recommend me a good, reasonably priced computer

[mopaul]

just a good overall system, nothing super powerful or geeky.
i don't know tech stuff, just need a good system

[WillyBrandt]

1. Go to BestBuy, CostCo, or Circuit City

And buy a $400 E-Machine. It'll be loaded with Windows, have some software, and will work right out of the box.

Simple, cheap, it works.

It's a good solid computer for people who don't terribly care to soup up their machines. And given the basic strength and power of today's machines, a slightly more expensive one is actually just fine for users like me who are Computer Science majors, into power using, etc.

[arwalden]

8. I LOVE My E-Machines computer

the AMD Athlon is indistinguishable (to me) from an Intel processor.

-- Allen

[WillyBrandt]

9. I agree entirely. They are so good that

you really have to be working at the margins--doing complicated development or server work--to really tell the difference between that and a higher end machine.

I've had NO trouble with my e-machines of any sort. Happy as a clam.

[WillyBrandt]

10. Speaking of which, arwalden...

How's the pro-ABBism and anti-S&B conspiracy theorizing coming along? :)

[arwalden]

15. I've Grown Bored With It All

Sigh.

-- Allen

[RebelOne]

13. Yes, I have an E-Machine.

But I only use it for surfing and word processing, so it suits my needs. And you can't beat the price. I only paid $399 excluding monitor.

[JCMach1]

26. Simple, cheap, DOESN'T WORK

I worked customer service for microsoft last summer to earn some extra money.

An e-machine call was almost always a referral to OEM... they are not a good option.

[JCMach1]

27. I agree, buy a bare-bones or refurbished system

If you want something on the cheap.

I would avoid e-machines like the plague... please don't buy one of these...

Friends do not let friends buy e-machines...

ALSO... BUY ON EBAY...

You can get some great deals sometimes.

[Nlighten1]

28. No friggen way...

Emachines are crap...trust me you get what you pay for.

[Catshrink]

2. I get nervous about buying a brand -- I usually build my own.

The problem with the branded machines is that they tend to have so many proprietary parts. I prefer open architecture so I can swap out components if I want/need a particular part upgraded. It's much cheaper in the long run.

[izzie]

12. What if they tell you they will 'built' it just as you want?

Mine is a 98 Gateway that printer some times works and my son has 'fixed' buttons on it so I can use it. I see a new one in the works but I need nothing special or to costly as I can not pay a lot. Where does one go? I do not like some one to pick it out for me. Well I take that back, if they just gave it to me. That is how I got this one, some one gave me a 4 year old one, which was sort of interesting as my son needed one and I gave him mine not knowing I would never get to use it once he took it over.I guess some one took pity so gave me this in loo of that.Frankly I would like a bigger screen as it would be easier to read. Mine is about 13 inches but I still would like a bigger one.

[Catshrink]

18. Nope... they still use their proprietary parts...

which is the problem.

[izzie]

24. OK I will think about that. My son tells me to buy what I want and

do not get talked into what a store wants. He always helps me but will not do a thing but put me at key board and tell me do it your self as it is how you learn. I wonder if he got that from his mother?

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

31. I'm wih you! Haven't had a proprietary brand since 1989

[theorist]

3. tigerdirect dot com has good deals on barebones systems.

They also have a Sony Vaio desktop for about $650 after rebates. That's an excellent windows system.

[legin]

4. mopaul is a graphics guy

doesn't that mean he needs some power under the bonnet ?

:shrug:

(non-expert question warning)

[htuttle]

5. Save your pennies, and get an eMac from Apple

About $849 at a big mail order house like CDW. They come with fairly fast G4's, and a built in 17 in monitor. Best advice would be to try to spend a little bit more to get extra memory (RAM). You can also get it and put it in later yourself, if you wish.

Get a Mac. Honestly, especially for graphics work. It's worth it.
Plus, no viruses, no worms, no worries or lost work.

[catmandu57]

6. Go down to Surplus exchange

11th. and Hickory down by Kemper they have reconditioned computers and anything else you may want for a song. I bought this one down there for eighty bucks and it's a much better system than what I was using.

I'm not sure if your chair can get in there, but it's well worth having a look.

