I'm computer-illiterate, so tell me: how does this sound?

[Abiyah]

My computer died -- or, at least, my computer
repair person asked me why I was wanting to put
more money into my old one in order to bring it
back to life. --And right when this ridiculous
Internet service coming through my cable was
about to be no more in this town.

So I am buying a new computer which was
described to me like this:
It has an Intel Pentium 4 with 2.6 gig and a bus
speed of 800. It has an MSI motherboard with
audio, lan, and a serial ATA, IDE 7200 RPM, 80
gig, 8 megabytes. The video card is Radion 9000
(to accomodate my present monitor) with DVI for
later switch to LCD; DD464 megs RAM. The CDR
has an aluminum case, and the power supply is 300
watt. The memory is 512.

Now, I have no idea what I just told you because,
like I said, I am computer-iliterate. What I want to
know is does that sound good? Right? Like the
thing to do? Etc???

Thank you for any information you can give me.

 

[Clint Kritzer]

What I want to
know is does that sound good?

That actually depends on two factors:

1) For what purpose will you be using it?; and

2) How much is it costing you?

 

[Abiyah]

Hi, Clint!! I have not talked to you in a LONG time!

I am using it for personal things: Internet, letters,
creating flash cards and other things for my
synagogue, drawing, creating other stuff and to
get away from tis ridiculus system. The cost,
including tax, is just over $1300.

Nice to "see" you!

 

[Abiyah]

Bump

 

[dianetavegia]

Abiyah, We bought a new computer for me this past winter for about $600. I didn't need a new monitor tho. That sounds pricey for what you use your computer for. I'd check out Best Buys and Circuit City for some sales and rebates.

Guys??? Help??? I can do lots of things with my computer but I have NO idea what all those gigathingys mean. But then, I don't believe that radio and t.v. comes through the air either. LOL
Diane

 

[Abiyah]

("But then, I don't believe that radio and t.v. comes through the air either. LOL
Diane"

Nope, there are little people inside those things. I saw the insides of a radio when I was a little kid (before they started sealing them up so that the little people could not get out and raid the fridge at night), and they have long glass tubular stage lights -- lots of them. They hide behind the lights and other stuff inside the radio when you try to see them. One of them is just a shadow, and he knows everything. I have seen him.)

The reason I requested so much stuff on this computer is because I have never had a computer that did not run out of memory or that would do everything I wanted. I have spent too much time rebooting computers because they froze on me from being overloaded with too much whatever.

I also wanted it to be able to handle my future needs, which will surely grow. It has happened with each computer that, computer illiterate or not, I have outgrown.

I am using my old monitor, but everything else was too old.

 

[dianetavegia]

Nope, there are little people inside those things. I saw the insides of a radio when I was a little kid (before they started sealing them up so that the little people could not get out and raid the fridge at night), and they have long glass tubular stage lights -- lots of them. They hide behind the lights and other stuff inside the radio when you try to see them. One of them is just a shadow, and he knows everything. I have seen him.)

I KNEW I was right, Abiyah! Wow.. all these years. Hey, is our head really full of hair waiting to come out?

Diane

 

[td]

I just bought a new computer this week. I never buy the latest and greatest...what's the point? It will be obsolete in a few months anyway. A local shop built it for me: AMD 1.8, 256k ram, cd burner, 30g hard drive, & 3D graphics for $446. Kept my old monitor, floppy drive and CD. My old 300mhz box finally quit after five years of faithful service. Didn't really want to spend the money on a new one, but how else could I post on Baptist Board?

 

[rsr]

Abiyah, you've described a capable machine, but I have my doubts that you need all that horsepower.

Dell and Gateway offer competent machines for several hundred dollars less than that; Tiger Direct has some lower-powered machines (that being a relative term, they're more powerful than the one I'm using here) for even less.

I wouldn't discourage you from getting a high-octane machine if you really need it, but you might look at some other options if you'd like to save some money.

Just my opinion, which is worth every cent of what you paid for it ...

 

[Abiyah]

Initially, I considered Dell, but then I realized that
when anything goes wrong, it must be mailed in at
my expense, it must use their parts, it is gone (out
of my home) for at least two weeks, there is no
loaner program, and my son can't just pop in and
work on on it for me. I would feel like I am always
at their mercy, always necessarily paying their
prices. Is this right?

 

[rsr]

Well, you got me there.

At one time, I would have felt the same way. My first computer was a 386 SX-25 with everything built into the motherboard, and it was not expandable and almost impossible to upgrade.

