Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it?

ronr · 11-14-2009, 11:26 AM

It's time for new computer (PC). My current computer (3 years old) I bought from someone locally who isn't around anymore.

Before then I always bought my computers from Dell. But I got tired of trying to understand tech-support people who had accents so strong I couldn't understand them. In addition I last two Dell machines had some hardware problems less than a year after I got them.

Is it safe to go back to Dell?

My machine is almost totally used for business. No games however I will start creating more videos.

With cyber and Black Friday sales coming up, I thought I might start watching the sales.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,

Ron

Tekstar · 11-14-2009, 11:32 AM

Stay away from Dell.

Are you looking for a Desktop or Laptop. For Laptop I cant recommend Toshiba enough. I'm on my second one just because I wanted more power and I've had no issues with either one.

Desktops, stay away from Dell and Acer. You are really stuck with either HP or the Compaq side of HP but they are both decent choices. I would go with the Elite series if you are looking for power. Also for whitebox brands you can go with systemax or Ibuypower.com.

I'm in the middle of deciding for myself as well for a power machine for video and audio editing.

-Bob

SeanSupplee · 11-14-2009, 11:34 AM

You can build your own for dirt cheap and its pretty easy to do I get all my stuff off newegg but they also have some discounted systems on there as well might be something to look into.

ronr · 11-14-2009, 11:39 AM

Thanks I should have mentioned I'm looking for a desktop.

I was leery about going back to Dell. Too bad they went downhill. I bought at least 5 of them over the years before I moved on from them.

I used to build my own machines but now I'm older and lazy and just like to get them prebuilt.

Ron

SteveJohnson · 11-14-2009, 11:43 AM

You might look in your hometown for computer businesses. I used to build my own also, then by chance I had a local computer store quote me for building one - and I could get it for almost 20% less than I could build it for with off-the-shelf pieces. Even if you have to pay a little bit more than a major brand, you still have the advantage of buying from somewhere that you could camp out on their doorstep if you need to.

tdecker81 · 11-14-2009, 11:57 AM

These are all stores that I've purchased from before and found great deals. Shop around and educate yourself about what you're looking for. I currently have an HP laptop and love it. My wife has a Gateway that has served her well for 2 years. My last laptop was a Dell. It held up well with me bringing it everywhere for 3 years. The right hinge in the screen started coming apart and I traded up for the one I have now.

TigerDirect.com - Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Components, Netbooks & Electronics

PROVANTAGE SuperStore: Buy GPS Computers Electronics Software More provantage.com

Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!

If you know a model number pricewatch searches many pc vendors for the best price on a certain item.
PRICEWATCH.com :: Price Comparison Shopping Tool - Find the lowest prices on computers, parts, electronics, clothing and more before you buy

I tried to link to them and make it easy for you but I don't have enough posts yet to post links in the forum.

JustVisiting · 11-14-2009, 12:09 PM

Find what you want online.
Then go to your local computer shops and ask them to match the price. Even if they can't quite match it they may well through in some extra goodies.

DogScout · 11-14-2009, 12:17 PM

Buy from a local shop. Build to your specs.

For a laptop look at Avertec

bannor32 · 11-14-2009, 12:21 PM

I'd highly recommend a Mac. Rock solid OS that never seems to crash (at least for me), and fantastic build quality. With Parallels or Fusion you can run all your PC apps. Price is still higher than a comparable PC, so that will obviously be a factor. That being said you can find some relatively good deals by checking out the refurbished section of the Apple Store.

Sirago · 11-14-2009, 12:22 PM

I would buy something online, maybe from NewEgg.com -- or maybe find someone who built one on ebay. They're usually cheaper and faster than a HP or Dell. More for yo' money.

bgmacaw · 11-14-2009, 01:41 PM

I'm in the process of replacing my 3 year old desktop PC too, especially since my wife and son now have faster/better systems I bought for them.

I watch TigerDirect and NewEgg for deals and snatch them up when they're available. I also check local and chain store sales looking for below cost deals. I'm basically looking for a faster Intel processor 4GB+ RAM, 1TB+ HD Windows 7 PC. The money is in the PayPal account, just waiting for the right moment.

Tor-Sigurd D.R · 11-14-2009, 01:49 PM

Building your own computer (And buying your own parts), would save you allot of money but the looks of your post you're probably not experienced enough for that.

