I'm on the market for a new computer. Any ideas?

[bluestateguy]

I probably won't be buying until December at the earliest (other bills to pay first), so maybe the prices of today's state of the art machine will drop by then. My requirements are:

120GB Hard Drive
512 MB of RAM
Ethernet
It must be able to burn and play both DVD's and CD's.
I would like to keep costs at $1,000 or below, not including the monitor.

[MissouriTeacher]

1. You should be able to get just about anything for that price

if you don't need a monitor.

Go for a Pentium 4. I just bought an Intel Celeron because I couldn't afford anything more expensive, and I don't particularly care for it. My computer slows down quite a bit if I try to run more than one program at a time.

[DBoon]

2. Why not AMD?

Just curious, given the price difference. Why Intel?

[billbuckhead]

4. Apple eMac

$999 with combo drive and the software to make DVD's and CD's.

[Tom Kitten]

12. I second considering an eMac.

I spent $1600 2 years ago on an iMac special edition, and while it is a great machine (still using it!) I am so jealous of the new Macs...So much more, and so less money!
However, I love my computer so much that when I eventually upgrade, I'm keeping this one. It does photoshop and illustrator oK, but it's great for the internet...

[SyracuseDemocrat]

13. Because AMD processors

are slower, and cheaper is not better. To get the best you have to pay the most. Besides, AMD processors get very hot and heat dissipation is very important in a computer, especially on these hot summer days.

[Khephra]

3. I'm getting a new computer tomorrow night

I don't have the specs with me right now though.

[Nlighten1]

5. What ever you do...

stay away from Best Buy, Circuit City, etc...they sell the bottom of the line crap from the main vendors. Use the power of the web and go to a manufacturers website and order yourself one BUT make sure you order one of the business models. You might pay a little more but it will be well worth it.

Or you could build your own.

[bluestateguy]

8. I got my current computer from Circuit City

And it has given me no problems. I got a deal where I had a year to pay it off interest free.

[LeftPeopleFinishFirst]

6. Get a Mac

:D Sorry, but I just got a Mac and am waiting for the chance to pick it up from my cousin's house. They are great machines! :hi:

[sendero]

7. on the class of computer you are looking at...

... you can save $100 or more by going with AMD rather than Intel. And I highly recommend that - I use nothing but and have no problems whatsoever as a result.

Also, if you live in a larger city, find a "reseller" and get a custom box built up, it will be just as good as any of the major manufacturers and you can get service from the shop that built it.

If you'd rather buy a "name brand", that's ok, but avoid Compaq, their computers have screwed me for the last time :)

For $1k you will have no trouble getting a box with those specs, including a fast video card (important) and a CD/RW (must have).

Happy computing!

[sabbat hunter]

9. ibm or dell

i would stick with an IBM or dell. the price is worth it. they are more reliable and you get better service with them
with 384 MB ram you can get a p4 2.0 gig with XP home for about 1k. and right now they are offering a free printer and shipping.
the shipping costs can be significant, so keep an eye out for the free ship offers
that includes the multiburner

peace
david
:hippie:

[Robbien]

23. Dell has outsourced some of its customer support to India

Last week when I had a problem I couldn't even get a service person to pick up the line after waiting on hold for over 30 minutes. I agree, the quality of the puter is great, but service is on the decline. IMHO.

[newyawker99]

25. Congrats Robbien!! 300 posts

:toast:

[Robbien]

26. Thanks! And I got myself a new star and now a beer toast!

A trifecta. Such a good way to start the week.

[Gman]

10. Build your own

http://www.pricewatch.com

More bang for the buck because you don't pay for factory assembly and no sales tax. Just watch out for shipping & handling costs. I think they run them up a lot more than what they need to be. But you can get your thousand dollar box for probably $600 - $650.

It's very easy to put one together. Everything comes with easy to understand instructions.

[JCMach1]

11. I will be getting a new one as soon as I hit the UAE later this week

I have done some looking and the prices are incredible...

I will let you know what I got once I have it in place on my T1 line.... :)

[ikojo]

14. Get a Mac

It can multitask much more easily than a Windows machine.

I don't know if there are any Macs with as large a hard drive as 120 GB but you could get an external drive for not too much money.

I LOVE MY MAC

[tsipple]

15. IBM Recommended

I have to agree with that, although I'm employed there and own some stock. :-) They seem to have some good prices right now on the high performance/high quality end of the spectrum. (Stockholders and friends and family of employees get minor discounts. Sometimes it's worth buying one share of IBM stock.) Also don't forget to check the IBM store on eBay.

On the low end, I'm getting $700 out of HP's Athlon-based custom PC, model A210e, meeting your specifications. That's with the faster AMD Athlon, actually.

On edit: If you can avoid the Microsoft tax (i.e. Windows license), you can save $100 or so. Wal-mart, among others, stocks Linux-based PCs (and PCs with no operating system).

