Help, I NEED a new computer

[mightymitt]

And, as I am not 'computer saavy' I thought I'd ask you all for help. Do I go for the Gateway $599 Celeron 'special' or do I go for the Dell $1249 Pentium 4. And, you ask, what do I use this machine for??? Sweeps for me, schoolwork for the kids. Nothing too elaborate. Any and all suggestions would be helpful (of course, winning one would be the ideal....but for now, I think we need to dig into our pockets on this one). Thanks!
~P

[gcomstock]

Don't really know for sure, but I'd bet that for general purposes today's Celerons are better or equal to yesterday's Pentiums. To replace my old Dell desktop at the office, I just bought an HP Celery that was on sale at Office Depot...not quite as good a deal as the Gateway. The biggest difference is learning to navigate around in Windows XP which all the new one's will surely have.

In general, I'd bet that almost *any* current desktops are dozens of times more capable that 99% or our sweeping tasks require, and wouldn't recommend against spending less money...

[Balayeur]

Hey, P ~

Probably as soon as you expense that $$$ for a new computer -- you'll win one !

Good luck with both !


Balayeur

[Shirley]

In thinking about the saying "Todays computers are outdated tomorrow" (which is close to the truth), I would personally lean toward the less expensive one. Especially, since you are not wanting to do anything really complicated with it. Just my opinion.

Shirley

[Teddybear]

hp's are fairly good even though I have had several problems with mine, I still like them. I will never buy a dell though because they support gun control and they seem to think that guns kill people when in actual fact, it is the person pulling the trigger that does the killing. Lets face it folks, before we had guns, we had swords, and before that , there were clubs, and before that, our hands. If dell wants to stop folks from getting killed, they should try to teach the trigger pullers, knife weilders,club swingers, fist throwers, that it is the wrong to kill. It looks like we are going to kill each other no matter what is or is not available. Hey, what is this, a gun discussion!:cheer:

[Irish Won]

We have three Gateway Celerons in the house (2 laptops and a desk top) and they all work just fine!

At work I work on a Pentium III and honestly I don't notice any difference speed wise (except for when I'm online, phoneline connection at work as opposed to cable at home).

I guess I'm just tight but I tend to go for the bargain when it comes to computers since by the time you get it home and hook it up it's already outdated :grin5:

Kerry

[Shake-Man]

mightymitt,

Considering that the Celeron is probably above 1Gz anyway, either one of those computers should do nicely for your needs. I would make one suggestion, though. Get at least 256MB of RAM, especially if the PC is coming with WinXP. You can have the fastest processor in the world, but you'll still slow down significantly if Windows runs out of RAM and starts using the swapfile. It's like buying an expensive racehorse and then cutting one of its legs off. Yeah, that was a gross analogy. But I'm on medication, and I live in Alabama, so you can't blame me. the end.

[Tartallini]

Shake-Man is right about the memory! The more the better!!! Usually it's so easy and cheap to add more, that almost any processor speed above 600 is great for word processing, surfing, and basic games for kids.

I built a 900 Duron last year and it worked well. Then I got greedy and bought a DELL P4, 1.4Ghz with Windows ME on it... DON'T ever go to ME unless you like PAIN and FRUSTRATION!!!
I finally upgraded the memory to 256MB from 128MB, and changed to XP. I really can't say enough good things about XP, or about DELL customer service and tech support; once the driver and compatibility issues are addressed and fixed. If you buy one from DELL or GATEWAY, they should be great out of the box... if they come with XP. Be aware of shipping costs though: Dell had free shipping, but when it's not free...it's $100 for a desktop without the monitor!

In answer to your question Gateway Celeron or pay more for a P4? Go with the Celeron. They are not as fast for gaming, digital or photo editing... but that's about it. They use the same Intel platform, and have been a reliable chip for a long time. If you have enough memory (256 or more...), a large enough hard drive (no less than 20GB, preferably 40GB)... you can add upgrades like a CDRW, DVD, faster graphics card etc... to make it exactly what you want, while saving money. The Gateway 300SE for $599 is a great deal... and if you don't need the monitor, subtract $110, and add $70 for a 256MB memory and $50 for a 40GB hard drive. You'd be happy with that for quite awhile! You might want to add a sound card and graphics card later; they use integrated sound and graphics (part of the motherboard), but it does come with a voice capable 56K modem and a network card. It's all trade offs.

Check www.pricewatch.com for computer part prices, and www.dealtime.com for coupons etc... you might be able to use.

If you don't mind refurbished products... check out www.tigerdirect.com, or their Tigerdirect brand... it uses new, quality parts and they seem to have good prices.

Have fun and enjoy!;)

Andrea

[mightymitt]

I KNEW asking you all would be the best thing I could ever do! Thanks for all your wise AND witty advice.
I love this board!

[Balayeur]

............................:cheer5:......................