Opinions on computers....

[Artegal 1]

I bought three Dell computers from their outlet pages on their website. The outlet computers come with full warranties and are a lot cheaper then the new ones. I have not had any problems with any of my systems. Two of the systems came with free 3 year warranty and one with a 1 year warranty. Its already been over 1 year and still nothing has gone wrong.

PS: I want an Apple system. jeje.

Used them both and Apples are nicer but still more expensive.

Edited April 4, 2006 by Artegal

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Have you considered e-Machines (this is a common brand sold at Circuit City, Best Buy, etc)?

[Hilarious Clinton 452]

from Consumer Reports...

CR Quick Recommendations

On average, our readers got better overall satisfaction from manufacturer Web sites and Internet/catalog retailers than they did at walk-in stores. The Ratings list computer dealers in four categories based on overall customer satisfaction with their new desktop and laptop purchases. Quick Picks highlights vendors you may want to consider for additional factors.

If you want to customize:

1 Apple.com

2 IBM.com

Apple was tops for satisfaction, though note that it does not allow returns of custom or refurbished computers.

For the best prices for off-the-shelf models:

8 Amazon.com

9 PC Connection.com/Mac Connection.com

10 Costco.com

12 PCMall.com/MacMall.com

13 TigerDirect.com

17 Costco

All offer a wide selection except Costco.com (10) and Costco (17), which had average to below-average selection. But both of them have a six-month return policy for computers, far more liberal than the rest.

For very good selection and sales help at a walk-in store:

16 Micro Center

This retailer allows you to customize; you can also order online and pick up your computer in the store. But it has only 19 outlets in 13 states.

[TracyTN 237]

I know everyone slags off Dell's, but I've had two and never an issue. The only thing I can gripe about at all is the on board graphics controller crashes now and then, meaning I have to go online and get updated drivers (would be nice if it checked for updates on its own, but oh well). Chas is going to put in a graphics card for me while he is here to avoid that.

If you want out of the box, little to no customizing by you, then its the way to go, IMHO. I know we will be building my next system though, but my fiance is a hardware genius - as opposed to me - I just bought what I bought to get online and going.

[rejane 1]

I love my HP... Laptop and home computer... Been an HP fan for years now...

[sukie175 0]

Dell - Dell - Dell!

Part of my old job in the UK was IT support for 100+ PC's. All the desktops were Dell and a major problem never happened in 5 years - I never once had to call Dell out.

We also had 30 laptops and they were Toshiba, Dell, Sony and Compaq. Toshiba were terrible, PC's constantly back with them! Sony were pretty good but had a tendency to have screen probs. Compaq were ok but we still had a few probs. Dell were good and we only ever had one problem we had to call them out to fix.

Hubby and I have also had Dell PC's at home in the UK & USA for the past 8 years, neither of us have ever needed any technical support - I think that says it all!

I am now giving PC support to the whole town where we live and only recommend Dell.

[gimygirl 0]

ugh michelle!!!!!!!!! we can build you a cheaper one and ship to you for under $500.

for what you want to do with the computer, it's not worth wasting the money on a pre-fab.

good luck on your decision!

[ChristinaM 0]

"Friday afternoon" model -

One which appears to have been built at 4:55pm on a Friday when the only thing on the fabricators mind was getting the hell out of there and going home for the weekend!

(ie. shoddy workmanship, defective parts, generally crappy quality )

[StarProg 0]

Okay I'll put in my 2 cents worth while I'm waiting around before I go to the airport. Personally I'd never consider anything that used Windows. It just has too many programming holes and vulnerabilities. I have both Mac and Windows clients for my computer support business, and my Windows customers call me every six months complaining about popups, slow response, my printer stopped printing, and a host of other troubles. I hardly hear from my Mac customers.

My cousin gave me his HP laptop to repair recently, and after I fixed it, he let me keep it. I used it for a day, they gave it to my son to play his online computer games. I just can't stand the awkward interface Microsoft has given their operating system. It's a very poor duplication of the Mac operating environment. I have hardly any problems with my iBook and iMac, and though proficient on both platforms, I can accomplish most any task 2 or 3 times quicker using the Mac over a PC. And as others have said, it's virtually virus free, for now.

That said, Macs aren't for everyone. For some reason I cannot fathom, some people prefer the over-complicated procedure necessary to accomplish most any task using Windows. And I do know several Windows users that never seem to have problems with viruses or slow systems. Though truthfully they are all computer geek types who know how to fix any problems that come up.

As for price, I can't recommend the $500 Windows machines. They run well when new, but tend to develop problems over the months, and forget about adding on to them. Too many incompatibilies. Once you get up to $600 or more, you can get a better Mac for the same price. The Mac mini even is a decent machine. And in the long run, a slightly higher price for a Mac pays off in return with better productivity.

Sorry, I seem to have said more than I had planned. As you can see I'm a passionate Mac user. For anyone comtemplating buying a new machine, I would say that, unless you have some particular reason to need a Microsoft machine, better to go with Apple.

[yogib37 3]

Dell customer service now sucks!! it used to be the best now it sucks.

yeah cause it is outsourced. and they dont know how to troubleshoot

The ones I'm looking at are Pentium 4s but I don't think you can really get much less nowdays! What are 'Friday afternoon' computers? sorry to be ignorant!

Well, this is giving me some things to think about. I was leaning toward Dell, I admit, but I don't know now...seemed like a good deal, but not if it's gonna break down every 10minutes and no help when it does! Hmmm...my main concern is that I have done all of my learning on PC and not Macs(that's what we have at school as well) and that I'll be totally lost. Will have to do some more investigating! Thanks! M.

You should consider AMD atholon 64 bit processors. They are much better then Intels and with differnt benchmarks are always prove to be faster then the intel P4. Get a Dual core AMD 64 bit. It will be really nice.

[Jasman0717 9]

We use Gateway at work and them seem to do as good as any. We have switched vendors several times and Gateway seems to be the most reliable. We have over 4500 work stations and a couple of thousand laptops and all seem to do well.

[almaty 19]

we use dell at work..and i and a bunch of dumbazz computer illerate chopf##ks i work with..give it fits..it keeps on working,..no problem./...i use a sony at home.. (sanita idea)

[MichelleandCraig 1]

Oh boy. I thank everyone for their input...but now I'm more confused than ever!!! Ah, we'll make a decision in the long run..gonna be a week or two yet anyway, so still time to think on it! M.

[Fandango 1,440]

Hah, I wish I could help, Mich...but I was drawn to my lappie cos it had a metallic red cover....hahahah. Spec & all that? That's David's dept, lol.

[Anyta Holland 1]

Me and hubby just got a MacBook Pro and although we have both been PC users for all our lives we LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE our new Mac...

We are still trying to get 'round it, and understand its simplicity.... PC's are SOOOOOOOOO complicated compared to a MAC, it is just amazing, how difficult we have made our lives in the past years....

I would definately recommend the Mac....