Computer Help???

one other thing, do not, i repeat DO NOT, pay for BEst Buy or NFM to 'set up' the comp. What it amounts to is they run updates(which ALL the programs that like to be updated will either do automaticly, to prompt you to the first time you turn it on) and load any software that didnt come preloaded. You get all that for the low price of about $250.
Well my wife has two cousins who are computer programmers so I'll let one of them come over and tinker with things to get it set up right. My problem is I want to make sure I have the right security on the computer to keep viruses out. I think that is part of my problem with my laptop now. It doesn't really have that great of security considering it's through the school.
Norton or McAfee both get the job done. You need a firewall and antivirus, Zonealarm is a good free firewall also. I have always had Norton for antivirus, and have never had issues. I have had Zonealarm before and it worked well. I currently run Norton for that also, mainly as the security package was the same price as the antivirus when i bought it.

For the mostpart, set up on new machines is more or less foolproof unless you have a more complicated set up. Everything is pretty easy to use anymore, put the disc in, and follow the prompts.

 
Personally, I prefer to build my own. Once you get out of the $300 throw it away in a year computer range, it is monstrously cheaper to order the parts online and assemble it yourself.

First, pick laptop or desktop.

The PS3 is independent from the comp. It connects to the internet through the modem(if you want more than 1 thing connected you need a router also) so it is a non-issue.

I HATE HATE HATE Dell. They will rape you on upgrade parts from the 'base' one they start you with. And they have some parts that are custom made to fit in their cases so you cant go outside them for aftermarket upgrades(and they charge 2x what you can get things for online)

In general I am not a big fan of most premade machines, but other than some of the screwy stuff that Dell pulls, computers are all made from the same basic parts. There are 2 CPU makers, 2 Video card makers, only 1 real sound option. The only places where there is really much difference is in the RAM and the motherboards.

If you get one with Vista, get 4 gigs of ram.

Get a firewall and anti-virus.

Any other questions, I will be happy to answer.
I'd agree with strigori on all points.

Having said that, however...

Dell has pretty good machines for folks who don't do much in the way of upgrading. They tend to be pretty reliable, they're inexpensive, and they do have pretty good (but by no means "great") support. The one area that tends to tick me off - and related to what strigori mentioned - is the use of propietary parts. In particular, they tend to use motherboards that have some funky connectors for the power supply. What this means is that if your power supply fails, you can't simply go and buy one from anybody - you either have to buy a Dell power supply or you need a special adapter for a "regular" power supply. There's absolutely no reason for that except to keep you tied to buying Dell parts. The other area that is problematic on many Dells is the case - the way it's built, you can't just slap in an off-the-self floppy disk drive (yes, some people still use them) or optical drive (CD/DVD).

That's the major issue with non-standard parts that I've encountered. Usually, the specs will show if you have the correct ports and slots to enable you to, say, upgrade your graphics - which is the most common upgrade.

If it's a laptop, I'd recommend a Leveno (sic) - what used to be an IBM. Very solid, well constructed machines. The quality seems to have remained high even after the sale from IBM to Leveno.

But I'm like strigori - I prefer to build rather than buy. I know exactly what I'm putting in there, I get precisely the configuration I want, I don't have to put up with "bloat-ware" - the list goes on. I use NewEgg.com for all the parts except memory, and I use Crucial.com for that.

If you go that route, you can get a reasonably priced motherboard, a good mid-level dual-core processor, the exact size of storage you want, the precise level of graphics, and so on.

And, again, I agree with strigori about the ram - get 4 gigs if you are using Vista. Even though the 32-bit version of Vista won't recognize the full 4 gigs, get 4 gigs.

EDIT: - fogot to mention; I'm moving this topice to the Computers sub-form.
do you want to build me one AR?
Sure - but are you going to come to pick it up?
no, that is what Fed-ex, DHL, and UPS are for

seriously though, email me a parts list/price list and i will let you know.

 
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Hey everyone, well I'm close to graduating from college and when I do I will lose my current gateway p.o.s. laptop and I can't wait. I'm looking to either get another laptop or an actual desktop and I'm looking for some suggestions. I don't need one that is geared towards gaming, or video editing, etc. I need your basic good computer that you can use for accessing the internet, word processing, printing, etc. I may use my PS3 and hook it up to the computer, but even then I have a wireless network so the computer really wouldn't come into play here. I need one with good processing speed, okay memory, and that is reliable. I don't want to have to take it in every two months for maintenance like I have this Gateway so I'm looking for some suggestions. Looking at spending between $1,000 to $1,500 so any suggestions would be great. I'm not looking to build one either because I had that done with my last desktop and it's been fried for two years now. Thanks guys and gals. :thumbs
BRI -

All posts on here are very good suggestions. I'd agree to stay away from a Mac unless you want to pay a premium for not only the computer, but also any add-ons/software, as they also tend to be very pricey.

For the price range you are looking to spend in, if you are eyeing any type of laptop, I would recommend a Toshiba. They are typically very solid in design. Also, stay away from any "in-store" tech support. They'll rip you off and most times their set-ups are done very poorly (I especially hate Best Buy - it took me almost a whole day to fix any "software" work they did on my friends PC).

