Need advice on a new computer

[RCDor]

I am ready to try and upgrade or get a new computer suffice to say mine is 4 years old and outdated.

Is the best thing for being able to download web sites quicker to have a pentium 3 or 4 with lots of memory or is switching to a DSL line the way to go?

If I go to a new setup what would be the best to get which would be most compatible to the wifes new digital camera she is hinting about for Christmas.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated as I am in the dark for the most part when it comes to computer hardware and software.

 

[dawgball]

I'm sure there will be many opinions here, but I am a Dell and Microsoft kind of guy. Dell's support is unparalelled. I really enjoy using Microsoft's products, also. An individual piece may not be as good as another company, but overall they are untouchable IMO.

Getting off of dial-up is a must if you can.

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Sic 'em
dawgball

 

[Juice]

A DSL line is definitely the way to go. You may have the fastest PC with 1 Gig of RAM, but if you are still using a 56k modem, your web browsing will not be much faster. The best thing to do is upgrade to a faster PC & switch to a DSL connection.
As far as digital camera campatibility, I would definitely go with Win XP on your new PC. This is just one of MANY benefits of this program (by far the best one Microsoft has put out yet).

 

[skulldog]

DSL all the way!! If you have a cloice in RAM, get DDR, much faster.

GL

 

[Sick Dog]

CABLE MODEM IS THE FASTEST

 

[Neemer]

Go to Tech Tv's website and check out their listings of the best desktops and notebooks. Winbook is rated #6 out of all the notebooks manf'd in U.S. Just recently got mine. It has a 1 gig processor, 256 ram, 20 gig HD, dvd, Pentium III, and Windows XP for around $1600. If you have the option of a celeron or pentium, make sure ya get the PIII processor. Celeron is quite a bit cheaper, but you'll like the PIII much better. I've got a cable modem through our local utility who has a direct T1 AT&T line to Chicago. It kicks ass!!

 

[hellah10]

cable is the chit!

 

[Senor Capper]

Fixin to switch to cable myself
100.00 for modem thangy then 35.00 a month

AOL 24.00 a month and it kicks you off and freezes up you comp and is slow as poopoo.

 

[Korn]

Neemer, is that $1600 US?

For $1600US I can get ya something around the lines of a P4 1.5 gig processor, 512MB DDR Ram, 60gig HD, DVD, WINXP and all the goodies...


Definatly upgrade to ADSL or cable, whichever is available to you. Huge difference compared to 56k... I currently have cable and love it.

I personally don't like the large companies like DELL because their prices are extremly high due to their support. I buy my parts from the smaller computer shops and build my own computers and sell em to friends. And if they ever need help i'm just a phone call away...

Any new P3/P4 you buy now should be compatible with your Digital Camera. If you plan on editing digital photographs the more RAM you have the better. Get 256MB minimum. And get a decent video card as well. Stay away from the built in to the motherboard (onboard video cards). They are useless. Onboard sound and onboard network cards are fine.

GL
Korn

 

[Juice]

Neemer, why do you say that PIII is much better than celeron. I think that for normal day to day operations there really isn't much of a difference. If you're into gaming or are a computer junkie you may want a PIII, but otherwise PIII's higher cost is not justified, IMHO. I think a celeron is a great, cost effective alternative.

 

[Korn]

Juice... I would stay away from Celeron's as well. Either get a slower P3 or else go with AMD. You can get an AMD Duron 850mhz processors for very cheap these days and they actually outperform the P3 at the same speed in certain areas and beat out the celeron at the same speed in all areas I believe. A Celeron is basically an intel chip with features disabled while AMD's chips aren't disabled but made with cheaper materials instead.

So in my opinion if not P3 or P4 then go with AMD as a cost effective way to go as AMD out performs the celeron in many ways and costs the same or even cheaper.

 

[dawgball]

Korn

You're right that Dell is more expensive, but it is for the reason you stated. It sounds like if your computer breaks down that you have the skill to get it back up. Most people don't have that luxury, so it comes out cheaper to go with a good warranty package. I like the idea of buying from someone like you if they are close by.

Just my opinion.

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Sic 'em
dawgball

 

[goofy]

in case you didn't get it from those other guys, upgrading to a dsl or cable is the single most important thing to do to get a faster web experience.

if you have never used one of them before you will be shocked at the difference.

the only downside is they aren't available in all areas (including mine of course) but it gets better everyday.

goof

 

[HorsPlyrBil]

Consider a Mac. They are excellent machines.
http://www.stimulus.com/whyapple/

The G4 chip in a mac is faster than a Pentium..mghz processor speed is a misleading marketing number. here's a speedtest
http://www.macspeedzone.com/4.0/g4vspent3signal.html

 

[Neemer]

Korn...

Are you telling me I can get those specs on a notebook? If so, point me in the direction where they are located. Those are some unbelievably cheap options for that machine.

As far as the Celeron vs. Pentium chips are concerned, I was strictly following the advice of the Winbook rep. She informed me that I would have more trouble out of the celeron such as freezes, blackouts, stalls, etc...etc.. she said that the PIII price difference was very much worth it. However, she could've been pulling one over on me...

 

[Korn]

Sorry Neemer... Thought you were talking about a desktop not a laptop... The specs I mentioned are for a desktop.

Those would be unbelievably cheap options for that machine