I Want to Buy a new Desktop Computer
 

So yeah, I start a new job on Monday and of course I am spending my money before I earn it, LOL.

I want something with 500GB hard drive (trust me on this). I need space for a lot of different types of programs (Including Office Ultimate 2007 -- I need Word, Access, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel; Acrobat, PageMaker, and POSSIBLY PhotoShop).

I want to be able to burn CDs and DVDS.

I do not need a new monitor, printer, or mouse, though I could use a new keyboard and speakers.


I want my DREAM computer -- I last purchased a desktop in 2001 and I know he's on his last leg. I feel it in my soul.

So what do you all recommend? I do not want a Mac. How much do you think I should pay for it, including the new MS Office?

Build it yourself from parts off newegg. It'll cost you a lot less and you'll get exactly what you want. PM me if you want suggestions, advice, etc. I've built more than my share, and could honestly walk you through putting it all together over the phone, if you really needed it. There's a substantial cost savings at the higher-end by building it yourself. And you can make the computer with XP.

You could always select your options on the dell site. Using one of these: http://www.dell.com/content/products...=19&l=en&s=dhs as a base, then customize what goes in it may be a good idea.

"Gaming" computers are almost always stocked with a speedy hard-drive and a great graphics card.

My dad just got me an HP, stock, from Circuit City. I had bad experiences previously with HP, but this has been a great computer. Huge hard drives, an expansion bay for more memory, superb graphics card, virtually no delay between applications, tv capabilities. I've had no issues with it and its literally been a dream to own it. Vista is actually a decent operating system and I also haven't had problems with most programs transferring over to it. Oh, the new office is pretty swell too. Here's the PC I have:
http://www.amazon.com/M8020N-Desktop...ion/B000OCRH3C. The keyboard and mouse that come with it are wireless. Burns cds quickly and the lightscribe function is pretty neat.

I also love how getting a high-quality desktop isn't nearly as expensive as it used to be. My laptop cost more then my desktop!

If you have more specific questions about the functionality of my desktop, feel free to ask. Happy computer shopping, I'm a nerd so I had a lot of fun looking for one. :cool:

now is a good time to check ciruit city and best buys...because school is starting back, they are trying to sell PCs fast...plus the new quad core processors are now on the market so dual core processors will be dirt cheap pretty soon

I'm all about dirt cheap.

I have also looked into building my own, which is even more dirt cheap. I have a friend (Sigma) who will help me out, so we shall see!

That's a good offer, although, honestly, it's pretty self-explanatory... and if it's not, you can just refer to the user's manual. If you're unsure of parts/brands, simply post what you're interested in and we can give you some help.

I also have built a few systems in my time.

A word on cases -- I recently bought my wife an Antec Sonata II... although they no longer carry that on NewEgg, they do carry a Sonata III. It has more than enough juice for your computer on the internal CPU. It's also extremely quiet which is huge for me because loud case fans just won't do.

FWIW, I also bought her a pretty nice Asus motherboard.. it died in 2 weeks, is still in the shop. I'm not going to go with Asus again. Probably would look at a company like Gigabyte. I always go for the fanless motherboards because again.. case noise annoys me. Look for mobos which support the stuff you want to get, have a bit of room for expansion, and have tons of copper stuff hanging off of them (better cooling).

Also, if you want to have compatibility with Directx10 for gaming, you'll need to buy a compatible video card. Nvidia's 8000 series is excellent. So far, it's killing whatever the only other game in town, ATI has come up with.

At any rate, if you have any questions, I'm sure folks here can help. Otherwise, if you want to just throw money at the problem, get one of those Dell XPS systems. They're pretty good (but not pretty good for the $).

Unless you do build you own, the mouse and keyboard will probably come with pretty much whatever you buy.

My computer burns DVD's and CD's, but the DVD software and video card are so freakin' SLOW that it drives me crazy when I clone shows from TIVO.

Nearly a year later, my computer is now officially in its death throes.

WAS going to have my friend build the computer for me, but now he's saying it seems like it's not going to save me that much more money. Plus, I'm on his time, which sucks.

The good thing is that he is getting me software I need at a discount through his job.

*sigh*

Do you live in one of the states with NO sales tax the first weekend in August? Computers aren't taxed that weekend b/c they are considered "school supplies".

I *think* they do that in DC -- good advice!

I will never again have someone build a computer for me.

I got someone to build it.

First, bought the parts per his instruction. No problem.

Second, he came over to build the thing. Two of the fans were the wrong size, so I ended up having to wait another two weeks for the parts to arrive AND for the guy to find the time to finish building it.

In between the two times, he makes comments I believe are racist.

He "completes" the computer. I have no operating system. He has forgotten his copy he made for me. (He is some sort of IT person by day.) I have no XP cd.

He tries to transfer an ISO file (or something) for me to burn onto a CD at home. Problem: Both of my CD drives have been broken for MONTHS on my home computer. Try to do it at work -- for whatever reason, doesn't work. Considering I think the dude is racist anyway, I proceed figuring it out with other help.

Talked to MY IT guy at work. We burn a CD of XP which doesn't work in the built computer. He MAILS a CD of XP which also doesn't work. He's like okay Senusret, this is most likely a hardware issue, sorry I can't help.

I call OnCall 25/8. The guy comes out for the assessment and is like "I'm going to have to take this into the office." No shirt sherlock, who didn't know that?

$75 bucks down the crapper.

After a quick turnaround, the computer is ready. They bring it back to me and everything works, including XP from the disk my job's IT people gave me. $299 bucks.

(Although I had been saying for months I should have just bought a new computer straight from the factory, I have officially proven the point. Parts plus repair alone could have bought me a Dell.

Bring it home....guess what? NO SOUND. My comp can't detect a sound card. EVERYTHING ELSE WORKS.

This, my friends, is some bullshit.

:-(
That really sucks, Senusret I. I've always had my older brother build my computers because I once bought an HP and it sucked horribly. The HD had to be replaced three times, so did the CD player.

You could try Newegg. They have barebones systems or even put together systems where you basically pick what you want. It offers much more flexibility than Dell, HP or Compaq.

Plus, the prices are pretty reasonable. I built mine over five years ago and it is still running. I'm sure there are other sites that are similar. I think you'd have to install your own OS but that isn't too hard nowadays.

Good luck! :o

Thanks lil lady!

http://www.alienware.com/products/au...de=SKU-DEFAULT

Good, quality, computer

How long has it been since you got your computer? Newegg might be able to replace your motherboard for you (which is probably where the sound issue lies).

Other than that, have you checked up on the software side of the sound card? Made sure your computer isn't on 'mute' and your volume levels are all turned up?

I know you're not an idiot, but different folks have different levels of computer expertise.

If that isn't it, maybe you got a bum motherboard. I had the same thing happen to me. I got a replacement through the manufacturer and everything has been great since.

As far as building the computer goes, it's really not difficult. You don't need help. Trust me. It's one of those things where it's easy to see where everything goes because that's the only place those things fit -- like one of those square peg/square hole puzzles preschoolers play with, only with electricity and moving parts.