New Computer
 

I am beginning research to buy a new computer. I am a huge Dell fan, they have always been good to me.

1. Laptop (notebook whatever)
2. Fast with lots of memory.
3. HS student and old man will be operators.
4. lots of word and PPT. Lots of surfing. Music and lots of video.
5. I will need an external monitor
6. Probably an external 2nd hard drive
7. not too big.

I was looking at the Dell mini, but I've never seen one. I do know I don't want to have to worry about memory ever again.

Suggestions?

You might look at Durabook, I have been very pleased with mine.

Do what I did...let the HS student pick it. I think that they're Borg now and know other things. :eek:

Pat

Hey NDD, you should check out www.techbargains.com there are always deals on dell computers and laptops all the time. I think there are some 20% off coupons currently active if you are looking at getting one from dell.

NousDefionsDoc,

Take a walk on the "wild side" and get an Apple laptop,I promise you'll never regret it.....;):):cool:

GB TFS :munchin

I am going to say something that galls me,,

"buy apple" :mad:

MS Vista is a fiasco and should have never come to market,, Ver 8 looks to be an incremental version of Vista.

My personal opinion, You do not want Vista. My kids work for Northrop-Grumman and Accenture. They have been told no cooperate nor customers systems will use Vista. It is not stable for work use.

If you must have a new system with MS, buy one with Win XP Pro, best release they ever had.

If you purchase via Dell business or IBM-Lenovo, you can get system loaded with XP Pro.

As far as who's machine?? I pretty sure about 80% of all laptops are made by Lenovo. Just make sure it the business level not consumer level. Costs more, but that costs gets you better component quality. I also think Lenovo built Apple...

I purchased a new laptop from the Lenovo factory warehouse on eBay last Fall. It's was labeled "refurbished", but came with a 100% 1yr warranty. It's now 6 months old and screams..

I retired with 30 at IBM as a System Designer.

My 1st desk top was an IBM 1130 in 1973, 4k mem, APL/RPG, wt 1400 lbs..

My 1st laptop was an IBM 5100 in 1976, cpu = PALM, 16KB NMOS RAM , wt 28lbs, Basic/APL

I worked in Boca Raton from 1967-1997. I was part of the PC crowd from start to finish,, nuff said??

My current home brew: Intel 840D @ 3,4GHZ, P5WD2, 2GB PC6400, XP Pro.

And my new ThinkPad T61, 6465-9UU, T8300, 2.4GHz, 3gb ram, XP Pro, travel wt 6lbs


As far as options???

- Hard drive,, they are currently selling 100-500 GB drives,, I have a 100 GB on my laptop, with ALL my digital pictures, 35,000,, I only use about 30GB, this use to be a problem, but now they sell to much, remember,, big anything means shorter battery time and life.

- CPU,, all business systems will have a moderately fast CPU, again faster means battery usage.

- Memory,, 1GB is fine, 2GB and you will never run out,, 3GB+++ ?????

- Display,, I like the 15.4 inch 9-13 ratio for FOG eyes, But you may want smaller for portability, again smaller less battery,, but you may need to squint. Small display also means smaller keyboard..

- DVD-CD player,, don't let them talk you into so LaLaPolussa multi-media machine with all the bells and whistles. If you want a home theater,, buy one and install it in the basement...

If you had to read any of this twice,, by Apple... :mad:

It's not worth the effort to become a geek,, unless your are in the business.

You deserve a tool that provides stability and good warranty.

A PC is a tool,, NOT a career..

Good Luck,,

My $00.0002

Agree with GB
 

I have had 5 MACs no failures, no viruses, plenty of speed and memory. Grossely smple to use. And I looking to buy a new one. Blitzzz

Balancing cost and requirements can take a little bit of doing.

Is the boy going to play games on it?
Do you want a docking solution or just an external monitor?
3GB of memory is plenty, regardless of your OS, 4 is better.
Dual core intel or athelon 64 processor is what you should look for, bigger the number the better.

Dell mini will not give you the options you need, better to go with a Latitude unless you're gaming. If gaming is a requirement then you'll need to go with an XPS model. More money but you get more options that pertain to high school use. Dell does give you the option to get XP installed on your system.


Get your external monitor and HD from Sams, Compusa, tiger direct or one of those types of stores. You'll save a lot of money that way.

Dell has the best warranty on the planet, IMHO. get at least 3 years of standard warranty.

Plan on spending anywhere from $800 to $1500 for the laptop, depending on your options.

If you do go with Dell, consider leasing it. You'd be suprised what you can get for $20 to $30 a month on a lease.

Agree with PSM.


