Buying a new computer

[mykalberta]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Going to let hell freeze over and agree with MYK here. For a novice user, Dell is usually a good choice for 1) price 2) fewer hassles. Although, I will say that buying from them is easy, dealing with their customer service for returns is not.
...

Another one bites the dust

The only other thing to add with Dell. They are only offering Vista at the moment. The way the Vista licensing works, I would try to get them to put on XP - very stable if AntiVer, Windows Defender, MS Antispyware is installed and put behind a router (if you need the install packages for those and cant find them PM me and I will send you a link to my FTP site).

They will likely balk at XP though, another good option is Dell Canada's used site http://www.dfsdirect.ca/

Great deals to be had - I send alot of my home biz customers their way especially if the computer is going to be in less than stable environments, chicken barn, combine, rig etc.

Optiplex GX260/270/280 are the ones we have deployed here.

For expansion and upgradeability the wide case ones are alot better. Extra expansion bay for a Hard Drive. Also upgrading ram on those units is very easy, we go to MemX for our Ram orders for those and there has never been any issues.

If HD expansion is a big deal to you, I wouldnt reject a comptuer based on lack of HD expansion, NAS units are very easy to setup, I have 1 unit setup and working on another one. Also they have released SATA Nas's recently, a bit more expensive but probably worth the bucks.

Again there is no Video Card expansion for a normal card in those (GX280 being the exception - if you are using onboard video, I wouldnt deploy a system with anything less than 1Gb or ram because the shared Ram will take about 100-250 depending on model

The only note is I talked to our Desktop support guy in Tulsa and the Canadian one in Edmonton, and they both echoed the same, said the 260s have very flaxy power supplies and they are custom made, he has tried several generic power supplies and none fit properly, they normally have to shave down the on off switch.

Also, dead motherboards are also a problem, but those and the power supplies can all be traced back to the locations we have throughout and the dodgy power in alot of places with no good UPS.

MYK

[Bobblehead]

Originally Posted by teamchachi

Like I said, setting up Ubuntu as an email and web browsing machine is easy. Trying to run multimedia or games is not for the faint of heart.

Outside of setting up a server for Enemy Territory or UT I haven't even tried gaming (unless trying out FreeCiv counts)

[kermitology]

Originally Posted by teamchachi

Why reinvent the wheel?

OS X isn't available for standard hardward because Apple is primarily a hardware company. They want to sell you Apple hardware. It's not a question of whether it will run on commodity PC hardware. In fact, Michael Dell has been quoted as saying that he'll pre-install OS X on Dell hardware as soon if Apple will give him the green light.

Virtually everybody who has ever played with my Macs has gone out and bought one with absolutely no regrets. None of them would consider going back to Windows.

The beauty of Apple is the fact that they provide support for the hardware and the OS. If something goes wrong, there are way fewer variables to resolve. It makes a big difference for the average end user.

See.. this is what I have issues with.. If you're going to rag on Microsoft for it's operating system (the only thing they ever do) then let me use the "most amazing OS ever."

Attack Microsoft, but only as long as you're willing to support everything that Microsoft has to.

[FFR]

I am also in the market for a new computer...however I am looking for a laptop. I know enough about computers to know what kinds of specs I need for what I'm doing but I don't know enough about companies to know which laptops are good quality vs. which brands I should avoid.

Currently I'm looking at an HP laptop. I also like a Sony Vaio notebook but it's a bit out of my price range. Right now I have a dell, and it's alright but I don't know if I'd go with it again because of all the problems I've had with it.

Any suggestions would be great. Thanks.

[Vulcan]

My first computer I bought at a small store in Calgary. I knew noth ing and it came with MIllenium. It crashed and froze regularly until it finally gave up the ghost.
I bought an el cheapo Dell. It's been very reliable but it's pretty impossible to upgrade other then memory.
My next computer will be a core 2 Duo. It won't be a Dell because you can't overclock a Dell and from what I've read these processors are made for simple overclocking. I'll probably get a store to build one as a HD HTPC.

[teamchachi]

Originally Posted by kermitology

See.. this is what I have issues with.. If you're going to rag on Microsoft for it's operating system (the only thing they ever do) then let me use the "most amazing OS ever."

Attack Microsoft, but only as long as you're willing to support everything that Microsoft has to.

You are free to use the most amazing OS ever. As long as you buy Apple hardware.

A small portion of Microsoft's problems are related to hardware drivers and support. My beefs with Windows are largely based on security and stabilty. Of course, if anything does go wrong, Microsoft and the hardware vendors still take the opportunity to point fingers at each other while nothing gets resolved...

[teamchachi]

Originally Posted by Vulcan

My first computer I bought at a small store in Calgary. I knew noth ing and it came with MIllenium. It crashed and froze regularly until it finally gave up the ghost.
I bought an el cheapo Dell. It's been very reliable but it's pretty impossible to upgrade other then memory.
My next computer will be a core 2 Duo. It won't be a Dell because you can't overclock a Dell and from what I've read these processors are made for simple overclocking. I'll probably get a store to build one as a HD HTPC.

Computerrack have been great for my clients.

Millenium? Ouch. Microsoft likes to pretend that disaster never even happened. It made Windows 98 look pretty good and that is NOT an easy thing to do...

[Teh_Bandwagoner]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

Being an "avid gamer" I assume you'd want to be DX10 compliant for the latest and greatest games in the future. Is there even a mobile DX10 solution out there? I suspect you'll have to wait at least 6 months before something hits the market for that.

I've heard a lot of good comments about the Dell XPS laptops for gamers, realizing that there are always limits to mobile computing and gaming.

Dang. Yah I'm thinking DX10 compliant. Most of the games I have right now don't require it, but it's probably something I would need long-term. It's been a while since I've gone computer shopping, since my computer has been able to support everything I have so far (until stupid Supreme Commander), and I've never really gone laptop shopping, so knowledge is kinda kaputz at the moment.

Ah maybe I should just stick with a desktop. At least I can build me one of those.

[FFR]

So I need some help deciding on a new laptop. I've narrowed it down to one of two HP laptops. I am having trouble deciding between the two. One is $200 cheaper...the main difference and sticking point for me is the processor. One has a 2.0 Ghz processor but it is only a single processor whereas the other one has a 1.6 Ghz dual core processor. The single core processor is $200 cheaper. Other than that, both computers are very similar.

Is it better to spend more for the dual core processor? Is one of them significantly better or faster than the other?

[worth]

are you going to be doing a lot of multi tasking?

[FFR]

I spend most of my time on my computer on the internet. Usually I have music playing as well as surfing the internet. I dowload a bunch of music and I play some minor computer games (think Sims2 level). If I'm doing stuff I typically have a bunch of windows open...one with music, one with internet, one with school work etc.

I'm really almost computer illiterate so I don't know what my computer considers multi tasking and not...

[worth]

well if you didn't really have any problems before with what you were doing such as lag or stuttering, then you shouldn't with a processor without dual core.

There are some programs that will run better on a dual core system like some photoshop or 3d programs that can utilize it.

The other reason you'd want dual core is for like burning a cd and playing a game or surfing the internet at the same time.

If all your doing is surfing and listening to music, then you probably don't need a dual core processor.

maybe this articles will help you:

http://www.computerworld.com/blogs/node/2070
http://www.devhardware.com/c/a/Compu...r-Double-Hype/

[FFR]

Thanks for the articles. I definately have some thinking to do I guess.