After that, I insisted on building every machine. But I bought a few well-used Dells for the extended family and was pleased with their performance and reliability.

About a year ago, I gave up building new machines and am using a Gateway from Tiger Direct and a new Dell. Prices have fallen so much that I no longer feel the need to build my own.

If this is a concern for you, go another route. Do whatever makes you more comfortable. And enjoy.

 

[Abiyah]

Being computer illiterate has constantly left me at
the mercy of sales people. Eveerytime, I have,
at their advice, bought machines that they
assured me were adequate for my needs, and
everytime, they proved otherwise. I don't know.
Perhaps I did go overboard wth this one, but I
am so sick of the things either freezing or giving
me that little "low memory" notice.

Much of the problem is my excessive use of
graphics and my desire to connect pages rather
than having a new file for every page.

Of course, I am anxious to get to a machine that
can handle the Internet (I accidentally erased an
important program from my last one, making
connecting to the Internet impossible for it) and
I want to get away from this cable TV Internet
service and its miserable keyboard.

 

[rsr]

By all means, go for it.

Without knowing the specifics of the machine you now have, it's hard to tell why it's so unsatisfactory. It might be lack of physical memory, other hardware limitations, the limitations of the operating system or even the programs you're using.

The main thing is that it does what you want it to do.

 

[Pastork]

Abiyah,

I purchased a Dell computer about a year and a half ago and have loved the computer and the support. I am not sure why you say that you have to ship it to them at your expense if something goes wrong, though. I have had only one problem that required a technician to fix, which was that I got the odd bad hard drive and it crashed a couple of months after i received it. I called Dell at about 11:00 on a Wednesday evening and the tech on the phone took me through the Dell diagnostics and determined that I had a bad hard drive. He told me I would be contacted about a new hard drive in just a few days. The next day (Thursday) at about 12:30, I received a phone call from a Dell certified technician in Springfield, Illinois (about 40-50 minutes away from where I live). He said he wanted to come over the next day (Friday) and install my new hard drive. We set up an appointment for 1:00 and he was out in and out by 1:30. He formatted the new hard drive and ran a couple of tests to make sure it was a good one, and reminded me that I could call the Dell 1-800 tech support number if I had any questions about re-installing my software.

It is the best service I have had from any company in quite some time!

Pastork

 

[Abiyah]

Well, perhaps I have over-paid. I don't have the
computer yet, but it is presently being built and
will come with Microsoft Publisher (my favorite),
Microsoft Office XP, Power Point, Excel, etc.

In fact, maybe that's it! I did not mention the
software also bein installed. Does Dell an the
others cme wit these things, or are they more
things to be paid for after te price of the computer?

 

[Artimaeus]

Abiyah,, you did the right thing. I have been selling computers for about 15 years and I always give the same advice to everyone. Get the fastest computer, with the most memory, and the biggest hard drive that you can afford (other options vary depending on what your purposes are). No one has ever come back and said, "Oh, I wish I had gotten a slower one". Your price is well within the acceptable range for what you got. I look at your new setup and then I look at my old dinosaur and I click on "Add Reply" while talking softly to myself, "It's a sin to covet...It's a sin to covet...It's a sin to covet..."

 

[Abiyah]

(8o( I'm sorry.)

 

[Sherrie]

it must be mailed in at
my expense, it must use their parts,

Abiyah...I am so happy for you! But also wanted to tell you..Dell does make house calls. Even to the college where my son is. I bought one for him 5 monthes ago. They brought him a part that was missing from it when it was delivered.

Also Gateway pays all postage. My computer is Gateway. And they have replaced parts at no cost to me.

Happy typing! Very Happy for you!

Sherrie

 

[Artimaeus]

Just kidding, Abiyah,. A long time ago when my father would see someone with something he liked real well and wished he had, he didn't want to be guilty of coveting so he would say, "I wish I had that one and they had a better one."

 

[Dualhunter]

It has an Intel Pentium 4 with 2.6 gig and a bus
speed of 800. It has an MSI motherboard with
audio, lan, and a serial ATA, IDE 7200 RPM, 80
gig, 8 megabytes. The video card is Radion 9000
(to accomodate my present monitor) with DVI for
later switch to LCD; DD464 megs RAM. The CDR
has an aluminum case, and the power supply is 300
watt. The memory is 512.

That's a pretty good computer. It's more than you need so I don't think you'll be disappointed.