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| Thread ID: 51218 | 2004-11-14 20:35:00 | Advice on choosing a family computer, please. | MattG (6409) | Press F1 |
| Post ID | Timestamp | Content | User | ||
| 292054 | 2004-11-14 20:35:00 | Hi Press F1. We've decided it's time the family bought a computer, but we know next to nothing about them. I've been reading PC World for a few months to get a feel for the subject but I don't know where to go from here and I'm a bit nervous about computer shops because they tend to make me feel stupid. It's going to be used by the whole family for internet and email, homework, corrospondence and general stuff like that. We've decided to ban games from it as the boys have a PS2. We are on a budget an don't really want to spend more that $2000 but would prefer closer to $1200 is possible. Some considerations we have already found are an Acer at Dick Smiths for $1199 and one at the Warehouse. When making suggestion it would be good if you could also give plain english reasons because I need to explain it to my wife. Also, should I go for broadban internet or not? Thanks in advance. |
MattG (6409) | ||
| 292055 | 2004-11-14 20:39:00 | A $1200 comp will do you fine,The brand name systems scale badly so its only worth looking at the ones they have at the lower end of the price spectrum. Avoid anything with a Celeron in it though,they represent poor value. As to broadband or not?,thats going to depend on budget and surfing habits. |
metla (154) | ||
| 292056 | 2004-11-14 20:50:00 | Thanks for such a fast reply! What do you mean by "scale badly". Most cheaper computers seem to have a celeron, is that realy bad? What should I look for instead? I don't know what our surfing habits will be, but both the boys are in there teens so may be using it a lot. I believe that with broadband the phone is freee, is that true? Does it cause interference on the line? |
MattG (6409) | ||
| 292057 | 2004-11-14 20:50:00 | And while im on the subject,Any newly purchased PC needs to be configured correctly before hitting the net,Make sure who ever you purchase it from confirms that it will be delivered with Service Pack 2 installed and an up to date anti-virus program. Its also a good idea to only buy a comp that has a copy of all the supplied software on cd, This is one of the disadvatages of a brand name comp but if you ask the right questions you should be able to get the media. |
metla (154) | ||
| 292058 | 2004-11-14 20:53:00 | When i say they scale badly i mean a $2000 brand name system is not $1000 better then a $1000 system. Is a celeron that bad? No,not at all,but they are the poorest chip on the market, The thing is that at the current time all hardware is faster then the needs of basic software.A celeron chip will have no problem running a basic home computer. |
metla (154) | ||
| 292059 | 2004-11-14 20:56:00 | So, the one from Dick Smiths should be OK? What about the one at the warehouse? | MattG (6409) | ||
| 292060 | 2004-11-14 20:56:00 | Broadband does indeed leave the phone free to be used,But depending on what plan is chosen and the amount and type of use it can prove to be expensive,or limiting. | metla (154) | ||
| 292061 | 2004-11-14 20:58:00 | > So, the one from Dick Smiths should be OK? What about > the one at the warehouse? I haven't looked at the comps you listed,But i would never suggest anyone bought a computer from the Warehouse. |
metla (154) | ||
| 292062 | 2004-11-14 21:01:00 | Seeing you're in Wanganui I doubt you could go wrong if you bought a machine from PressF1'er Metla. Although his prices may not be the country's greatest, his response that you can get a reasonable machine for your price range is a good indication, and you'd have a lot of support if things went screwy. | Greg S (201) | ||
| 292063 | 2004-11-14 21:01:00 | The general advice from the experts here is to go to a computer specialist store and have a chat about what you want from a computer so that they can suggest a few recommended options, give you a quote and then build you a system that will match your requirements . Since you are in Wanganui a good place to start is http://www . computermedic . co . nz/ You should be in good hands there . |
Susan B (19) | ||
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