Looking for a new desktop........

[FinanceDude]

My 6 year old Dell is tired. I have upgraded the RAM as far as I can, added an external HD is download files I don't use all the time, etc etc, now it just is tired.

I like Dell a lot. Anyone know of any good deals? I would like an i5 chip at least, don't need a monitor, and under $1000. I check dealnews all the time but nothing really good on there......

Thanks........

 

[unclemick]

Second here - 6 year old Compaq into it's dog days and slow slow slow.

Surf the net, post to this forum and listen to U Tube music once in a while. No heavy duty data base, publishing, or number crunching.

Just need a surfing hot rod for a non - tech ER.

heh heh heh - not a gamer either. I'm all ears on this thread!

 

[modhatter]

I favor Dell as well. I have also heard and experienced mostly all good things about purchasing a refurb or "dented" unit from them as well. A few months ago I purchased a Insperion that was returned. (only owned 28 days) Might of been returned because of eshtetics (red color) It has a Sandy Bridge i5, with 4 or 6 mg ram, 1 TB hard drive, windows 7. Bought to use as a HTPC for recording TV shows, so it has limited use, but so far so good. Paid $399 for it.

I understand their business line of computers, which you can see the names listed under "business" use are superior and last the longest. I also just purchased a new XPS laptop from them, but it was over $1,000 (around $1,300) It's the newer sandy bridge i7 processor, and has one of the best screens put out now on laptops, but you pay for it. But I love a good quality screen. Their lower resolution screens on their laptops are awful. With a desktop, you can buy a good 1080 screen separately, so that's a mute point. If your into gaming as well as other stuff, then the XPS would probably be a better choice than the business line.

On the refurbs (depending on price) don't be afraid of a unit cause it has a smaller hard drive then you wanted or not as many Gig of ram you wanted. Installing additional ram and adding a second hard drive is a piece of cake, and they are cheap to buy. A 1 TB hard drive runs around $69 and ram is dirt cheap now. But if the price and the processor and upgrade ability is right, don't hesitate on doing your own upgrading on these simple solutions.

I'm a woman, and although fairly computer literate, I have never ventured into the actual "inside" of the computer myself when I needed to upgrade something, but recently I did, and was surprised at how easy it was. I watched a couple of YouTube video's on adding a new hard drive and did it without a hitch. I was so proud of myself. I strutted around the house like a grey haired 70 year old Peacock, in front of my 30 yr. old son bellowing out "Who's the Champ?"

As I am sure you understand, if multimedia is important to you, your video and sound card is of extreme importance, as well as processor speed.

There are discounts for their new units, as well as the refurbs. The refurbs come and go quickly. Especially for anything newer. What I discovered from a poster on another board too, is that often times if you talk with a rep. who handles the refurbs, you will find that they have inventory not yet listed on their site. They will ask you what you are looking for, you tell them, and they look at a list of units they have coming up. Good way to beat the crowd. Now I've let everyone know......... What have I done.

Make sure you get your hands on all the discount coupons before you go shopping. You can find them on many different sites like

Cheap Laptops, Laptop Deals, Discount Laptop Sales

Then go to top of page where it says coupons and click on Dell.

Notebook Review always lists Dells coupons as soon as they are posted, and SlickDeals has a tab at the top you can find the current discounts.

If you just go to their web site without any coupon codes, you will be over paying in most cases. Also, if you can wait until January you will see an immediate price drop. Hope this helps.

 

[Moemg]

I'd watch Best Buy for deals . They always have a few loss leaders to bring people in to the store . I just recently purchased an HP omni all in one that has very good reviews . I paid $399 on cyber Monday . I was considering the Dell that was more expensive and the reviews were not great so I went with the HP.

 

[GrayHare]

I've preferred Dell since they were PCs Limited, but IMO their quality has been slipping. If you haven't purchased in years, be aware one of the main new processor technologies is multi-core. Each core is like having another CPU in your computer that can run an application simultaneously. Dual and quad core processors are most useful if you run number crunching programs that take minutes/hours/days to complete, and you wish to run other software simultaneously.

