New Computer

riptides · Dec 11, 2003

What I think Bob S. Said,
( 17" CRT .27 E773c - now you showed your hand...that's a Dell part #. If you've got PLENTY of room, go for a Viewsonic 19" crt. @ .25. very little added $. You'll love it. )

I'd go with the biggest screen space you can get, and the smallest form factor.

On the HD, if you have kids, and or multiple users, 80GB is not that much.
If your thinking about expanding your home computing needs in the future, think sharing resources. I'd bump the processor up to the limit and the bus to boot!

Speed, speed, speed. And the widest fastest bus to get it!

Microsoft XP, ugh..... Upgrade that?

Care to exercise your IT skills? I recommend a Linux varient?
Don't think the DELL dudes preload that, yet? Too bad.

Think about a laptop, instead? Do you intend to do Digital Photos? Do you intend to travel and show things off? Think laptop! The ultimate space saver, too....

Good luck, buy it and don't look back, cause the market changes every day.

-Mike Z. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Bird · Dec 11, 2003

Whether or not to go with the 3.5" floppy drive? I have one in my Dell Dimension 8100; use it for the Flashpath adapter to transfer photos from the camera to the computer (could use the hardwire connector instead, but prefer my current method).

I only have one CD burner, but I also have a 250 meg Zip drive that I use for my backups. I suppose those might be considered obsolete now, too.

I've never bought an extended warranty, but probably would now. My last computer was an IBM and they replaced the monitor twice under warranty. And while I've heard about Dell's great service, I was very glad I took advantage of their financing when I bought this computer instead of just paying for it outright because when I got the ME to XP upgrade from Dell, that crashed the entire system, multiple phone calls and doing what they told me to do didn't work, they finally decided there was nothing more they could do for me until I told them it wasn't paid for yet and asked where they wanted me to send it. Then they promptly found someone who could tell me how to get it working again.

BillyP · Dec 11, 2003

Ok guys, I ordered it.

I know speed is where it's at, especially with computers. But I had to draw the line somewhere. I did make a few changes (listed below).

XP Home to Pro (just in case)

40GD Hard drive instead of 80. The one I have now has about an 8GB and I still have about half left. I don't think I'd ever use 40, let alone 80.

Kept the 3.5" floppy but did add a 64MB memory key. Those are neat. They work with any computer with a USB port.

I did take the 4 year warranty (just in case again)

I've had real good luck with this Dell. I've only had to change the CD Rom drive a few years ago. It was after the At Home service had ended but Dell shipped me the drive 2nd Day Air and coached me, over the phone, how to change it.

I did think about just upgrading this system but I figured it would cost as much to do that as to buy a new one and not as good.

jfh230 · Dec 11, 2003

Congrats. It sounds like you have a fine machine coming your way.

I take a slightly different approach in purchasing my machines. I run a lot of cad, animations and rendering software and what I have found is the computers I buy today are obsolete next week /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif Long before any component problems can pop up. Or MS changes its standards and i am forced to upgrade software for compatability which now doesn't run on my machine /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif

After throwing much $$$ into upgrading a very nice machine that I had and still falling behind the curve I decided that from then on I would buy the cheapest computer I could find and throw it out in a year or two when it outlived its usefulness. Well not throw it out, one went to my wife, one to my daughter, some to charity. My current machine is a 2 year old emachine that came with a monitor and printer for a whopping $375 by the time all the rebates kicked in.

I'll be the first to admit that the quality is no where near a dell but I figured out that I can buy three emachines for the price of one dell. And by the time the quality issues come into play I need to upgrade anyway. Not saying this is the way for everyone to go but it is food for thought.

BTW I see we have a couple of apple guys here. I have an se and one of the first color notebooks 165c and still use them everyday at work. Just turn them on in the am and they always work. If Steve Jobs wasn't such an egomaniac we'd all be using apples /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Jack

buckle97 · Dec 11, 2003

I think you are getting a great machine. I have had nothing but trouble with XPHome (I know others who have had no trouble at all though) so I was relieved to see you decided on XPPro. I think a 40 gig hard drive will suit you fine (especially if you can't manage to fill up an 8 gig.

buckle

P.S. I would have gotten the 3.5" disk drive too /forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif

Bob_Skurka · Dec 11, 2003

I am obviously out voted on the issue of the 3.5" floppy, but I can honestly say that I have not purchased a machine that had a floppy drive in it in the past 2 or 3 years . . . and I don't miss it. . . I think I knew they were obsolete when one of the secretaries needed to order someting on-line and tried to use the "credit card reader." She didn't understand why it didn't work.

