Choosing a new computer?

Question

I am looking to get a new computer. I have a good amount of money to spend, but not to much. And i am wondering what kinda of computer i should get(dell, emachines, ect.). I have alot of music and videos so i want one that will be able to run smoothly. Any suggestions?

Answer 1

Best bet is to read reviews, then read more reviews. I even prefer to read the negative comments people make so that I can watch out for potential disappointment later on after purchasing. If after you look at all the makes and decide which components are right for you, start shopping. Look online at big retailers with strong positive ratings. I prefer newegg for all my computer needs. They are fast, inexpensive, and the user reviews go a long way in helping me decide what purchase I should make. Of course, there is Amazon, Dell, Frys, etc. Even look at them at a local shop, but you will save money by shopping online, and not be pressured by salesmen who would like to sell you things to waste your money (extended warrantees come to mind). Personally, if you are looking at desktops, Gateway has a good line-up at good prices. Laptops...Toshiba, Gateway, and if you have a little more to spend, Asus, offer well made machines. Just remember to read those reviews, and good luck!

Answer 2

Dell is always a decent choice, though they wouldn't be my first choice for a windows pc. Personally I've had pretty good experiences with emachines in the past before they were Gateway, so now they should be even better. It all depends on what your doing. If you're doing basic stuff like just watching video an emachines should be fine, just make sure you get one that can run the good versions of Vista. If you're gonna get into creating video and stuff you'll probrably fine also, but ideally you'd wanna be on the Mac side for that or running something with an Intel Core 2 chip (all the emachines run AMD chips). You should also look into buying an Apple with an Intel Chip. You can pick up refurbished Mac Mini's for about the price of an emachines, and you can run windows on it as well. I think for your needs an emachines would work fine for you or even a mac mini.

Answer 3

Go visit your local independent computer store!
As an independent store supporting your local community they will be more than happy to listen to your needs and concerns, explain what is on or inside your computer, what all the abbreavations mean and how it all works together. Your independent store will sell you what you want, ensure it is all configured, updated and running properly before you take it home and give you a test drive. Upon arriving at home all you need to do is hook-up the mouse, keyboard, monitor, printer/fax/scanner and you Internet and your in business, if you purchase on-line or off the store shelves allow one day for registering software, uninstalling garbage software, setting up your anti-virus program and getting all your device driver and service pack / security updates. Best of all if you need service or support they are right there in your community not a (800) telephone call away and they even speak your language. Your local independent store should be less expensive then the on-line or bog box retailers. My local independent store you can purchase a Intel or AMD dual core processor, 120 gb harddrive, 1gb ram, dvd rw, Windows XP, floppy drive or multi card reader for $649. $749 with Vista, you get the actual operating system cd, not a system restore cd or a partitioned hard drive with system restore. Even better they should offer free warranty of between 1 to 3 years. My local shop offers 3-years limited warranty and lifetime warranty on the motherboard at no additional charge.

Answer 4

keep away from the box movers, Dell, Compaq, HP, E-Machine and Gateway, go to a small local computer shop and have them build you one, to your speck, that way you will get a better service, and you can always take it back your self should anything go wrong with it, if you have to send it back to the manufactures it can take weeks to get it back,,

and the true saying is, "you only get what you pay for"...

Answer 5

Macs are the best value, and the best bet. I have an imac and i love it. at www.store.apple.com, its like dell. you can customize your computer to meet your needs and your budget. they're also extremely reliable. Macs are meant for people who love that kind of stuff. but don't plan to play any games on it.

Answer 6

I'd recommend a visit to Dell.com. You can specify exactly what you want, and it will give you a price for those specifications. you can go back and change them, too. When you're happy with it, then you can purchase it for that price.

Answer 7

At the risk of annoying everyone... get a mac. they are designed for precisely what your wanting. and now they can support windows too. you won't be dissapointed if you get one of those.