My parents mentioned getting a new computer. They seen a Gateway for $599.97 (after rebate stuff) that had:
Intel Viiv Technology Pentium D Processor 935
1GB DDR2 memory
250GB hard drive
Burns and plays DVDS and CDs
Microsoft Windows Vista Home Premium
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950
Lexmark All in one printer
Now compared to our current computer this is probably amazing! But how is it for modern computers? There wont be any games ran on it. It'll be for school work, research on internet, business on internet and internet games...just that kind of stuff. I gotsa make sure it comes with Microsoft Office and stuff as well.
What's Viiv Technology Pentium D Processor? I know what a processor does and stuff but what the Viiv?
How is DDR2 memory different than whatever I have now?
What about the problems I've heard so much about with Vista?
Ignore the printer, we already have it. We'll probably sell that one or keep it for backup since printers enjoy randomly breaking.
Possible new computer
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Pete Zaria
- Corporal 5
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- Location: Near Seattle, WA
DO NOT buy a gateway. They're cheap for a reason; low-quality, mass-produced Korean and Chinese parts. They don't last long and they don't perform well.
I highly recommend assembling your own system if you think you can do it. I'd be happy to help you pick out a parts list.
If you are going to buy a pre-built machine, go for an IBM or HP/Compaq. Those are good brands. I really dislike Dell, Acer, Gateway, and eMachines.
I own an IT company, but we also do custom built machines and computer repair. I repair more Dells and Gateways than anything else; the parts are cheap $hit.
Look around on newegg, pcmall, zipzoomfly, etc... for good deals. Also check the factory-direct sites for IBM and HP.
If you let me know your price range and exactly what you want to do with the computer, I'll give you a free customized bid on a custom-built PC.
As to your questions...
The Intel Pentium D is a decent chip. It's intel's low-end dual core CPU. A Core Duo is much better. I personally am an AMD fan, but the new Intel chips are damn nice.
DDR2 runs at a much higher clock rate (but higher latency also) than DDR memory. Look at the numbers: Most DDR is PC3200 (200MHz), while DDR2 gets upto PC8000+ (1GHz+). The penalty for this is higher latency (higher memory access time) but in the end DDR2 is faster and better than DDR.
Vista is a nightmare. Avoid it until SP1 comes out; it's chock-full of holes right now. XP SP2 is your best bet for the moment if you're a Windows user...
Hope that was helpful.
Peace,
Pete Zaria.
I highly recommend assembling your own system if you think you can do it. I'd be happy to help you pick out a parts list.
If you are going to buy a pre-built machine, go for an IBM or HP/Compaq. Those are good brands. I really dislike Dell, Acer, Gateway, and eMachines.
I own an IT company, but we also do custom built machines and computer repair. I repair more Dells and Gateways than anything else; the parts are cheap $hit.
Look around on newegg, pcmall, zipzoomfly, etc... for good deals. Also check the factory-direct sites for IBM and HP.
If you let me know your price range and exactly what you want to do with the computer, I'll give you a free customized bid on a custom-built PC.
As to your questions...
The Intel Pentium D is a decent chip. It's intel's low-end dual core CPU. A Core Duo is much better. I personally am an AMD fan, but the new Intel chips are damn nice.
DDR2 runs at a much higher clock rate (but higher latency also) than DDR memory. Look at the numbers: Most DDR is PC3200 (200MHz), while DDR2 gets upto PC8000+ (1GHz+). The penalty for this is higher latency (higher memory access time) but in the end DDR2 is faster and better than DDR.
Vista is a nightmare. Avoid it until SP1 comes out; it's chock-full of holes right now. XP SP2 is your best bet for the moment if you're a Windows user...
Hope that was helpful.
Peace,
Pete Zaria.
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singularity
- Corporal 5
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dont buy it!!!! vista is hell , its DRM'ed to the core. pain in the ass to do anything on it. you'll save a ton of money and get a lot better value if you make one your self. i made mine 2 years ago for $1000 and its still can play every game on highest settings
be sure to check out my <a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/ak-styl ... 9.html">AK Styled Vortex Gun</a> and my <a href="http://www.spudfiles.com/forums/at-4-t9627.html">AT-4 Rocket</a>
upcoming projects... finalized clip fed BBMG and ball point pen sniper
upcoming projects... finalized clip fed BBMG and ball point pen sniper
Vista is a pile of piss. It shouldn't be possible to make a pile of it but nevertheless microsoft have managed it.
