DH and I are looking into buying a new computer. Now, I know how to work a computer and all but when I look into buying one, it's no easier than trying to read a foreign language. It's extremely confusing. Thanks to my Dad, he volunteered to go computer shopping with me to help me sort through what I need and what I don't need instead of a salesman giving me everything so he gets a good commission. My Dad thinks Sony has the best computers right now and he warned me to stay away from Dell because of their ridiculous prices. The prices dont mean much to me because i've never bought a computer so I dont know what the norm is anyways. I'm trying to leave my options open so here are my questions:

Do you like your computer?
What do you have?
How much did it cost? (If you don't mind sharing.)

By Trina~moderator on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 01:54 pm:

My DH (computer nerd) usually builds our PCs himself, but we do have one Dell. (We have four networked PCs.) He recommends Dell because of their quality and good customer/tech support. My Dad has always bought budget computers in the past and always had problems. DH finally convinced him to go with a Dell and now my Dad is happy! LOL!

By Boxzgrl on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 01:57 pm:

My Dad builds computers as well and the computer I have now is one he built a while ago. I'm just ready for my own store bought computer and accessories with a warranty so I dont have to call "daddy" everytime something goes wrong, lol. I know the "computer nerd" feeling. In high school, we had 6 computers in a 3 bedroom house. He even converted the garage into a full office so he could build computers in peace.

By Tink on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 01:59 pm:

We bought a Dell last year. Most of it we really like. We spent just over a thousand on it but it has a flat screen monitor, dvd burner, extra memory, extra service contract, extra graphics programming (my dh does graphic arts). Our biggest complaint has been trying to remove programs like McAfee and AOL that came factory installed. HTH

I don't know if that is how we would do it again but we were pretty clueless and buying it was pretty painless.

By Ginny~moderator on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 02:06 pm:

I got a Dell a little over a year ago, had only one problem with the CD drive which resolved easily. My only complaint is, like Tink's, trying to remove pre-installed programs. Tink, I assume you have tried the add/remove utility in Control Panel, although McAfee should come with its own uninstall program. But I know exactly what you mean. It is a royal pain. And, mine came with XP as that is/was the current Microsoft Windows program, and my opinion is that each "new" version of Windows just gets cludgier and cludgier, slower and slower, more darn bells and whistles that 99% of users never need and which only slow things down.

I think if I ever buy another computer I'm going to follow my other son's advice and get a Mac. Truth is, though, I'd probably get another Dell, and be a lot pickier about what is pre-loaded and what is not (you do have some choices).

By Jann on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 02:17 pm:

I am a Gateway person. Love how well they are made and the customer service is fantatic. Our current puter is about 4 years old, and I can still call them for help!

By Unschoolmom on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 02:31 pm:

I have a 3-4 yr old Dell (PIII). It was around a thousand dollars Canadian and a lower end model. It's okay for what we use it for at the moment but there's so much more we would like to do but can't.

But before you look at computers, what do you need it for? Will it be for work, photo applications, gaming? Do you plan to buy another one in a few years or would you like one that you can upgrade? Is is going to be a workhorse or something you only use occasionally? And is speed important? What is a reasonable budget?

I would really advise you stay away from any lower end machine from any brand. They're cheap because they're slow and you can't do much about it. They advertise fast processors and them mount them on cheap motherboards with obsolete interfaces(slow - like putting a Corvette on a mud road full of potholes). They give you big hard drives but they're also slow as molassess. They use integrated graphics mounted on the motherboard that steal power and speed from your processor and are nowhere near powerful enough for you to play a new game you might buy at the store. The power supplies are only just adequate enough and the cases have no room if you want to add more drives. And if you don't like it, tough. There's little you can do to upgrade it.

Rant ended.

I'd say read up or find some friends who know computers, find out what you need, buy the parts online from reputable retailers and get a local shop to build it for you. Heck, answer my questions above and I'll consult the computer message boards I post on and we'll see what will meet your needs if you want.

And no, I'm not a computer nerd...yet. I just started reading abut them after Christmas when we thought we were getting a new one and I can't get enough of them.

By My2cuties on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 03:11 pm:

well, it may not be the most expensive but we have an emachines. It is real fast plus we have dsl. I click and it pops up. Never had a problem yet and we have had it a year. Just thought I would put in my 2 cents

By Boxzgrl on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 03:43 pm:

I was honestly looking to spend *at least* 1K and getting some higher end stuff. I want a computer with a lot of memory for pictures and video clips, I want writing applications so I can write essays, resumes, etc. I like games, especially for DD as she gets older. We have to have a CD/DVD drive since thats what we have now and its used often. I also want an all in one printer/scanner/fax etc... so we dont have to upgrade that as well as a picture printing machine (love my computer lingo, huh?) so we can print pics at home instead of ordering the prints online. We also need a good picture editing software that gives us a million options and things to do with pictures. We have $1600 we can put into this but if we can save some money while still getting higher end products, thats also nice.

