough now that there isn't much incentive to building your own unless you like doing that type of work. I would bet Dell and the other huge PC makers can pressure component makers for very good pricing...

Just more data points for your consideration...

Jay

I buy built systems, and then add more memory and hard drive. I can buy a 500MB hard drive for less money then Dell charges for a 160MB. You'll see similar gouging on RAM as well. I just bought a system from Compaq (still waiting for delivery) with 256 MB RAM and 80GB hard drive. I'm going to add 2GB RAM and a 500GB hard drive when I get it. Dell has the best deals if you need to get a system with a monitor, but I found a better deal on a Compaq with no monitor since I have a 20" flat screen that is less then a year old.

I only use MACs at home. At work I have an IBM laptop running XP. No real complaints, except that there is some sort of fix/update to the operating system every week from Microsoft. The need for updates gets checked at every startup and most require rebooting. Fine, when its the company policy and time, but I would never do this if I had a PC of my own.

I didn't read all of the posts here because I don't have time. I would think Dell would work fine. I have ordered several Dells for my company, and never had problems with them. I agree with some that you can build it cheaper, but then you don't get customer support and all of the software that comes with the new computer. For someone without time to screw around with hardware, a new computer that you can pull out of a box, turn on, and begin using is worth a bit more money in my opinion. My only complaint with Dell (and all new computer maunfactures) is that they load on so much CRAP that you don't want or need. It takes hours to uninstall all of that crap every time I open a new computer.

Sorry, didn't mean to be intimidating. However that is my mantra and I've broadcast it for a while now.

Dell has screwed me at the consumer level (I'm sure you read my laptop thread) and they've screwed me at the business level as well (corporate--I manage a high performance simulation lab as one of my many "hats" and a few years ago our IT dept locked us into Dell products, which has caused our productivity to suffer due to frequent hardware failures, machines arriving DOA, OS crashes, etc. And I'll be stuck with them for all eternity since our lab budget comes from our IT dept.). IT departments go with the hardware and software that keep them needed--otherwise they won't have any budget next year!

I concur with the folks recommending the PC Club if you don't want to go the Apple/Mac route. If you can perform your own service, or take the computer to a live body and hand it off, you'll get the best response time!

Now the reason to go the Mac route:
+MUCH lower risk of virii, intrusion, trojans, worms, et al.
+If there is an Apple store near you you'll get decent LIVE ENGLISH-SPEAKING service.
+Unless you're a balls-out gamer (which you're not) you'll have access to all the software you need--most of it already bundled--despite what the rest of the folks here say.
+There are even a few games to play.
+TONS of free software. OpenOffice 2.0 is all I use at home, and it'll read and save MS Office format docs, if that's important to you.

I hacked together a DVD of my son...ripped it off our DV camera in iMovie, slapped together some menus in iDVD, and sent it to my parents. Never read any directions, it was that easy to figure out. And my technophobe parents just threw it in the DVD player I had bought them and pushed "Play". Couldn't be easier.

You get what you pay for. Most of the time, anyway. ;)

Even though I've used lots of Dell's with zero problems, that our IT department buys Dells by the bushel and has zero problems, I also concer with folks who recommend the local PC club. For what you'll pay for a decent Dell you can have a local shop piece together a system with better components and MOST importantly, only load software you need/want.

For OS Skip XP home and go directly to XP Professional. I also like the new OSX operating system - the only Mac OS that I'd consider using, but it sounds like you've already pulled the PC trigger. Buy the most RAM and disk space that you can afford.

Mac side stepped the virus wagon not because it's the superior OS but because it has a signifigantly smaller install base. Virus writers want to unleash havok and thus concentrate on the most popular product to showcase their efforts. That said the Mac products are damn nice but too expensive IMHO. A weekly Windoz update that installs as a background process is no skin off my nose. I know that the products I produce, the documents I create, will work on the majority of laptops on today's desktops.

Just received a promo email from Dell.

http://landingstrip.dell.com/landingstrip/ls.asp?CID=10101&LID=291498&DGC=EM&DGStor=BSD&DURL =http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_server?c%3Dus%26cs%3D04%26l%3Den%26s%3Dbs d

Two desktop systems. One for $650 with the OS and one for $550 without. $550 has two 80 gig hard drives, 1 gig ram and DVD as well. Buy this, go to Fry's and $200 later and you will have a 17" flat screen monitor, keyboard and mouse and are in business. Find someone with W2000 and you are in business.

The $650 system has the OS and other software on it but only 512 meg of RAM. Put another 512 in it (if it has the slots open) and you are up and running.

Either one worth looking at...

JoeA

Joe, Those are Poweredge servers. While I run one at home and think the world of them (the 43o is very nice) they tend to have features unique to the server customer and may not be best suited for a customer like Milt.

I did a refresh on a 4600 Dimension last yesterday for my niece and must say it's a very nice machine.

Rick,

Thanks for the input. Personally I would rather have a server but then I am what many would call a "power user." I would use the RAID and everything I have is networked back and forth.

Good to know...

Joe A