[Prisoner_Number_Six]

16. Not much of a challenge

I could build you one for that amount-- not a lot of profit in it due to the relatively high price of the DVD burner, but otherwise no biggie.

Ain't no thang.

[prolesunited]

17. Buy a Mac

True plug and play performance with no crashes or viruses. The software -- iPhoto, iMovie, iDVD, and iMusic -- is simple and elegant. You'll be very happy! BTW, I have both platforms in my house and the Gateway PC just gathers dust.

[TacticalPeek]

18. The initial decision is always apple vs ibm-compatible...

If you go PC (ibm-compatible), I have been impressed the last few years with eMachines. We have used a bunch at my company, recommend them for clients who get beaucoup of them to run our software. The clients used to put in HP's or Compaq's, but multi problems led to them all being replaced with eMachines. Zero problems over the last several years!

We set up eMachine servers with linux, and replace WinXP with Win98 on the client systems. Works like a charm. I have no connections to eMachines. I use their desktop at work, and an IBM ThinkPad.

I am a huge Big Blue fan, have some 10+ year old IBM's at work doing specialized apps, only replace the occassional floppy drive or keyboard. But when we did our search several years ago to replace the HP/Compaq's, there just wasn't a good fit, even through marketing relationships we had with IBM.

eMachine usually swaps in new models every 3 to 6 months, and here is the current model along your specs:
link http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_T2625

They brought out a laptop/notebook model recently. My son bought one this weekend, and I don't know yet how it'll hold up, but the bang per buck was impressive: for $1000, big TFT screen, cd/dvd/rw drive, wireless built-in, no floppy drive but that's happening nowdays, so external floppy or other transfer methods may be relevant.
link http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M5310

We've only had to use their support folks when getting linux and win98 drivers, etc., but that went fine.

I think early eMachines, many years ago, may have been problematic, mainly because some used the cyrix processors. Now, I always look at them first when consulting or deciding on a purchase, and don't need to look further. If it ain't broke, etc.
And I like buying from circuitcitybestbuy for the 30day price guarantee (if you can get it) where they pay you the diff if you find the exact system advertised for less. Our local circuit city once paid a guy over $1200 for diff on a Sony laptop deal. Never used the price guarantee myself, but like the feeling as I sign the slip.

[LearnedHand]

19. If you decide to go PC...

..., I highly recommend the Gateway laptops. I have one that does all the above and more! I'm totally impressed.

[Maddy McCall]

28. I do too, and it SUCKS...it's in the shop right now for repairs

Freezes up, goes into a permanent standby mode where you can't start it, has a bitch of a time downloading photos from my Canon G2 digicam.

And it is a 600--the top of the line--I spent 3000 on it. Then 200 more for a decent warranty, and 45 everytime I have to send the sob back.

Stay away from GAteway, friend. My advice. If you can get it at Circuit City, for a better price, the service can't be much worse than GAteway.

[WilliamPitt]

20. I'm a Microsoft slave who got fucked by that virus

I hear Mac users have no virus issues. Maybe think Mac.

[SyracuseDemocrat]

21. Yeah

Early versions of Windows were not affected by the blaster worm, I believe 98SE and before. Mac was also not affected, and of course Linux wasn't. The problem with MS Windows is that it comes standard with so many services running, and as a result, swiss-cheese sized security holes are emerging.

[NashVegas]

29. Mac and Viruses

The main reason(s) you don't see viruses hitting Macs is because:

They have such a small share of the market. If you want to do maximum damage, going after the system with 94% just makes more sense.

Steve Jobs just doesn't inspire as much enmity as Bill Gates.

Mac users are more accustomed to stand-alone email apps (Eudora and Mac's own daemon in the post-OSX/G4 world).

[Deja Q]

31. Quite

Dunno about Jobs, he seems pretty shifty as well. He's been leaching off school systems for decades and "borrowed" the GUI and mice concepts (along with others I'd bet) from Xerox in order to "invent" the "acclaimed" Mac... Given the opportunity, I could see him being as vicious as Microsoft. Heck, he won't allow 3rd parties to clone and improve on his overpriced hardware - that alone is a big minus in my book. Palm opened up their OS, which is why they made it big. Apple is the Herbert or the Captain Duncel of the PC industry thanks to its arrogant "Keep away, I'm superior" attitude.

And if Macs had a larger share, there would be many more viruses. I'm not denying it's not hard or not fun to create them for Winbloat, but that's irrelevant.

And with the price of Linux compared to its compatibility with EXISTING hardware, meaning people don't have to spend $2000 for a passable (yet not spectacular) Mac... Apple will be toast if Linux catches on in the desktop market, which is likely - especially if the SCO bullying fails, which it will.

If Apple would get the utterly low-end iMacs from $1200 down to $600 (or something reasonable like $400) then Apple might have a shot in the consumer market (see, I told y'all the pretty color case was just a fad), but I think they'll be bust in less than 3 years. Especially if the G5 doesn't catch on - and in this economy and with the price they want, they won't sell to anybody apart from their core audience - which isn't a very big audience and we're assuming they can afford to upgrade en masse.

