Brand preferences?

L

LauraKoz

New Member
I'm looking for a new desktop... retiring the HP 520n (nasty Trojan, years old, not worth the $ to repair), just need a computer for personal use (basically I surf, collect music and photos, and play games). I'm looking at 3 comparable desktops from Acer, Dell and Gateway.

I was wondering if anyone had an outright brand preference (and why), or if you saw anything you'd steer away from in any (or all) of these. Ask if you need any more info, please.

Acer Aspire E360:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 4200
2.2 GHz processor speed
250 GB HD
1 GB RAM
nVidia card (256 MD memory ability)
$599

Gateway GT5220:
AMD Athlon 64 X2 3800
2 GHz processor speed
250 GB HD
1 GB RAM
nVidia card (128 MD memory ability)
$559

Dell Dimension C521:
AMD Athlon 64 3400
2 GHz processor speed
250 GB HD
1 GB RAM
nVidia GeForce 6150 Le (128 MB memory ability)
$514

Various opinions/comments I've heard: :confused:
  • "If you can spend the same amount of money on a different brand, steer away from Gateway, there's nothing wrong with them, but they're not so stellar either."
  • "I wouldn't go with Acer, they aren't as big as a brand as the other two, and although bigger isn't necessarily better, the more well-known brands generally have better built machines."
  • "Don't go with Dell, they're not worth much of anything unless you're willing to spend really, really big bucks ...in that case, there's no better choice."

p.s. If you've got any other brand recommendations, I'm open to suggestions. FYI, my budget will probably not be exceeding $700, but I'd prefer no more than $550-600 (that's about where I'm at with the three above).

Thanks!! :D
 
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With laptops the move would more towards a Dell as far as the three names thare. For a good case prebuilt you would see either a Sony VAIO or Dell due to the complaints lately on HP. Acer, Gateway, and even worse eMachines by the long shot there are the low end types like Compaq and Epson were years back. Dell has been advertising big time about "your choices" in prebuilds lately. But building "your own" the way "you" want it is always far better! :D
 
Are these systems customizable? The integrated video in those systems is unsuitable for gaming. Look for at least a 7600GS/GT class card.
 
Hmm, well by gaming I'm not talking anything hard core... let's see, the last game I bought suggested the 64 MB GeForce2... so that's about the extent of my 'gaming', if that helps any... I was thinking (perhaps wrongly so..?) that any of those NVidia cards (or at least the Acer one) would be sufficient?

As far as customizable, the Dell is. The Gateway I was looking at was through Circuit City, so I'm sure they are customizable through the Gateway site, but it will probably be a jump in price ...same goes for the Acer.
 
Options for customization on Gateway, Acer, or Dell with the big ads is a milestone away from selecting an adequate system for the average user. If you need a replacement supply for a Dell they custom drill the mounting hole so that you have to go back to them. The memory they usually throw in is 512mb and offer another 512mb.

By the looks of the descriptions on each those are also Socket 939 boards with Acer seeing the 4200+ X2 being the best model there. The 256mb video card depending on model gives another edge. But the other thing along with those items needed is a good look over at the specifications on each.

For the Dell Dimension C521, http://www.dell.com/content/products/productdetails.aspx/dimen_c521?c=us&l=en&s=gen&~tab=specstab

For the Gateway GT5220, Circuit CIty has their own page seen at http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Spec...9/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs

For the Acer Aspire E360, another Circuit City link at http://www.circuitcity.com/ssm/Spec...0/rpem/ccd/productDetailSpecification.do#tabs Note that no links found list it as having the 4200+ X2 while most show either the 3700+ or 3800+ X2 models.
 
Thanks for the links, I think I used those first two when I was looking actually. The Acer that I found was listed as 4200 so I'd make sure of that before I purchased it. I was just looking for feedback from a knowledgable group of folks (seeing as I am not!) :)

I don't plan on doing much customization nor aftermarket purchases, just wanted to start with something solid that would be able to handle my needs and work well.
 
You'll find the 4200+ named in one of the stickys here for gaming builds. That's obviously an outdated item at this late date however. Dell supposedly offers the best support of the three. But here I simply drop the "junk mail" received into the recycle bin. sorry about that! :P I'll build my own thank you!
 
I'm not quite sure I understand everything in your post, but even if the 4200 is a bit 'outdated' when it comes to gaming needs, it was my understanding that it's still fairly decent, especially for an already 'put together' computer.
 
The 4200+ X2 model is a good one for ocing out the list of Socket 939 X2 model cpus. Others oc with 4600+ model. That's the best of the three you have listed regardless of not having intent to push it. By default it's the fastest model. Why it is faster then the 3400+ 2.2ghz model? It's a dual core model like the 3800+ X2. The actual specifications on the 3400+ show 2.2 not 2.0ghz like those seen at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16819103023

For running a stock system without ocing you come out ahead with the 89w not 65w model. The AMD cpu reference selector chart show four different model listings with one seeing the 65w output. http://www.amdcompare.com/us-en/desktop/
 
i would go with the dell but customise it like this.

My Components
AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 3800+
Genuine Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005, English
No Express Upgrade to Windows Vista Selected
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz- 2DIMMs
Free Upgrade! 320GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
48X CD-RW/ DVD Combo Drive
No Monitor
NVIDIA GeForce 6150 LE Integrated Graphics GPU
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

thats $509

or for $50 more upgrade the processor to

AMD Athlon™ 64 X2 Dual-Core 4200+
 
Dell has been advertising the heck out of "customizing for you" their latest models. You tell them that you want a 4200+ X2, 2gb of memory, no onboard video crap but a good NVidia or ATI performance PCI-E card, a tail kicking Creative SB X-FI 7.1 surround sound card, and a 500-550w supply to see what they say?!

Someone say Gateway? Gateway to where? Acer? Dell? not eMachines! :eek: But if you are determined on going with a prebuilt system you should be familiar with their online support if and when available.

Gateway's is found at http://support.gateway.com/support/drivers/dlcenter.asp

Acer's global support site is found at http://global.acer.com/support/index.htm

For Dell, http://support.dell.com/
 
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