RF 1

I totally agree with JJ in regards to Vista being a horrible Operating System. I purchased a brand laptop for the wife and it had Vista pre-installed on in. I got the "Blue Screen of Death" within the first 48 hours, and I didnt even hoop it up to the internet.

I would definately recommend a Mac. Something with at least 1GB of RAM and 100GB of Hard Drive space. Just buy a seperate hard drive for things you want to download and you should never run out of space on your laptop.

I mostly read what is posted on this board without reply or comment because I try to stay in my lane and soak up the knowledge. However, in this case I feel that I can make a legitimate and intellectual contribution. I have owned several laptops, both Apple and the other guys, and by far the benefit of having an Apple outweighs that of the others. Construction and durability are outstanding. I had a MacBook on my last stretch in country and it stood up to the abuse of moving, quite frequently I might add, from COP to COP. The MacBook and MacBook Pro laptops have a very tight and solid feel. They do not torsion like the mostly plastic laptops from Gateway or Dell ( I have owned both types) due to the fact that they have a mostly metallic casing, especially with the new generations. The specifics such as memory and hard drive can be configured much like that of any of the other brands, however I do feel that when I am actually using the laptop you can do more. By that I mean that I have had as many as ten windows open at one time and successfully working between them without lag or loss in productivity. I have never been able to do this on a straight PC laptop. Which brings me to my next point, the ability to have Windows running on the Apple laptop. This is beneficial because some of us that prefer the Mac still have to use software that is not written for both platforms, such as Pure Edge ( this is pretty much the only program that I use in Windows). Other software companies are catching up as far as writing programs for the Mac platform. Microsoft even has an Office package for the Mac.

I know it might sound like it, but I am not a Mac zealot. To me my laptop is the same as my Dewalt 18v drill, a tool. Having had the opportunity to own and use both I felt that I could provide some perspective on the subject.

-Resuming PT

Does Size Matter?
 

Not sure if this would suit your needs, but you might want to check into a nettop computer. I purchased an Acer One 'nettop' computer last September and must say it is one of the best purchases I have made in a long time.

It is extremely portable (the screen is 8 inches) and is the size of a large hard cover novel (it fits in the thigh pocket of a pair of the old BDU's, but you cannot button them up).

It does not have an uber processor so playing the latest games or graphic intense programs is not possible; however for Internet, word processing, playing movies and presentations it is an awesome little computer. There are a number of operating systems that it can be run on (not Vista) including Windows XP - which I use. It has an amazing battery life of four hours. Mine has a 120G HD and 1G ram, but the newer one has a 160G HD.

I will admit though that if you have extremely large fingers, it may not be for you. The keyboard is little and when I use it for a prolonged period of time I use a Bluetooth mouse due to the size of the touchpad. Also, it does not have an opical drive so installing programs can be tricky. Still for the price ($350CDN) I cannot complain.

As mentioned I think this computer is great and because of its size, I take it about everywhere I go. With a USB GPS plugin I have used it in the car and will be taking it on my next backpacking trek.

You mentioned the Dell mini which is Dell's verion of the Acer One. These computers have been increasing in popularity due to the $100.00 laptop computer program for African children. What is great about the Dell computer is that it has a flash HD. This makes it more rugid since there are no moving parts. The down size is that the HD is limited to 16G (last time I checked). Flash drives have been predicted to be the future of HD's, but you may find it too limiting in size.

One last thing the Acer one comes in a variety of colours including: brown, blue. white and pink for those of us in touch with our femine side . . .

First off, I agree with QP - JJ_BPK. If your not into wanting to dive into the world of computers I would go either Apple or if you want to stay with microsoft go Dell



I have spent a long time working with and building computers and I highly suggest taking a look at www.tomshardware.com . There is a plethora of information on that website regarding building and buying parts for a custom computer. There are articles regarding which desktops to buy for the best price/performance.

The individual parts are listed below if you know someone who can build a computer or if your are willing to build one yourself. If building a custom computer is not something you want to dive into, I would recommend going to www.slickdeals.net where they have all kinds of posts about good deals through Dell, HP, MAC, etc.


If you decide to build a custom computer id suggest buying the listed parts from www.newegg.com I have done business with them for years and have been extremely happy with their fast and reliable service.

I would also inform you to go XP and not VISTA. Keep in mind, If you have more than 3GB of ram, you will have to go with VISTA. xp will only recognize up to approximatly 3.5 GB.