You could probably get good pre-built pc's at newegg.com, far cheaper than you would ever get in your local hardware store.

SloanOutlaw1 · 11-14-2009, 02:10 PM

Since you mentioned an item about customer service, you may want to consider Apple. Consumer Reports and other surveys say they are top notch on it. Ratings for their desktops are also right up there on the top in the different magazines.

I have purchased different items from the Apple website, from a local authorized dealer and from a few of the local Apple Stores. Totally satisfied with each.

I have three MACs (2 laptops both over 3 years old) and a MINI MAC for the kids. Never an issue with them at all. I do not run any Microsoft Products (other than some plug in for Netflix

) on my computers although so I cannot give you any real advise on the integration with Parallel or other Windows items.

The amount of Freeware available for the Mac is substantial also. There are so many "clone"/freeware programs available that do the same as Microsoft Office such as NeoOffice, OpenOffice, and Bean for Wordprocessing. FREE. No license or dealing with the the BS Office puts everyone through.

Depending on how big your town is, they may have an Apple Store there also to check the computer out before you buy one. I am totally happy with the product and personally don't know of anyone who switched back to a PC after using a MAC.

OK, off my soapbox and sales pitch for Apple. I don't make any money off Apple (I wish I did) and I know this is my first post here.

Opinions are worth what you pay for them.

Sloan

John Rogers · 11-14-2009, 02:14 PM

I've been buying from TigerDirect for years. I've never had a problem with anything I purchased from them, and it's damn near impossible to beat the prices. Decide on what you want in the way of specs, then keep an eye on TigerDirect.

John

shaddai · 11-14-2009, 02:14 PM

Like everyone else is saying, TigerDirect & Newegg are my 2 picks as well. I used to buy everything from Tiger till their shipping costs got ridiculous, now I buy from newegg. Don't know if Tiger's come back to earth on shipping or not, if they have, I wouldn't hesitate from buying from them again.

You know the other thing you could do, is drop windows off your current machine & install Kubuntu/Ubuntu. Free download, install it & you're off to the races. It's going to have a little learning curve coming from windows, but not bad. Not much harder than going mac. There isn't much learning curve for mac to kubuntu/ubuntu either...they're all 'Unix derivative O.S.' and run very similar to each other.

Todd

Marko Vel · 11-14-2009, 02:18 PM

I have to agree with SloanOutlaw1
I'm totally satisfied with my mac, and i think i will never back to PC
So definitely MAC

InternetMarketingIQ · 11-14-2009, 02:35 PM

Yeah stay away from a company that ships 10,000 computers a day. NOT. I use Dell but I always buy from their Optiplex business line. I do not play games on the computer, I don't do anything but work with them

Dell Tech support sucks, and so does everyone elses. Why? Because how do you hire people at $10 an hour that really are competent? You don't.

Macs are great, I use them too. But I can not run all the software I need on them.

The best alternative is to build your own... but if you haven't done it before then what?

The whole PC Industry is based on CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP... products are not expected to last more than a couple of years at the most. Nearly all problems however during that short period of time are Software/OS related.

Dell sources Motherboards directly from Intel. Their boards are fine.

Where to buy depends on where you live and what you have available to you.

11-14-2009, 11:26 AM	#1
ronr Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: , , . Posts: 1,134 Thanks: 62 Thanked 113 Times in 97 Posts	Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? It's time for new computer (PC). My current computer (3 years old) I bought from someone locally who isn't around anymore. Before then I always bought my computers from Dell. But I got tired of trying to understand tech-support people who had accents so strong I couldn't understand them. In addition I last two Dell machines had some hardware problems less than a year after I got them. Is it safe to go back to Dell? My machine is almost totally used for business. No games however I will start creating more videos. With cyber and Black Friday sales coming up, I thought I might start watching the sales. Any suggestions? Thanks, Ron

11-14-2009, 11:32 AM	#2
Tekstar HyperActive Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: USA. Posts: 108 Thanks: 3 Thanked 8 Times in 8 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Stay away from Dell. Are you looking for a Desktop or Laptop. For Laptop I cant recommend Toshiba enough. I'm on my second one just because I wanted more power and I've had no issues with either one. Desktops, stay away from Dell and Acer. You are really stuck with either HP or the Compaq side of HP but they are both decent choices. I would go with the Elite series if you are looking for power. Also for whitebox brands you can go with systemax or Ibuypower.com. I'm in the middle of deciding for myself as well for a power machine for video and audio editing. -Bob

