PC Purchase Advice

[yandig]

Hi everyone,

I am looking for some purchase advice on a new desktop PC. I want to keep the total budget in the $600 range. I found this one on newegg.com that looks pretty good for the money.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113059

My old machine (2001) runs Win 98, and I use XP at work. I'm a little nervous about going to Vista, because my wife is not a techy person at all, and I'm concerned with how user-friendly it is. You can still find XP-loaded machines, but it sounds like they will be going away soon. I also want to make sure that the new PC doesn't become obsolete in 2 years...

From the reviews on this machine, it sounds like I might have to add a better video card for any decent gaming.
Any comments or advice are surely appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[Barrucadu]

At first glance, that looks like a pretty good machine. It depends on what you plan on using it for, but I would happily use that for years - certainly more than two. In fact, I don't think any of the computers in my house are newer than four or five years old.

 

[yandig]

Also, here's one from dell.com for $589 that includes the monitor (with upgraded video card):

My Components
Intel®Pentium® dual-core processor E2180 (1MB L2 Cache,2.00GHz,80
Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
19 inch S199WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor with TrueLife*
1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
16X DVD+/-RW Drive
Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
Dell USB Keyboard and Dell Optical USB Mouse
No Floppy Drive Included
No Modem Option
My Software & Accessories
No speakers (Speakers are required to hear audio from your system)
No Subscription (only 30-day protection)
Microsoft Works 9.0
My Service
1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor, 24x7 Phone Support
Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
Also Includes
Mouse included with Keyboard purchase
Adobe® Acrobat® Reader 8.1
Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
Windows XP™
No Entertainment software pre-installed

 

[Bill]

1GB of ram is kinda cutting it a bit close. RAM is so cheap now, I would at least go for 2GBs. I don't see the upgraded video card in your post, what is it?

-Bill

 

[yandig]

1GB of ram is kinda cutting it a bit close. RAM is so cheap now, I would at least go for 2GBs. I don't see the upgraded video card in your post, what is it?

-Bill

This one was an additional $60 (included in the price above):
ATI Radeon HD 2400 PRO 256MB

Also, an additional 1 GB of ram is $70. Worth it?

 

[.X.]

I wouldn't go with a Dell, My wife owns one, they have everything, so you have to order parts for them, Her power supply went out, Dell made it reverse of the way the average power supply goes in, I had to Mod her computer, so i could replace the power supply, The Gateway machine looks pretty nice.

 

[gawnd]

The gateway machine at that price blows me away. I was going to suggest an HP until I checked those specs. Reviews appear to check out as well. I think you'll have a hard time finding better value out there.

 

[liquidcherry]

so you have to order parts for them, Her power supply went out, Dell made it reverse of the way the average power supply goes in, I had to Mod her computer, so i could replace the power supply

Unfortunately that is what dell is doing, especially when you have some sort of the desktop series (there is a way around that because sometimes the fuse just blows up on that damn power supplies)

Yandig, you could go with a regular machine, these days everything comes pretty handy, just make sure:

A:you get rid of Vista and install XP...

B:Have enough memory......

And of course make sure that the Motherboard is quality.....go with ASUS, Gigabyte...never a bad choice

I know the standard PC's are not coming with that, if this is the case just check out the manufacturer of the MB, the MB is the heart... a good source to compare boards is www.tomshardware.com (helped me out a couple time to make decisions)

Cheers,

Frank

 

[yandig]

Update:
I was able to snag a PC from work for $50. It's an HP, 2.1 Ghz processor with 1 GIG of RAM, and XP installed with MS Office 2003. I plan on upgrading the video card, RAM and DVD, as well as adding a flat-screen monitor.

Thanks to everyone who posted helpful suggestions!

 

[golfbunny]

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883113059

Good job finding a good, cheap desktop.

Now for trying to find a 500 dollar monitor... :hehe:

 

[SearchGuru1]

I dont know where you are but I got one of these V7 monitors on a whim and I really like it a lot. I got it about 6 months ago and its still going strong, flat screen, widescreen LCD, i got the 22" one...

That one looks black and white. mines black and silver

http://www.staples.com/office/supplies/p1_21-LCD-Monitors_157675_Business_Supplies_10051_SEARCH