BillyP · Dec 11, 2003

Thanks for all the input, guys. It's was highly appreciated.

I do have one more question (more to come later, I'm sure). Is there any options to make XP look like WIN95? This probably sounds stupid but I've used 95 for about 7 or 8 years now and I'm used to it.

Bob_Skurka · Dec 11, 2003

BillyP . . . drop the buggy whip and join the rest of the modernized world. Time moves on. The world progresses. And Bill Gates makes his systems work more and more like an Apple Macintosh every day. Go with the flow and learn the new system.

jwstewar · Dec 11, 2003

I don't know how much it truly changes the look, but if you open the the display in the Control Panel (or by right clicking the desktop), there is a Themes Tab, under Theme, Click Windows Classic. After you select Windows Classic, you can change individual Windows elements, such as window borders, icons, and menus. Click the Appearance tab, and then click Advanced to make your changes.

JASTN70D · Dec 11, 2003

I have found that the only true difference between XP home and Pro is that Microsoft has turned off a feature by leaving off some files. I.E. Joining a domain. What we do find allot is that home computers tend to come with a lot of unnecessary software that is free and very unreliable. This tends to cause a lot of problems and since this software must interact with the OS it makes it appear to be more unreliable.

Technically there is no difference for the 2 products. In fact one way to prove this is that they both take the same updates and service packs. And a service pack includes a replacement for almost every main file there is check the size. Note that all service packs are for the XP family of products. the only ones that or different is for a floppy boot install

BillyP · Dec 11, 2003

Bob, if you don't quit pickin on me, I'm gonna use that buggy whip on you /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Just kidding, of course

spencer200 · Dec 11, 2003

Dell notebooks and dell optiplex systems here and no problems at all very reliable.

OkeeDon · Dec 11, 2003

Billy, I'm with Bob. Bite the bullet and learn the new interface -- you'll end up liking it. The only thing that will throw you is that you have to click "Start" in order to stop the computer /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif . The Task Bar alone is worth the trouble to learn the new interface. If you really want slick operation, search Help for "Quick Launch", turn it on, and learn how to drag and drop your most frequently used applications into the Quick Launch window of the Task Bar. You'll wonder how you lived without it.

Junkman · Dec 11, 2003

congratulations on the new purchase. Some things that I have learned from experience, is that computers will give you the most problems when you first receive them. Two reasons for this... one you don't know how everything works, and two, the hardware has yet to been stressed and tested enough. The first problem is for you to resolve by education.... The second is even easier. Once you turn it on, don't turn it off for the first month..... give it the ultimate test to see if anything is going to fail. I remember the old days, when the manufacturers would leave them running for 24/7 just to make sure that nothing failed..... I don't think that they do that any longer. XP Pro is a great OS and I have never had any problems with it. Hopefully your experiences will be the same. One final though...... if Dell is still loading every National Internet Provider software onto the machines, get rid of all that you don't need or want. Learn about the restore points and how they work...... you can always back out of a problem if you know how to use "restore"........ Experience talking....

AndyM · Dec 12, 2003

( If you really want slick operation, search Help for "Quick Launch", turn it on, and learn how to drag and drop your most frequently used applications into the Quick Launch window of the Task Bar. You'll wonder how you lived without it. )

I moved from Windows 95 to XP, and it's worth it just for that feature. I'm able to get to the Desktop instantly without first minimizing 10 windows to get to it! /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Still using Windows 95 at work though! They upgraded me from Windows 3.1 in 1998, when Windows 98 came out. /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif Heck, I can't even get them to get me a wheel mouse! /forums/images/graemlins/mad.gif One of these days, they'll get me a new used computer, but until then, I'll continue to reboot every time I have two Access databases open at the same time. /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Trev · Dec 12, 2003

Well, I just read through this thread, rather quickly I admit, but I find one key thing missing in the discussion: what do you plan to DO with this machine??

There's no point buying a Ferrari if all you want is a grocery-getter or something to drive 3 miles to work.

A couple observations which may or may not be helpful to you:

-I've found that when people say they want a faster computer, 50% of the time what they mean is that they want a faster Internet connection. 49% of the time what they mean is that they want a faster hard disk. The remaining 1% really want a faster machine in general, for gaming or intense graphic design or some such.

