your in luck, check www.slickdeals.net good deals if you ask me..both under 1k for a nice desktop

 

Just one good tip with Dell, if you need help and get an brain dead jerk on the phone, my friend Mike suggests, just hang up and call again until you get someone who has some brain cells and is willing to help. That's what he does.
Oh and also, be patient with tech help because they are all in India and are hard to understand.

Every company has it's quirks, but the best service I had so far was with IBM. Tech help WAS in the United States at that time so they were very easy to talk with and understand, and if anything needed replacing, they would with no trouble. If you werent happy with something, they'd send you another, no hassles.

HP has bad customer service as well.

Gateway has polite people, but you have to wait forever on hold to get somebody on the line. And their computers break more often, hard drives, CD roms, motherboards, etc had all gone bad one by one when I had my Gateway.

Right now I just got a Sony Vaio and am pleased so far, but we'll see how pleased I'll be wen I have to call them for something... Everybody says Dell is really cheap, but when I added everything on to one that my Vaio has, it came out to about the same price so, I dunno about that.

Good luck with your computer shopping. And dont forget, if you get an idiot, just hang up and call again.

 

http://www.pricegrabber.com/rating_g...998ea3bf9ba197

As you can see from the Dell Reviews I would not recommend buying Dell Direct....there are a couple other companies that also stock some Dell things....like A2Zcomp.com , they get alot better reviews....

 

Home built.
My first PC was an Acer P90 back in Xmas of '94.

After that I learned to build my own PCs, and no store bought PC can match a home built one for performance and ease of working on if you use the right components.

Sherry's experience with Dell is enough to make me not want to buy one.

If all you are going to do with this thing is surf the web, email, and school work, then just abut any store bought PC will suffice.

But if you ever get into gaming, home built is the way.
Also AMD is now on top of the gaming world, and my next PC I build will be based on the FX chip.

 

I'll second the Dell for desktops. I started out using Dells years ago (I'm talking 386, 16Mhz ), migrated to building my own (I was the IT guy, so troubleshooting compatibility was part of the gig - this is in the ESDI drive days, old jumper configurable SCSI, etc, etc.), then came full circle back to Dell. I have two now and they have been pretty flawless. Gotta go for the LCD too. I have a 17" and 19" and they are both terrific monitors. Much better for your eyes than staring at a CRT day in day out.

Now for laptops, I'm hooked on HP - but that's another story.

 

http://www.dslreports.com/forum/rema...0887~mode=flat

 

Gaming? No time for gaming.

Yotatech takes enough of time in which case leaves me almost no time for homework.

Building my own machine would be nice but it will not be worth my time for what I will be utilizing it for.

Store bough ought to be enough for my needs.

I'm pretty much sold on the Dells and I really dig the color - all black.

Time to ponder.

Check for updates soon.

 

I bought one of my new Dell's on Ebay. Full warranty. Something to consider.

 

I remember you did.

Now that is something that I would sincerely consider.

Thanks for the reminder, Mike.

Also, extended thanks ladies and gents for all the helpful suggestions.

 

HUGE DITTO!!! I work for the university here in Colorado. Mac's are wonderful machines nowdays. With a unix base and a complete Microsoft Office pack you cannot go wrong with a Mac. Besides... most of us Mac users have NEVER heard of spyware and worms... what the heck is a virus? I've never seen one! Haha.

 

Thats funny...
How many video editing houses/graphic design studios/sound studios are run by PCs? You obviously don't know anything about macs because they have had the "right click" for over four years now, you just don't know where it is (option click if using the stupid mac mouse, i'll give you that one) otherwise any two button will work on a mac just as a PC.

 

The 8400 and 4700 have differant motherboards. With the 8400 has more bandwidth higher throughput or whatever floats your boat in termanology.
Since you wanted to upload video from a camcorder go for the 8400. Cruching video can be a large task.

