I'm looking at buying a desktop next year when i move off campus to get some more power and storage. I really want an iMac but i know i can get the same thing from a PC for a lot less money. So who makes a good PC and is an iMac really worth the extra dollar?

10/29/2006 10:23:49 PM

definitely Compaq

10/29/2006 10:25:30 PM

^ Now that's just mean.

10/29/2006 10:30:45 PM

lawl

10/29/2006 10:31:51 PM

honest answer:

macs are the most overrated pieces of shit ever
any pc comapny you buy from pretty much sucks
build it yourself, save some $ while making a computer better than any you can buy in a store or off the internet

funny answer:
anything containing compaq, emachine, dell, sony, hp, or gateway

[Edited on October 30, 2006 at 1:27 AM. Reason : $]

10/30/2006 1:27:28 AM

Though you may not have the technical skill on it now, research what's involved in building it yourself.

I now have the first system that I've ever been able to put together fully by myself (because now I have more disposable income... or rather... I have an income) and it kicks the ass out of anything I've bought from any of the major companies. Doesn't have cooling issues like every single one of theirs had either (I tend to run computers into the ground).

But yeah, the computer you build will probably kick ass and cost a bit les than what you'd get from one of the major brands, unless you build a complete pile of shit.

10/30/2006 1:33:41 AM

it depends on what you want to do with it. if u are just using it for email and porn then a dell would be the easier chepaest way out. if u wanna game or do video editing then u will save a good amount building it urself.

10/30/2006 2:25:52 AM

^
Somebody finally gave a good answer. A "good" PC is typically defined by the needs of its users. You'll never hear a sales representative tell you that (of COURSE you need a 24" monitor instead of a 17"!), so don't buy into their crap.

"more power and storage" ... what are you looking to use this for?

10/30/2006 7:43:43 AM

In terms of desktops, avoid CyberPower and Gateway. HP and Dell have similarly decent reliability for the most part and similarly bad customer service. According to consumer reports they're really only seperated by a percentage point or two in both categories. Some newer reports have Lenovo's desktops as extremely reliable, but I would die before buying a thinkcentre. ThinkPad? Sure, but when IBM did the desktops, they were awful. With rare exceptions, you're not going to have a consistently wonderful experience with any tech support or customer service arm of a large PC maker (ther margains are just too low.)

The best advice I can give you is to get:

1-2GB of ram (2 if you want use anything from adobe/macromedia besides acrobat reader.)
Intel Core 2 Duo or Athlon 64 X2 processor (Core 2 duo is better)
Intel or Nvidia video card w/ 256+MB Ram (but only if you either care about gaming, 3d modelling/CAD, or Vista's shiny new interface)
Sound blaster audigy or x-fi sound card (only if you care about 3d sound, gaming, or plan to use your computer as a media center of some sort.)

The second 2 are luxury items really. If you get a computer from Dell, Lenovo, or HP with the first two items and some digital flat panel, it's hard for you to go too wrong. If you're willing to spend 1000-1300 bucks and avoid the real bottom end (compaq and gateway) you should get something pretty fast.

Some reliability info:

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/061016/nym167.html?.v=64

[Edited on October 30, 2006 at 8:19 AM. Reason : ]

10/30/2006 8:17:45 AM

Question, i have no doubt that you have the ability to learn how to build a computer, but would you be able to repair it after that? Would you be able to learn how to track down problems in your hardware and software (it's not that hard, but a lot of people don't want to spend the effort)...

If not, then stick with your major brands (HP, Dell, Apple, Lenovo, Toshiba, etc...), if only so that you can get a decent warrenty with the computer. If cost is an issue, go with Dell or HP, you can get them cheaper through those two companies...

[Edited on October 30, 2006 at 8:34 AM. Reason : .]

10/30/2006 8:33:52 AM

and AMD X2 is not worth the extra dollar over AMD 64 cpus unless you're going to be doing more work with mulitple cpu-intensive progs than gaming.

10/30/2006 12:13:21 PM

Quote :

"Sound blaster audigy or x-fi sound card "

Worst advice in the entire thread.

10/30/2006 12:26:47 PM

What exactly is your problem with non-integrated sound?

10/30/2006 12:34:21 PM

its creative products i have a problem with

10/30/2006 12:42:25 PM

Apple

10/30/2006 12:43:46 PM

Meh, if you want real time 3d sound in games there's not anything else that's supported as well. Like I said though, it's a luxury item only really nescesary for people who want the computer to be a media center or gaming machine. And yes, there are offerings from turtle beach that are arguably better, but if he's not building it himself they're not really an option.

