I support her idea but then again I'm a Mac user. My 2 year old mac is still running strong without a hitch!!! Although i do wish i have a 2.5 G5... Oh well...me wants a new 23in monitor.

 

Save the trouble of building a computer. For your needs, a prepackaged one is much better. It'll save you the hassle and headache of building a computer, installing the OS, and troubleshooting it. It's nice to pick all your parts for a great system but you're looking for an average system. If you build your computer, you might have no support or warranty on your computer, depending on where you buy the parts.

If you're determined to buy a Dell, just look for a desktop that is in your price range. The more you pay, the better it is. A good sweet spot is ~$1500. Pick the parts based on your needs. Store a lot of big files? Pick a bigger HDD. Plan on playing the newest games? Splurge on the fastest video card.

Don't worry about having video editing capability. The hardware that does it is cheap. It's the (not included) software that raises the price, so having it won't significantly raise the price of your system. Also, the (digital camcorder) 1394 port has many uses other than video editing.

I'd get a 3.0GHZ P4 because the price/performance ratio on the higher end processors isn't good.

On the laptop vs. desktop: You'll get much better performance out of a desktop than a laptop at the same price ratio. You'll just have to justify whether you need/want the portability. I decided on the laptop because I realized that for what I do, the bleeding edge in performance isn't necessary. I have exactly the same needs as you. My laptop primarily stays at home but it's nice to be able to browse and do work anywhere around the house. I watch F1 racing on TV and look at the live timing chart online, browse/post on S2Ki while sitting on the john, or work on papers in bed. If you do consider laptops, look at the IBM T42 2379 DXU model for around $2000.

Any other questions?

 

Go to www.techbargains.com and check for the Dell deals that they always have posted there. There's quite a few computers you can pick up for around the $300-400 range that are decent for most people's needs.

 

I really don't recommend to build your computer if you have no clue how to do it... You can really do some damaging things if you don't do things correctly ;p

I wouldn't stop laughing at myself after I ruined a perfectly nice Intel 2.4c just to put some Arctic Silver 5 on it... (I put the chip in wrong... Bent the pins beyond repair )

 

I bought a new dell on ebay. These companies contract with Dell and get large corporate discounts and then turn around and sell them. A system that I paid $1350 for was $1900+ shipping with Dell and that was with my small business discount.

The warranty was transferrable and Dell service is excellent. The only issue that I have had in 9 mos. was software related. They not only helped me with almost no on hold wait, but they called the next day to check and make sure everything was OK. I wasn't home, so she called the next day as well.

I work with a lot of apps up while doing graphics work and other than needing more RAM, the machine is solid as a rock.

 

you got that service because the business support is US based. If you buy a consumer system all you get it Indians who can't speak much less troubleshoot.

 

Never buy dell! I cannot tell you enough how bad their tech support is! It will make you pull your hair out. Building is definately an option, and to build a capable computer shouldn't cost more than $500 without a monitor ($150-250 for a CRT, $400-600 for a LCD). You can even get decent computer down at circuit city for around $600.

They have a $599 HP Pavilion Desktop PC (A710N)
HP A710N

 

She was actually from the Philippines. And the service was great regardless.

I have had terrible service with HP. HP is better than building though. If you build your self, you get no service. Try calling tech support from 8 different manufacturers. They all try to blame the problem on each other

 

17 inch, 1.8GHz iMac - $1,500
you can't go wrong
start enjoying your computer and not fighting it

 

yea but you can't do anything with it.