 

[SoReady]

I have owned Dell for years, probably a decade or so. I currently have 2 or 3 in the house still running. I was recently in the same situation as you, with a 5-6 year old Dell that just couldn't take it any more. The heaviest use i give the computer is video editing.

S a few months ago I decided to get a new desktop. I am cheap and the Dells were coming in too expensive, so I have expanded my ways and purchased a Gateway i5 6GB 1.5T computer. I was lucky enough for a sale and found an online coupon and got this one for $449 at Tigerdirect.

I've had it running 24X7 for a couple of months now and feel it has been a nice improvement over the Dell I had. As with all computers, only time will tell if it was a good choice.

 

[FinanceDude]

I have owned Dell for years, probably a decade or so. I currently have 2 or 3 in the house still running. I was recently in the same situation as you, with a 5-6 year old Dell that just couldn't take it any more. The heaviest use i give the computer is video editing.

S a few months ago I decided to get a new desktop. I am cheap and the Dells were coming in too expensive, so I have expanded my ways and purchased a Gateway i5 6GB 1.5T computer. I was lucky enough for a sale and found an online coupon and got this one for $449 at Tigerdirect.

I've had it running 24X7 for a couple of months now and feel it has been a nice improvement over the Dell I had. As with all computers, only time will tell if it was a good choice.

That one looks sweet! I like Dell a lot, but they are not running as many deals as last year. Last year, I got a new work desktop, 24 inch monitor, quad core, 750 GB HD, 8GB ram, all for $999. It was a sweet deal at the time..........

 

[modhatter]

It's a tough call these days with technology changing as fast as it does. Do you spend more now and buy one that lasts 4 or 5 years, or do you buy middle of the road and replace in two years. Hard call sometimes. Could go either way, but on a desktop, since they are cheaper, I'd probably go the latter. (but not too cheap) Probably around $600 would buy you a decent enough machine (unless you were a heavy gamer)

I just picked up a cheapo laptop that I got at Staples. It was a 14" HP with i5 processor. I wanted something smaller and lighter for travel. As it is not going to be my main computer, I took a chance and bought a floor display from staples that had been marked down to $499, plus had a manufacturer $50 rebate, and I brought in a $50 off Staples computer coupon, so it ultimately cost me $399 for laptop. It sells online now for around $650+. Here it is on Amazon:

Amazon.com: HP Pavilion dm4-2070us Intel Core i5-2410M 14.0-Inch Notebook PC (Steel Gray Aluminum): Computers & Accessories

Figured I could purchase a 3 year extended warranty from that warranty place that I just can't remember the name of for the life of me for about $65 if I recall, if I had any concerns. (Square Trade, that's it) But played with it for a week or so, and it runs like brand new.

Now HP is not my go to brand, but as this was not going to be my main computer, I wasn't so afraid of it. So, I think I got a good deal on that one. It had pretty much all the bells and whistles on it that I wanted.

 

[2soon2tell]

I have bought a few Dell refurbished computers in the past and have had no problems. You might also check Newegg.com

 

[Gotadimple]

Staples looks to be moving inventory -- good prices on laptops which can serve as desktop replacements.

 

[pb4uski]

A few weeks ago I bought a Lenovo T410s laptop, well equipped, with a solid state drive for $739. It screams. Best purchase of the year.

 

[ratto]

In these day, it's difficult to find decent built computers. The electrolytic capacitors chosen by computer makers usually have very tight voltage tolerance margin just to save a few cents, and most likely they will pop just a few weeks/months after the warranty expires. Tigerdirect.com is another site worthy to be checked.

 

[davemartin88]

I just ordered a Lenovo laptop, had a Dell once in the past and it was just okay. Have tried to buy from Dell recently twice and after taking the order based on a shipping date of a day or so later, then notified me of at least a one month delay. I wouldn't buy from Dell on a bet now. Not sure if this is a more recent phenomena given how well they've worked for others but not for me- their pricing was in line with other brands from what I could tell.