 
Hey everyone, well I'm close to graduating from college and when I do I will lose my current gateway p.o.s. laptop and I can't wait. I'm looking to either get another laptop or an actual desktop and I'm looking for some suggestions. I don't need one that is geared towards gaming, or video editing, etc. I need your basic good computer that you can use for accessing the internet, word processing, printing, etc. I may use my PS3 and hook it up to the computer, but even then I have a wireless network so the computer really wouldn't come into play here. I need one with good processing speed, okay memory, and that is reliable. I don't want to have to take it in every two months for maintenance like I have this Gateway so I'm looking for some suggestions. Looking at spending between $1,000 to $1,500 so any suggestions would be great. I'm not looking to build one either because I had that done with my last desktop and it's been fried for two years now. Thanks guys and gals. :thumbs
BRI -

All posts on here are very good suggestions. I'd agree to stay away from a Mac unless you want to pay a premium for not only the computer, but also any add-ons/software, as they also tend to be very pricey.

For the price range you are looking to spend in, if you are eyeing any type of laptop, I would recommend a Toshiba. They are typically very solid in design. Also, stay away from any "in-store" tech support. They'll rip you off and most times their set-ups are done very poorly (I especially hate Best Buy - it took me almost a whole day to fix any "software" work they did on my friends PC).
Looked at one of the Toshiba laptops in the Bestbuy ad today. It had 250MB of harddrive I believe and 3GB or something else. See goes to show you I know nothing about computers!!! :lol:

 
I rated them just on value for what your getting... the first 3 are all pretty much the same it just depends on what style you prefer between those.

Best...

Toshiba laptop

hp laptop

Dell laptop

Dell desktop

hp desktop

Sony laptop

Apple desktop

...Worst

 
Of course, custom builts are above all of those at the top

also, norton and mcafee are fine, but they also cost money. you can get just as reliable of a product on the internet for no cost.

 
Personally, I prefer to build my own. Once you get out of the $300 throw it away in a year computer range, it is monstrously cheaper to order the parts online and assemble it yourself.

First, pick laptop or desktop.

The PS3 is independent from the comp. It connects to the internet through the modem(if you want more than 1 thing connected you need a router also) so it is a non-issue.

I HATE HATE HATE Dell. They will rape you on upgrade parts from the 'base' one they start you with. And they have some parts that are custom made to fit in their cases so you cant go outside them for aftermarket upgrades(and they charge 2x what you can get things for online)

In general I am not a big fan of most premade machines, but other than some of the screwy stuff that Dell pulls, computers are all made from the same basic parts. There are 2 CPU makers, 2 Video card makers, only 1 real sound option. The only places where there is really much difference is in the RAM and the motherboards.

If you get one with Vista, get 4 gigs of ram.

Get a firewall and anti-virus.

Any other questions, I will be happy to answer.
I'd agree with strigori on all points.

Having said that, however...

Dell has pretty good machines for folks who don't do much in the way of upgrading. They tend to be pretty reliable, they're inexpensive, and they do have pretty good (but by no means "great") support. The one area that tends to tick me off - and related to what strigori mentioned - is the use of propietary parts. In particular, they tend to use motherboards that have some funky connectors for the power supply. What this means is that if your power supply fails, you can't simply go and buy one from anybody - you either have to buy a Dell power supply or you need a special adapter for a "regular" power supply. There's absolutely no reason for that except to keep you tied to buying Dell parts. The other area that is problematic on many Dells is the case - the way it's built, you can't just slap in an off-the-self floppy disk drive (yes, some people still use them) or optical drive (CD/DVD).

That's the major issue with non-standard parts that I've encountered. Usually, the specs will show if you have the correct ports and slots to enable you to, say, upgrade your graphics - which is the most common upgrade.

If it's a laptop, I'd recommend a Leveno (sic) - what used to be an IBM. Very solid, well constructed machines. The quality seems to have remained high even after the sale from IBM to Leveno.

But I'm like strigori - I prefer to build rather than buy. I know exactly what I'm putting in there, I get precisely the configuration I want, I don't have to put up with "bloat-ware" - the list goes on. I use NewEgg.com for all the parts except memory, and I use Crucial.com for that.

If you go that route, you can get a reasonably priced motherboard, a good mid-level dual-core processor, the exact size of storage you want, the precise level of graphics, and so on.

And, again, I agree with strigori about the ram - get 4 gigs if you are using Vista. Even though the 32-bit version of Vista won't recognize the full 4 gigs, get 4 gigs.

EDIT: - fogot to mention; I'm moving this topice to the Computers sub-form.
do you want to build me one AR?
Sure - but are you going to come to pick it up?
no, that is what Fed-ex, DHL, and UPS are for

seriously though, email me a parts list/price list and i will let you know.
What will it be used for? Obviously, Internet/email, general productivity, but anything else? Photo editing? Video editing? Programming (particularly compiling)? Gaming - if so, serious gaming or casual? Do you want it to act as a media center? Wireless or wirded? Broadband or dial-up?

 
What will it be used for? Obviously, Internet/email, general productivity, but anything else? Photo editing? yes Video editing? no Programming (particularly compiling)HELL NO? Gaming - if so, serious gaming or casual? Do you want it to act as a media center i would like to be able to watch DVD's and write CD? Wireless or wirded? Broadband or dial-up?
also would like to have a Smart Card reader so i can access my secure military email with my smart card/ID card at home. right now i can only get that email at work

and maybe a fingerprint reader/ but not a requirement------saw that Lenovo now has facial recognition software to log on to the computer, which is pretty sweet

 
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Rob you are going to get a pretty beast computer for 1k

$400 would be more than adequate for what you need. As long as you don't get Vista, which you shouldn't anyways.

 
At the moment Vista is more of a headache than XP is. And it is looking like ME2.0. While it may be more 'future proof' it has many more annoyances than XP does.

 
I haven't had a problem what so ever with Vista yet... only had it for a couple months so far, but everything transfered fine from my old computer

 
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