What to ask for/look for in a new desktop computer???

[susiestar]

I need a new desktop. Largely for Jess to use for school and for thank you to be able to use.

The Dell we have now was from husband's mother in law's granddau. She downloaded crud onto it and it was totally locked up. So she got new, and we got it. 3 years ago.

What do I want to have in it? A dvd RW is nice (and in most of them). The lightscribe is probably not needed, we don't burn many cds or dvds.

How much memory? How big a hard drive is recommended?

I want to run Vista home premium, use the internet, and as little gaming as I can convince husband to do on it.

I don't really need a monitor, we have several running around here not in use. I hate storing them, but it is little enough an item as to not be worth fighting over.

Any suggestions,brands, etc??? MAC is not going to happen. All the other computers are not macs, and we need to be able to share files so that I can print with- messing with cords.

Thanks!

Susie

 

[Hound dog]

Well, I prefer HP.

If Travis was up he could probably help you with the rest.

I just haul him along with me and tell him I want the most possible RAM, best video card, and all the trmmings. The one I have now was 1500.00. It can all but sit up and beg. Couldn't use all the memory if I tried. The salesman thought he'd found the end of the rainbow. But I already knew what I wanted before I got to the store.

Oh, and be sure to shop around. This time of year people are getting tax refunds. There are sure to be sales. Also check online, too.

Last time I bought an e machine. I wound up giving it to Nichole for graduation 2 months later. I hated it. She loves it. easy child loves her e machine, too. But Travis fixed both of them for the girls. Each machine had a problem with refusing to shut down. From what I've heard this is suppose to be a "problem" with them. Don't know how true that is.

Whatever you get, if the kids are gonna use it make sure you have an excellent antivirus/firewall program.

I've had more problems because of sites the kids went to than anything else. And they're not bad sites, just filled with cookies and trojans. If they're out there Nichole will find them.

Hugs

 

[flutterbee]

I just got a Dell Inspiron 530 without the monitor for $460.00. The only thing I upgraded was the processor to a dual processor. Makes a HUGE difference with speed. Since you're going to be running Vista, I would at least recommend a dual processor and 1 gig of RAM. I think it's an 80 gig hard drive, but no way will I ever use that much of it. I had 30 gig on my last computer that I had for 6 years and I never had more than 20 gig of the hard drive used and difficult child had tons of games on it.

My last computer was an HP and it was a good computer. I got Dell because it had the best price at the time I bought. I ordered before the end of the year because I wanted Windows XP. I really don't like Vista.

 

[flutterbee]

I take that back; I just checked. I have a 230G hard drive. WTH am I going to do with all that???

 

[flutterbee]

Lisa -

I have to say for $1500.00, it better bring me breakfast in bed.

 

[susiestar]

My husband will fill that hard drive up in less than 6 months if I let him do what he has done to this one. The sky is falling if I delete something!!

He wanted me to say it was OK to buy a hard drive that had 1 of whatever the next unit of measurement above gigabyte.

NOT.

I don't want an emachine because they have a number of problems, often right out of the box. I have not know anyone who bought one and loved it with-o some major repairs.

Dual core is pretty standard (for me), esp for running Vista home premium (recommendation when I bought my laptop a year ago). I really want the worst graphics card, because then they won't keep downloading ****. Cause they CAN'T!!!

1 gig of RAM was also recommended, is it still the most you can get? I like to fill them up with RAM.

Thanks, keep the suggestions coming!

Susie

 

[Hound dog]

I believe the amount of RAM you can get is going to depend on the computer you buy. I have mine maxed out. lol

And I have an external hard drive on top of it all, it's huge. I back up my most important files, like documents, photos, and movies of the grandkids on the external hard drive. That way if something happens to the computer, they're still there.

Oh, and Heather, that's about the only thing mine doesn't do. lmao But this one I bought for myself, for me and me alone. And I wanted it to be exactly what I wanted. husband isn't even allowed on it. lol

 

[witzend]

That's for all the videos and music you're going to download from the internet, yo.



Actually, 80g is not that much memory anymore if you are going to be doing anything other than e-mail and net surfing.

I take that back; I just checked. I have a 230G hard drive. WTH am I going to do with all that???

 

[flutterbee]

I have MS Office on here with various files, Wynter's school work, my 2007 taxes, quite a few pictures, the scanner software, couple different photo software and 2 Sims games and I've only used 20G of the hard drive.

I'll never even come close to using 230G.

 

[DammitJanet]

I have a Gateway with what I consider all the bells and whistles...

Its a dual processor, 250 gig hard drive, dvd rw (multi format double layer), dual channel 1024 megs of memory, memory card reader for both SD and Mini SD, and two more slots I am not sure what they are for! Plenty of USB ports too.

I only buy computers every 5 or 6 years so I get as much hard drive space as I can when I buy.

This one was an open box from Circuit City and that is what I normally get. My last was a Sony Viao which I really loved.