Help, I need a new computer!

[RobiLee]

My computer has finally given up on me. I am hoping to get a new one soon. All I need to get is the computer itself.

Anyone have any suggestions on what I should get. I mean what kind of numbers should I go with? I know I want something with lots of space for all my photos. Help, please! I don't really know much about computers and I'm not even for sure what all those numbers that are listed are for. I just no I want a pretty decent one.

Do I want Pentium D or AMD Athlon? What is Dual Core? HELP!

Thanks!

[Lady's Human]

Dual core is two processors in one chipcase. (One processor slot filled by a chipcase with two processors on board, as in double the processing power. Note that this may not be expressed in Mhz speeds, but will have a massive effect on operations like photoshop)

100 Gb hard drives are fairly cheap, and will hold huge numbers of photos.

[Maya & Inka's mommy]

No panic! I think you need a Pentium 4, and the latest version of Windows, called Windows Vista , or are you looking for a Mac?

[vinjashira]

Do I want Pentium D or AMD Athlon? What is Dual Core? HELP!!

my dad had AMD Athlon and it was rubbish, I also had AMD Athlon and again it was rubbish..
never again will I buy another AMD Athlon

[Jessika]

I've always used AMD and have been nothing but pleased with their performance. The big difference between Pentium and AMD is that Pentium chips are already overclocked whereas AMD aren't.

And dual-core are just two processors in one. So basically... a 3GHz dual-core chip is really like having a 6GHz chip... And then there are the quad-core chips....

Ooh and another thing... DO NOT GET A DELL. And I've heard awful things about Windows Vista... I would try to find a comp with XP on it still, if that's even possible. But I've heard that lots of things are still buggy and lots of programs aren't compatible, etc.

[Randi]

Have you thought of getting a Mac? That's what I would do.

[vinjashira]

Ooh and another thing... DO NOT GET A DELL. And I've heard awful things about Windows Vista... I would try to find a comp with XP on it still, if that's even possible. But I've heard that lots of things are still buggy and lots of programs aren't compatible, etc.

I disagree.

If you already have a computer with Windows XP running then don't rush to upgrade to Windows Vista. But if you are getting a new computer then get one with Windows Vista installed. It is faster and safer and yes I am using Windows Vista.

Run a search on google on Vista vs XP and see what others say.

[Alysser]

Ooh and another thing... DO NOT GET A DELL. And I've heard awful things about Windows Vista... I would try to find a comp with XP on it still, if that's even possible. But I've heard that lots of things are still buggy and lots of programs aren't compatible, etc.

I agree! Dells are the worst. Especially, DO NOT GET A DELL LAPTOP. They don't last. Where my dad works, they were testing Windows Vista. He said it really isn't all the great and still has alot of bugs.

[Jessika]

I disagree.

If you already have a computer with Windows XP running then don't rush to upgrade to Windows Vista. But if you are getting a new computer then get one with Windows Vista installed. It is faster and safer and yes I am using Windows Vista.

Run a search on google on Vista vs XP and see what others say.

Well it depends on what or who's perspective its coming from. I live with, work with, and have family that are computer programmers/techs and they all say the same thing. Not that it's a bad OS but, like with any new release, it still has kinks to work out and to just wait a few months/year before upgrading to it.

[Hellow]

Well, what is wrong with your computer? Will it just not start up? Because there is an free operating system called Linux. I use Puppy Linux on my older computer and Ubuntu Linux on my newer computer. I have revived an reallllly old computer, back in the times when DOS was common, with Puppy Linux. Also, if you get tired of all of those errors that you encountered with Windows, you wont get them with Linux. If you wish to run Puppy Linux, you have to have a computer with a cd-rom drive, at least 64 MB of ram, and a 80 MHZ processor. But if you want to run Ubutu, the computer must be able to rum Windows ME sufficiently fast to even be able to run ubuntu. But, keep in mind, Linux and all of the distributions are still developing so don't blame anyone if you mess up your computer with it. Here is the Puppy Linux website:
www.puppylinux.org and the ubuntu website: www.ubuntu.com . And the Puppy linux forum: www.murga-linux.com/puppy/
If you need any help just send me a PM or e-mail, e-mail preferred. PM me for e-mail address.

[kittycats_delight]

my dad had AMD Athlon and it was rubbish, I also had AMD Athlon and again it was rubbish..
never again will I buy another AMD Athlon

Never ever had an issue with AMD Athlon. In fact it is all we use. I have never had a hitch with it at all. Hubby and I would never take Pentium over AMD. If it has INTEL inside then we stay far away. I have also not bought a store bought (pre-built) computer in years. We buy the components and build our own. Cheaper for one to do it this way and you get a better sytem.

[Lady's Human]

I disagree with Dells being bad computers. For two years doing tech support (among my other jobs) for a mob site, where the computers were abused beyond belief, the only issues I had were 2 bad hard drives and one bad nic card out of 50+ computers in the unit.

As far as an operating system, STAY AWAY from vista. there are major security holes, and there are things Microsquash is putting in the upgrades to the OS that are truly irritating, for example, targeted ads which bypass ad-blocking software, and are based on your web site visits and searches. They are planning on putting this IN the O/S, which means no way to turn it off if they do in fact include it.

[lizbud]

I disagree.

If you already have a computer with Windows XP running then don't rush to upgrade to Windows Vista. But if you are getting a new computer then get one with Windows Vista installed. It is faster and safer and yes I am using Windows Vista.

Run a search on google on Vista vs XP and see what others say.

I agree. Dell is a good one & windows xp works fine for me.

[BitsyNaceyDog]

Have you thought of getting a Mac? That's what I would do.

I'm with you.

[Catty1]

Robin - one way to get a really good (and maybe free) computer is to find a company that has upgraded their computers lately, and is getting rid of the "old" ones. Often they are not that old, and great for home use.

You might have to get a new HD - but chances are, they have just scrubbed it, and the Windows and Office would still be on it.

I assume your keyboard and monitor are ok? So all you need is the computer itself.

Check it out!