[NewHampster]

7. I buy Tiger for the office and Bestbuy for friends

And emachines from both.

Tiger is great for those that know our shit.

The more important question for you is service and support later on.

Bestbuy with the extended agreement is just about the only place left that you can walk in and leave a system for repair.

eMachines also has great phone support which shocked me on my new box. I called waited 16 seconds and got a woman speaking english.

Bottom line: Get the absolute most you can afford in the box.

Get CD CDR and a second DVD +-R that eMachines packs into theirs.
You will use the DVD writer

Upgrade your memory when you buy it because next years operating systme will need more. Get 512 or 1gb minimum

Big hard drive.

Most of the systems come with fine video except for the super online game players.

Sample http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1069300362903&skuId=6229823&type=product

but buy it at your local bestbuy

[catmandu57]

11. I forgot to say

The guy who works in computer sales is very good, he's some kind of computer whiz, who should be able to set you up with whatever you need.

[Madrone]

14. I'm not too excited about emachines - but this is the one I just bought -

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=7669&Sku=N52-H162




At $450 I couldn't build a comparable system anywhere near the cost.

I'm posting on it now - and I love it.

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

16. Do a little research, ravage your old computer for parts and

build a new one.

If you are going to be photoshopping with XP, get a gig of ram.

[CanuckAmok]

25. i have no problem PhotoShopping on XP with 512Megs RAM

I'm running a P4 Laptop with XP Pro, and I can only squeeze 512 into the RAM bay. It's fine for photoshop and multitasking

[Tom Yossarian Joad]

30. Rendering an 8 x 10 / 600 dpi photo can bring my box to its knees.

It can take up to 30 secs... But we're talking a huge file here, and with layers even larger. JPGs and GIFS should be no prob on toy boxes, but if you are going to be doing photo restoration or high resolution outputs you want and need the RAM.

I'm running an XP 2600+, a gig of RAM, an 0 RAID with two 100 gig HD's on seperate channels. I built the box for graphics and video editing. Plus, it kicks in UT2004!

[pscot]

17. I recently saw a Dell Pentium 4

advertized for $499. Dell builds first rate machines and the service is good, if you don't mind doing business 3with a Bush Pioneer.

[Catshrink]

21. Dell has outsourced consumer customer service to India..

[BigMcLargehuge]

19. Get a G4 Mac tower

can be had for $1200... solid as a rock.

If that's too much and you don't want to do any hardcore gaming, look at the eMac, $799-$999. Also, solid as a rock. My mom and mom-in-law both have them based on my recommendations and they love them.

All Macs come bundled with iLife software containing

iTunes (rip, mix, and burn CDs)
iPhoto (Capture and edit your digital photos from virtually any digital camera)
iMovie (Capture and edit your movies from virtually any digital video source)
Garageband (create royalty free original music with your own instruments of several thousand samples)

Superdrive equipped Macs also ship with iDVD, allowing easy creation of DVD-R/RW projects.

[ScreamingMeemie]

20. We bought a display model Vaio at Circuit City with windows

XP and I wouldn't trade it for anything. We got the system, warranty et al. just no box, for $450. :hi:

[Ricdude]

22. Look into refurbished Dell's from their website.

It's like a free upgraded part ot two for the same price.

[GOPisEvil]

23. Some independent dealers offer refurbished unit for cheap.

I know - I had to buy one recently. I got a Pentium III machine with a decent hard drive and DVD drive and CD Burner. I upgraded it a bit, but total cost was under $300 because I already owned a monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc...

Mine is a refurbished Dell, by the way.

[Nlighten1]

29. Allow me to Nlighten you about PC purchaces...

Basically all the major manufacturers have about the same quality in PCs. HP, Dell, IBM and who ever...

The trick is not buying their consumer branded PCs. They are the ones you find at Best Buy etc...instead shop for one of their business models. The cost is usually a bit more expensive but you really do get what you pay for and these models are easier to upgrade if you need to. Plus they are much easier to work on if there is a problem.

I build my own PCs but I work for a company that resells HP and IBM. All of them are about the same...spend a little more money if you can afford it but not more than $1000.

Dell even has a special right now that rocks.