Buying A Computer

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  • #597809

    okay

    i need some help

    i need a nice desktop computer between $550-1000

    i built my last one but i cant do it again

    i really just need to know two things:

    where to buy

    what brands

    one friend suggested a levono computer, maybe from newegg

    im not interested in a mac

    thanks in advance

    #784585
    Ahuva 1
    Participant

    Get any nice HP computer!!!!

    They’re affordable and efficient!!

    #784586

    Moderator-80-

    Before anyone can give advice about what to buy, they need to know what your requirements are.

    1) What will you be using the PC for? Web browsing and word processing, spreadsheet number-crunching, video editing, photo editing, DVD watching, game playing, etc.

    2) Will you also be looking for a new monitor? If so, is that part of your price range?

    4) How important is tech support to you? Would you use it often? Would you pay for a higher level of support and/or an extended time period where you could get support?

    6) Why specifically a desktop PC? Are you sure you want a desktop and not a larger laptop?

    #784587

    web browsing photoshop mainly

    i have a monitor which is fine.

    dont want tech support

    i have all the security and other programs i need

    i want a desktop

    i dont need help in choosing computer specs, just where to shop for it, and maybe particular brands that are good

    thanks

    #784588

    sorry im so brusque

    in a rush just now

    #784589
    MiddlePath
    Participant

    check out the Dell outlet.

    #784590
    deiyezooger
    Member

    “one friend suggested a levono computer”

    I have a levono laptop, it was $499. I also paid $100 for the computer programer who I baught it from to set it up for me since I didnt knew at the time ANYTHING about comuters. I believe he baught it on Amazon.

    #784591

    Moderator-80-

    No problem.

    Plus it’s always nice to see new words, and I think this is the first time I’ve seen “brusque” on this forum ?

    Dell and Lenovo both have very good names as far as reliability.

    Newegg is a company I’ve been buying from for several years and I’m very satisfied with them (and amazon and buy).

    If you have a pretty good idea about the specs and price you’re looking for, I suggest checking out Deals2buy and Techbargains for good prices, then reading specs and reviews (both professional and man-on-the-street) to see if it looks like a good machine.

    The more tech-savvy you are, the more I recommend buying based on model instead of just the brand. A little-known company can sometimes make one particular machine that offers the best bang for the buck.

    #784592
    I. M. Here
    Member

    HP from Tigerdirect.com, they have great rates.

    #784593
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    If you built your last one you probably bough parts from either tigerdirect or newegg. I would recommend either site for readymade systems as well, definitely over places like bestbuy. If you’ll allow outside links for this thread I can post some. As for lenovo, they are generally good deals — especially the thinkpad laptops — but they are a state approved/run chinese company so some people don’t want to buy from them.

    #784594
    bombmaniac
    Participant

    get something refurbished…post specs for advice

    #784595
    kapusta
    Participant

    Another vote for LeNoVo.

    *kapusta*

    #784596
    happiest
    Member

    ummm- I hear that Best Buy is very helpful with computer buying. My sis bought one from them and they were very helpful!!

    #784598

    A few pointers:

    1) you can try staples, costco ( I think they have some sort of warranty), walmart yeah “happiest” Best Buy is also a good place to go. There are also online sites, don’t know much about them

    2) Be sure to check out consumer reports to see if what you want is rated well.

    3) A warranty can come in handy, especially since many times there are problems with technology (sorry!).. some stores offer a free warranty.

    Good Luck!

    #784599

    A couple of additional comments:

    If buying from Dell or Lenovo, only buy what they have on sale. If it’s not on sale, you probably overpaid. (This applies to buying from them directly.)

    I’ve bought refurbs a couple of times and done well, but I also have heard from people who had bad refurb experiences. Usually the warranty is a lot shorter than what you’d get with new – most commonly 90 days vs. a year.

    I won’t say you should or shouldn’t buy a refurb, only that you should be aware of the pluses and minuses involved.

    I had a bad experience with a dishonest salesperson once when purchasing from Best Buy. I’ve also had unpleasant, rude, lazy and inattentive salespeople in the Bay Parkway store in Brooklyn. I know it’s not fair to hold it against the entire chain, but when I buy from them now (and I still do, occasionally), I make sure I have all my info before buying, and I don’t simply trust what the salesperson says.

    #784600

    I agree, you should collect all your facts first.. Many times they’re just looking to make a sale.

    And, you can check different sites/stores online to compare prices.

    Or, you can wait for sale-season and maybe you’ll spend less.

    #784601

    thank you everyone

    i have taken the advice into account

    im shopping around

    i just would like one more piece of advice

    are dell computers good quality, in terms of reliability, lasting a long time

    thanks again

    #784602
    mewho
    Participant

    shop around for the best price. make sure you check amazon as well

    #784603

    strike that

    i was told dont get dell the harddrives fail often

    new question

    i3 vs i5 processor

    someone told my wife i5 is much better, dont get i3

    im looking at i3-3.2ghz vs i5-2.8ghz, or close to that

    #784604
    Ctrl Alt Del
    Participant

    I would disagree about the hard drives. 1st Dell I had lasted 8 years. I only replaced it since it couldn’t be upgraded anymore. My current one (bought in “04) is just fine. No problems whatsoever. I just upgrade the memory every so often. I have 2 Dell laptops. One from ’99 still truckin’ [albeit with windows98 :(] and one from ’04 still going strong. My experience with Dell has been great.

