Shopping for a new PC

[Texsox]

My buddy made his own and made a decent machine.  I guess I could just order all the parts off newegg and build it myself.  Just gotta figure out what to order now.

 

I did that with my son last year. Start with the processor, look for MoBo that meet your needs as far as outputs and inputs, decide on a case, video card, sound card, networking stuff, etc. etc. It isn't really that hard. THe only mistake we made was ordering an OEM DVD drive which arrived without software. Pain in the butt.

 

Newegg is awesome. Great service. Great prices. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.

[Rex Kickass]

I bought the cheapest computer at Best Buy. Emachines with monitor and printer for 380 dollars. It runs a little slow because the RAM is underpowered - but otherwise seems to work fine.

[SoxFan1]

One computer company that no one ever talks about is e-Machines. I love their computers. LOVE them. But, next time I get a computer, I am building my own. That Cisco Certification class I took sophomore year helped a lot!

[NorthSideSox72]

has anybody bought a Lenovo thinkpad?  Ive always used IBM thinkpads and am looking for a new computer, but didnt know if Levono's changed it much

If you bought an IBM TP in the last 5 to 7 years, then you already had a Lenovo thinkpad. Lenovo was building them for IBM for years, they just recently broke off the business to the Lenovo name.

 

I'll say that IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads are the best laptops you can own for reliability, toughness and practicality. They may not be as flashy as a Vaio, but in every other way, ThinkPads are the way to go. You do pay for that, though - they aren't the cheapest.

 

What I would really like to get now is one of those Panasonic Toughbook laptops that can be used in a downpour, at high altitude, below freezing, can be dropped 6 feet, etc., and has something like a 15 hour battery. Cool stuff.

[southsideirish71]

This is all subjective depending on what you are looking for. If you are looking for a basic machine that will provide some email and some web browsing anything will pretty much work for you. If you are looking for a corvette then you need to look at a lot more. I love it when I stroll through Best Buy and there is some 16 year old telling some 75 year old grandpa that he needs the 5000 dollar media center machine to send emails to his grandson in college. Be smart about your purchase. If you are not worried about support and you are willing to bargain and shop try Ebay. You can find a diamond in the rough there.

 

However if you are looking for the corvette, here are somethings to look at.

 

Research:

 

If you are looking to buy a computer I would suggest doing some research at CNET and of course soome of the basic trade mags like PC World and PC Magazine. They will give you a good break down and usually they have comparison charts on the different options that each offer. On CNET you can see people review the machine and let you know what they thought.

 

Support: HP and Dell both have the same problem. Do to 24/7 support at some point you will get redirected to India. Its cheaper to pay some low level tech in India to answer the phone than here. You just have to get past level 1 support and you should be okay.

 

Brands: The only one I would s*** on is Gateway or Acer. IBM, HP and Dell are comparable. My last job we used Compaq/HP systems and with this job its Dell. Dell Laptops and IBM laptops are the way to go from the PC end. The new Macintels are pretty sweet if you are running graphics or are an open source whore like myself. I run Linux mainly at work, and have convinced my boss to get me the new Powerbook 17inch intel when it comes out. I am not going to run bootcamp. I will run XP if I need to in a virtual machine.

 

Thinks to consider:

 

Systems pretty much all have the same bells and whistles. Something you should really think about is the processing chip itself. Now remember dont get all wrapped up in clock speed of a chip. AMD vs Intel doesnt go apples to apples in clock speed. A dual core 1.6 Ghz AMD chip will blow the doors off of a Pentium 4 3.0 HT chip. Try to keep away from bargain basement chips like the Celeron. Do some research on chip speeds and brands and benchmarks to see how they really perform. This will give you and idea of how much money you are getting out of upping your chip speed or architecture based on performance per dollar spent. If you can go dual core go for it. Both Intel and AMD have some good dual core architectures. If not try and get hyperthreading. Also you try to buy right around when a new chip is coming out, it drives the price down on the previous chip which unless you are doing large amounts of cryptography or large cad you probably dont need the absolute bleeding edge. If you can afford it go with a dual core. I upgraded to dual core and my system runs a lot faster. Hyperthreading is virtualization of a processor at a logical level, while multiple cores virtualizes at a physical level. In laymans terms they are ways of making a single processor look like 2 or more processor. Because dual core has more plumbling built in, it provides better speed.

 

Try and get a dual layer DVD burner if you can. They have come down in price.

