Some help with choosing a PC?

[Bingo]

My PC went poof the other day ... won't even turn on (stuck with an amber light and a whir noise).

I'm guessing CPU at this point.

Anyway ... shopping for a new one. I don't want the mac daddy but I don't want crap (not a gamer, don't need high end speed, etc).

Is the rule still Intel Pentium or bust, or are other chips better bang for your buck (not a Mac guy).

Any chip advice? Sale advice?

[Table 5]

Id look in the Computer Paper and go with a non-name choice. They have tons of ads for local places. You will often get the same internal parts and stuff, but without the overhead of a big corporate company, therefore you could save hundreds of dollars and use that to upgrade.

[KevanGuy]

photon, line one please.....photon line one.

[Incinerator]

You just missed a really good deal on a base model Dell for $299 couple weeks ago, but it'll come around in a couple months again if you're not in a hurry. But if it's urgent then you can take a look at this:

Dell Dimension 3000 w/LCD Monitor $599

Pretty good deal as you get a flat panel LCD Monitor with it, I would upgrade the RAM to 512MB from 256MB. But other than that it's all good. As for the old adage of Pentium or bust, it's not exactly true anymore, if you're not a gamer and only use the rig to surf the net and work on your Word and Excel then the Celeron Ds these days are more than enough.


And if you decide to keep your current monitor:

Same thing without Monitor

[Table 5]

if youre goint to by a flat-panel monitor, please dont fall for some cheap ass model that Dell sells. They produce horrible colors, and are often not sharp at all. Considering you stare at a monitor all day, its the one computer part you should not hesitate to spend money on.

If you get an LCD, get a Samsung, Sony, NEC or Viewsonic. Those are all great brands for LCD's, and offer good quality for their price.

[Incinerator]

Originally posted by Table 5@Mar 10 2005, 06:54 PM
if youre goint to by a flat-panel monitor, please dont fall for some cheap ass model that Dell sells. They produce horrible colors, and are often not sharp at all. Considering you stare at a monitor all day, its the one computer part you should not hesitate to spend money on.

If you get an LCD, get a Samsung, Sony, NEC or Viewsonic. Those are all great brands for LCD's, and offer good quality for their price.

I don't think it's such a big deal if he's not a gamer or graphic designer. Yes the Dell LCDs only simulate colours, but it's quite decent for everyday use IMO.

[Table 5]

Originally posted by Incinerator@Mar 10 2005, 01:59 PM
I don't think it's such a big deal if he's not a gamer or graphic designer. Yes the Dell LCDs only simulate colours, but it's quite decent for everyday use IMO.

its big deal because you stare at the monitor no matter what you do on the computer. your eyes get tired more easily, and everything looks like ass, from the type to the pictures on websites.
and considering monitors can last a lot longer than the other parts of the computer, its a wise investment to get a good one.

[Incinerator]

I suppose each person has different preferences when it comes to colours on a monitor, I should just add that the reason I recommended the Dell bundle is because of the price mainly, I've bought one of those for my folks and they were very happy with the monitor. Alternatively I find BenQs quite decent for the price too, Staples often has them on sale, there are $30 off $200 coupons on redflagdeals.com too if you shop there.

[Table 5]

yeah, the price of the Dell's is a great incentive. Its hard to say no when its so cheap....however im sure its also possible to buy them without monitors no? Get a deal on a Dell, and then buy a monitor seperately perhaps.

[Incinerator]

Originally posted by Table 5@Mar 10 2005, 07:13 PM
yeah, the price of the Dell's is a great incentive. Its hard to say no when its so cheap....however im sure its also possible to buy them without monitors no? Get a deal on a Dell, and then buy a monitor seperately perhaps.

yup, that would be the best of both worlds. see second link in my first post.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

while we're on the subject - anyone know a good place to sell old monitors and computers? (1-3 yrs old). Best to just do it privately?

[Incinerator]

Originally posted by Bend it like Bourgeois@Mar 10 2005, 07:24 PM
while we're on the subject - anyone know a good place to sell old monitors and computers? (1-3 yrs old). Best to just do it privately?

