I have a friend looking to buy a desk top windoze machine.

[RC]

She has $1500 absolute tops to spend. She uses it mostly for e-mail, music down loads and pictures she takes.
Apple won't cut it because she quite often takes her work home and has to deal with Excel and Word and doesn't need the frustration of dealing with two different operating systems.

She wants a CD RW & DVD RW for backup purposes.
I recommended a gig of memory and most likely 160 gig hard drive, partitioned for the operating system.

I need some recommendations on brands, models she should be looking at here.

[hobbit709]

1. Stay away from

Dell and Compaq. If there's a place nearby that can build and configure one, she'd probably get a better deal for her money than any of the prebuilt brand names.

[RC]

3. Not likely

She lives on an island in the middle of the Pacific.
What is wrong with Dell & Compaq?

I know first hand about Gateway, so they are out. They eat hard drives on a regular basis.

Anyone know about SONY?
http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/INTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start;sid=Qkg0AUwea6I0DQ8z9bo-CgMOtPhLG4yI_Yk=?CategoryName=cpu_RBSeriesdesktops&ProductSKU=VGCRB40&Dept=computers&INT=sstyle-computers-deptfeature-VGCRB40|sstyle:sy_dept_content_b:computers

Sony® VAIO® RB40spacerVGC-RB40

[hobbit709]

5. Dell is a major contributor to

shrub and the repukes. Compaq- let's just say I hope you never have to work on one.

[Crazy Guggenheim]

7. Most of the problems I've dealt with are Dell's laptops. The

better ones I've seen are IBM or Toshiba. However the IBM's are more pricey.

[idiosyncratic]

2. For that amount of money, she can get a great computer built

locally. Even in a small community, there must be someone who can put together excellent components.

Check out Tom's Hardware site and Techbargains.com for reviews and prices.

Stay away from brand name computers that may have proprietary hardware that is difficult or impossible to upgrade.

[lpbk2713]

4. Does she have a decent monitor?

Here's a Sony Vaio; 200 Gig SATA H/D, DVD/CD Burner, 1 Gig PC3200 DDRAM, $950 at Office Depot. I'm sure they can ship it to her.


Link: http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=944016&N=321+10324+4294947887&An=browse

[tkmorris]

6. $1500 is overkill for her purposes

She can do what she wants for $1000 and have a HUGE hard drive and enough memory to make things open like they are being magically summoned.

That being said she's in a weird position. I'd build my own, but I don't think she wants to do that. She sounds as if she wants one shipped to her whole rather than visit a retail outlet, presumably because they don't exist in her locale.

I would not buy Compaq because they are proprietary. That is to say that their boxes aren't compatible with any hardware but their own. If the power supply dies (and it will, Compaq goes cheap on these) you MUST get the replacement from Compaq. Off the shelf won't work. Gateway, well, you apparently know the deal there.

I might try a site like Newegg.com or tigerdirect.com . Newegg has some systems from ABS that aren't bad, fit her needs, and are WAY cheaper than $1500. Plus, they can be upgraded or maintained using off the shelf hardware. Tell her to beware the power supply, a good one isn't cheap, and it is the most common place to cut costs on a prebuilt system. Note that most systems bought in this fashion do not include a monitor, though both sites offer monitors that can be bought seperately.

Good luck.

[jayfish]

8. Recommendation.

Take a look at this box. I have installed over 100 of them with not a single failure.

http://www.pcmall.com/pcmall/shop/detail~dpno~192876.asp

Now add this:

http://www.crucial.com/store/partspecs.Asp?IMODULE=CT6464Z40B

this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822148022

this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16827152047

and this

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116352

She will have a capable machine, that can be upgraded for just over a grand.

Jay