 

Graphics cards. Make sure you get minimum 128meg graphic card that supports the resolution of whatever monitor you are going to get with it. The biggest mistake is a mismatch of your graphics card and your monitor. You go cheap on the monitor and have this kickass card it doesnt do anything for you.

 

Memory: Memory is cheap, try and got with a gig. Anything over 2 gig on a Microsoft OS will start showing diminishing returns.

 

Hard drives: HD are cheap also. If you can do SATA do it. When systems get slow and if its not because of a virus/malware or crappy application its usually due to a system being proc or io bound. Try and get a minimum of a 8meg buffer on the drive, 16 is about the highest it goes. Traditional IDE drives will still work, however if you are looking for speed SATA is the way to go.

 

 

If you decide to build:

 

Make sure you get a good chip and a good motherboard. Dont cheap out on the mother board. Do not buy a ECS motherboard because its cheap POS that they dont unit test. . At Fry's they have proc and motherboard bundles specials. I usually toss out the motherboard and buy a good one like MSI or Abit. Spend a few extra bucks and get name brand peripherials like DVD burner etc. You can save your 10 bucks now getting some Korean offjob, but in a year you will have problems when that company goes out of business and you are trying to download drivers for troubleshooting. Make sure when you are buying your hardware at the same time buy the OEM version of your OS. Its a lot cheaper if you do it that way.

Edited April 26, 2006 by southsideirish71

[RockRaines]

One computer company that no one ever talks about is e-Machines. I love their computers. LOVE them. But, next time I get a computer, I am building my own. That Cisco Certification class I took sophomore year helped a lot!

That security device and network class helped you that much on building a personal PC?

[southsideirish71]

That security device and network class helped you that much on building a personal PC?

 

Now I know why all of our CCNA candidates barely know how to config a router. They are jacking around with building PCs.

[mr_genius]

and pc's remind me of the cubs, always falling apart. always in the shop i.e. disabled list....and a large brainwashed following.

 

lol, you don't know much about computers do you

 

rookie

[SoxFanForever]

Thanks for all the info Irish. I appreciate it.

[SoxFan1]

That security device and network class helped you that much on building a personal PC?

That was the title of the class, but it encompassed just about everything there is to computers. We did things other than Cisco in there as well. There was another certifcation I got but it I forgot what it was called. It was A+ or some s*** like that. No joke. First we learned computer basics (s*** I already knew), then we learned about the way a computer work, and then about all the components like the motherboard, hard drive, processor, memory, etc., then about taking apart/putting together a computer, and finally we learned about networking and security.

[rventura23]

If you bought an IBM TP in the last 5 to 7 years, then you already had a Lenovo thinkpad.  Lenovo was building them for IBM for years, they just recently broke off the business to the Lenovo name.

I'll say that IBM/Lenovo ThinkPads are the best laptops you can own for reliability, toughness and practicality.  They may not be as flashy as a Vaio, but in every other way, ThinkPads are the way to go.  You do pay for that, though - they aren't the cheapest.

 

What I would really like to get now is one of those Panasonic Toughbook laptops that can be used in a downpour, at high altitude, below freezing, can be dropped 6 feet, etc., and has something like a 15 hour battery.  Cool stuff.

thanks

I agree. Thinkpads are the best

(although Toughbooks seem pratical)

[Texsox]

I have found something to dislike about every laptop I have owned. From a Sony through a Toshiba, a Dell and now a couple HPs. Drive placement. missing ports (I need a serial port now). This one has a crappy power plug that comes loose too easily and blocks the USB connectors.

[NorthSideSox72]

I have found something to dislike about every laptop I have owned. From a Sony through a Toshiba, a Dell and now a couple HPs. Drive placement. missing ports (I need a serial port now). This one has a crappy power plug that comes loose too easily and blocks the USB connectors.

Then buy an IBM (or Lenovo or whatever they want to call it). They aren't too exciting in design, and they are a bit pricey, but you will get quality.

[Texsox]

Then buy an IBM (or Lenovo or whatever they want to call it).  They aren't too exciting in design, and they are a bit pricey, but you will get quality.

 

I never had a quality problem, it's been design issues. Placement of stuff. I thought I would like the joystick thingy stuck in the keyboard on I think it was the Toshiba, not. I thought I liked the drives up front, until I was on an airplane and had to suck in my gut to get a CD in. This HP has the USB ports right next to the power connection. The power connection is a right angle connector and it blocks the ports if it isn't moved to the side. Stuff like that. I actually have been impressed with the quality of every laptop I've owned.