    #784605
    Ender
    Participant

    There is a great site called dealnews.com which compiles the sales from many other sites. Also stores like Staples or Office Depot have major sales this time of year, because they want to restock before back-to-school. You can check out their weekly circular online. Every week has new sales. Good luck

    #784606
    bombmaniac
    Participant

    dell doesnt manufacture their own hard drives so that claim is kind of…yeah they use the same drives that every other company uses…

    i3 was made as a high end low power processor for laptops which were then used for desktops as well because theyre cheap. if youre buying a desktop id recommend the i5 which is a solid processor.

    #784607
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    The i3 is the replacement of the old celeron processor line so they are meant to be “budget” chips, but even a budget processor is enough for most peoples’ needs these days. The most cpu intensive thing you’ll be doing is photoshop I don’t think you have to worry much. The i5 is much better but the extra performance is not necessarily worth the extra money.

    #784608
    Ender
    Participant
    #784609

    thank you

    #784610

    ive got it narrowed down to 2 machines

    as far as i can tell they are the same except for the ram and the video card

    if anyone would care to compare them and see if there are any other differences, would be appreciated.

    http://www.jr.com/lenovo/pe/LEN_77471KU/#productTabDetails

    http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108568

    big difference in price

    i dont need the video card or the additional ram but i am concerned there is some other difference im missing

    thanks

    #784611
    bombmaniac
    Participant

    only real difference is teh ram…the newegg one has more of it

    #784612

    Moderator-80

    They both look like very nice machines.

    They have the same chassis, operating system, hard drive speed and CPU.

    Here are differences I noticed:

    1) The graphics card. Probably a non-issue for you, since this would be beneficial primarily for gaming and (IIRC) some CAD apps.

    3) Hard drive. 1TB capacity vs. 1.5 TB.

    4) Optical drive. The cheaper machine actually specifies dual layer, while the more expensive one does not.

    My experiences with Newegg have been good.

    #784613
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    Both of these are more than good enough. Go with the cheaper one.

    #784614

    that does it for me

    thanks for the analysis icot and the encouragement itche

    #784615

    ive been using 3gb ram on a slower machine with no problems so although id like the extra 2 gigs, i suppose i can always upgrade later

    #784616
    Dr. Pepper
    Participant

    Moderator-80-

    Are you going to get it today?

    (I’d like to meet you there and we can look for Squeaks “wagon”.)

    #784617
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    I’m not much of a computer expert, but I’ve heard that the newer machines and software need more memory, so don’t necessarily assume that you’ll have enough just because it exceeds what you have now (any of the experts can correct me if I’m wrong).

    #784618

    i hope to

    but im going to order it online

    sorry

    squeak will have to be patient

    #784619

    Moderator-80-

    Hatzlocha raba.

    They were both good choices.

    A couple of side notes:

    #784620

    got you

    thanks

    #784621

    thought about it

    changed my mind

    going with the 8 gb one.

    you guys can be very annoying

    someone now is going to post: well the better optical reader on the 6gig one is more important that the ram because of so and so.

    #784622

    Moderator-80-

    Although it wasn’t my intent, I seem to have muddied the waters a bit, and will now continue to do so…

    The “reading” portion of the DVD drives is identical, it’s the “burning” component that differs.

    I wasn’t trying to change your mind – I honestly believe they’re both nice machines – but was just pointing out that your old machine’s specs are apples-to-oranges vis a vis your new machine.

    #784623
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    well the better optical reader on the 6gig one is more important that the ram because of so and so.

    #784624
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    ICOT: 6GB of RAM is enough to run Windows 7 (not that I’d recommend running windows in general) with the applications Mod-80 mentioned. Also, unless you have a very large collection of illegally downloaded movies, it’ll be quite a while before you need more than a terabyte of storage.

    #784625

    fine

    i just put the 8gig machine into my cart at newegg

    no problem

    back to the cheaper one again

    #784626

    anyone know how to do the gorel ha Gra

    #784627
    Health
    Participant

    Thanks for all the suggestions above. I’m also considering a new computer, but want something as cheap as possible.

    #784628

    ItcheSrulik

    Health

    Do you want a desktop? Laptop? Netbook?

    If you will only be web-surfing, checking emails and word processing, a sub-$300 netbook may be good enough.

    #784629
    ☕ DaasYochid ☕
    Participant

    anyone know how to do the gorel ha Gra

    I did it for you; it came up Bamidbar, 29, 29.

    ?

    #784630
    Health
    Participant

    ICOT – Desktop -as cheap as possible.

    #784631

    Health-

    1) What will you be using the PC for? Web browsing and word processing, spreadsheet number-crunching, video editing, photo editing, DVD watching, game playing, etc.

    2) Will you also be looking for a new monitor, too? If so, is that part of your price range? What size monitor?

    3) How important is tech support to you? Would you use it often? Would you pay for a higher level of support and/or an extended time period where you could get support?

    5) Why specifically a desktop PC? Are you sure you want a desktop and not a larger laptop?

    #784632

    Word of advice about the computer sales at Staples (which is generally a rather nice store). A friend went to buy a laptop. Turned out that the base price they advertised did not even include an OS. Bottom line, by the time he would have added on even the bare minimum necessities, he would have ended up spending way more then he’d budgeted for. He walked out.

    #784633
    bombmaniac
    Participant

    why teh heck would you want to buy a computer at an office supply store?! its bound to be overpriced.

    #784634
    ItcheSrulik
    Member

    Woman outside brooklyn: Your friend could have installed linux and gotten everything she needed for free. It would also have been better quality.

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