hey everyone, thanks for looking and input. i tried to do searches and some research first so i hope that this is not too bad of a newb post. oh and sorry for any misspelling, i should get that in here right off the bat lol.
i need a new computer and i am dirt poor. i am thinking that i want a desktop because it will be cheaper for better parts and i do not think that i will really need it to be protable for any reason. i am planning on buying the keyboard/mouse seperatly and using a TV as a monitor so i will not need to take those into account. also i will find out how to use speakers that i allready have or buy them seperatly. so basically, i just want the computer.
what i have now:
what i use on a daily basis now is (don't laugh) an IBM thinkpad 600E with a whopping 366 MHz processor. i am running windows 2000 because i got this as a gift in 2000 when i graduated high school. it runs movies fairly well as long as nothing else at all is running, it is a little slow on the internet but fast enough, of course it is fine for things like word or excel or powerpoint, music plays well etc. i have upgraded to a HUGE (sarcasm) 40 gig HD and honestly, that has been enough for what i need. all that being said, i am constantly pushing the edges of this computer's limited capeability in every aspect from operating system datedness to HD space to processor speed and i need something better.
what i will use it for:
hinestly, not gaming. maybe a few games but nothing too intense and i will not be too into it. i will save most of my limited game playing for game consoles (and i know the benifits of computer gaming, i don;t need a lecture on that lol ). i will be doing the basics, document writing, internet surfing/downloading, video/audio viewing, programming, disc burning, etc. even my basic system is almost enough for this but i would like some elbow room so to speak. i would like a decent HDD, maybe 160 to 250 Gigs but i do not think that i will need much more than that. i plan to partition it about 80/20 to run lynix/newest microsoft OS respectivly.
what i know about computers:
i have a degree in ece but no job experience. so i am probably an above average but far below expert on high level software and hardware. i do know how to program in several high and low level languages and i know basic circuit theory, logic gate theory, and know how simple processors and memory run on those levels but i would be completely lost compared to most here on comparing current allready made products and their benifits from hardware to software. lots of people i know seem to think that because i have a degree in a computer related field that i know everything about them but my education did not center at all around these high level things so although i can understand what is going on, people like you on this forum are WAY ahead of me and i would be humbled to recieve your advice.
so my options would seem to be:
buy from a large prebuilt computer company (dell, HP, sony, gateway, etc. please don't flame yet lol)
buy used off of ebay, craigslist, here, etc.
buy from a smaller,more quality assembler like cyberpowerpc
build one myself.
i am not a all intimidated by building a PC myself and i am confident that i could do it. i have done some research about it and it does not seem to be that hard at all. i know this is going to be what you all suggest way before i posted this but please try to give advice in the other sectors as well.
i would like to buy a prebuilt if i could, plain and simple. building myself would be rewarding, educational, and maybe a little cheaper or more high quality but there are drawbacks that i do not want to deal with.
*i would rather not spend the time.
*i would like a complete plug and play insured unit.
*i want to get the software that seems to be forgotten when discussing the price (yea, i got the parts and put it together myself for $100 cheaper but i want the software that comes with some of the big companies computers for "free" (they build it into their costs and get discounts for buying in bulk) that will cost me way more than $100 and then i will be stuck in the same situation as when i got this computer (got it with win 2k right as xp was coming out to make it obselete, now i need xp just to be currnet and they are about to come out with vista, i do not want to have to apy for that on top of xp)
now from what i have read, i do not really want a big brand computer because although they might have tech support (i do not think i will need) and they have good quality chips etc. some of their parts (motherboards, power supplies, etc.) that they do not mention are crap and they come with added anoying software (i am not concerned about this because i am sure that i could take it off). but i like that it is ready to go, i like the insureance, and i like having the software leagaly and for cheap in comparison (and a lot of it is upgradeable to vista). also i would like to be able to have the option of upgrading the components in the future if i want which would be a lot harder or impossible with a lot of name brand companies.
ebay, craigslist, forums, etc, not really sure what you will get but not a bad option. as long as it has the software that i want (then again, i will have to pay far out the ass for vista)
a BIG draw of, say dell (flame suit on) for me is that they have payment plans. $30 a month i can afford, no problem at all. $700 lump sum, well that will not be happening for a LONG time ( i could maybe save up for 8 months or so but i do not want to spend all of my extra $ for the next 8 months saving). i could use a credit card but i would rather not. also, i think that their equipment would be more than up to my needs.
lastly and currently the best option in my mind would be a place like cyberpowerpc.com. i will get better quality than big companies and i will not pay that much more. i can get upgradeable software included and although this is most likely the most expensive option and price is one of the biggest issues for me i am leaning in this direction.
so, what do you all think? i know i will probably just get a bunch of "build it yourself" and "dell sucks" bandwagon replies but i honestly want to hear what you think of each option for my application. i am very tempted to build it myself out of personal interest (probably should not have said that lol) but the time and money would suck for me.
