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.

[mii]

We have pentium 4 and it is a dell. My DH knows more about that than I do but I know we are completely happy with Dell.

 

Marilyn

[srphnx]

Yes, the specs you mention are adequate for home use, the trick these days is to get bang for buck, don't spend a bunch of $$, say $700 or less. A touch more memory might be nice, 512 is better.

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.

[Baxter]

If you have a digital camera, or plan to make dvds, you will probably want a larger hard drive (and more memory). 40 gig can fill up fast!

[Blackrobe]

srphnx is correct. I would definitely opt for 512 mb of ram or even more if you can handle the cost. It will allow your computer to run faster and smoother. I personally prefer two hard drives. The overall price is negligible when considering the flexibility an additional drive gives you. The size of the drive really depends on what you and the family do with the computer. As I previously stated, I prefer two smaller drives over one super-size drive. As far as the processor is concerned, new chips come out almost daily. At any given time one of the permutations of the Pentium 4 may be the best and the following week it might be an AMD chip.

 

Hope I have helped but I have probably confused . . . .

[BJS]

Both DH and I have Dell computers and are very happy with them. Our last one was a Dell and our daughter also is very happy with hers. She'd had a Hewlett Packard privously and was not happy with that one. I think Hewlett Packard is great for printers but would go with Dell for the computer.

 

The answer for 40gb hard drive being too little for basic home use would depend also on how many people will be using the computer and what programs they might want to install. Programs that put information on the hard drive will require more space than ones that do not. Daughter could never have enough before her two teenage children got their own computers.

[cruisegoers]

Hi serenesea -

 

I own both Dell and HP, and have helped many clients configure systems with these two companies. Both companies make good computers so you won't go wrong with either. Dell occasionally sends out very nice $ off or % off coupons to their previous customers and when these are stacked on top of their currently running promotions, you can come up with some really amazing desktop and laptop deals. Be sure to ask your friends if they've got any coupon codes you can use! Right now Dell has a featured system where you can get a P4 2.66 GHz Dimension desktop with 512MB RAM / 40GB HD / CD-RW / 15-in LCD monitor for $619 (before tax and shipping and any coupons).

 

If you have a limited budget, 256MB Celeron is adequate. However, I would go with at least P4, 512MB RAM and 40GB HD if you can afford it. Echoing what others have said, 40GB can go quickly depending on how you store your data and what you're storing, but it's easy to either add external storage or burn your data onto CDs/DVDs (always a good idea to archive/backup). If you've got a tech-savvy friend, they can always help you replace your HD with a bigger one if your usage warrants it.

 

Cheers!

Jean

[Outhouse]

As to the Ram, I personally believe 512 is the minimum. As to the harddrive, it all depends on what you are going to do with it. If you intend to do anything with video, 40 isn't close to being big enough. Go with 120megs. As to brand, I am a Dell guy.

[wwinfl91]

I would suggest a bigger hard drive, you can get good deals on ones up to 200 GB. You will find especially if you want to store a lot of digital pictures that you will use up space faster than you can imagine. As for as RAM I agree with an earlier poster that 512 is probably the minimum to get and 1024 will be useful when you want to run digital picture editing software.

 

Both Dell and HP, I have at least one of both of them, have a common problem and that is they tend to undersize their power supplies. They also tend to use non standard size of power supplies so if you ever have a problem, and if you keep the system long enough this the part you are most likely to have to replace, you will be forced to go back to manufacturer for a power supply that will fit in the case and you will pay a premium price.

 

I have tended to stick with Intel (Pentium) based systems but the specs on the AMD based systems are very impressive and can save you some money. Anymore the software is written so it will run on either type of chip without any problems.

 

One other suggestion is to be sure to get a full size case if you have room for one since it will allow you add additional components later and they usually come with a bigger power supply and a better fan.

 

Have a great next cruise.

[FredS]

Go with the basics you have stated. You can always add an external drive if you find you need a bigger one for photos. Another option is do get the computer with a CD-RW drive. You could put all your photos onto CD's and store them there rather than on your hard drive. If you use CD's that are re-writable you could erase any photos you did not want off the CD and add phtotos to the CD when you had more. I sort them on the computer and copy the ones I want to keep to CDs.

[Coolmama_1]

We have always had HP computers at home but recently purchased a Dell Server for my network at work. One thing I will say about Dell is their tech support is awesome and much easier to get through to than HP.

[sultan_sfo]

Visit a community college or state college bookstore if nearby and get pricing and specs from them. They will be happy to explain to you in an unbiased way.

/Sultan