travisc Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 My parts supplier is going to buy me a computer, my plan is to use my year old laptop at the shop and bring the new one home. I am going to spend around 1k give or take a hundred bucks. I know that I could build one cheaper yadayada but not an option. I want to be able to play quake 4 at medium settings. I got a best buy, staples and circuit city to choose from what should I get? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray Garrison Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 1st, I think you'd get more / better responses by posting this in the Gaming section under Entertainment and maybe in General Questions under Computers. 2nd, me, personally, I always buy PC's for my office on line. Not so much a price difference, as the technical support from folks like Dell has proven to be vastly superior to anything I get from any retail store. I have some fairly complex systems, and I have never once had Dell fail to resolve a technical issue (driver problem, configuration error, hardware compatibility, whatever) on the first phone call. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 Ray this is General questions isnt it? I have been looking at the Dell site, I think I am going to see if thats an option Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted January 12, 2006 Author Share Posted January 12, 2006 poked around down in gaming, dead quiet found this what do you guys think? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7438622&productCategoryId=pcmcat60700050018&type=product&tab=2&id=1122655625654 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Had my Compaq Pressario for a year now, with the hp 17" flat screen from best buy. I'm pretty happy with it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 found this what do you guys think? http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=7438622&productCategoryId=pcmcat60700050018&type=product&tab=2&id=1122655625654 Hm, why don't I see anything about a monitor? I agree with Ray, Dell has been very satisfactory for me, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 Dell is certainly worth checking. Along the same lines, I've been having good luck with this eMachines computer I bought just this past fall at Best Buy, and it was pretty cheap, but plenty for what I intended to use it for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 If you go the Dell route do a Google or Yahoo search for Dell coupons. It is always worth looking at the coupons. When I bought my laptop I was able to get it with a 40% off coupon. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Ooh, save your pennies for a new iMac! Intel's inside! http://www.apple.com/imac/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
customsteve01 Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Would he then be able to post live links??? http://www.apple.com/imac/ Steve Sorry Fini, I just couldn't help myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 ok thanks guys looks like I want a Dell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Petrol Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I have had Dells in my house for years and really like them. at work I just got a new commerical grade HP/Compaq that has proved to be fine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 check out Consumer Reports, repair recod on the new eMachines is OK, so is Dell, eMachines often as bundles that are very hard to beat, but used ones are a great buy as people want the new technology.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 "I got a best buy, staples and circuit city to choose from what should I get? " If you truly are limited to these stores, Dell's not in your future - they don't sell them there. I second the E-Machines as a great value for the money. I bought one on clearance from Circuit City a couple years ago and it has performed flawlessly, despite all the junk I put it through. I can't speak for current models, but there are many major brand-name components under the cover of mine - not unknown bargain basement stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 Ooh Steve, so mean... ;^) I'd be able to post live links if they'd just turn on HTML here. It ain't a Mac problem! I've got a Dell PC too, but all the dang popup warnings (that usually end up being nothing) drive me NUTS! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DrWho Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 IBM is definetly the best as far as reliability and compatibility, etc etc...but they're also generally the most expensive. Dell is my second choice, where you get most of the IBM for like half the cost. I would avoid at all costs HP and Compaq. They are very much hit or miss and are by far the hardest computers to work on. Gateway is a bit better, but still the same issues. Things to look for on your new computer: Processor speed isn't as important as it used to be. You want to find something with a fast FSB (front side bus) - anything greater than 500 mHz should be fine. You also want to have a lot of RAM - I recommend no less than 1GB (and make sure that it is fast RAM). Most motherboards come with built-in video and sound capability, but if you want real performance then you will want to look at purchasing seperate sound and video cards. This means that you shouldn't spend extra money on a motherboard with fancy video and sound options (you are just going to disable it anyway). I don't pretend to be a super computer expert, but I have worked on many many different machines, troubleshooting the systems of my less knowledgable friends who continuously destroy their computers. For a while there I was having difficulty with them myself too. Anyways, it is pretty much the nature of computers that if you connect to the internet, that you should expect at some point to have to wipe your computer and start from scratch. And I have found that the way Dell builds and sets up their computers that they are by far the easiest to work on. Dells also handle equipment upgrades better too. I have no incentive to push Dell other than it makes my life easier when people ask me for help [] (btw, there is no reason why a HP/compaq/gateway can't be set up or fixed correctly...it's just a mega pain in the butt because of all the proprietary crap that they install). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryC Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 I'm not sure what other advice you might want, but I'd suggest at least a 17" monitor and assuring that you have at least 8 USB ports; I have 8, and am not sure I have any left over. If you get a Dell and have the extra cash, I'd suggest their Ultra Sharp monitor over the standard flat panel. You should get an optical mouse, since the ancient rubber balls gum up too easily. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 thanks guys I think its gonna be the Dell xps 400 http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/xpsdt_400?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs nvidia 6800 card 1gb 20 inch moniter Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neo33 Posted January 13, 2006 Share Posted January 13, 2006 "Not so much a price difference, as the technical support from folks like Dell has proven to be vastly superior to anything I get from any retail store. I have some fairly complex systems, and I have never once had Dell fail to resolve a technical issue (driver problem, configuration error, hardware compatibility, whatever) on the first phone call." It is not a matter of how many issues they can resolve over the phone per minute! The question is why is it there in the first place? Frankly, I think Dell computer is a piece of sh|t! And anything Dell made for that matter! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
travisc Posted January 13, 2006 Author Share Posted January 13, 2006 "Not so much a price difference, as the technical support from folks like Dell has proven to be vastly superior to anything I get from any retail store. I have some fairly complex systems, and I have never once had Dell fail to resolve a technical issue (driver problem, configuration error, hardware compatibility, whatever) on the first phone call." It is not a matter of how many issues they can resolve over the phone per minute! The question is why is it there in the first place? Frankly, I think Dell computer is a piece of sh|t! And anything Dell made for that matter! why? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.