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Peter Parker View Drop Down
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    Posted: 31 May 2009 at 10:56pm
So I am officially fed up with my Dell.  I am pretty sure that the power supply is fried, and either the video card or the motherboard as well, or both.  Not to mention the neverending and resource-hogging OEM bloatware that I can't turn off.
 
So I need a new box.  Something with Vista, Office (or Office lite) and very little else.  Most importantly, no Norton, no custom branded "help" centers, etc.
 
Are there actual brands that sell such things?  With warranties worth having?  Or am I better off buying something from the computer store and going with the component warranties?
 
Spec suggestions also appreciated.  I am NOT - NOT - looking for an uber-gaming machine.  This machine will do occasional video editing, but not a lot and nothing fancy.  Most it is for general family use.  Some gaming, but nothing too intensive.  Email, internet, word processing, Skype, etc.  I don't want this machine to be obsolete in a year, though, so it can't be too far behind.
 
So - please help.  Where to get a bloatware-free box?
 
No, I will not buy a Mac.  No, I will not use Linux.
 
Thanks.
 
 

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I don’t have one either. Is that good???

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I ordered a few machines in the last six months from Dell, specifically with no crap trialware, and no antivirus package.

EDIT: I didn't see that you were looking for stats. Of course, all of this depends on how much you want to spend. If you will do a lot of video work, you may want the extra speed of the best processors. The Intel i7 chips are the newest and best. Although, you will be able to run plenty of high end video software with more pedestrian 2 or 4 core processors.

RAM is cheap, so get a lot. Although, if you have 4GB or more, you will need Vista 64 to see all that RAM, so FYI.

Edited by Shub - 31 May 2009 at 11:38pm
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Build one.

I'm sure many people on here would be willing to help you chose components.


Edited by WGP guy2 - 31 May 2009 at 11:35pm
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Originally posted by Peter Parker Peter Parker wrote:

Are there actual brands that sell such things?  With warranties worth having?  Or am I better off buying something from the computer store and going with the component warranties?


The later, by far.

Honestly, as counterproductive as it may seem, building your own is by far the cheapest and the easiest and the least hassle.  Nowadays, virtually all parts in a computer will have warranties greater then 5 years without you paying extra and their returns departments are way easier to work with then any help center.  I've busted more parts then I can count, many due to tinkering on my part, and haven't had a problem yet RMAing anything.

As mentioned above, with a given budget, many on this forum could help you pick out the parts.
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Building your own > buying online > buying in a store.


What's the amount you're looking to spend?




EDIT: Oops

Edited by Linus - 01 June 2009 at 12:02am

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Originally posted by Linus Linus wrote:

Building your own > buying online > buying in a store.
 
fixed.
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Good catch.

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It should be noted that Newegg right now is having a lot of really good sales.  Just browsing around I was able to pick out a very nice computer for just under $900.
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thanks. i was like wth? the last two were the same.
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As much fun as it would be to build my own, I don't have the time to do so.  There are some local shops that will assemble a custom machine for a fee, however, and that is my preferred route.  My real problem with this approach is that I will be paying full price for the OS and Office.  That quickly eats up all the savings.
 
 

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You can always get an OEM OS, which for Vista is 99$. Or you can go XP and get Windows 7 RC.


I'm sure you could find a friend (or forumer) who can build a PC for you w/o extra cost.




WHat size case do you have? Do you want single/dual/tri/ or quad core processor? How much ram?

Edited by Linus - 01 June 2009 at 12:14am

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It takes no more than a few hours, at most, to build a computer.  As far as the OS goes, I'd suggest torrenting the preferred operating system, which can be done very easily.

If you are interested, you could also install the Windows 7 RC.  It includes a key that is valid for 1 year, and is getting good reviews.
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Originally posted by Peter Parker Peter Parker wrote:

As much fun as it would be to build my own, I don't have the time to do so.  There are some local shops that will assemble a custom machine for a fee, however, and that is my preferred route.  My real problem with this approach is that I will be paying full price for the OS and Office.  That quickly eats up all the savings.
 


Good point

I'm betting you've heard enough about Open Office, and you probably don't already have a copy of Vista on your current PC.  Buying OEM vista is fairly cheap, but if you need to reformat you might be in trouble.

I don't suppose you can scrounge copies from the IT guys at your office?  Most large institutions have site licenses Wink
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Don't have the time?  My first build took my about 6 hours from UPS man giving me boxes to being on the desktop.  Now it would probably take even less.

I'm building a computer for my brother.  My desktop is an excellent gaming rig, I've yet to find anything that it couldn't handle well.  The computer I'm building for my brother has the same specs as mine, with a little less powerful GPU, and is about $600 including Vista.
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......and now i feel dumb for getting my laptop.
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What's your budget? If you you want to order the parts and have some guy at a local store assemble it for you then tell me how much you want to spend on parts and I'll see what I can find for you. 
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Originally posted by Peter Parker Peter Parker wrote:

No, I will not buy a Mac.  No, I will not use Linux.

Why?  Quite frankly, both are better options.
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Originally posted by Hysteria Hysteria wrote:


Originally posted by Peter Parker Peter Parker wrote:


No, I will not buy a Mac.  No, I will not use Linux.

Why?  Quite frankly, both are better options.



Unless the majority of the applications you use are on Windows only... which is the case for a lot of people.

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But why do you use windows? I used to use a pc/windows all the time, and the only reason I used it is for word. But mac is so much better...and most programs have mac varients...some even require way less steps or setup procedures for mac. Mac just works with most things. Now if you like word processing...mac has their own varient called pages...and it is amazing (minus the crappy spell check) but it will let you write anything without those annoying sqiggly lines appearing under ppls names. And if that doesnt float your boat...you can put either a) windows on a mac either as duel boot or as main OS or b) put office on the mac. Its that simple. I love mac...it just does what i tell it to do...and is great for pictures and graphic oreinted materials such as pwr pnt or other items (great for college presentations). But if I had to go with a windows oreinted machine...HP, IBM are my choice...I refuese to buy dell or gateway unless they are the high end gaming comp. they are better (and dont have to be used for gaming specfically) or alien ware. Just my two cents.
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This is kind of an aside, since it seems you want a better machine regardless, but:
If you wanted to get rid of OEM bloatware, Norton, etc, why not just reformat and install a fresh copy of Windows? That way, you control what is installed on your PC rather than a vendor. Just make sure you have the necessary drivers on a USB drive or CD before you reformat. 

Like I said, it seems you want to upgrade regardless of being able to fix your current machine, but if you're faced with a similar problem in the future, this is what I would do.

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