Off topic - computer shopping help

[serene sea]

Sorry for asking this but I see cc members help out on purchasing digital cameras so I thought one can give their opinions about computers.

 

Is pentium 4 the way to go over celeron or AMD?

Is 256 memory and 40gb hard drive too little for basic home use?

Who do you prefer Dell or Hewlett Packard?

 

Thanks so much for any help.

[nosnobunny]

We have one of each. DH has a PC and it's 6 month old Celeron. Mine is a laptop P4 and is about the same age. It all depends on what you want to use it for. But for basic home use, the Celeron should be fine. If they were close in price, I'd always go for the more powerful.

 

Beth

[cmason]

what chip you choose depends on what you want to do. Celeron is ok if its just email or word processing, but if you want to do digital photos, go with either Pentium or AMD Athlon. After that, if you don't know the differences, it doesnt matter anyway. AMD is typically cheaper than Pentium, but that can depend on the components in the machine.

 

256 and 40 gb is fine. Plus, these are easy to upgrade later.

 

Dell or HP? I would select Dell. You get better service, and you buy direct. HP is typically via a local store, who likely don't know much about PCs. HP is going to want to involve them. If you want to touch and see the PC first, check out Dell's kiosks in a mall near you.

[RM]

Call the Dell Dude! I love my Dell. After having many of the other companies I'm sold on Dell. Bought DH one for his office a few months ago and its a dream just like my home one.

[girlzillla]

The Pentium is faster and better for watching videos (of cruising), looking at your cruise pictures and playing games. I have a 40 gig HD and it's not even close to being half full and I've had the computer over 2 years. 256k memory should be fine, but can be upgraded easily.

 

Go with the Dell. I love mine. They are running no shipping cost specials and free flat screen monitor specials too right now and if you are looking for a price bargin try the Dell outlet the one that is on the Dell.com website, there are some pretty good prices on there.

[mimiandpapa]

oh heavens--I think you're askin the wrong place =perhaps---

[brn2crz]

Hp has a pretty good deal on their Pent 4 right now...don't know the exact specifics..

I will never buy a celeron again...bogs down too easily..

[rowala]

Given how much computer prices have dropped, I would go for the Pentium 4 over the Celeron, especially if you plan on doing any video editing or gaming. I would go for 512mb of RAM. Although it might be overkill, the price to upgrade is relatively modest (alternatively, you could go for 256 and add additional RAM if necessary from a vendor like Crucial). As to hard drive size, it depends what you plan on doing. Again, the upgrade to an 80gb is pretty cheap.

 

I would definitely go for Dell (I've owned about 12 over the years starting with a 386 in 1988). Although service has declined some with outsourcing of service overseas, it is still better than HP. You might watch dealcatcher.com or slickdeals.net for promotions that are run frequently. Also, if you sign up at Dell's site for e-mail promotions, they often send out coupons good for between 10% and 20% off. I would recommend getting the 3 years of onsite service, especially if you are a novice.

[iroyster]

Sorry for asking this but I see cc members help out on purchasing digital cameras so I thought one can give their opinions about computers.

 

Is pentium 4 the way to go over celeron or AMD?

Is 256 memory and 40gb hard drive too little for basic home use?

Who do you prefer Dell or Hewlett Packard?

 

Thanks so much for any help.

 

-+Either Pentium or AMD is fine. AMD will be a little cheaper. If you have children, plan to play games or do alot of number crunching then don't do celeron. Buy the most memory you can afford but no less than 256. 40 gig hard drive is fine---but if you have children buy the 60/70 Gig, kids load up hard drives with software.

I buy mostly Dell for my business but only because of ease. I have no problem with HP but do know Dell support is pretty good.

NEXT MOST IMPORTANT ITEM: BUY A VIRUS PROTECTION PROGRAM BEFORE YOU EVEN TURN YOUR COMPUTER ON!

I would suggest you buy also depending on your budget: 1) surge suppressor 2) battery back up 3) cd-rw drive (copies stuff to a cd)

Hope this helps if not post your e-mail and I will e-mail you back with any help you need.

Ira

[cruisinfanatic]

I've always purchased the cheapest computer I could find. Have never had a pentium and have never had a problem with my digital editing, viewing ect. with my celeron. There is very little difference between a pentium and celeron of the same size anyway. Just the price. The HP computer I'm using now is over 2 years old now, purchased at HP's online store. Refurbished, it cost less than $400. Never given me any problem at all. I say go cheap because any computer is outdated the second you get it home. One example of cheap is you can get an Emachine with 17 in monitor and printer for $400 after rebates (on sale this week at Circuit City) and it's are far and above what you could get even a year ago from any manufacturer.

[Dockside Doc]

Iroyster gave good advice, heed that.

 

You're probably good with either Dell or HP. I prefer Dell because I like to acquire and tinker with old PCs and the Dell site is more helpful with documentation than HP is (I'm right now working on one of each). If you have a problem, I think you'd find the Dell site easier to gain information from.

 

My new computer (the one I actually use) is a Dell 4600, 256 RAM, 40Gb HD, Pentium 4, and I like it quite a bit.

 

Good luck!

 

Doc