It costs too much, does nothing any average user really cares about above XP Pro and has excessive animation.
It costs too much, does nothing any average user really cares about above XP Pro and has excessive animation.
I agree with them!!
Gateway willnot be worth it in the long run... if you guys are looking for a solid investment get an IBM or a higherlevel computer like an alienware (pricey but mine is running as a server and has been solid for like 8 years)
DDR2 is better then DDR ram so that is good.
Get a computer that has XP on it... or if you dont care about games and what not get someone to put Redhat, or anyother high end linux kurnl on your computer. If you get linux you will never need to worry about viruses
Gateway willnot be worth it in the long run... if you guys are looking for a solid investment get an IBM or a higherlevel computer like an alienware (pricey but mine is running as a server and has been solid for like 8 years)
DDR2 is better then DDR ram so that is good.
Get a computer that has XP on it... or if you dont care about games and what not get someone to put Redhat, or anyother high end linux kurnl on your computer. If you get linux you will never need to worry about viruses
My parents aren't understanding anything you guys are saying. They keep saying that if companies are using Vista then we can.
Anyway...the price range is under 1000$.
The next computer up is also a Gateway [fart sound] but with
Intel Viiv Technology Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E4300
2GB DDR2 memory
320 GB hard drive
Burns DVDs and CDs
Still has Vista
Intel Graphics Accelerator 950 Video
So now I ask, can I just do up keep on it to keep it going? Meaning, can I prolong the life of the computer? The Gateway I'm running now is at least five years old. It came with ME and through a nephew at college we upgraded cheaply to XP. We added a memory stick (assuming that's what it's called). It was however much RAM and you plug it in and BAM! MORE RAM! <---I should sell that to a company so I can buy an IBM or some rightous computer.
I still have that copy of XP somewhere around here. Can't I just uninstall Vista and install XP? The only thing I'm concerned about is the registration. I remember having to registrate something before and I don't know if we can do it again. I wasn't really paying attention though.
I'll look into building my own. Would it be a bad idea to use Dell to make my own? If so then no problem, I'll look elsewhere (with some help from you guys, if you don't mind).
Anyway...the price range is under 1000$.
The next computer up is also a Gateway [fart sound] but with
Intel Viiv Technology Intel Core 2 Duo Processor E4300
2GB DDR2 memory
320 GB hard drive
Burns DVDs and CDs
Still has Vista
Intel Graphics Accelerator 950 Video
So now I ask, can I just do up keep on it to keep it going? Meaning, can I prolong the life of the computer? The Gateway I'm running now is at least five years old. It came with ME and through a nephew at college we upgraded cheaply to XP. We added a memory stick (assuming that's what it's called). It was however much RAM and you plug it in and BAM! MORE RAM! <---I should sell that to a company so I can buy an IBM or some rightous computer.
I still have that copy of XP somewhere around here. Can't I just uninstall Vista and install XP? The only thing I'm concerned about is the registration. I remember having to registrate something before and I don't know if we can do it again. I wasn't really paying attention though.
I'll look into building my own. Would it be a bad idea to use Dell to make my own? If so then no problem, I'll look elsewhere (with some help from you guys, if you don't mind).
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If I remember correctly one of my Dads co-workers said Vista is like this it eats up your memory and RAM, Runs reeeaaaallly slow, easily gets viruses, and is not user friendly.
If I am wrong please tell me where I went wrong.
If I am wrong please tell me where I went wrong.
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Specialist
- Specialist 3
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yes you guys guessed it if youve seen posts by me. i recomend you get a mac. for many reasons they are fast, have a huge memory capacity, dont need that vista crap, buisness friendly (my uncle runs a company off all macs) user friendly, and eaiser to run tax crap on. macs are litteraly virus free all they do is occasionally freeze. acctually almost never freeze hasnt happened once on this computer. depending on which on you buy it comes with a built in internet camera. it also comes with iLife '06 which is increadable. and a very easy to use appleworks word processing software.
MACS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MACS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I would recommend building you own computer. I have used many pre-built computers and have had all kinds of problems (cooling, slow, unable to play certain games, etc), since I built my own computer about a year ago I have not had any problems, it does whatever I wanta, games on the highest settings, excellent cooling, large hard drive, good RAM. Again, building you own computer is the best way to go in my opinion.