[leftofthedial]

22. eMac

great little machines

[Gore1FL]

24. I'd find a place to custom order a PC

(start at www.pricewatch.com ) I do NOT recommend Dell, Compaq, Gateway, IBM et al. You can custom order better than their stale packages (IMHO).

The prices they list are for the base machine, but many on the site have an option to configure it youself. -- And you may want to buy things individually -- at least thingfs like video cards, memory, etc to get the best price.

Get An ASUS motherboard, DDR memory, and I recomend a Geforce4. Don't skimp on the fans.

Intel has finally overtaken AMD after being embarrassed by them in the past. AMD used to outstrip the P4, but now there is no comparison. P4's are the fastest chip out there.

I don't recommend a Celeron -- unless it is a short-term solution. If you are going to spend the money, it is worth having a decent on-CPU cache. Look for a fast Front Side Bus. A CPU with a huge clock multiplier and a slow bus is much slower than a CPU with a smaller multiplier and a fast FSB.

[Deja Q]

34. Asus mobo with the nforce2 chipset only!!!

Much faster and more reliable than the VIA KT400 (KT___) series... Okay, the KT333 in my Asus system holds up nicely, but the force2 rocks.

I actually prefer Abit mobos since I recently tried out the NF7... but Asus is a great brand as well, I've 3 Asus-based systems as well.

Celerons are TRASH, pure and simple.

P4 may be the fastest, but look at speed-per-$$ ratio. The fastest Athlon is not as fast as the P4 3.2GHz, but the price difference makes up for it in a flash. Especially when the fastest Athlon isn't exactly a turtle by comparison. Is the extra cash really necessary for Intel's pathetic name?

Buy a Athlon 2100+ CPU and overclock it to 2700+. The 2100+ CPU is $80. Now how much is that comparable Intel 2.7GHz CPU again? Why it's the cost of the CPU plus a motherboard to use it in as well!

As for video, I agree. Geforce 4. BFG has a GREAT 4600 board which is $200 clearance, if you can find it. I had read that it's actually FASTER than its replacement, the 5600FX model despite the latter having DDR2 RAM.

And if you use Linux, you'll never need the 5900FX Ultra or that ATi Radeon 9800 card (Nvidia's drivers are historically better written than ATi's; of which were modified Rage 128 drivers :eyes: ). The 4600 runs exceptionally well in Linux, proving that Windows is a bloated waste of everything.

[MiltonLeBerle]

27. Get a mac.

even if you have to spend a little more.

[Deja Q]

30. HP A220N - under $700, has an AMD processor, and is darn slick

Also $500 less than the cheapest iMac, which is a pitiful piece.

I prefer building my own boxes as I know what to get and I ultimately get more for less (my $600 PC creams the crap out of the newest $2000 G4 Mac systems though I dunno how it compares to the new and very expensive G5s...), but the A220N comes with all but burning DVDs (it can read DVDs). A clearance DVD burner at 2.4x will cost $150, no big deal.

A220N:
Athlon 2600+ CPU
512MB RAM
120GB HD
Nvidia 440MX chipset
5.1 sound
USB 1.1/2 ports (x6)
NIC
CD-RW
DVD (readonly)

$680

My home built PC:
Athlon 2100+ o/c'ed to 2700+ speed with Thermaltake Volcano 11 fan
Abit NF7 mobo (with the acclaimed nforce2 chipset!! :9 )
1GB RAM
200GB HD
SB Audigy 5.1 sound
Nvidia GeForce 4600 video
CD-RW
DVD (read only)
cheap tower case with reasonable 400watt power supply

Total cost after HD rebate: $650, though I could have suffied with 80GB and saved $100...

Buslink 2.4x DVD+RW drives can be bought at Best Buy for $150 if still in stock. Awesome price for a technology that's superior to DVD-RW and, from my perspective anyway, seems to be more compatible.

[MaineDem]

32. Has anyone used TigerDirect.com?

I bought this one from them about 3 years ago and the price and service was great.

I'm looking for a new one soon and I'll go back to them.

[Junkdrawer]

35. I use them all the time...

Here's a no-os PC for 699 that meets your specs and burns DVDs

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=602749&Sku=C122-1600&CatId=335

[terryg11]

33. find a computer "nerd"

like my brother and I'm sure they can set you up with what you want for that price easy.

[Walt Starr]

36. DELL IS IN THE CHIMPS BACK POCKET

DO NOT BUY FROM DELL!!

I work for a corporation that deals exclusively with Dell. Unfortunately, this means I must deal with Dell on an alm ost daily basis because they are a partner.

Michael Dell and Dell corporation are big donors to the Repukes.

Dell is located in Austin, TX and has always been a Repuke tool.