-What I do is just some browsing, some e-mail, some Usenet, and some forums such as this one. Speed is not essential to any of this, but an easy-to-read display is.

It all depends on what you want the machine to do. Kind of like asking "Is this a good tractor for me to buy?" but not mentioning what work you intend to do with it. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Having said that, it sounds like a good machine!

Best..................Bob

BillyP · Dec 12, 2003

Well Bob, I want a faster PC and a faster internet connection. The faster internet connection is slowly getting here. The computer I'm using right now is so far out of date that it would cost the price of a new one to upgrade.

Things I want to do with the new computer?

Burn my own music CDs (pick the songs I want on the CD)

Transfer digital camcorder movies onto DVD (when I get the camera)

Be able to download digital camera pics (something I can't do now, due to WIN95 and none working USB ports)

Surf the net at blazing speed. (DSL, cable and local satellite internet is coming soon to this area)

I tried to pick a computer that will last for maybe 5 years, before I have to do this all over again.

As far as the monitor goes, I've used a 17" CRT for 5 years and no complaints.

And yes, buying a computer is a lot like buying a tractor. If you buy too little HP/speed, you're stuck. If you buy too much HP/speed, you'll still be ok.

By the way, the new computer is in transit /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

Trev · Dec 12, 2003

( Surf the net at blazing speed. (DSL, cable and local satellite internet is coming soon to this area)

I tried to pick a computer that will last for maybe 5 years, before I have to do this all over again.

As far as the monitor goes, I've used a 17" CRT for 5 years and no complaints.

And yes, buying a computer is a lot like buying a tractor. If you buy too little HP/speed, you're stuck. If you buy too much HP/speed, you'll still be ok.

By the way, the new computer is in transit /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
)

Well, Billy, all I can advise is to BEWARE of satellite connections.. we have been dismayed by ours. Mind you, it's the best thing we can get out here in the boonies.. but it, ah, inhales briskly! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif The latency time is, unavoidably, horrible. But, worse, the company completely disregards normal standards of integrity. I've gone into this before here, and don't want to bore/irritate people by repeating myself.. but, the short version, do NOT go with satellite. You WILL regret it.

If you want more details, send me a private message and I'll fill you in with our experience.

Sounds like you got a good computer.. and yes, if you can afford it, buying more horsepower than you might need right now is probably a good plan.

Hope you enjoy your new toy.. and happy holidays!!

Bob

Bob_Skurka · Dec 12, 2003

Bob, just out of curiosity, are you using bi-directional satellite or is your satellite link a download link only with a phone line uplink?

Without going into any specific complaints, what service do you use?

I use a bi-directional system from Skycasters and it works flawlessly. There is a latency issue, but in my case it is minimal. An there is no satellite system I know of that allows things like video conferencing (because of the latency). It was my ONLY option so I took it, and I have no real complaints. I wish it was a little faster, but it is pretty darn fast as I have it and I opted for the lowest speed from my service provider becuase it is not heavily used and they have several packages that provide more bandwidth at higher prices. I have a T-1 line at work and that is blazingly fast so I am a little spoiled when I go home and have time to blink before the screen loads.

If it were not for the upfront costs of the system, I would gladly become a poster boy recommending Skycasters as a service in rural areas where no other broadband is available.

Trev · Dec 12, 2003

Hi Bob,

We started with downlink only, and now have bi-directional satellite. We are with DirecPC, and it's really bad. Initially, they oversold the system to the point that nobody had any bandwidth at all. They were sued (class action.) Their solution was to implement what they called the FAP. This means "Fair Access Policy" to them.. but to all of their users it means the "F***ed Again Policy." If you download more than they arbitrarily deem appropriate, then reduce your speed to that of a 28K modem. And, mind you, we don't download video, we aren't into music downloads, all we do is download an occassional program and listen to some archived or live radio feeds.

I'll see if we can get Skycasters where we are. I doubt it, and it would probably mean the up-front cost all over again.

On DSLForums, the people who finally get DSL or Cable available all post messages to the satellite people saying basically "See ya 'round, sucker!!" /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif They love to gloat about finally being free of DirecPC/DirecWay.

I could go on and on.. but I'll spare you. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Glad you are happy with your service. Maybe someday ours will be acceptable.. although I have no reason to expect that based on experience so far. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Best...................Bob