Update: Computer Shopping Today - Long

[John Weber]

Well we drove to Dayton and hit Best Buy, Circuit City, and CompUSA tonight. The amazing thing is they all carry about the same computers, Toshiba, Compaq, HP, Sony, and maybe an off brand or two. The computer shopping is for the birds, I really enjoy shopping for tools, but computers is a whole other ball game, I don’t really know enough to be an informed buyer. But I’ve always felt touch and feel were important so we start looking. The computer is for my wife, Kim, at home, the office, and hospital. She quickly was concerned with the size, as most are 7+ pounds and she had a laptop she didn’t use partly because of the weight. Processor isn’t critical, but memory is important (512 MB), as is a DVD/CDRW combo drive, and at least a 40 MB HDD, although I think we could live with less. Her favorite was the Toshiba M35-S359; it’s a 6.2 pound, 15” wide screen, Pentium M processor machine, and 60 MB HDD. With a router and 3 year extended warranty we can get it a bit under $2000.

We have a Dell desktop, so I thought check them out as well. They have lots of sub 6 lb machines, which is good for Kim, but there are so many options it is a killer to try and figure out what I need. I did find under their Healthcare machines a Latitude C640, that is highly rated by CNET, but the reviews are only about 2/3 for 1/3 against. The C640 is around 5.4 lbs, a bit faster Pentium M-4 processor, 30 MB HDD, 14” TFT screen, 512 MB, and a DVD/CDRW. So a similar machine and also just under $2000 with a router and 3 year extended warranty. The C640 seems a little dated, but has good specs. I also looked at the Inspiron Series, and can get about the same stuff for the same price.

I also think I can get an IBM R40 configured about the same also just under $2000 with router and a 3 year warranty.

Man I got a headache, I was hoping to spend a little less, but the warranty seems very important, Kim likes the Toshiba, not loves, but likes so she might be disappointed with a mail order machine. I’m still not sure what router to get; hopefully when we order the system via phone we can get the right stuff. I’m not sure if I need XP Pro, we have Pro on our desktop, but I think I can only get the Home edition on the Toshiba, the Dell can be configured with either, but the healthcare package comes with Pro, and the IBM is a Pro machine.

I guess it’s down to these:

Toshiba M35
Dell C640
IBM R40
Other

Thanks for the help earlier today, and if you have any more comments I appreciate it all.

John

[Jim Becker]

Despite the fact that LinkSys is owned by an "arch-competitor" of mine, I highly recommend their home routers/firewalls. They are very easy to set up, very secure and have long supported important things, like IPSec passthrough which is necessary to use VPN connections to "work" and so forth. I've been using a four port unit for years and if I were buying today, I'd probably opt for the unit that supported both wired and wireless connectivity for maximum flexibility, such as the WRT55AG. This model supports both 802.11a and 802.11g/b for wireless (compatible with just about any wireless card that supports the standards) and also has 4 10/100 ports for direct connections.

[Arvin Brown]

I'm not a computer expert either but one question I have is if you say that you aren't looking for speed why are you only looking at a Pentium 4 computer - why not a celeron?? For my application (engineering) I need the Pentium for AutoCadd.

[John Weber]

Jim,

Thanks, model numbers are a big help. All three have there own brand routers, but my guess is an aftermarket unit might still be better. Man this stuff is confusing, the Dell is about $300 cheaper then the others, but thier web site sucks to try and compare thier own models.

Arvin,

Speed is not critical, but we usually try to buy middle of the road as not to be left to far behind. Other then internet and wireless networking, main uses will be word processing, spreadsheets, and maybe a DVD on occasion. Back in '99 when we bought our last computer, it was a Dell, 500 mhz PIII, I since upgraded the memory, OS, bigger HD, and added a CD-RW. We bought it with a DVD, and the next to fastest video card available. I also put more money into an awesome CRT 19" Sony monitior that will last for at least another desktop. At the time we bought, 750 Mhz were hitting the market. For what I needed the computer works great. The best investment we made was switching from dial up to broadband. The only bad thing is I bet I have at least $3500 in hardware including the HP All in One printer that was very fast for the day, and reasonable today. Sorry to ramble, I guess for $2000 we are getting a lot for out money, but I would much rather buys tools. they are rarely obsolete.

Thanks - John

[Daniel Rabinovitz]

John
I hesitated to reply to your post BUT couldn't keep my fingers off the keyboard.
Since 1981, I have had all my computers built special for me.
I had found a local business that builds computers, and they have been building me a computer every time that that I thought I needed one.
Last computer built in 1999 and runs Windows 98 - this one built last October (2003) and runs Window XP.
Cost = ~$1000.00 - Monitor is ViewSonic VA720 flat screen ($550.00), purchased at Best Buy.
Parameters = Photoshop (now thats the biggest memory grabbing program) ( and needs processing speed) so the most significant. The other programs aren't hogs so they are insignificant.
The computer runs fasssssssssssssssssssst. And then faster than that!
Daniel :rolleyes:

[Ed Falis]

Sorry to ramble, I guess for $2000 we are getting a lot for out money, but I would much rather buys tools. they are rarely obsolete.

Thanks - John

Well, hey, you're getting router, right? The new PC kit? Bosch?

- Ed

[Ed Falis]

Daniel.

My son and I have both built systems (mine is my work desktop). It's a great way to go - for desktops. Of course, you don't have quite the same kind of warrantee you can get for a prebuilt system; but you can build it with better components for less.

Not sure whether there's such an option for laptops though.

- ed