Bonneville America Forums Forums Off Topic Discussion Forums Lounge Need New Computer- Any Recommendations

We are finally getting a new computer for the house.
With all the talk about Vista vs XP. Windows vs Mac I get lost trying to figure out what to buy.
All we do is Surf, pay bills , and edit photos.
Any thoughts as what direction to go.
Looking to spend about 1500.00.
Also any recommendations for best anti-spy/anti-virus
Thanks, Mark

I would highly recommend the Imac. It has a twenty inch screen, all in one design, very small footprint and a dual core processor. The camera is built in, the software makes creating a webpage very easy and hardly ever does anyone write viruses to the Mac OS.... and they look cool as well!!! I have an Imac and a Macbook and would recommend them without hesitation... Ride safe...Gordon

Also, you can do what I have done, and install Windows XP alongside OSX (for the one app you may need, that the mac cannot run, for me it is Autocadd) in a seperate partition and dual boot. Just download for free from the apple website a program called bootcamp, which installs all the drivers windows needs to run on the mac hardware, you will need a copy of XP tho. I only boot into Windows for Autocadd, everything else I prefer the Mac

"Also any recommendations for best anti-spy/anti-virus"

You won't need any with a Mac

I checked out the apple site.
Never gave much thought to apple, but looks like a nice setup.
I have never used one, but my wife has mac,s at work
What apple software would best compare to MS Word

You shouldn't need to spend that much money if all you do is surf and pay bills with some pics thrown in. You could easily get away with only spending $500-700.

I use AVG free anti-virus and Ad-Aware to keep the spyware in check. AVG is great, you can set it up to run a scan anytime of the day(I run it everyday at 3 am).

You can get a mighty sweet IBM laptop for $1500

Consider a DVD burner as well for data backup

How about the Mac Mini

http://www.apple.com/macmini/


yes, yes, PC's are cheaper, but who wants the hassle of running one??

I'm sure this will draw some arguments but "dont buy Dell".

Hey Mark. Get an inexpensive Dell. If you need some help, give me a call. I've built all my computers and there's always something that doesn't work. dell still has decent support. AVG anti virus is good and it's free. Anyway, Macs are great but you will need to learn a new operating system.I need to come up and look at your trailer for some ideas as I will be building a trailer soon.

Get an iMac, either the better 17" or the 20". Both are the best buys. If you want to be Word compatible, get Microsoft Office for Mac which has Word, Excel, Power Point, etc. Apple's Mail and Safari (come with computer) are way better than Outlook and Explorer. The Mac OS is easy to learn and very intuitive. The new iPhoto is really great. All the iLIfe programs come on the computer (iPhoto, iDVD, iMovie, iCal, iTunes, etc.)

It's like owning a Triumph - doesn't matter what everyone else has - you'll love it and never regret it!

I was at Comp-USA waiting for the warehouse manager and had twenty minutes to kill so I wandered over to the computer section and watch the floor rep from MAC give a demo on that new IMAC 20" screen eveything included in one sleek cool looking package the graphics were out of this world.

If I was in the market I would most definitely give it serious consideration. I never paid much attention to MAC's in the past, but looking at this product and watching the demo it looked no different or any harder than Windows.

The only thing I would be worried about are the programs I know how to use now Excel, Word and Powerpoint I would think you would have to learn these all over again (differnet format), but I'm not sure.

I really liked the looks and fuctionality of the machine though.

Ok here we go let me explain my dont buy Dell.
This all happened over course of 3 years.

Youngest son bought top of line dell..within a month video card fried took him weeks and untold time on phone to get them to send new one.

Oldest son bought top of line Dell...within 6 months motherboard fried after about a month fighting with them.
They had him mail it back for rebuild...think they sent it to Pakistan or somthing cuz it took a month to get it back.


I bought a top of the line Dell after 8 months somthing fried I dont know what, cus I just took it and heaved it off the back deck.

Went out and got a gateway been and its been happy Geeking ever since.

I dont know maybe my family is just cursed or somthing by the Dell gods.

I'd argue about the Dell support - it stinks!

Consider an iMac - You can buy MS Office to get Word/Excel/PowerPoint, etc. But, $1500 is way too much to spend. The $1199 model up top would be MORE than enough power for the things you do, and even with a couple hundred in software you're still a little under budget.

If you want to stick with a PC, look at the eMachines. I think you can find them at CompUSA. It's Gateway's entry-level brand. I'd probably rank them above Dell. Then you can run AVG free for Antivirus. You can pick up one of these w/ LCD monitor for like $650.

John, the Microsoft Office for Mac works pretty much the same on a Mac as any other PC. The shortcuts, etc. are slightly different than regular Mac programs, but you would be already familiar with them.

Cool,

Now either a new iMAC or and I'm really thinking seriously about this a WESCO Big Bore Kit.

I would still have plenty of time before GA. to get it done.

Hmmm. Dell ..people seem to love em or hate em. No in between.

If you get a Bill Gates puter ...they will now come with Vista....vista eats memory all day long and from what I hear they use major CPU. Get one with the big bore memory kit and have the heads ported/polished. Then overclock the CPU and let er rip. If you still need more drill a hole in the side of the case and turn the mixture screws out four turns and add an oversize cooling fan to handle that hot CPU!

Add a performance video card from Thunderputer limited and turn up the volume on the sound card.

then take it to your local MIS department and have it dynoed so we can all see the results.


PS

If you tune er right she'll not backfire when exiting a program

"then take it to your local MIS department and have it dynoed so we can all see the results.


PS

If you tune er right she'll not backfire when exiting a program

---

"

That was too funny, you put my thoughts into words. I am also looking to up date a 7 year old computer with new broadband connection. Now, the connection is not the slowest part of the system.....

With the recent release of Windows Vista computers that come pre-installed with Windows XP are going cheap at the moment. There's certainly no urgent rush to upgrade to Vista (I have a free copy that I've not even bothered installing!), however most of the XP machines currently available come with a cheapie upgrade offer to Vista if you feel like going that route.

It's comparable to buying last year's model bike - it's still a brand new bike but you'll save a bunch of money, and if you really need the extra chrome it's available from the stealer at a discount.

One tech in our MIS dept has vista installed on his machine.

Its a glitzy interface but his machine is a heavy hitter for H power and he told me if and when you buy a new mochine get one with enough memory to choke a horse and a good strong processor cause Vista is a power hungry hog.

You can still get a Dell with XP on it. I know their support has gone down lately but my Mom's motherboard fried on her laptop and Dell sent DHL with a box to pick it up and she got it back in 5 days.

Thanks for all the input.
I'm leaning more to imac with 17" monitor.
Looks like it will do all that we want and more.
One more dumb question, will i need a special printer or different software to install a printer?
Mark

One more question.
Anyone tell me what iworks is, and is it worth the money?

Get a cheap one. $600 or so. Spend the rest on cool parts for your bike. You can't ride a computer

If you're going to get MS Office, there is no need for iWorks. You would have everything you would need. Actually, all you need from MS is Word, Excel, and maybe Power Point. Internet Explorer and Outlook are not needed because Safari and Mail (Apple's programs) are better. Those and all the iLife programs come with the computer.

Initally, get only what you need above what comes with it. THEN, see if you want something else. You can read up on the Apple and MS stuff available at Apple.com.

PES,
That's right you cant ride a computer.
The thing is my wife will use it more than I do, and the happier she is the more I get to ride

One more thought with buying a Mac. if you've got a student in the house, of any age, you can get an "education" discount that can save you $100 on an iMac and you save on other models/stuff too.