Specialist, I went on Mac's website and seen some mini thing. It was 600 or so bucks. I'm sorry I don't have a link, I'm kind of in a hurry right now. I am interested in a Mac if they can be under $1000 and capable of running Microsoft Office...I need that for school.
Building our own computer is looking pretty good.
Do either of the two versions of the computer I mentioned above really suck that bad? I mean obviously Vista bites, but we've had a PC for 5 or more years and it's done very well with only 1 virus. The other problems were caused by me and my curiousity of how things work.
Building our own computer is looking pretty good.
Do either of the two versions of the computer I mentioned above really suck that bad? I mean obviously Vista bites, but we've had a PC for 5 or more years and it's done very well with only 1 virus. The other problems were caused by me and my curiousity of how things work.
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Those who live by the spudgun, die on the way to the plumbing store <---I don't know.
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Pete Zaria
- Corporal 5
- Posts: 954
- Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:04 pm
- Location: Near Seattle, WA
1) Vista really is shit. I'm a professional network administrator. I've helped several companies convert to Vista, and they've had NIGHTMARES. Seriously, it's a HUGE PAIN and NOT WORTH IT! Whoever said Vista is a ram whore is dead-on correct; it eats all the ram you'll give it, and wants more.
2) Yes you could install XP over whatever you get. You're allowed to activate a copy of Win XP on one machine per six months so if it's been more than 6 months since you installed it on your current PC, you're fine. Otherwise, I can get you a fresh copy for $35 from MFST.
3) A higher-end dell is better, but it's still a Dell. A custom-configured Dell is better than a gateway, but still nowhere near the quality of a custom-built PC.
4) Macs have their place, but the truth is, they end up being MORE expensive than a PC, they're not compatible with the rest of the digital world, they're a pain in the ass to work on / fix when something goes wrong, you're severely limited in your choices of software, etc... however they are more stable and easier to use than PCs. I don't recommend Macs to people unless they're very computer illiterate. If it matters, I have two dual processor G4's here... I put Linux on them. Can't stand the MAC OS.
5) Tell me exactly what you want to do with this PC and I'll give you a parts list and a bid on a custom-built system.
With a custom-built machine, you can select the highest quality, fastest parts available inside your price range.
This will probably mean an Asus motherboard, OCZ/Corsair/Patriot memory, Western Digital HDDs, an Antec/Enermax/Thermaltake power supply (VERY important, most companies skimp on the PSU), etc...
I also have a wide selection of cases (several sizes and colors, with and without clear side panels).
All of my custom-built machines come with RAID1 dual hard drives. This means the machine has two hard drives, which are perfectly mirrored at all times - the drives are identical 24/7. If one drive fails, your data is still safe on the other drive. Additionally, the read speed from the hard drives is doubled - the machine can read data from two drives at once instead of just one.
My machines also come with large heatpipe cooler heatsinks and 120mm intake/exhaust case fans for superior cooling. I also take my time and bundle the cables nicely, to improve airflow and aesthetics inside the case.
Peace,
Pete Zaria.
PS - @ spuzi14 - almost every Windows computer more than a year old has several viruses/spyware/adawre programs on it, and the owner almost never knows about it. You'd be shocked what I could find on your PC.
2) Yes you could install XP over whatever you get. You're allowed to activate a copy of Win XP on one machine per six months so if it's been more than 6 months since you installed it on your current PC, you're fine. Otherwise, I can get you a fresh copy for $35 from MFST.
3) A higher-end dell is better, but it's still a Dell. A custom-configured Dell is better than a gateway, but still nowhere near the quality of a custom-built PC.
4) Macs have their place, but the truth is, they end up being MORE expensive than a PC, they're not compatible with the rest of the digital world, they're a pain in the ass to work on / fix when something goes wrong, you're severely limited in your choices of software, etc... however they are more stable and easier to use than PCs. I don't recommend Macs to people unless they're very computer illiterate. If it matters, I have two dual processor G4's here... I put Linux on them. Can't stand the MAC OS.
5) Tell me exactly what you want to do with this PC and I'll give you a parts list and a bid on a custom-built system.
With a custom-built machine, you can select the highest quality, fastest parts available inside your price range.
This will probably mean an Asus motherboard, OCZ/Corsair/Patriot memory, Western Digital HDDs, an Antec/Enermax/Thermaltake power supply (VERY important, most companies skimp on the PSU), etc...