Or I could build this 4700 to an 8400 or better-
http://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...oc=D47F4&s=dhs

I'm sure it would come out to the same price as the first one.

I'll take a further look at that website tomorrow.[/QUOTE]

 

Eh.... what planet are you living on? Mac's are still better for graphics and nothing comes close to a Mac when it comes to video editing. Also... 2-button mice work just like they do on a PC when you use it on a Mac. Sorry.... gotta put my 2 cents in. Mac's are simply better machines in all categories except MAYBE gaming. You can't go wrong with something that's Unix based.

 

Macs are nice, I have messed around with them a few times.

But as mentioned, if you are going to game, then only an Intel or AMD chip based PC running XP is the only choice.
PCs are simply better for gaming.

 

With all due respect, the illusion that Macs or PCs are better in any fields right now is ridiculous (with the exception of gaming, because of a lack of Mac support). I think all of this "Macs are better for graphics" and the like type stuff is due to nostalgia and teh fact that, yes, in the past, Macs we're better for graphics. Unix and Linux work on x86 based machines just like they do on the PowerPC platform. Both Macs and PCs have 64-bit environments. Both have software support from the best companies. Also, I'll be the first to admit that an x86 verison of OSX would be awesome. Finally, the mouse the was just a quick quip. The G4 that I had at school had a two-button optical I put on it. Honestly the fighitng between Mac and PC people is so annoying. I'll admit I may have been a little bit of an a$$. I wasn't being sarcastic though when I said Macs are fine machines, either. In all honesty, it would be great if Macs were cheaper. Unfortunately, if I were to challange someone to build me a Mac and a PC on the same budget, the PC would blow the Mac out of the water eveytime.

Boy that got wordy. I guess what I'm trying to say is:

Why can't we all get along?

EDIT: Also, Microsuck has got to be what holds the PC back the most? Is it so hard to add the ability to read the Mac file format? I mean, come on!

 

I used to work at a computer store that sold dell.. yea, only available online.. futureshop/bestbuy did everything to try and shut us down, made such a big stink that dell's legal department finally gave in and requested that we slightly change our sign so it wasnt the dell logo with the tilted 'e'.. anyway..

dell's are like any other computer, its all the same components, except up until VERY recently, all you could get in a dell is intel (intel owns mega shares in dell.. or vice versa) anyway.. any computer you get will do everything that you mentioned, the only high end demand is the video editing off the camcorder, the more memory you pop in there the faster the rendering times will be, also.. is it digital or vhs? cause if its vhs you'll have to get a pci-tv tuner (input card) or a usb one.. i recommend the pci over the usb.. much more reliable (least from my experience, and what ive sold)..

dell uses the cheapest parts possible, excluding the harddrives and the cpu, they are name brand.. intel, and western digital, seagate, maxtor... even seen a couple hitachi's come out of dells.. their cd-roms, cd-rws, dvd-roms, are garbage, seen numerous shattered cds.. (worked on about 15-20 a day.. building, and repairing).. their dvd-rw's are even worse, most of the time they are only +, again this was a couple months ago, they might of gotten multi burners.. that support +/-/ram/rw and multi layer.. best one ive used (cost/performace/reliablity) is the LG 16x super multi.. runs around $105 CAD (retail, our cost was about $80)

the main reason you go with any major name is warranty... and dells warranty was GREAT at one time, now its merely good.. you can get what you need, but you have to wad through hours of bull˟˟˟˟ diagnosis with a tech thats just reading it off a screen, and in a specific order, you cant skip anything, cause they are too lazy to skim to the next step... now, if you have a major problem (like my smartstep 250n laptop overheating.. like thousands did) and you complain, and complain, and complain (about 6 months) they will replace it.. i finally got a 5100 as a replacement, quite a huge upgrade too 2.2 to 2.66ghz, 32mb to 64mb vid ram.. etc, etc..

Personally, I'm a fan of the AMD64 Socket 939, cost/price ratio is amazing, especially on the 3200+ costing around $250CAD, can overclock it about 33% with the stock cooler.