11-14-2009, 11:34 AM	#3
SeanSupplee Traffic Generation War Room Member Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: USA, PA Posts: 943 Blog Entries: 2 Thanks: 56 Thanked 122 Times in 100 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? You can build your own for dirt cheap and its pretty easy to do I get all my stuff off newegg but they also have some discounted systems on there as well might be something to look into.
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11-14-2009, 11:39 AM	#4
ronr Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: , , . Posts: 1,134 Thanks: 62 Thanked 113 Times in 97 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Thanks I should have mentioned I'm looking for a desktop. I was leery about going back to Dell. Too bad they went downhill. I bought at least 5 of them over the years before I moved on from them. I used to build my own machines but now I'm older and lazy and just like to get them prebuilt. Ron

11-14-2009, 11:43 AM	#5
SteveJohnson I am not a cowboy War Room Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Caldwell, Idaho, USA. Posts: 1,648 Thanks: 236 Thanked 494 Times in 343 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? You might look in your hometown for computer businesses. I used to build my own also, then by chance I had a local computer store quote me for building one - and I could get it for almost 20% less than I could build it for with off-the-shelf pieces. Even if you have to pay a little bit more than a major brand, you still have the advantage of buying from somewhere that you could camp out on their doorstep if you need to.
	this area under construction

11-14-2009, 11:57 AM	#6
tdecker81 Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 18 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? These are all stores that I've purchased from before and found great deals. Shop around and educate yourself about what you're looking for. I currently have an HP laptop and love it. My wife has a Gateway that has served her well for 2 years. My last laptop was a Dell. It held up well with me bringing it everywhere for 3 years. The right hinge in the screen started coming apart and I traded up for the one I have now. TigerDirect.com - Computers, Computer Parts, Computer Components, Netbooks & Electronics PROVANTAGE SuperStore: Buy GPS Computers Electronics Software More provantage.com Newegg.com - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more! If you know a model number pricewatch searches many pc vendors for the best price on a certain item. PRICEWATCH.com :: Price Comparison Shopping Tool - Find the lowest prices on computers, parts, electronics, clothing and more before you buy I tried to link to them and make it easy for you but I don't have enough posts yet to post links in the forum.

11-14-2009, 12:09 PM	#7
JustVisiting aka: Paul Delves War Room Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Malta Posts: 528 Thanks: 186 Thanked 102 Times in 55 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Find what you want online. Then go to your local computer shops and ask them to match the price. Even if they can't quite match it they may well through in some extra goodies.

11-14-2009, 12:17 PM	#8
DogScout Self Unemployed War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Florida Posts: 2,343 Thanks: 697 Thanked 628 Times in 373 Posts Social Networking	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Buy from a local shop. Build to your specs. For a laptop look at Avertec
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11-14-2009, 12:21 PM	#9
bannor32 HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 225 Thanks: 1 Thanked 11 Times in 10 Posts Contact Info	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? I'd highly recommend a Mac. Rock solid OS that never seems to crash (at least for me), and fantastic build quality. With Parallels or Fusion you can run all your PC apps. Price is still higher than a comparable PC, so that will obviously be a factor. That being said you can find some relatively good deals by checking out the refurbished section of the Apple Store.

11-14-2009, 12:22 PM	#10
Sirago Active Warrior War Room Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Posts: 69 Thanks: 2 Thanked 4 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? I would buy something online, maybe from NewEgg.com -- or maybe find someone who built one on ebay. They're usually cheaper and faster than a HP or Dell. More for yo' money.