By Bellajoe on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 04:21 pm:

We are a MAC family. My brother works with computers and is SO against Windows machines for some reason. He has converted both my sisters, my mom, my brother and me to get MACs. We all love them. We all have something called Isight. It is a camera attached to the top of the computer. Both my brothers have them. When we are both online we can turn on our cameras and see and talk to each other which is great because my one brother is 6 hours away from us. I get to see him and his kids and vice versa. It's cool!

The Apple (Mac) machines are great for pictures and video, it is very easy to use. IMac and Emacs are great. We have a G4 machine. The new G5 (I think) is only $500 and it is not a tower, it is more like a box.

Good luck with your search!

By Reds9298 on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 04:47 pm:

We have a Dell and LOVE IT. Absolutely excellent customer service. We didn't have problems with the system other than we ended up with spyware and had to unload/reload and they helped us with everything! We got teh Dimension 4600 model and I have hundreds of pix stored on it, as well as lots of videos. It's the best computer we've had and Dell has great values.

I would vote strongly against an HP...we had one and it was a piece of junk from the first day and the customer service was terrible and pricey.

By Dawnk777 on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 05:12 pm:

We have two DH-built computers and my 3-1/2 yo Dell. My computer has been reformatted enough times, that when we reinstall windows, only the programs we put on, are the ones that go on. Mine is a 1.3 ghz Pentium 4, with 512 RAM.

I wouldn't want a Mac, since I would have to give up Paint Shop Pro and I LOVE PSP. I think DH should build me a computer, since I have the slowest one in the house! LOL! It still works fine, though. Opening Dreamweaver (webpage editing program) and Paint Shop Pro are the only times that I notice my computer is slow.

By Kaye on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 06:20 pm:

Another Dell vote here. We bought their top of the line, bells and whistles computer 3 years ago, it still runs great (although we have a viral issue with our email...ugh). I want to say we paid about 1500. We bought for the kids their base model for 500 a year ago, it is great for them, has a cdburner and dvd drive.

IN general my advice is stay away from piece mealing something together, pick a company and buy a computer, they just work better that way. As far as a printer, go with a big name, get an HP, spend bucks on this if you want it for photos. We have a lexmark 3n1 and it is dicey, sometimes we have to unplug it to make it work again, for no reason.

However, if you do a lot of surfing, go to gaming/sports sites, are prone to viruses then go MAC. I wish I had an Imac and was not dealing with corrupted files, etc. They are super user friendly and right now that is what the schools are using. Mac is really made for the normal people, not the computer geeks. Plus it is my understanding you get a lot more computer for less money.

By Karen~moderator on Monday, March 28, 2005 - 09:41 pm:

We have 3 Dells, but the next one I buy will be built by my office IT guy, mainly because of the preloaded/bundled junk you get with Dell.

By Brandy on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 04:54 am:

hp pavilion f70

By Fraggle on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 07:20 am:

We have a Sony and DH chose it because it has a DVD burner. He has been burning all of our video tapes to DVD on the computer. This is actually our second Sony (because DH uses the computer so much at home for school, work, etc. we upgrade every 2-3 years or so.)

By Juli4 on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 08:32 am:

We have a sony and it is really good. We have had it for 3 years now and feel no need to upgrade at this point. It has a cd and dvd burner. We actually use it for watching tv and tapes and dvds. It is still quick working ( it helps that we have wireless internet). We really like it and the fact that for us we can keep it a few more years and not feel like we have to upgrade becuase it is outdated. We paid $1600 for it.

By Vicki on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 08:50 am:

We have a HP pavilion f1703. I have no idea what that is or what it means. LOL I told dh that I wanted something that I can just put my camera memory card into and my pictures are there. LOL It happens on this computer. We got this a couple of months ago and I love it. Works great, is fast and pictures are easy. That is all I care about.

By Kateg on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 09:34 am:

We have an e-machine (DH's), HP Pavilion 553 w (kids are getting), Compaq (mine at my office), & a Compaq laptop (brand new - my new one to have around the house), all of them are excellent (and under 2 years old). Processor speed is fast - all we did is add memory to everything but the laptop. The HP I spent $1k on & it has a flat screen. Can't complain - they all do exactly what we need them to do & they run great. With what my DH & I do for a living, speed is of the upmost & we've always been on a budget so we've done pretty well.

By Unschoolmom on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 11:23 pm:

IN general my advice is stay away from piece mealing something together, pick a company and buy a computer, they just work better that way.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Oh no, no, no. That's like saying stay away from piece mealing together a lasanga, pick a frozen one and cook that instead!

Home builds don't work sometimes because people don't read enough about how to do it, try to skimp by buying cheap parts or don't pay enough attention to compatibility.

I built you a computer Melissa on Newegg.com. They're a reputable retailer but I can't figure out how to post all the specs here. I used good names and gave you a powerful machine for $1200 before tax and with no software (though I've heard it reccomended you go for Windows XP Pro, not Home). It will be upgradable for a few years though it won't need to be for a couple as it's pretty darn good.

It's an AMD 64 3200 CPU (faster and cheaper than the Intel equivilent and a very good quality manufacturer). The harddrive is 160 gigs with an 8 meg buffer. I gave you one step down from the best video card out there and a motherboard with good onboard sound. All the stuff uses the newest interfaces whatchmacallits (PCI Express, SATA). The case is a very quiet model with a good power supply (in terms of power and brand name). You also got a 19" CRT moniter. LCD's are cool but CRT colours are truer unless you go for a really pricey LCD. There's a cd/dvd burner that's neat too.

