Recommend a new PC for me

[shreddermon]

It's been a while since we bought our last one, so I'm not up to speed on the latest-and-greatest. Dell? Gateway? Other?

A desktop. It's for both home and professional use. Fast processing and large memory use. Multi-media needs, of course. CD burning, some DVD use. Occassional high-powered game use, but I honestly don't have much time for that.

And a related side question: the wife is hell-bent on getting a photo printer. Are they really worth it? Is it better to get one packaged with the PC, or go after-market? If the latter, recommendations on that too, please.

I'd be wiling to spend $1,500-ish. Preferably less, though. Thanks in advance for the advice! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[hippietim]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

Buy a Dell.

The photo printers do a better job for sure. Higher per-print cost but they turn out great. I have the Canon one that does up to a 4x6 print.

[guitarsjb]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

+1 on the Dell. We had a POS Gateway. Dell is much better.

[Chuckracer]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

I got the Dell Dimension 7200 or whatever a few months ago and dig it. no problems.
My Dad has a nice Gateway, and it's a good set-up too.

[dg]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

If you're not building your own, Dell is awfully hard to beat. Their online specials are great. Our old home PC died a couple of weeks ago & I replaced it with a Dell. I'd recommend something from the 8400 or XPS series, but the 8400 will probably fit your budget better than the XPS. The week I bought my 8400, they were running a free upgrade to a 19" flat panel display and a free DVD burner. I added a better sound card, & was able to save some money because I didn't need speakers and was fine with just an 80 gig hard drive, since I've got a large external drive. My total came to $970 including tax. Free delivery. You should be able to get a great machine for under $1500.

WRT photo printers, Dell now markets their own brand & I have no experience with them. I'm sure they're made by an outside vendor, but I don't know who. You could probably save some money if you bought one as part of the package with the computer. I rarely if ever print photos, but my wife is still hell-bent on always having prints. So we got an HP photo printer which works great and is convenient, but we've come to the conclusion that it is more cost-effective for us to take the card over to Walgreens for 29 cent prints rather than shelling out for photo ink & paper.

[mhalsey]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

Dell PC and HP photo printer.

[shreddermon]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

Yeah, I was checking Dell & Gateway's specs and prices last night. They're about the same. The only substantial differences I could find were a) Dell's running a $200 off sale right now, so their price is better, and b) Dell had a slightly better selection/price for upgrading the gaming card, which I may or may not do. Probably not worth it in my case, though.

[ROCKPRO]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

Other than the Farmer In the Dell and the Bill Gateway brand.. Look into Micron PC. http://www.buympc.com

[sully]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

www.apple.com/macmini

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

I say +1 to Dell if your not building your own. I've had 2 Dell computers and plan on buying a 3rd soon. Their customer service USED to be great, now I find it to be half assed, but that's just me. But they've got some of the best prices for what they offer, so that's what gives em more points.

[Deneb]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

I find that they outsourced the labor to another, non-English speaking country.

[IrfaanSE801]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

[ QUOTE ]
I find that they outsourced the labor to another, non-English speaking country.

[/ QUOTE ]

They outsourced em to India. I really hate the company for doing that since their customer service is one of the main reasons they are so popular today and they put American guys out of work, but their PC's are cheaper than most. Kinda like a "F You, but your still a great deal" feeling.

[ROCKPRO]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

Why buy MPC?

The warranties. MPC offers a standard three-year warranty, as opposed to the one-year warranty offered by many of our competitors.

The products. Our high-quality, award-winning products are renowned for their exceptional performance and smart designs, and we're consistently honored with industry awards and glowing reviews.

The support. Unlike most of our competitors, we have a full-time, in-house technical support staff. This 100% U.S.-based team has proximity and access to engineers, product designers, and customer service staff, meaning any problem you encounter can be resolved promptly.

The customization. MPC's innovative Web site allows you to custom-configure the system you want with the components and peripherals you need, so you don't have to settle for what's on the shelf.

The non-proprietary parts. Our industry-standard components means that if you need new parts for your system after your warranty has expired, you don't have to buy replacement parts from us—unless you choose to do so.

[Inearthed]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

Build your own or have someone else build one for you. I work for a small business computer solutions company and we've found that Dells seem to die about two years down the line. Gateways are overpriced.

I've found the PCs made by the 'big brands' to be of low quality and usually with very few things you can upgrade before you have to buy an entirely new computer.

[Shotgun]

Re: Recommend a new PC for me

If you aren't building it, hard to go wrong with Dell.

Keith