Getting a new computer Saturday.
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Getting a new computer Saturday.
DH and I are buying a Sony Saturday (my Dads recommendation). I know nothing about computers so my Dad is going with me to buy it. Does anyone have a Sony? If so, what do you have? Any likes or dislikes? The computer I have now is one my Dad built for me and it is beyond expired.
Also, we're buying our computer from Best Buy and they don't offer Excel, Word and other good programs with the computer. If I claim i'm a student I can get them for an additional $150. Can I buy them anywhere else cheaper?
You might price MS Office at Circuit City, Office Max, Office Depot, or Sams or Costco.
Melissa, the stores are suppossed to ask for either a student ID or registration statement from the school if you claim to be a student. Also, if you read the fine print, you must be taking 6 credits to be considered a student. Another way around that is if you know someone who is a teacher. They can get the discout as well by producing their school id.
Just a thought.
Dh got me a Sony Vaio laptop for Christmas a few yrs ago. To be honest, I dont like it. If he had included me in the decision I would have a DELL DESKTOP not a laptop/Sony... Have already had to send it back to be repaired. I will say they did a good job on the repairs- BUT it was a major pain to ship it out too Cali. and be without it for awhile, etc... Plus it wasnt free it was about $300 for all the work. Could've bought a new one. lol He got this one at Sams Club. You will probably be happy with one- for some reason I dont like mine. I think it is all personal preference.
I bought dh a new Dell this yr at Christmas. The yr before I got him a Dell Axim handheld deal. I have enjoyed working with Dell's customer service they are very helpful. He also uses a Dell laptop for work. We looked at the Dell desktops for 4 yrs before buying. The reason we bought this yr is because they were having some AWESOME deals before Christmas. We got alot of things included and upgraded to a 19" or 20" flat panel monitor for less (its huge), etc...
He told me he was going to get me a Dell for my bday this week if I wanted one-- but I wanted something else and told him no thanks! lol I bought myself an automatic vacuum for our above ground pool this weekend and then I bought a light kit for it so we can swim at night this year.  Alot cheaper than a Dell! ;)
Have fun shopping!
Don't have any experience with Sony, but Dell is the best!!! Price, service, quality, support. Excellent. They also give student discounts.
We've had a Sony Vaio desktop for a couple years (also purchased at Best Buy btw). The unit is constructed very well with high quality parts (Sony DVD drive and Seagate hd). It was very reasonable in price and we've never had any trouble with it.
My only two complaint are:
(1)They don't give you the Windows CD with the machine (just a set of restore cds).
(2)They split the large hard drive into 2 partitions (a small C drive and the rest on D)
It came with Wordperfect (which we never use).
One nice thing about the standard Sony machine is that they were very generous with Memory and hard drive size (512MB and 80GB) for 2 years ago.
I'd recommended Sony over HP or Compaq (which have cut the quality of their machines recently).
Dell is OK as long as you get the extended 3 year warranty. The last Dell we purchased required 2 different repairs in the first 1 1/2 years. They also use Dell proprietary parts (such as their video cards, Modems and motherboards) that require you to use their drivers. This can be a bit of a pain when you want to upgrade the computer in a few years and can't find the drivers on the Dell web site.
As an example, our old Dell machine's modem stopped working when we reloaded the OS and no one (including Dell Tech support) was ever able to get it working again.
Since we're on cable I've ignored that one though ;)
Good luck with your new PC.
Are you getting a PC or a laptop????
If you are getting a laptop, I'd go with Dell or Toshiba.
I considered a laptop to save space and downgrade our computer desk but my Dad said that a PC can hold more storage for the things I do and the amount of pictures I take. We're probably going to get a flat screen PC.
Thank you for all the info so far. John, my Dad likes Sony for a few of the reasons you stated. I think i'll probably pay a bit more in the end just for the Sony name but Sony has always been pretty reputable with their products.
My first laptop was an Acer, which had so many problems (although the company I had to sent it to worked on it quickly).
My second laptop, an HP, must have caught something (I was about to order an updated antivirus program), and crashed. It's still under extended warranty, so I'll go see what I can get from them. I'm also going to take it afterwards to someone who can see what can be recovered from my hard drive.
Since I needed one immediately for work, I chose another HP, because I like the features. This one has a much larger screen, which I love because I don't have to get out the reading glasses.
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