sorry for the long post, i just wanted to be complete. lord knows a question like "what computer should i get?" without any context is impossible to answer. thank you all for your replies in advance
-chris
i need a new computer and i am dirt poor. i am thinking that i want a desktop because it will be cheaper for better parts and i do not think that i will really need it to be protable for any reason. i am planning on buying the keyboard/mouse seperatly and using a TV as a monitor so i will not need to take those into account. also i will find out how to use speakers that i allready have or buy them seperatly. so basically, i just want the computer.
what i have now:
what i use on a daily basis now is (don't laugh) an IBM thinkpad 600E with a whopping 366 MHz processor. i am running windows 2000 because i got this as a gift in 2000 when i graduated high school. it runs movies fairly well as long as nothing else at all is running, it is a little slow on the internet but fast enough, of course it is fine for things like word or excel or powerpoint, music plays well etc. i have upgraded to a HUGE (sarcasm) 40 gig HD and honestly, that has been enough for what i need. all that being said, i am constantly pushing the edges of this computer's limited capeability in every aspect from operating system datedness to HD space to processor speed and i need something better.
what i will use it for:
hinestly, not gaming. maybe a few games but nothing too intense and i will not be too into it. i will save most of my limited game playing for game consoles (and i know the benifits of computer gaming, i don;t need a lecture on that lol ). i will be doing the basics, document writing, internet surfing/downloading, video/audio viewing, programming, disc burning, etc. even my basic system is almost enough for this but i would like some elbow room so to speak. i would like a decent HDD, maybe 160 to 250 Gigs but i do not think that i will need much more than that. i plan to partition it about 80/20 to run lynix/newest microsoft OS respectivly.
what i know about computers:
i have a degree in ece but no job experience. so i am probably an above average but far below expert on high level software and hardware. i do know how to program in several high and low level languages and i know basic circuit theory, logic gate theory, and know how simple processors and memory run on those levels but i would be completely lost compared to most here on comparing current allready made products and their benifits from hardware to software. lots of people i know seem to think that because i have a degree in a computer related field that i know everything about them but my education did not center at all around these high level things so although i can understand what is going on, people like you on this forum are WAY ahead of me and i would be humbled to recieve your advice.
so my options would seem to be:
buy from a large prebuilt computer company (dell, HP, sony, gateway, etc. please don't flame yet lol)
buy used off of ebay, craigslist, here, etc.
buy from a smaller,more quality assembler like cyberpowerpc
build one myself.
i am not a all intimidated by building a PC myself and i am confident that i could do it. i have done some research about it and it does not seem to be that hard at all. i know this is going to be what you all suggest way before i posted this but please try to give advice in the other sectors as well.
i would like to buy a prebuilt if i could, plain and simple. building myself would be rewarding, educational, and maybe a little cheaper or more high quality but there are drawbacks that i do not want to deal with.
*i would rather not spend the time.
*i would like a complete plug and play insured unit.
*i want to get the software that seems to be forgotten when discussing the price (yea, i got the parts and put it together myself for $100 cheaper but i want the software that comes with some of the big companies computers for "free" (they build it into their costs and get discounts for buying in bulk) that will cost me way more than $100 and then i will be stuck in the same situation as when i got this computer (got it with win 2k right as xp was coming out to make it obselete, now i need xp just to be currnet and they are about to come out with vista, i do not want to have to apy for that on top of xp)
now from what i have read, i do not really want a big brand computer because although they might have tech support (i do not think i will need) and they have good quality chips etc. some of their parts (motherboards, power supplies, etc.) that they do not mention are crap and they come with added anoying software (i am not concerned about this because i am sure that i could take it off). but i like that it is ready to go, i like the insureance, and i like having the software leagaly and for cheap in comparison (and a lot of it is upgradeable to vista). also i would like to be able to have the option of upgrading the components in the future if i want which would be a lot harder or impossible with a lot of name brand companies.
ebay, craigslist, forums, etc, not really sure what you will get but not a bad option. as long as it has the software that i want (then again, i will have to pay far out the ass for vista)
a BIG draw of, say dell (flame suit on) for me is that they have payment plans. $30 a month i can afford, no problem at all. $700 lump sum, well that will not be happening for a LONG time ( i could maybe save up for 8 months or so but i do not want to spend all of my extra $ for the next 8 months saving). i could use a credit card but i would rather not. also, i think that their equipment would be more than up to my needs.
lastly and currently the best option in my mind would be a place like cyberpowerpc.com. i will get better quality than big companies and i will not pay that much more. i can get upgradeable software included and although this is most likely the most expensive option and price is one of the biggest issues for me i am leaning in this direction.
so, what do you all think? i know i will probably just get a bunch of "build it yourself" and "dell sucks" bandwagon replies but i honestly want to hear what you think of each option for my application. i am very tempted to build it myself out of personal interest (probably should not have said that lol) but the time and money would suck for me.
sorry for the long post, i just wanted to be complete. lord knows a question like "what computer should i get?" without any context is impossible to answer. thank you all for your replies in advance
-chris
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just poking fun, thanks for the advice. yea, as i siad, building would be an option but i would like a preassembeled unit if i could. as i said, the option of building does not intimidate me in the least, i am just busy/lazy.
