? on buying a new computer

Mom · #1 12-31-2003, 01:14 AM

I'm trying to buy a new comp. for myself and my 12 yr. old son who likes to play a few games on it. The one we have now is 6 yrs. old and it no longer functions properly. Dell has addvert. a Deminsion2400 pent.4 2.4 Ghz,128MB,40GB hard drive for 799.-- w/ 100. rebate, free shipping, free CD-rw, CD, and a 17" flat panel. Now WAl-Mart has a HP Pavilion pent.4 2.6 GHz 80GB hard drive,512 MB, CD-rw/DVD-rom combo drive,and a 15" flat panel monitor, all for 898.-- shipping not included. Which would be the best for us? All we do is play games and download digital pics to print and burn. And use the net alot. I just want to buy the best comp. for what we use one for.

chance · #2 12-31-2003, 02:53 AM

i just seen a dell ad with that system for 599 after rebate, with a free memory upgrade. i have not bought a computer since 1986, i built all i have had since. i work on computers as a sideline buisness and hp and dell are about as good as it gets as far as commercial machines go. the dell comes with xp no doubt, the 128 megs of ram is not good at all. xp will run on 128 if you set it to run in best performance mode, but it looks like windows 95 unless you add a feature here and there back, even still it will lagg on games. the hp you list, in my humble opinion would be the better of the two, the ram for the computer is very high cost. this machine would probably be all you need for a very long time unless major changes come about. customer service is about the same with both. upgrade options are about the same with both. if i had to choose from the two, the hp would be it, either way it's up to you. my main advice DONT BUY A EMACHINE.

ESALADUANE · #3 12-31-2003, 10:29 AM

I agree. XP with 128MB is not good. 256MB should be a minimum and 512MB is good (I have 768 MB and many people are now getting a full gigabyte).

Browsing the internet and gaming are at opposite ends of resource usage. You don't need much for browsing, but gaming requires a lot. XP with 512 MB should take care of what you'll need for quite a while - with the exception of the more resource intensive games or video editing.

Mom · #4 12-31-2003, 03:32 PM

Re: buying the new comp.
W/ the Dell having only 128 MB and only 40 GB hard drive. Would it be possible to upgrade it to 512 MB and to 80 GB hard drive and it be proficient for me to be all I would need at that time?

bboysatch1 · #5 12-31-2003, 03:48 PM

don't get a dell, get a no name computer!

s7p9a2m4 · #6 12-31-2003, 05:11 PM

Of course you can upgrade the Dell. 512 ram is just right and 80 gig hard drive is perfect. Its your choice, neither are bad machines.

ESALADUANE · #7 12-31-2003, 05:25 PM

Also, I think you'll notice a dramatic difference between a 17" flat panel and a 15" flat panel. I'd take the Dell offer and add RAM. Depending on your usage you may not even need a larger hard drive. But if you do, I'd get an additional external one rather than replacing the one that's in there. These are just my personal preferences, of course.

scenar · #8 01-12-2004, 11:43 PM

There's some article on selecting a computer at
http://www.ocarena.com

could be helpful, but the specs they recommend look a little high end to me

blizey · #9 01-13-2004, 11:33 AM

Chance said that "xp will run on 128 MB, but it looks like windows 95". Am I missing something by running 128MB? Would the appearance change if I upgraded to 256MB?

ESALADUANE · #10 01-13-2004, 11:47 AM

If you want to run XP on 128 MB, you'll probably want to save resources whereever possible. Disabling various features and themes will help. I've never seen it, but I guess if you disable everything possible you'll end up with an OS that looks like Windows 95 or older. Adding RAM doesn't change the appearance, but with more resources you can use more of XP's GUI features, themes and effects.

blizey · #11 01-13-2004, 12:27 PM

GUI - Graphic User Interface. I'll have to study that. Already, I'm starting to feel that I need more RAM. When you refer to Themes. I only see two themes available here. Tried to download a few the other day,but, they didn't take. I would love to change my theme.

ESALADUANE · #12 01-13-2004, 12:34 PM

You can find just about any theme you want for XP here.

StyleXP
http://www.tgtsoft.com/

blizey · #13 01-13-2004, 03:24 PM

Thanks ESALADUANE. I did download themes from Theme XP the other day and did not realize until now, that I also have to download the free trial of Sytle XP to make them work.

Do you happen to know how long the trial period is? I'm going on vacation and and should probably wait to download the trial.

ESALADUANE · #14 01-13-2004, 05:13 PM

Probably 30 days, but I'm not sure. I've had it for a couple of years and can't remember if I went for the trial version or bought it immediately..

Azn_tweaker · #15 02-28-2004, 11:17 PM

lol.
i just crack it or put in the serial key?
u want the serial key?
what version u have?
im running Windows Xp Pro with 128 RDRAM.