I'm gonna get a desktop soon and I'm not sure which to choose. Does anyone have any experience/opinions on these computers? Any help would be much appreciated.
My God!! Don't buy name brand PC. A lot of PC stores build customized PC for you for free. You get to choose you favorite hardware components plus in the end you save about $500 if your system is toward the high end. Plus neither gateway nor dell offers you any system that's AMD based. AMD beats the hell out of intel, dude. I recently bought a computer myself. I will tell you where I got mine if you can't find a good place.
a lot of pc stores also cant give corporation discount, monthly specials, and financing. If you're going towards the lower end or the middle, you can often get a beter deal with a national chain. both are good options, but both fit differenct needs.
My comp was built for around $700 (no monitor), but in a retail store it would run about $2400. you could even build on your own if you like...www.newegg.com is a wonderful place to get parts, plus their service and prices are wonderful.
Exactly. It's insane to buy a name brand PC. You get better hardware and longer warranty for lower price if it's custom built. Another thing is you can't get an AMD based machine unless you want to get the less reputable Compaq Pesario. Some custom built places charge more than others so you do need to shop around. If they charge labor for putting thing together for you, like compusa for example, don't buy it from them. There are plenty of places that don't charge labor. Right now you should get a system that has AMD XP 3000+ CPU with a motherboard that runs up to 400 FSB for future upgrade purpose. Don't get anything intel. AMD 3200+ just came out so you can consider that after the price drops.
Thanks, but the thing is that I don't really know enough to just walk into a store and say "Yeah, I need such-and-such motherboard, etc. etc." Don't you have to pretty much know your stuff before you start custom building something? Also, how is AMD better than Intel?
That's more like it.... but if you must buy a PC, build one on your own. It's often times the cheapest way to get something that's more powerful than if you bought it directly from Dell or Gateway. If you MUST go with one of the two, Dell's are considered tops.
I looked into a little bit for you. I would recommend Compaq presario NEW S4000Z series. It's an AMD based system. Their price has dropped since last time I looked at it to a level which I would actually recommend. If you don't want to bother with custom built PC, I would get this one. The quality of compaq PC's have gotten better after they merged with HP. One the front page of S4000Z series, click "customize" PC. Change the processor to 3000+. Pick your favor hardware and software bundle. If you don't know just leave it at default. It will cost you around $800 without the monitor, which is cheaper than last time I looked several weeks ago. If you insist on Intel, well, I would guess they are more expensive and not as good. Do a search on bench mark test and see it for yourself. AMD XP3000+ is faster than fastest P4 by quite a bit for most applications, and most noticibly the applications that involves a lot of floating point calculations. Multimedia applications is about equal, so if you only use your computer to download porns then you don't care. Basically Intel architecture is older and clumsier because they have to maintain backward compatibility. AMD processor can pipeline more efficiently and therefore faster.
You have to know a little before you start building something, but you can learn it as you go. It can be a hassle, though. I don't blame you for just wanting to buy one. If you're just going to buy a prebuilt desktop, I would shop around a bit before you go with Dell or Gateway. Lots of places offer better computers for less money. The big variable is, of course, tech support. Some of the smaller places have better support than the big companies, some have worse. But, seriously, how often do you use tech support? In 10 years of computer ownership, I've called it twice. I got my current machine from some budget place online called ABS, and it has run like a freakin' champ since day 1.
PC Suggestion Any IT professional will tell you that you can't beat Dell for their service. It is an industry standard which everyone would love to equal Sure you can custom build your own PC and save money or you think your saving money. Remember! The Nile is not just a river in Egypt. Dell products are tested and very well supported. For PC's and workstation I recommend Dell for Servers I recommed Compaq. If you can't afford to buy a Dell then buy a Gateway. 3rd choice would be the HP/Compaq line of PC's. FYI, You get what you pay for.
You're an idiot. http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/ProductInformation/0,,30_118_3734_3750,00.html The bench mark test is done by a third party. Anyone in the industry would tell you AMD is better. It's a no brainer. Besides, Intel has known bugs, and AMD doesn't.