I also have a wide selection of cases (several sizes and colors, with and without clear side panels).
All of my custom-built machines come with RAID1 dual hard drives. This means the machine has two hard drives, which are perfectly mirrored at all times - the drives are identical 24/7. If one drive fails, your data is still safe on the other drive. Additionally, the read speed from the hard drives is doubled - the machine can read data from two drives at once instead of just one.
My machines also come with large heatpipe cooler heatsinks and 120mm intake/exhaust case fans for superior cooling. I also take my time and bundle the cables nicely, to improve airflow and aesthetics inside the case.
Peace,
Pete Zaria.
PS - @ spuzi14 - almost every Windows computer more than a year old has several viruses/spyware/adawre programs on it, and the owner almost never knows about it. You'd be shocked what I could find on your PC.
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Specialist
- Specialist 3
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- Joined: Sun Mar 18, 2007 4:22 pm
- Location: Illinios
- Contact:
if this is what you saw then you are out of luck.http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/W ... lm=Macmini this is a mini harddrive and stores memory. This mac book is also a very good computer. its last years verison (or at least thats what i was told) but i dont know if you can run microsoft office on it. but macs come with ver very good software for people in school.
MACS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
MACS RULE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'd like to thank the members in this thread for their help!
My parents said no on a Mac because they don't know enough about it and when I explained how they tend to be on the outside of the digital world, they really said no.
Pete, my parents said that they'd rather just buy the $800 computer. You said the Core 2 Duo is a better chip than the Dual Core (Pentium D). Consider this and more memory (that is RAM, right?) and bigger hard drive and that's what we need. The reason we're not after a real good computer is because the computer isn't used all day, just off and on. We don't play games/do music stuff on it. Mostly it's just online stuff and file shunting. For this kind of stuff, a real good computer is not extremely important.
I would again like to thank you guys for all your help and I just have one more question...
What comes first? For XP I have Microsoft Office Profession Enterprise Edition 2003 (Business Contact Manager for Microsoft Outlook 2003), Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003, and Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003 Service Pack 1. I would guess Service Pack 1 is installed first and then it’s reverse order from there. I would know this but my cousin installed this for us when we did it.
My parents said no on a Mac because they don't know enough about it and when I explained how they tend to be on the outside of the digital world, they really said no.
Pete, my parents said that they'd rather just buy the $800 computer. You said the Core 2 Duo is a better chip than the Dual Core (Pentium D). Consider this and more memory (that is RAM, right?) and bigger hard drive and that's what we need. The reason we're not after a real good computer is because the computer isn't used all day, just off and on. We don't play games/do music stuff on it. Mostly it's just online stuff and file shunting. For this kind of stuff, a real good computer is not extremely important.
I would again like to thank you guys for all your help and I just have one more question...
What comes first? For XP I have Microsoft Office Profession Enterprise Edition 2003 (Business Contact Manager for Microsoft Outlook 2003), Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003, and Microsoft Office Professional Enterprise Edition 2003 Service Pack 1. I would guess Service Pack 1 is installed first and then it’s reverse order from there. I would know this but my cousin installed this for us when we did it.
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Fnord
- First Sergeant 2
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If you dont do much gaming, you may want to seriously consider linux. There are many different linux distros to choose from, and a lot are free. The nice folks that made ubuntu will even ship cds to you for free.
OpenOffice is a free clone of ms office programs like word, excel, ppt etc.. ubuntu comes with it.
About hardware..
You will always get less for your money when you by prebuilt from a company.
You can even check ebay to find prebuilt cheaper.
I got an AMAZING deal for a prebuilt on ebay:
amd 64bit 3200+ (2ghz)
1 gig ddr2 (pc3200?)
16x dvd burner
200gig HD
geforce 6600
500watt psu and case
cant remember what brand the mobo is. Its red.
FOR $250
that was 6 months ago
OpenOffice is a free clone of ms office programs like word, excel, ppt etc.. ubuntu comes with it.
About hardware..
You will always get less for your money when you by prebuilt from a company.
You can even check ebay to find prebuilt cheaper.
I got an AMAZING deal for a prebuilt on ebay:
amd 64bit 3200+ (2ghz)
1 gig ddr2 (pc3200?)
16x dvd burner
200gig HD
geforce 6600
500watt psu and case
cant remember what brand the mobo is. Its red.
FOR $250
that was 6 months ago
Last edited by Fnord on Wed Apr 18, 2007 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