When it comes to desktops go custom if your into HIGH end performance and want to customize it exactly the way you want.. its really hard to beat a dell package with their weekly deals. Really, the only way is.. illegally.. installing your own copy of xp/srv2k3, and your own copy of office (since you said you needed it). I know you don't quite have the knowledge to do it yourself, but most small computer stores will include it in the price (with enough persuasion) and everyone has an uncle or a nephew that can fix the most common problems that dell gets plagued with everyday.. 95% of all problems are 'spyware' related.. easily and freely fixed.. lots of nice freebie tools out there.

When it comes to laptops, go with dell, I have twice now, and except for my lemon (thousands of documented problems with it, although after working on them, i believe it to just be a clogged cpu heatsink.. considering i have to clean my 5100 out every 6 months or so) and get their 'completecare', according to the sales guy, i could hit it with a sledgehammer and it would be covered, bull˟˟˟˟, i know.. but its still a good sales pitch and gives some idea as to how far they obligate themselves.

I could go on and on and on.. and I'm sure I've already gone on too long for some of you, also.. it was numerous trains of thought, so might not read quite in order..

 

sorry, just a quick post about the diff dell models (Currently available)

3000 - s478, ddr1, with no agp slot and 3 pci slots..
your average home computer coming with a celeron or a p4

4700 - new pinless processor.. horrible design IMHO, the later models 3.6ghz+ 'throttle' at idle, which means they overheat when your not doing anything and slow themselves down to keep from frying. comes with pci-express video and pci slots.. and ddr2 memory (REALLY expensive, for little performance gains)

8400 - basically identical to a 4700, but in a bigger, clam-shell case not really any perfomance gains that i've seen.. same psu, same mobo (i think, cant remember right now)

only bonus of the 4700 and the 8400 is you get to use SATA harddrives, which offer a slightly higher transmission rate of 150mb/s vs.. 100/133mb/s on ATA 100/133..

thats it.. see? short and sweet..

 

I have to slighty disagree. My company uses only Dells for desktops and a mix of Dells and IMBs for laptops. The C-series Latitudes (last model line) were amazing. They we're the best laptops I ever used. I now have a D800 (the widescreen. Inspiron equiv. is an 8100 or somethign like that), and it's a good computer, but it just feels like it lacks quality. Also, the C-series used a Synaptics touchpad (awesomeness, as anyone with an iPod can tell you), while the D-Series use an Alps brand (cheap, and you get what you pay for).

Amazingly enough, this is THE reason that Dell has some of the best service I know. We have had stuff you wouldn't believe happen to our laptops and the Dell tech just akss what happens, notes it in the file, and sends you parts/a new laptop. You really can smash it with a sledgehammer, run it over, and drop it from the roof, and it'll still get fixed. If you buy a laptop from Dell, make sure it has Complete Care on it!

 

as for quality, some of the models do feel 'weak' in comparison to the 10 year old design of IBMs bulky, black monstrousities.. (not a bad thing for business users, but for the common home user personally, i prefer the silver look (the new line is beautiful.. 700m, 6000, 9200) although, i can attest that they aren't weak by any means, ive dropped mine from 2-4 feet, a couple times.. works fine, no damage (really shouldnt fall asleep with my laptop on me... also, we had an insprion 8600 brought in, the case was warped, screen was cracked, but i hit the power button and it posted, cpu fan was still goin, i hooked up a monitor cable to it and there was windows. (was run over by a baggage car at the airport) simply put, they're tougher then they seem. lol

im surprised the alps touchpads were used in your d800, every other model ive seen from dell, inspiron or in the D-series (latitude line, or for business users), I've run across uses the synaptics touchpad.. both of mine did.. smartstep 250n, insp 5100.

as i said to many customers.. 'its your money, buy what you like'

 

Their back to Alps with their new ones. I wish I could have my C800 back, but with the processor/ram I have in my D800.