Hey thanks for the compliment! You can go ahead an buy all the AMD's you want. I'm only telling you from 1st hand experience that they are crap! I only manage a network of 1500 + users. So I don't mind being called an idiot.
Oh! I forgot to add ..but very important too. Most all vendors are certified by Intel, where its not quite as widespread for AMD (just so if something's not working, and you call software support, they can't say that its your hardware thats cuasing the problem becuase its not supported by the application).
Actually I have a buddy that builds comps for a living.....and a few other friends that build machines on the side. I am sure that they would disagree with you till they are blue in the face. Pentium is not the big boy on the block anymore. AMD is putting out a better product now, with better pricing, and many more options. Its a fact....
No doubt! However as an experienced IT expert. I don't become the guinney pig for everyone else. I wait and wait and then I may wait some more. BTW, about 60% of my users are CAD users. Speed is not everything! Quality is and up tiem is more important to me.
Dell or Gateway? Neither. Buy neither. Build one from scratch. It'll save you CONSIDERABLE amounts of money (more than $1000), and you won't spend 45 minutes deleting "pre-installed" programs. Also, because there's no pre-installed programs, you'll save money right there. You won't get 15 ISP's. You won't get this, that or the other thing that you'll just delete anyway. www.computersuccess.com is where I got my computer. There's probably something similar where you live. And if you already have your OS on a CD, just install on your new $700 computer. (instead of that $1500 or more Gateway.) You could almost buy TWO or THREE excellent computers for the price of a Gateway.
Well there you go! I on the other hand have had issues with AMD and none with Intel. So..Whatever make you happy! I thought this thread was about Gateway vs. Dell not AMD vs. Intel
I ordered a Dell several years ago and it took over a month for them to deliver. When I called customer service, I was on hold for an hour. Then the rep couldn't tell me where the computer was. I finally called to cancel the order, then ordered one from MicronPC. THEN, Dell delivered it almost the same time the MicronPC came in. It took another month for Dell to return my money. Other people have told me they have little or no problems after they buy a Dell. But their customer service is crap. My brother bought a Gateway and the sound card died in about a year. It was under warranty, so they fixed it for free, but it never worked the same again. My ex-wife's dad has the MicronPC we bought several years ago and it still runs. I bought another one two years ago and it works just fine. P4 BTW. Alot of people suggested I have one built, but many of them wanted cash. And some of the didn't even come with an operating system. Or any sort of word processing or spreadsheet programs. Unless you have $1000 cash on hand and all the software you want on disk somewhere, consider MicronPC.
Big deal. That's what kazaar lite is for Seriously, the compaq presario link I provided above is the best deal I found on the web at this moment. I spent a few hours looking for my mom. It includes full compliment of AMD XP3000+ based hardware and software for $700.
If you want a custom made PC go to Dell or Gateway and they'll build one for you according to your specs. If you want a Presario or a Pavillion or a Compush+tt or any of the other mass produced products out there go to Wal-Mart they'll give a better deal then Circuit City or Brands Mart or CompUsa for that matter. CDW is good too but pricey! THE BOTTOM LINE: YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. If you are happy with mediocracy that is good too, I'm happy for you. If you want the latest and the greatest then you have to pay for it. Rememeber however, that the latest and the greatest has a very short life span since there are better products coming out the next day. With regard to failure. It dosen't matter if it's a Dell, Gateway, Compaq, HP or any of the numerous others brands and non brand or home built PC's. All of them are vunerable to failure at one point or another. How quickly you can get it up an running again is the key. In my opinion, Dell's Gold Service is an industry standard. They will send someone out within 4 hours to fix it. How can you compalin about that? Again, you get what you pay for. If you want cheap or you want FREE expect what comes with it.
it's a lot more fun and cheap to build a pc by yourself. i prefer amd over intel because my a+ book says amd showed better result.