Bawhawhawhawhaw! That’s funny … what the Germans use … bawhawbaw …
Guru Meditation Error #564
I had a gateway desktop finally die after 10 years yesterday. so they ain’t all that bad.
Much thanks again, people. I’m certainly not computer savvy, and getting advice is all part of the process.
The current one should limp along another month or so, and I’m collecting info now.
I thought the price jump seemed wrong, but it’s all explained. This does remind me of the time when a sales clerk was telling me about a monitor that could differentiate over 256 million colors. I told him that was more than I could. And since we’re still dealing the four primary colors, a less impressive monitor would be fine. I think I broke his heart.
but you guys rock! thanks again for the links.
Or the free, open source OpenOffice.
While alternative office products are fine, for the purposes of children’s school work I tend to think you will need an actual copy of Microsoft Office. Most High Schools actually educate on the specific menus and functions of Power Point, Word, and Excel, and it would not be ideal to work with different software at home.
By college age I would think doing work in OpenOffice and saving it in a Microsoft Office file format would be just fine, but at High School and lower I think it makes a lot more sense to have the kid using the same software at home that they were taught to use at school.
Maybe you should read the OP again. He was asking for the best computer on the market. I pointed out that such a computer couldnt be had for $500 dollars. Nowhere did I say that he should buy a core I7, I said that I did. My standard advise for clients is to buy middle of the road. People say that they dont want to do X but next year they might. Then they are all disappointed that the machine is not up to the task.
If you know what you are doing you can pick up parts and upgrade a computer however thats not this guy. As I said if he ups his budget he has a better odds of getting a decent stable computer. I am in the field everyday, see hundreds of computers and what i see is the cheaper the computer the more likely it is to have unexplained glitches, blue screens etc. In particular the power supplys on a cheap computer are horrible. let me put it this way, when my mom or my sister buys a computer i dont recommend they run right out and buy the cheapest one they can find any more than I say buy the cheapest car or dishwasher. Middle of the road is a good place to be…
I know that this isn’t exactly what the OP is asking but what is best depends on the need. I am head of IT for an industrial plant. It is dirty and dusty and there is plenty of heavy equipment indoors. When one of the workstations fail, it is a big deal because they control critical systems and equipment. We use these very small IBM desktop computers in a semi-rugged metal case that you can pop open with two fingers and switch out a hard drive in ten seconds or less. The motherboards are tested for extreme reliability and the cables are well organized but these machines are simple and durable and only cost about $500 dollars wholesale. They are made for industrial environments but they would be ideal for some consumers as well if they want a no-fuss and reliable setup that is small and can tolerate a lot of shit thrown at them (good if you have a small child or a pet monkey). You can use them 24/7 in a harsh environment for years without much worry but you have to hook up USB peripherals if you do anything more than burning a CD or DVD.
That is only one factor to take into account though. To me, any computer is cheap if it doesn’t have a great monitor, mouse, and keyboard. The fanciest laptop in the world is still slumming it it my mind compared to my home computer (incidentally a refurbished Dell) because I have a 32" monitor/TV combo, a real web-cam, a nice keyboard, and great mouse. Those are the things you actually touch and see. I instantly lose respect for any IT person that works on a laptop all day without a docking station to turn it into a desktop. They can’t be getting that much done. I have a dual monitor setup at work with my laptop at work.
Gaming PC’s have already been covered. That always pushes processing and video performance. Everything else was well covered years ago and almost anything can handle it well now.
I am not sure why the OP brought Germans into this. I love the engineering of BMW’s myself but it also the land of scat porn and bad food so it is quite a mixed bag there. The U.S. still controls the computer industry through software design and application and that is the most important thing.
I think German computers use Shamwows for their motherboards.
To the OP - best computer on the market right now is a Falcon Northwest. Unless you’re a gamer, you don’t need it. Any reasonably priced Dell will handle email, word processing & hulu. You want one with Windows 7 & 4 gb RAM, minimum.
Two things:
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Read the whole post. He already knows he doesn’t need a top of the line computer. He’s looking for the best computer on the market that fits within a certain budget.
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His price range is not bottom of the line. Bottom of the line is $300 or less. And even my $100 eMachine doesn’t have the problems you specified, and I’ve had it for 3 years now. His price range is perfectly fine if you don’t run out and just get it because of the cost. He could get a well-built computer for that. The problem is that he’ll need advice to pull it off, since he’s not a computer enthusiast.
OP: What I would want to say has already been said, so the one thing I want to say is: If you get a PC, and it’s from a big box manufacturer you (or someone you know who’s good with computers) really need to have someone clean out the junk that will come with it. You don’t need it, and it will slow you down. Getting rid of crap software you don’t need will go a long way in making your user experience better.