PeteyNice Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 So, as this computer quickly approaches its 5th birthday I figure it is time for an upgrade. After doing some research online I have it down to a system with an Intel E6400 or an AMD X2 4600+. Both systems will have 1 GB of RAM and a 250 GB HD. I don't game so if I get the AMD I would get an nForce board and use the onboard graphics. If I go Intel I will buy a cheap PCI-x card like a 7300 LE or something. I mainly use it for Internet, Word, Photoshop and music. However, I do encode DVDs rather frequently. I have about $600 to spend on it. I can get a Dell with the AMD config for about $520. If I build the Intel one myself I am looking at about $575. I know the Intel tends to win in head to head synthetic benchmarks but I have not been able to find anything unbiased about real world performance except in games which I don't care about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 It's cliche and maybe not what you want to hear... but just get a Dell... they're good, stable, you get nice deals on them... and they are reliable... never had any problems with mine or anyone I've sold (well one power supply but that was fixed in 4 hours and this office has been using Dell's over 4 years now) Also personally jack up the RAM to the max... it will cost you less in the long run to do so Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandman441 Posted January 1, 2007 Share Posted January 1, 2007 I'd go for the AMD. I don't know why but I don't like Intel and most of the computers I've had I've had AMD in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 (edited) Lenova/IBM My thinkpad is 4 yrs old and takes a beating(that is if your looking for durability. And no one has better customer service ,but they aren't cheap. Edited January 2, 2007 by Devilish34 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 It's cliche and maybe not what you want to hear... but just get a Dell... they're good, stable, you get nice deals on them... and they are reliable... never had any problems with mine or anyone I've sold (well one power supply but that was fixed in 4 hours and this office has been using Dell's over 4 years now)Also personally jack up the RAM to the max... it will cost you less in the long run to do so I know too many people that had problems with Dells esp their c.s. I heard they wanted are were going to make improvements but thats all I know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LA03 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I don't know about Dell... Freshman year my college made all incoming freshman purchase the same Dell laptop. (Of course you could refuse, but then you couldn't get support from tech support at school etc.) I've had problems with it and my sister's Dell laptop has crashed twice. The next computer I get, I think I'm going to get a MAC. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteyNice Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 I forgot that Dell like to charge sales tax. That made the prices pretty comparable. I am using a Dell right now and even though I have upgraded just about everything (only the processor and motherboard are originals) I have not had any problems with it. However, between the sales tax and figuring out that the motherboard that this particular Dell comes with is kinda crappy I decided to buy the parts and do the Intel. Everything is coming from NY except the case which is coming from CA. Since I can't reuse anything from this one (other than the DVD drive) I will probably keep it around as a file server once I get all of my data off it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
overtime98 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 It's cliche and maybe not what you want to hear... but just get a Dell... they're good, stable, you get nice deals on them... and they are reliable... never had any problems with mine or anyone I've sold (well one power supply but that was fixed in 4 hours and this office has been using Dell's over 4 years now)Also personally jack up the RAM to the max... it will cost you less in the long run to do so Dude, Do NOT get a Dell!!!!! LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elias26 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I know too many people that had problems with Dells esp their c.s.I heard they wanted are were going to make improvements but thats all I know. Like me I had to replace my Power suply twice in the last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devils731 Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 I had to replace my power supply as well but it was blown out by a power outage and I've had it for about 4 years now. The experiences I've heard about Dell tend to be pretty good for a company that sells so many computers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CRASHER Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 what do I know... only doing this for like 8 years and for my own business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarDew Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 Dell sux...will never buy one again...btw...don't get Tech Support Insurance...it only covers hardware...if you have software issues the usual answer is from their so called great tech support "reinstall windows or if you want more help you have to pay...your insurance was for hardware...software issues cost you." I have set my home page to blank on IE because whatever they did just causes many problems...their techs read from scripts without a clue as to what they are reading means. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
