My parents and 15-year-old sister are considering getting a new computer. It will mainly be used for the Internet and for word processing–certainly no hard-core applications. As such, they’d rather not spend a lot of money. They were considering going to Best Buy, and since this always strikes me as a bad idea, I thought I would ask the Dopers.
I have a Gateway that I bought two years ago, and I could not be happier with it. However, they seem to have gone downhill somewhat since then, at least in terms of customer service. Is that the case? Anyhow, my parents’ machine would not see nearly as much use as mine has, so they probably don’t need to spend the money for a Gateway or a Dell. Or do they?
They’re also quite concerned about obsolescence. What speed should one get right now if you want to keep up for as long as possible? (Mine is a Pentium II 300–not the best computer available at the time, but not the worst–and I have never once in two years thought of it as “obsolete”.)
Sorry for all the questions–I haven’t computer shopped in a while.
Don’t go to best buy. It would be a lot cheaper to buy a generic computer at a local computer store. They usually offer a warranty just like Best Buy does. Make sure they get a big hard drive (8 gig should do) and a Celeron 500mhz. That should be enough for them for many years. If you don’t have a local PC maker I suggest Dell. Gateways tend to be overpriced these days. They use sub-standard parts, or so I’ve been told. Compaqs are ok but are high maintenence. You should be able to get a base modle for around $650 (no monitor generic).
If you really want to save money they could buy a used computer in the 200mhz range which would be fine for the internet and word processing.
Oh for goodness sakes, Dr. J: there is no question! Get them an iMac! It’s totally plug-and-play and it meant to be used to go online. You can get the slightly older models for under $1k and your sister can even choose her favorite flavor!
Baglady, a very happy owner of a graphite iMac DV at home (and this, from a person who has a Windows NT box and a Sun Sparc5 on her desk at work).
Having just bought a relatively cheap computer, I would like to suggest Egghead.com.
I got a refurbished machine for 500 dollars. It had some good features, including a CD RW. So, I think you would do well to check out their bid sections.
Monitor plus computer wouldn’t go much over 700 dollars. A good deal, I think.
As a Best Buy worker person who hates his job, WE DO NOT SELL WARRANTIES! We sell “Performance Service Plans”. Okay!?
Anyway, buy from a local store. Don’t go to a local Consumo-global-meglo-Mart. Get a computer from a fat guy with long hair who has no friends. It’ll be the best damn computer you’ve ever had.
Oh, and if you do go to Best Buy, skip the shelf models and go to the “Computer Creation Station”. They’re cheaper, more upgradable, and custom built.
OK… I’ve worked at Circuit City… thats the same BS I had to choke out when selling our “performance guarantee”. A warranty by any other name, is still a warranty. (Not that I’m saying its a bad idea… but thats another thread)
Anyhow, now as a computer tech person… I’d recommend Dell. If you’re looking at saving money, they have an L series computer thats pretty nice, and cost effecient… If they are looking at spending a little more, and hoping to stay up to par for awhile… (and if that is a goal, they will need to put out at least some money), there is a brand new “4100” series from Dell that is really nice. (its not their top o’ the line, but its got a lot of the nicer features that the top of the line computer has). Just DO NOT GET THE CONEXANT MODEM… YOU WILL REGRET IT.
HP’s are OK… but you only get one backup disk, and no other software… Gateways are good. And I couldn’t tell you a whole lot about Compaq.