10/30/2006 12:45:51 PM

get an imac...even in 2 years you can resell it for the same price you paid...LOL

10/30/2006 12:52:18 PM

thanks for all the advice, but i should tell you what im using it for...
first off, i dont play computer games and dont plan on starting to,
what i need out of the comp is reliability, performance, and speed.
i want to be able to run word while listening to music on itunes, checking email, watching the market, and have aim up all at the same time without slowing down the computer a phenomenal amount. i know that having this many applications open at once is goign to slow it down some, but my current laptop has trouble supporting all these apps. its really slow when opening files that have to be viewed using adobe reader and things like that and itunes always take a good 15-25 seconds to open after i've clicked on it.
also, i dont know how, nor do i want to put the effort into (atleast not now), building my own computer. I have friends that can do this so maybe i'll talk to them and see what they can do. however, i will probably end up going the mass-produced route, so with that said...
i really like the iMac, is it really that overpriced and overrated? money isnt a big issue, but it is an issue. it seems like HP or some similar brand seem to be the way to go

10/30/2006 4:21:28 PM

Quote :

"its really slow when opening files that have to be viewed using adobe reader and things like that and itunes always take a good 15-25 seconds to open after i've clicked on it."

this isn't a problem with your computer.

10/30/2006 4:37:43 PM

^^ I have a 400 dollar Acer laptop with a gig of ram, and I average having all that open plus about 20 other processes, and it has no issues.

In fact, right now I have open iTunes, Outlook, Excel, IE, Miranda IM (multiple chat program), Transcode 360, 4 instances of Word, 2 instances of Visio with 100+ mb documents open and it does alright with it all.

^Is right, iTunes always takes 10 seconds or so to open, as does Adobe Acrobat. Has nothing to do with how fast your computer is.

10/30/2006 4:43:53 PM

dell hands down if you want to go for their deals. costs as much to build it yourself, less hassle, easy warranty work when needed, legal copy of windows

10/30/2006 4:58:54 PM

Well then just get pretty much anything with a core 2 duo processor at 2.16 ghz or so, 2 gb of ram, and a 160 GB 7200 rpm HDD. I mean for what you'll be doing, that'll scream. You could get a dell configured with all that and a 19inch digital flat panel for around 999 or so at dell.com/ncstate.

The imac would be fine too. Yeah it's more expensive than a comparable Dell. Is it "that" overpriced? Well compare systems on dell.com/ncstate and the education store on apple.com/store. Decide for yourself if it's worth the extra money. Roughly similar hardware from Dell will usually be 200-500 bucks cheaper depending on the configuration. The imac's screen is actually nice than the lower end dell flat panels and in a lot of cases the imac actually has a much better graphics card.

Anyways, whether that apple premium is "that" much isn't something you're going to get a useful opinion from any of us on really. As long as you feel justified in your choice and make sure the apps you want to run will be availible on the mac, it really just boils down to how much you like macs. Oh, and one more thing, Apple will rape you like a donkey in heat if you buy their memory upgrades. Dell rapes slightly less on those.

[Edited on October 30, 2006 at 5:36 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2006 5:30:27 PM

do i really ned 2gb of ram? i only have 512mb on my laptop now and it runs a little slower than i think it should, but its not terrible. i figured 1gb would be enough for me, maybe not...and what is the performance difference between the 2.16ghz vs 2.0ghz processor. if i get an iMac, i'd probably get the 17" that comes standard with a 2.0ghz processor, is it worth the $90 to upgrade to 2.16ghz and the $158 to upgrade to 2gb of ram?

10/30/2006 6:26:10 PM

with a laptop its usually a good idea to get the fastest hardware you can afford since you usually cant upgrade them much. For the ram i'd compare that 158 to however much a gig of the same ram costs on newegg or cruicial.com

10/30/2006 7:13:55 PM

^^ The $90 upgrade to 2.16 ghz? Maybe. 150+ for an extra 1GB? No. Like I said, apple rapes you on ram upgrades. 2 GB isn't nescessary now really, and if it's a large upgrade cost then don't bother. Down the line though you'll appreciate it.

^You can't really price the upgrade like that since it comes with 2 512mb sticks and you'd have to replace both of them. A 2gb kit is going to cost about 180 or so online if not more. 1 GB is ok for now though and the 2gb kits should come down a bit later. Maybe to around 90 or so in a year.

[Edited on October 30, 2006 at 7:51 PM. Reason : ]

10/30/2006 7:48:01 PM

Dell 400$ machines can't be beat.

Sorry.

10/30/2006 7:57:17 PM

Quote :

"Who makes a good PC"

i do

10/30/2006 10:09:41 PM

go acer

10/31/2006 2:14:26 PM

If you're aiming at low price, get one of the cheap dell systems (you can't by parts for wholesale prices), otherwise if you want high end you'll be better off building your own [/thread]

10/31/2006 2:21:18 PM