 

I will probably go IBM next, I never seem to buy the same brand twice.

[MEANS]

lol, you don't know much about computers do you

 

rookie

 

 

and with a name like Mr. Genius i'm sure you know everything.

 

i hate pc's end of story, been on a MAC for 20 years. Since i'm a graphic designer, we here at Adidas/Reebok use Macs for graphic design, i used pc's at my last job and my experiences with them were horrible.

[Scwible]

Build your own, it's not all too hard. I did that and am happier with what i built than anything i could have bought from the store. Ordered everything from newegg and have ordered stuff from there with no problem. Standard shipping usually gets you your product faster than it says.

 

Go here http://www.pcstats.com/beginners.cfm

 

Theres a ton of guides on how to do everything.

[J-MAN]

Your company with Dell = Wonderful, helpful company.

 

You on your own with Dell = The worst company in the computing business.

Dell doesn't care about Joe Public. I bought Dell at first because I loved the one I had at work. When mine went down, I didn't hold anything against the company. I understood that sometimes you get a lemon. I was looking for satisfaction and some sort of peace of mind. Instead I got people who could hardly speak English, and the people were rude and of no help at all. They kept sending me refurbished hard drives. I would tell them I don't want a refurbished hard drive, after the second drive, it was obvious it was a greater problem. But nope, Habib told me I could only get a refurbished hard drive, the third time, and that a tech would be out to install it in two weeks. I told him to send me the drive, I would install it myself. He said they wouldn't be responsible for it if I did that. I told them they were of no help to me to begin with, so fine, send me the damn drive and get out of my life.

 

I got the drive. It lasted for about 6 months. I bought a new one from Best Buy, and it is still going. The computer still has problems though, but I just deal with them and be sure to back-up every couple months.

 

Don't understand everyone's problem with Dell!  I have purchased several computers from them and all were super.

 

Recently purchased a network color laser -they were super - had a problem with it when I replaced the toner - used their on-line chat support - actually worked well.

 

I had a problem with my 5-year old laptop yesterday - went on-line and purchased a replacement AC supply in less than 5 -minutes!

 

Definitely need to have your service tag - makes life a whole lot easier!

 

 

 

 

Dell sucks.

[J-MAN]

Some day I will learn how to post properly!!!

[NorthSideSox72]

I never had a quality problem, it's been design issues. Placement of stuff. I thought I would like the joystick thingy stuck in the keyboard on I think it was the Toshiba, not. I thought I liked the drives up front, until I was on an airplane and had to suck in my gut to get a CD in. This HP has the USB ports right next to the power connection. The power connection is a right angle connector and it blocks the ports if it isn't moved to the side. Stuff like that. I actually have been impressed with the quality of every laptop I've owned.

 

I will probably go IBM next, I never seem to buy the same brand twice.

Thinkpad drives are on the side, and the ports are either side or back. Nothing in front but the mini-speakers. And last I checked, you got to choose between "The Dot" (the little stick in the keyboard, which is my preference), or a scroll pad. Many come with both and you can switch as desired.

[Texsox]

Thinkpad drives are on the side, and the ports are either side or back.  Nothing in front but the mini-speakers.  And last I checked, you got to choose between "The Dot" (the little stick in the keyboard, which is my preference), or a scroll pad.  Many come with both and you can switch as desired.

 

I could never get use to the "dot". I also don't use the scroll feature.

[mr_genius]

and with a name like Mr. Genius i'm sure you know everything.

 

i hate pc's end of story, been on a MAC for 20 years. Since i'm a graphic designer, we here at Adidas/Reebok use Macs for graphic design, i used pc's at my last job and my experiences with them were horrible.

 

use a mac for graphic design, i was just f***ing with people and you got all stupid.

 

macs are fairly useless to me, i need a computer to do more than email, make pictures and 'surf' the internet.

 

oh, and yes, i do know everything (send me free adidas shoes).

Edited April 27, 2006 by mr_genius

[NorthSideSox72]

I could never get use to the "dot". I also don't use the scroll feature.

External mouse, then? How else do you get around the screen?

[Rex Kickass]

I've always heard the "dot" referred to in more mysoginistic terms....

 

When I asked my friend why - I was told because you have to be gentle and use it "just so" to get the desired result.

[NorthSideSox72]

I've always heard the "dot" referred to in more mysoginistic terms....

 

When I asked my friend why - I was told because you have to be gentle and use it "just so" to get the desired result.

I'd agree that there is a delicate art involved in the mastery of the dot.