shamrock838

LOOKING FOR NEW DESKTOP COMPUTER :

This month I will have had my venerable Gateway 2000 Pentium II desktop computer for 10 years. And YES … it’s long past time to get an up-to-date replacement. What I have in mind is a Dell desktop model to complement and interact with the Dell Latitude D820 laptop I acquired in May 2006.

Where to start? In the last 10 years technology has leapfrogged so dramatically that I’m lost amidst the new buzzwords and new … everything. It seems I need to relearn a whole new language of terms, procedures, and their meanings. Where to start … indeed??

I’m recently retired and work from a nice home office in East Norriton, PA. As a freelance writer/photographer I’ve accumulated many 1000s of files since my first computer in 1988. I use the MS Office 2003 suite of programs … Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. and have acquired a host of subsidiary programs and supporting hardware that are too numerous and varied to list here. I make extensive use of USB technology and have come to rely on USB hubs to handle them all. I also use Windows XP Professional and have heard enough about Vista to convince me not to make that leap just yet. And I’m definitely NOT into gaming or other flashy applications … so high performance in that arena is not required. I use Outlook 2003 for e-mailing and Internet Explorer 7.0 extensively for communicating, research, marketing, etc.

So-o-o-o … here I am at the proverbial “yellow brick road” … and not sure which way to turn. At any rate … I’m open to starting strategies … promising directions to explore … and generally good advice. Which way to Oz?

Many thanks,

Mike

CaptainAwesom

have you thought about building a computer

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shamrock838

I wouldn't even know where to begin ... much less carry it out.

tlarkin

Sham-

Lets start with your basic needs. You need to do the following, and add what I miss:

1) Office productivity

2) Way to store and manage digital media, mainly photos

3) Internet/email prefer the Microsoft platform (is this a deal breaker?)

4) ability to use peripherals (via USB and firewire)

What is your price range?

Do you hold any allegiance to Windows?

Are you going to buy a complete new system (including desktop, monitor, speakers, the whole 9 yards)?

Do you have a brand preference?

Have you considered a laptop? They are just as powerful as desktops days and are portable.

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