Need basic computer advice please

[Blancofan1]

My parents computer tower died out on them over the weekend and they've asked for some help buying a new one. The problem is, I don't really know much about computers at all, but it's a ton more than they know. I bought them a nice flat panel monitor last year for a gift, so all they need is a basic desktop computer not a whole package. Is there certain specs, or info I should know before recommending something to them? They would use it very little, mostly just for playing on the internet. No gaming or in depth work is really done on it. Also, they only have the option of dial-up internet as they live up north in the boonies. Any suggestions or reccomendations would be greatly appreciated. I just don't want them to get talked into spending a lot more money than they need to for what they use it for. Thanks BFers.

[bullox]

Easiest way to do it: go to Dell.com and build one yourself. They are insanely cheap nowadays - you can get a very nice computer for under $500.

 

Also you can find a lot of deals for dell.com here:

 

http://cheapstingybargains.com/

 

edit: for instance, check this out. $399 for a nice computer with a 19" flat screen, which I know you don't need. I'm pretty sure you can get rid of the monitor in their system for a better deal.

[bullox]

Did that help at all?

[Blancofan1]

Thanks bullox, very good info. Now their trying to decide if they actually need a new computer at all. I found this on craigslist for only $150, can you tell me if it's worth it and if it would be able to handle the basic stuff that they would need it for? Thanks again.

 

E-machines tower with brand new motherboard and Windows XP Pro installed!

AMD board and 1 GHZ cpu.

512MB DDR ram.

Massive 160GB Hard Drive

DVD Burner Included!

 

Tower has all original stickers on it

[kilgore37]

I'd stay away from emachines. I'd get a dell for the support also and they are very cheap nowadays

[jason21nl]

The name on the computer doesn't really matter. I have had HPs, Dells, Emachines and Gateway witch is the same company of Emachines. I ended up giving my Emachines to my girlfriends sister because I bought a new one. That computer is 6 years old and still going strong. Id say the computer that you're looking at is a good deal. You can't buy XP Pro alone for that price in a store. Id probably upgrade the RAM if I did get it.

[Blancofan1]

Probably a stupid question, or at least a very basic one that I should know the answer to, but what does the RAM actually do? Is that what would make programs run faster or is it more of a storage measure?

[zurch1818]

That will make your computer run faster. I had 512MB on my computer, it would take forever to open and close the internet and windows media player.....along with other programs. However, I just updated to 1.5 Gigs. What a difference. Now is considerably faster than before. It takes under a second to close programs. Then I gave 512 of it to my brother. So now I just had a gig. I haven't noticed a difference going from 1.5 gigs to 1 gig though. RAM is also cheap. That gig of ram cost 50 bucks off of newegg.com. I'm sure you could get 512 on there for 35ish bucks. You have to be careful when buying ram though -- It has to be compatible with the motherboard.

[sbrylski]

1 GHz is pretty slow nowadays. I'd recommend a 2.0 or higher GHz processor (if its AMD, it'll be something like 2200+ rather than 2.2, that means the same thing), and at least 1 GB of RAM if you're just using it for word processing and internet. 1 GHz is already pretty much a hunk of junk, and if not, it will be extremely soon.

 

Probably a stupid question, or at least a very basic one that I should know the answer to, but what does the RAM actually do? Is that what would make programs run faster or is it more of a storage measure?

RAM is like short term memory, so the machine doesn't have to delve into the hard drive all the time. More RAM means your computer can run faster because it can retrieve common data off the RAM much quicker than going to the hard drive all the time.

[jason21nl]

how much money are they looking to spend on it?

[gypcasino]

You have to be careful when buying ram though -- It has to be compatible with the motherboard.

Yeah, I just had a guy over to fix my computer a few weeks ago. I've got a smallish Dell and he said if I went somewhere and bought more RAM I'd have to make sure to tell them that I had "slim" housing or whatever it's called.

[Team Canada]

In general, considering their needs and the fact that they only have dialup, it's almost irrelevant what you get them, it will more than handle whatever they do. I wouldn't spend more than a couple hundred bucks. 1-2gb RAM, 2+ghz CPU.

[dadofandrew]

If you are a normal user, buy the cheapest one, as in a couple years, any expensive one will be outdated and half the price.

[Blancofan1]

Yeah, I'm mostly going to try and keep it under about $200-250 for them because I don't think they really need anything much better than that. You can only do so much with a dial up modem. Thanks for all of the input guys, I really appreciate it.

[1992casey]

Not too long ago, I went over to Apple's site and managed to put together a Mac Pro system for about $19,000. I'd recommend that setup.

[bullox]

I wouldn't go with anything less than 256 yottabytes of RAM. Vista is rough.

[1992casey]

I found a better Mac for $27,200, but it only had 32 GB of RAM. I'd rather have yottabytes.

[Big Reed]

2 gigabytes of ram should be a minimum. The reasoning is that you probably want windows vista or something else in the near future. and you'll want MS office. if you play any games, or do anything with pictures, you'll want that 2 gig ram. a lot of the new software programs such as omnipage pro ( a scanning program) demand a lot of RAM or it will crash. All of the EA games want lots of RAM - such as Madden 08.

 

Don't buy an E machine.

 

You no longer have to go to dell.com to buy a dell. Dell products are now being sold at both Wal mart and Best buy. I don't recomend buying a Del l at Wal mart. the models the y have are the low end del l models. bes t bu y has about 7 Dell models to choose from. there should be one there you like.

[dadofandrew]

We've never had anything but e-machines and never had any issues. Good and cheap.

[brewers19]

I found a better Mac for $27,200, but it only had 32 GB of RAM. I'd rather have yottabytes.

 

 

Lightweight. I configured one for $27, 891.90.

[Katuluu]

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[bullox]

010011010111000110010100100110101010001001

01010100011010000110000101110100001001110111001100100000011001

11011010010110001001100010011001010111001001101001011100110110

10000010111000100000010001110110100101110110011001010010000001

10110101100101001000000111001101101111011011010110010100100000

01110011011101010110001001110011011101000110000101101110011000

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(Edit: I broke up the long line. I hope that doesn't break the code. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif Some browsers don't display the nifty in-post scrollbar, meaning the whole thread is borked instead. --1992)

[DSFastball55]

My dad needed a new computer a couple years ago so I just went to Walmart and bought an HP off the shelf for like $399. It included a nice monitor and it is more than capable for what he needs it for (email, basic web browsing, etc.). It is actually a better machine than what I had at the time and paid $900 for.