what type of computer do I need for my family?

Question

I'm looking for a new family computer and would like to get something decent but cheap if possible. The main things the computer will be used for is emailing, surfing the net, kids like to watch videos from the net, listening to music, play the sims, paintshop pro and uploading pics from our camera. I see the emachines are pretty cheap but read lots of negative reviews on here for them. Any help is really appreciated...

Answer 1

From the sounds of your family needs, you arent gonna be very happy with an e machine or any other off the shelf PC. You might consider spending the extra bucks buying a made to order system. You probablty need at least 1 gig of ram and a good hi end video card with at least 512 megs of vidram on the card. You might want a card with pixel shading hardware. This will keep you happy for a couple years. One thing I might add is DONT buy a Dell! DONT buy a Mac either! You wont be able to run a lot of software you might be interested in!

Answer 2

Emachines can be a pain, but so can ALL pcs. I have had two emachines, The most important things are can you return it? At walmart, the answer is yes. Ask them for the details on how long, for what reason.

As much as a pain as it is, keep the box and the receipt TAPED TO IT if you do need to return.

Also, get the best pc at walmart you can comfortably afford. All of them nowadays have room to upgrade, so you can buy GOOD memory at Sams Club for less than 100 if you start to fill it up. Know what I mean?

My son has Sims and Battle for Middle Earth and Risk all on our emachine. We got it about 3 months ago, it's GREAT.

Be sure you have highspeed, that is the big thing. NO DIAL UP. Dial up is archaic and will make you crazy with the slow speed.

I have had several emachines and they are fine.

Answer 3

You may hear lots of things, many of them based on single minded experience, which is good to a point.... but,

The best thing to do when you buy something is to go to one place for all of it right ?

INTEL all the way.

Motherboard should be INTEL chipsets, you can be shown this in any pc. pentium 4 provessor upwards, pentium D if you cna afford it.

minimum 512 meg of (at least ddr1) ram. 1024 is plenty and makes things better ! xp needs 256 just to run !

i recommend a 200 gig drive.

try not to buy on board graphics, unless its like nvidia 5500+ up 7600+

Xp home (or pro) is a good operating system to have right now because it has been fully developed and avoids all the NEW problems with a newer operating system.

you can still buy Soundblaster live (sound card) in england for £10 the best ever home sound card for budgeting

dvd writers are cheap nowadays

you dont need a floppy drive at all.

without buying a monitor or xp i helped 3 people recently buy p4 dual 2600's and 2800' with pretty much this spec for about £260 - £280

You can get deals like this, you will pay about 100-140+ more for the monitor and xp dependant on the monitor quality.

Xp from pcworld is £200 (home) or £270 (pro) but if you buy all you want form one store they should sell you xp (home) for around £60

Good luck with your choices.

Answer 4

I've said this many times and I'll type it again, stay away from anything Dell. Go out and do a little homework, go into the stores and see who has what, where and on sale.
Keep notes, store a has brand x with blah blah for $xxx store b has brand y with blah blah for $XXX. You get the info on what is available at what cost and then go in informed.
Pay attention to the hard drive, the bigger the better, RAM, more makes things work a lot smoother, video, is it onboard and is it shared memory, if its on board, can you put in a pci-e card.
Lots ot consider, but you want to be informed so that you get the most for the least.

Answer 5

A Low end Dell would be a good Choice.
Make sure you have a Parental controls set on the PC that Junior cannot learn how to hack in forums like this :-)
Best to have a Flat Panel Monitor, sense it is low radiation, and easy on the eyes for kids.
Try not to skimp on the Memory. Whilst you may not want to have a large machine to start with, look at what you may want to expand to in a few years, so get a Good Solid Dell Dimension that Can be given Extra Hard Drive and Memory Capacity easily.
The Flat Panel Monitor will allow the play station/work station to be stored easily, and brought out when needed

Answer 6

Hi. The hardest thing on you list is playing the Sims. You may want a better than average graphics card. I have heard that Dell is OK for those uses. Good luck!

Answer 7

why not go for a second had xp computer one with a processor of around 2gig memory of 512Mb and a reasonable graphic card 64Mb minimum preferably 128Mb onboard memory you should be able to pick on up for around £150 - £200 give or take a few pounds

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I would recommend a Mac but the better Macs are not cheap. Dells are very good and very cheap computers.

Answer 10

You can buy a Machine with minimum configurations as Ur Requirements are........on d basis of dat u can but a machine with.....

Intel Processor 2.6 or better (64 bit tech. also future tech. higher den 32 bit tech.).....but u can aslo buy Celeron Processor......

RAM 256 MB (but shud be 512 min. as Windows Vista works only on 512 or higher)

Hard Disk 80 GB (Its depends on ur requirements)

Modem (depends on type of ur Internet Connection)

Windows XP Home Edtion (Xp Proffesional Recommended)

and all other things are Optional n depends on ur Requirements............

Cheers !!!