 

[easysurfer]

Instead of brand name, I'd look at the specs (processor, quad core?, how much memory) etc. If laptop, the screen size and resolution. Then, of course, compare what's available with my budget.

 

[SJ1_]

Instead of brand name, I'd look at the specs (processor, quad core?, how much memory) etc. If laptop, the screen size and resolution. Then, of course, compare what's available with my budget.

That is what I did. Once you figure out what you need, you just shop
Around and take the best deal.
I would never touch a Dell product
google
An Unsealed Lawsuit Indicates Dell Hid Faults of Computers

 

[Ed_The_Gypsy]

Consider buying one at Costco. IIRC the either double the warrantee or add another year to it. And you can't beat their return policy. Just be careful what you choose. We have been seeing some around $600-$700 that are just fine for us.

If you need something special (for gaming, for example), you may want to go elsewhere.

Meantime, I love my Samsung Galaxy S2

 

[Walt34]

In these day, it's difficult to find decent built computers. The electrolytic capacitors chosen by computer makers usually have very tight voltage tolerance margin just to save a few cents, and most likely they will pop just a few weeks/months after the warranty expires.

That's reason enough to give the business-class machines serious consideration if one plans to keep it a long time. For me, reliability is a prime consideration.

Another idea is to simply subscribe to their [-]E-mail list [/-] spam and wait for what you want to go on sale. That's what I did when I was looking at an Ultrasharp U2410 monitor for photo editing. (Monitors not intended for that don't have the required color range.) Three months later it went on sale for $150 off and I bought one. Very happy with it.

 

[ls99]

Another vote for business/professional Dells.

I run Dell Precision 650 Dual Xeon 2GHZ bought on fleebay for $50 +40 Shipping, maybe 5 years ago. Had a questionable hard drive, swapped out for about $60. Have no idea how old it is, just keeps on running. XP pro for OS.

Also have a Dell latitude 600, maybe 8 yrs old, XP pro. OS. HD died about a year ago, Replaced drive for around $60 or so.

 

[modhatter]

I had a woman who ran a computer repair store who was excellent with computers tell me that about Dell. She said their is a world of difference between their "home" computers and their "business" class. Said it was well worth the money. Don't know if it is still true today. This was about 5 yrs ago.

 

[MichaelB]

Consumer models tend to be too compact. Too little space mean the components overheat easily. A spacier model with an empty bay and room for large fans costs more to make and has less volume so the price is higher, and is more common in the business lines of all manufacturers.

If you use a lot of purchased SW, changing computers is difficult. New models usually bring new versions of windows and often new versions of SW need be purchased. The SW cost can be substantial. In this case a pricier computer today that has room to grow hard disk and memory will be a better deal.

If your SW is primarily free, it is cheaper to spend less and run it into the ground.

The primary driver of obsolescence is SW and application, not HW.

 

[Free To Canoe]

I bought a Dell from their web site less than a year ago. So far I am pretty happy. Definitely an upgrade from the 10 year old "old glue". I couldn't have done it without help from the forum members. Thanks.
http://www.early-retirement.org/forums/f27/new-computer-purchase-2010-a-53069.html

 

[growing_older]

I got a Dell from Best Buy. It was a near top of the line model, just as Dell was introducing new more top of the lines higher than it, so it's screaming fast for it's day, yet significantly discounted compared to the cutting edge stuff. I did find out that you have to be very careful in a retail setting. Salespeople kept trying to substitute lesser processors or change the deal by throwing in things I didn't want and raising the bundle price. Then I also had to insist they honor their deal when they claimed they couldn't "find" the machines they said they had in inventory. You have to assume that salespeople do not know which machines perform better than others, no matter how confident they sound as they make stuff up. It's a lot more hassle than it ought to be.