Let me know if you have any questions,

Syrus

P.S. - Here is a listing for Dell

Dell Outlet has a new 20% off coupon 71VCK2RMH1MPL7 valid on all Dell Studio desktop PCs $299 or more (excluding Studio XPS). Thanks arty62fd and rxy111psu

Note, configurations change during the day without notice, and may be available for slightly better or slightly worse prices, and inventory is replenished regularly

Sample configurations:

Studio Desktop Mini Tower $569 - 20% off coupon = $455 with free shipping

* Intel Core 2 Quad processor Q8200 (4MB L2, 2.33GHz, 1333FSB)
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium 64-bit Edition
* 6 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (4 DIMMs)
* 750 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM)
* 256MB ATI Radeon HD 3450 supporting HDMI
* 56Kbps Data/Fax Modem
* 16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
* Microsoft Works 9.0
* USB Optical two button mouse
* USB Multimedia Keyboard

Studio Desktop Slim Tower $419 - 20% off coupon = $335

* Intel Core 2 Duo processor E7200 (3MB L2, 2.53GHz, 1066FSB)
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
* 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
* 500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
* V.90/56K PCI DataFax Modem
* 16X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
* USB Multimedia Keyboard
* USB Premium Optical 5-Button Mouse
* Software Upgrade
* Microsoft Works 9.0

Studio Hybrid Desktop $389 - 20% off coupon = $311

* Intel Core 2 Duo T8100 (2.1GHz/800Mhz FSB/3MB cache)
* Genuine Windows Vista Home Basic
* 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz (2 DIMMs)
* 160 GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
* Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive)
* USB Multimedia Keyboard
* 65W AC Adapter
* Optical 2-Button Mouse
* Microsoft Works 9.0





FOR CUSTOM SYSTEM


$1,250 Mid-Range System ComponentsComponent

CPU
Intel Core i7 920 $300

CPU Cooler
Bundled retail CPU cooler

Motherboard
GIGABYTE GA-EX58-DS4 $245

RAM
Crucial PC3-8500 CT3KIT12864BA1067 triple-channel memory kit $79

Graphics
Sapphire Radeon 4850 X2 2 GB $330

Hard Drives
Western Digital Caviar black 640GD 32 MB cache $85

Case
Cooler Master Centurion 534 $50

Power
Corsair 650TX $100

Optical
LG 20X DVD±R DVD Burner SATA Model GH20NS15 $23

Total Price

$1,212


Here is a cheaper system setup they had listed.


CPU
Intel Core 2 Duo E7300 2.66 GHz $120

CPU Cooler
Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro $27

Motherboard
Gigabyte GA-EP45-DS3L $105

RAM
Patriot Viper 4 GB (2 x 2 GB) DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) $53

Graphics
Sapphire 100245L Radeon HD 4850 512 MB $150

Hard Drives
Seagate Barracuda 7200.11 ST3500320AS 500 GB 7200 RPM 32 MB $65

Case
Antec Three Hundred $50

Power
Antec NeoPower 430 430 W ATX12V $40

Optical
LITE-ON 20X DVD±R SATA Model iHAS120-04 $22

Total Price: $632


MY CURRENT CONFIGURATION

Intel Q6600 2.4GHZ OC'd to 3.2ghz - Processor

Gigabyte GA-X48 DS4 - Motherboard

4GB of Corsair XMS2 4-4-4-12 - Memory

ATI 4870 - Video Card

750 GB Internal Raid with 1.5 TB of external backup

OCZ 1000W Power Supply


You can put that together for a little below $1,000

NDD--

As a hobby, I study laptops. (Whoa, I am a geek.:p)

Some resources that may help with your research include:

Laptop magazine's on line reviews <<here>>.

A good resource for more in-depth research is Tom's Hardware. I find this resource helpful in establishing the time table for Intel's release of microprocessors. This information has allowed me to save a few bucks by not buying a laptop with a cutting edge chip.

Lenovo bought IBM's laptop division a few years back but they've continued to publish the specifications of the ThinkPad line here. This document is updated each month and provides a 'look ahead' at the models that will come to market within a few months.

I agree that one should avoid Vista if possible. If you buy a computer from a vendor's website, you can get a downgrade to XP Professional for a slight fee. (The fact that Microsoft has pushed back several times the cut off date for selling XP Pro suggests that Microsoft understands that Vista is the 21st century version of Windows ME.)

Costco's website has portals to Dell and HP "stores." The latter allows one to custom configure a machine. While no longer open-ended, Costco still has a very generous return policy on computers (90 days). One can also get good deals on software from Costco.

Depending upon when a vendor's fiscal year ends, you may be able to find deep discounts. These discounts can be even greater if you are willing to purchase a unit with last season's CPU and graphics chips.

HTH.

.