11-14-2009, 01:41 PM	#11
bgmacaw Senior Warrior Member War Room Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Atlanta GA Metro Area, USA. Posts: 3,643 Blog Entries: 5 Thanks: 311 Thanked 925 Times in 644 Posts Social Networking	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? I'm in the process of replacing my 3 year old desktop PC too, especially since my wife and son now have faster/better systems I bought for them. I watch TigerDirect and NewEgg for deals and snatch them up when they're available. I also check local and chain store sales looking for below cost deals. I'm basically looking for a faster Intel processor 4GB+ RAM, 1TB+ HD Windows 7 PC. The money is in the PayPal account, just waiting for the right moment.
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11-14-2009, 01:49 PM	#12
Tor-Sigurd D.R Active Warrior Join Date: Feb 2009 Posts: 58 Thanks: 1 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Building your own computer (And buying your own parts), would save you allot of money but the looks of your post you're probably not experienced enough for that. You could probably get good pre-built pc's at newegg.com, far cheaper than you would ever get in your local hardware store.

11-14-2009, 02:10 PM	#13
SloanOutlaw1 Warrior Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Posts: 2 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Since you mentioned an item about customer service, you may want to consider Apple. Consumer Reports and other surveys say they are top notch on it. Ratings for their desktops are also right up there on the top in the different magazines. I have purchased different items from the Apple website, from a local authorized dealer and from a few of the local Apple Stores. Totally satisfied with each. I have three MACs (2 laptops both over 3 years old) and a MINI MAC for the kids. Never an issue with them at all. I do not run any Microsoft Products (other than some plug in for Netflix ) on my computers although so I cannot give you any real advise on the integration with Parallel or other Windows items. The amount of Freeware available for the Mac is substantial also. There are so many "clone"/freeware programs available that do the same as Microsoft Office such as NeoOffice, OpenOffice, and Bean for Wordprocessing. FREE. No license or dealing with the the BS Office puts everyone through. Depending on how big your town is, they may have an Apple Store there also to check the computer out before you buy one. I am totally happy with the product and personally don't know of anyone who switched back to a PC after using a MAC. OK, off my soapbox and sales pitch for Apple. I don't make any money off Apple (I wish I did) and I know this is my first post here. Opinions are worth what you pay for them. Sloan

11-14-2009, 02:14 PM	#14
John Rogers The Instigator War Room Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Shelton, WA, USA. Posts: 5,346 Blog Entries: 11 Thanks: 278 Thanked 524 Times in 241 Posts Social Networking	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? I've been buying from TigerDirect for years. I've never had a problem with anything I purchased from them, and it's damn near impossible to beat the prices. Decide on what you want in the way of specs, then keep an eye on TigerDirect. John
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11-14-2009, 02:14 PM	#15
shaddai HyperActive Warrior Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 196 Thanks: 7 Thanked 10 Times in 10 Posts Social Networking	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Like everyone else is saying, TigerDirect & Newegg are my 2 picks as well. I used to buy everything from Tiger till their shipping costs got ridiculous, now I buy from newegg. Don't know if Tiger's come back to earth on shipping or not, if they have, I wouldn't hesitate from buying from them again. You know the other thing you could do, is drop windows off your current machine & install Kubuntu/Ubuntu. Free download, install it & you're off to the races. It's going to have a little learning curve coming from windows, but not bad. Not much harder than going mac. There isn't much learning curve for mac to kubuntu/ubuntu either...they're all 'Unix derivative O.S.' and run very similar to each other. Todd
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11-14-2009, 02:18 PM	#16
Marko Vel PutYourSoulInWhatYouDo War Room Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: In Europe Posts: 833 Thanks: 61 Thanked 107 Times in 64 Posts Social Networking Contact Info	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? I have to agree with SloanOutlaw1 I'm totally satisfied with my mac, and i think i will never back to PC So definitely MAC

11-14-2009, 02:35 PM	#17
InternetMarketingIQ Senior Warrior Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: US of A Posts: 2,190 Thanks: 47 Thanked 257 Times in 211 Posts	Re: Need a New Computer. Where should I buy it? Yeah stay away from a company that ships 10,000 computers a day. NOT. I use Dell but I always buy from their Optiplex business line. I do not play games on the computer, I don't do anything but work with them Dell Tech support sucks, and so does everyone elses. Why? Because how do you hire people at $10 an hour that really are competent? You don't. Macs are great, I use them too. But I can not run all the software I need on them. The best alternative is to build your own... but if you haven't done it before then what? The whole PC Industry is based on CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP... products are not expected to last more than a couple of years at the most. Nearly all problems however during that short period of time are Software/OS related. Dell sources Motherboards directly from Intel. Their boards are fine. Where to buy depends on where you live and what you have available to you.
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