Looking to buy a new computer..advice

General Brown · #1 02/27/10, 09:28 PM

This old computer is so slow it makes Grandma look like a race horse, lol. This one is a HP Pavilion and I bought it new 5 or 6 years ago. I have always had dial up, and probably will continue down that road. Anyone have any recommendations for a good computer setup around the $500 range?

Thanks, GB

retire2$ · #2 02/27/10, 10:27 PM

If you are only needing the computer for internet access I am happy with my Compaq labtop that I purchased from Walmart. They had it on special for $189.

freegal · #3 02/28/10, 09:29 AM

I bought a new HP Pavilion last summer. It is quiet and fast - kind of makes up for being on dial up. I am happy with it and it is right in your price range.

ronbre · #4 02/28/10, 12:04 PM

get yourself a good Dell laptop..they will be up to date and can be plugged into your printer and scanner if you want to continue to use those...it will be portable and you can take it anywhere and use it rather than being stuck at home only...i use an htc smartphone for my internet modem so i can even be online anywhere there is a cellphone signal..and i can use the smartphone with a usb jack on the old pc as well if i want to use that (and it is highspeed)

BTO · #5 02/28/10, 04:26 PM

I like Staples. This is one my SIL just bought, seems to be more than adequate for home use ($399).

http://www.staples.com/Compaq-Presar...P4119:CL161746

ErinP · #6 02/28/10, 05:40 PM

Mac Mini.

jessepona · #7 02/28/10, 06:02 PM

I've been really happy with my purchases from the Dell Outlet (outlet.dell.com). The computers I've bought- a laptop, a desktop and a netbook have all been very nice. Supposedly, each has a dent, but I've never been able to find one. Anyway, they were all much cheaper than ones from the Dell store. Dell customer service is notoriously bad though, so it's kind of a trade-off. For me, it's really worth it and I've had good luck with their products. I did a lot research before hand and made sure to pick good models. Some of their computers are... not so great.

Jeslik · #8 02/28/10, 09:12 PM

I Really like newegg.com for computers and accessories. Specific computer depends on your needs & wants. They have a wide selection.

Mel- · #9 02/28/10, 10:18 PM

I don't think the maker really matters, I've had one from just about everybody over 20+ years and have been happy with all.

I was on dialup until a couple of years ago. buy the most processor speed and memory that you can afford. that is what will speed up dialup. and get rid of all the junk programs it will come with automatically starting on startup to free up as much memory as possible.

arabian knight · #10 02/28/10, 10:27 PM

Go for a Mini Mac, then all worries of MS or all the other stuff that comes along with MS will be gone, and that makes a happy internet surfer.

clsmith15 · #11 03/01/10, 08:57 AM

I boughts one of those e machines from walmart for $300 last summer and have been very happy with it.

ca2devri · #12 03/01/10, 09:13 AM

I bet you could cleanup the hard drive on your existing PC and get some more life out of it. Are you running XP? If you have very little space on your hard drive that could be the speed issue. It's possible to upgrade the memory to add a bit more space there.

I seriously doubt your speed issues are related to the processor itself. If you can find someone who knows PCs a bit, they might be able to clean things up for you. Eventually you'll get a new PC, but this might delay it for another year or more.

Chris

HermitJohn · #13 03/01/10, 10:19 AM

Dialup is going to bottleneck the fastest computer. Just few months ago, i replaced a 350mhz laptop that video chip went bad. I ran Puppy Linux on it. When I would take it to library, it was amazing what hooking into their broadband wifi system would do for it. Sure still pokey with some of newer more bloated software (linux gets the bloat too as hardware improves), but far as internet, it was screaming compared to my much faster desktop at home on dialup. So telling me a computer only 5 or 6 years old is slow is pure whining in my eyes and trying to justify buying something new and shiny. New and faster computer wont speed up your dialup connection.

The best thing you can do to somewhat improve your speed at home is to run the smallest most efficient operating system you can find that will run on your computer (that wont be any official out of box windows) and the lightest browser that can still do what you want. Still not anywhere close to speed of any computer on broadband, but will seem bit faster. There are cut down mini versions of XP out there (not official M$ approved) along with Opera or other light browser that will match Puppy with Opera. Or you can make your own and not violate any rules with free software called n-lite. Funny thing is lot people do something like that, like the gained speed, then complain that lot of bloated eye candy is missing. Well duh....there is no free lunch, its a matter of whats important to you, keeping money in your pocket and living with less eyecandy or spending for latest greatest fastest pc available that can run all the eyecandy and having a lighter bank account, or I guess living with slow and pokey eyecandy. Truth be told few people even remotely need all the power of current generation pc for home use unless they are gamers, but gamers dont do dialup....

57plymouth · #14 03/02/10, 01:38 PM

Asus.

Never have regretted buying this one.

Download OpenOffice and Mozilla Firefox for free, and use Microsoft Security Essentials and Spybot Search and Destroy for virus protection (also free). Everything you need and nothing you don't (like Internet Explorer which is absolutely worthless).