Make a bunch of flyers and post it around the UofC or MRC, make sure it's cheap though. Or prey on some poor computer illiterate distant relative

[MolsonInBothHands]

I would consider an AMD processor, you don't pay for the Intel name, and very often the AMD's have outperformed their counterparts. I have been more than happy with mine. I will admit though, since I haven't shopped around lately, I am not up on the latest performance comparisons. Just something to consider.

I do agree that it is worth it to be especially picky on the monitor though, since it can last you two or three systems, and is the biggest factor in promoting or alleviating fatigue.

In regard to Dells: you get what you pay for. I have been forced to use Dells at work for too long, and whether it is a shinguardy bios, low grade harddrives with terrible seek times, I don't know, but they tend to make even the simplest of tasks cumbersome.

With all the experts you probably have access to, you could have some one design a system out of generic parts that would maximize the bank for buck factor.

[Wolfwood]

I would say that pretty much any processor at least around or above 2.5GHz will do pretty well for you. The AMD or lower level Intel ones should be okay. But I would probably look at either an Athlon or Pentium still. Of course that is just my personal preference.

And make sure to get at least 512MB RAM. I would say that is the minimum I would recommend these days. That should do pretty well for most anything, except for games, video editing, etc...

Dells can be pretty good but seeing as how we have had a lot of them where I work I've seen quite a few problems with them. Especially strange was that they sometimes ship CD-RWs that are incompatible with their system setup and won't burn cds.

Also, I agree with getting a nice monitor. I would get a flat panel from one of the brands table mentioned. Of course monitor's are something you might want to do some shopping around for as they can be gotten for a fairly good price every now and then.

[@theCBE]

Originally posted by Bend it like Bourgeois@Mar 10 2005, 07:24 PM
while we're on the subject - anyone know a good place to sell old monitors and computers? (1-3 yrs old). Best to just do it privately?

http://www.computeroutletcanada.com/


Check this place out... they are in the N.W. not too far from the University .. little bit north of Market mall

[photon]

For a general deals site check out:

http://www.redflagdeals.com/

They have a very active forum with a good deal section.

For a specific PC, it kind of depends on what you are comfortable with. If you are ok with a clone Memory Express is a good company and gives good support to what they sell. I've got 10 PC's from them in the office right now and they've been prompt and responsive to any problems I've had. Plus you get to decide which components are more important to you and put your money there.

For brand names, I don't mind Dell. If you get a $299 system then yes it's going to have cheaper components but you won't be able to put together a clone system for anywhere close to that (heck even Windows XP Home costs $150 by itself). Don't get the upgrades from Dell though unless they're free or very cheap, often their upgrades can be done for a lot less locally.

AMD vs Intel
AMD chips are fine and are usually cheaper for the same level of performance. They also run significantly cooler than comperable Pentiums. Only in very specific tasks does one noticably outperform the other.

Dell LCDs
Depends entirely on which one you get. There are only a few different manufacturers of panels so often three different models from three different brands will use the exact same panel. Some of their LCD's are TOP notch. The 2001FP is very nice (uses the same panel as the 21" Benq and Viewsonic). I have a 2005FPW that I got a GREAT deal on and couldn't be happier.



In general though I would highly recommend buying the LCD locally from a store that accepts returns. That way you can try it out for a week and change it if you aren't comfortable (though Dell does allow returns shipping time can cut into your evaluation period). There are some good review sites that do actual quantifiable tests as well; trust those rather than a person's subjective opinion.


For used stuff, the bargain finder has worked well for me in the past, and the forums in the site I posted above has a very active buy/sell community as well.

I agree with Wolfwood, a 2.5GHz+ processor will do you just fine. 512MB RAM minimun. A nice large hard drive with 8MB cache will keep things hopping, and a decent video card (ATi 9600 Pro) so that you can play some games if you want. Add in a DVD burner and you're set.

It's all about the budget though. If you want to spend $300-$400, one of those Dell deals is very hard to beat. Be prepared to spend extra on upgrades later though (DVD burner for example, video card if you ever wanted to play games, and some of them aren't able to upgrade the video card).

If you want to spend $700-800+, then a clone system will do the job nicely.

[Bingo]

Thanks for all the responses guys ...

so much easier having access to people that know what they are talking about!