squishyx Posted January 2, 2007 Share Posted January 2, 2007 All the big brand name computer comps use the same parts. literally. They all come from some lil factory out in tawiain and all dell, gateway, hp do is put the peices together and label the plastic casing on the outside. I have heard every horror story there is about every computer company. How each of them either have (a) terrible service or (b) amazing service. I used to have a new person come in and tell me how XX company was so horrible and how their sister/brother/parent-in-laws have this XX brand that has lasted 500 years and 3 nuclear shellings. The odds of them going bad are the same because they are infact mostly the same components, especially where it matters (its amazing how people think dell's pentium 4 is different then compaq's). I've never seen a benchmark where Intel has outpreformed an AMD but I wouldnt rule it out, if you do a lot of photoshot I would stick with AMD though, they are cheaper and better. RAM is good up to a degree, more so though when it comes to things like editing pictures. A good video card will help as well, and you will end up with a decent gaming machine anyway =P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteyNice Posted January 2, 2007 Author Share Posted January 2, 2007 The Core 2 Duo's crush the AMD X2's at similar clock speed. You need a faster clock (i.e. an x2 4600+'s 2.4 vs an E6400's 2.13) just to be in the game http://www23.tomshardware.com/cpu.html?mod...7&chart=189 Has some benchmarks. The Intel wins almost every time. (Comparing an E6400 to an X2 4600+ Windsor). There are subtle differences in processors and motherboards. Each company has its own enhancements and tweaks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDevils Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 I've bought and used Dell computers, desktop and laptop, for sometime now with no problems. Really have been happy with the sale and support, but I've little if any problem with my computers. I'm still using my Dell 4550 Dimension desktop. Pent 4 2.54 GHz, 1GB of RAM, 40GB HD, Radeon 9800 Pro video card, CD-RW & DVD drive. Not into burning DVD movies, and don't download music. For what I use it for, its perfect. Though, I have thought of upgrading to a new one as my system is getting old. My laptop is a Dell Inspiron 6000. Runs like a champ. Both computers were bought by using online e-coupons. I've found on Couponmountain.com is a good place to check for Dell e-coupons. They had really good Dell e-coupons to use at the time. Good luck on your new system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted January 3, 2007 Share Posted January 3, 2007 what do I know... only doing this for like 8 years and for my own business Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nieuwy25 Posted January 4, 2007 Share Posted January 4, 2007 My company uses Dell, and I can get a discount for a home computer with them, so that's what I had always done. My home computer was 7 or 8 years old (still had Windows 98 on it ) and dial-up. So we decided to upgrade to Verizon's FIOS but turns out the old Dell had no ethernet connection so it wasn't gonna work. Time to get a new computer! But this time, I just went to Circuit City to see what they had, and I bought an HP Pavilion, 200mgb HD, 2gig memory (I think????) and a new 19" wide screen HP monitor, all for about $800. Took it home and set it up - no delivery charges or wait. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sammyk Posted January 8, 2007 Share Posted January 8, 2007 squishyx gets it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 I'll still stand behind my IBM as an over all workhorse. If a computer can take what I put it through it's durable. Yes thats a Wawa you see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Googer Posted January 10, 2007 Share Posted January 10, 2007 My last two system builds have been exactly what you're looking at - I've built my own Athlon X2 and Core 2 Duo systems (an Athlon X2 4400+-based system built soon after the Athlon X2 CPU's first shipped), then replaced with a Core 2 Duo E6600-based system (soon after the Core 2 Duo CPU's first shipped ). For doing just basic e-mail, internet work, etc., you're not likely to notice much, if any, difference between the systems but for anything truly CPU-intensive (gaming, photo editing, video encoding, etc.) the Intel system would definitely be quite a bit faster. I know that this is likely to blow past your budget but you may still want to consider a slower CPU (i.e., an E6300 instead of an E6400) and use the savings to put towards 2 GB of memory instead of 1, which is much more likely to give you a noticeable performance boost, especially if you like to run lots of apps at the same time than the slightly faster CPU would... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetsGoDevils Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 Yes thats a Wawa you see. A Super WaWa Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devilish34 Posted January 12, 2007 Share Posted January 12, 2007 A Super WaWa Not just any super Wawa but a super Wawa near West Chester University and the County Courthouse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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