I didn't add one of those flash memory reader thingees but you can get ones that will read about a dozen formats and that might be neat to have if you're into digital photography.


I did forget the mouse. No printer either. I don't know much about them except to stay away from cheaper Lexmarks because they build chips into their ink cartridges that stop you from printing when the ink gets low. Not gone, just low. My mom loves her HP all-in-one.

If you want all the specs (might be useful for price comparisons?) let me know.

And thanks. Even if this message is of no use I had a ball building your virtual machine.

By Dawnk777 on Tuesday, March 29, 2005 - 11:42 pm:

My DH has built computers for 2 of us and a whole bunch of friends! They all work fine! He does lots of research and buys good parts to begin with. Once he had trouble with a motherboard, but was able to exchange that one for a different brand, without any difficulty. (he is on a first-name basis with the computer store in town!)

I would be first in line to have a computer "piece-mealed" together! He has no shortage of geek work to do, since he has so many friends who need help! The word gets around!

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 06:57 am:

Dawn - I'm so with you. I think it's the best way to get a computer. You can be assured everything is of good quality, exactly what you need and it's often so much cheaper.

But Ack! I just realized I forgot RAM!!!

I'll put in a gig of Corsair ddr PC- 3200 (another problem with cheap computers is they put in older styles of RAM) for an extra $100.

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 07:48 am:

I forgot about barebones kits!

You can order these and get the advantages of a homebuild without having to build it. You still need to add software but that may be a plus keeping in mind what a lot of the Dell users here had to say. It also needs a moniter (you could just use your current one) and a video card. Here's one that's half the RAM of the one I built but the best AMD processor in term of a price/performane ratio (It's the CPU I drool about). The brands are all good names and everything will be upgradable for the next few years. And it's just $600.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1282796&CatId=1683

And here a video card for you...

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1240156&CatId=0

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 07:52 am:

Of course the barebones kits also need hard drives and cd/dvd drives.

Oh boy, I should shut up now.

By Boxzgrl on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 09:44 am:

Wow! Thanks Dawn! I'm going to check out that site!!! (You sure know your computer smarts, it still looks quite foreign to me, lol!)

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 01:05 pm:

I knew nothing 3 months ago. Now I look at computer magazines like guys look at Playboy.

I hope you don't mind but I emailed you the specs on that system I put together...couldn't figure out how to link it to this page (it's a shopping basket page and so secure)

By Kaye on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 01:17 pm:

Don't get me wrong, I think you can get the best machine for the best price if you build or have built yourself. But for the average user, when there are issues, and there will be, then it is a major pain in the butt. There is nothing more frustrating to me then to spend $$ on a computer, have a problem and not know who to call, then when you do call, you get the run around. With my dells I can just call them and they talk me through almost anything (although I am having a microsoft issue that isn't resolved). Our two built computers sit in the garage because although hubby has the knowledge to add on, reformat, etc, he doesn't have the time. And I don't have the desire to want to learn much more. I know when I bought my dell together that all the stuff worked together, no special patches, upgrades, etc to make things work.

I compared it not to a frozen lasagna, but more like following a tried and true recipe and winging it. We all know lasagna needs cheese, sauce and noodles, but those quantities make a difference, if you are a good cook, no problem, you never blink twice, but if you are a new cook, you read and measure everything. I am a novice for computers and am VERY happy to stay that way, I will buy a bundle everytime because it is easy and proven.

By Unschoolmom on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 06:51 pm:

Kaye, I agree to a point. If you intend to buy something for general family use, don't intend to learn about the machine itself and use it until you replace it, buy a bundle.

But if you want to upgrade, have more specific needs, want more for your money, building it is a good option.

It depends on your needs. I just find a lot of people don't have much information about home builds or barebones kits and might choose that if they did have a bit more info. Even if you're not willing to build it yourself it's a good option (I'm thinking of posting on a local computer forum to find a kid who'll trade me an afternoon's guidence in building a computer for a cheesecake or something). Heck, some computer stores have space for you to build your own and staff to guide you.

For anybody who may consider that latter option MaximumPC has a wonderful forum that can help anyone from newbies on.

By Dawnk777 on Wednesday, March 30, 2005 - 11:19 pm:

For my hubby, it is basically a hobby! Sometimes, it's almost a second job! He has fun and if any of his buddies have a problem, he will be right there to fix it.

His job is stressful and working on computers is fun, so that's his release.

By Unschoolmom on Thursday, March 31, 2005 - 07:08 am:

Oh! another option!

Cyber Power, I Buy Power or http://www.monarchcomputer.com/

On these sites you can build a virtual computer then they'll build you a real one and ship it to you.

And the other option for someone who wants to know it's a quality computer AND needs good service is to search out a reputable small, local computer shop and have them build it for you. Get reccommendations from people you know. It may cost a little more but you will have the builder right in your community and at your disposal should anything go wrong.