Hunting for a new computer.

Poststructural Pub
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I’m in the new market for a computer - one that is Vista capable, seeing as the one I have now [presently] is not Vista capable. I’m almost 100% sure that it’ll be another HP, I just don’t know what. There’s pretty much just three choices, the regular desktop, a slimline PC, or a notebook/tablet. I don’t want to spend too much - trying to stay under $800, and there’s a lot of good choices out there. The thing that has me stumped is which is more practical. The biggest concern I have is repairs - I do my own. I can fix a desktop computer no problem. Notebooks/tablets are very challenging, but taking my time I can usually manage to repair them. But they’re mobile, and I do a lot of mobile stuff. Then we come to the Slimlines. I am starting to like them, but I wonder if they’ll be simple enough to “operate” on. Granted, it’s compact; but at work I use one of the HP Business Small form factor PCs, and I can “operate” on that easily (even though rightfully I shouldn’t :p). Then you come to upgrades. With PCI slots, desktops are simple enough to upgrade. You can’t really upgrade slimlines or notebooks. I guess you guys can start to see what kind of predicament I am in :slight_smile:. Any thoughts/recommendations/opinions are welcome. Thanks guys.

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Ever though of carrying a Mac Mini and using the keyboard and monitor that exist at your destination. Will boot up in OSX or Micro$oft and fairly cheap.

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http://www.tigerdirect.com/

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I’ve read more than one opinion that if you want a Vista machine, you ought to wait until they ship with Vista pre-installed, rather than upgrading down the line. Makes sense to me.

Dale

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I left Macs around 9 years ago, and I don’t think I’m ready to go back just yet. :slight_smile: And Dale, that makes sense to me also. But the problem therein…if we think back…YAY! Win XP!!! Then uh-oh…WinXP SP1…then more uh-oh…WinXP SP2. Who’s to say Vista won’t follow along that same track. I’m going to hold off on Vista for the time being, but I do want a computer that can support it. Besides, I’m kinda liking XP MC edition just a little…hee!

The Tiger’s the site I forgot about…I’ll go check it out.

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Hi ShadowBG625

Why not try an Acer notebook, my notebook has performed well and I have no complaints.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2769184&CatId=1902

This seems to be suitable for your needs.

David

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Hi Dave [if I may call you that]. Thanx for the recom. My brother has also recommended me an Acer notebook, one of the 5100 series over at Circuit City. It’s definitely in the maybe pile. :smiley:

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I had been beta-testing Vista till it was finally released in full version. I now have the full version (Ultimate Ed.) running on a laptop. I have to say that I am far less than impressed by the new features. Most of the new stuff in Vista has been done for years by Mac & Linux and done a whole lot better. And IE7, as many have already discovered, pretty much blows. Firefox is a much better browser. Microsoft has made a pretty lame attempt to finally get onboard with tabbed browsing.

The problem with Dale’s advice is knowing what you will be getting re: bells & whistles of the new OS on the particular PC you might buy. Probably most PCs will ship with Vista Home Basic. Home Basic is a very watered down version with few bells & whistles. Home Premium, Buisness, and Ultimate Edition need at least a 128MB dedicated graphics card. The recommended Acer notebook has integrated graphics. If you want all the eye candy that Vista uses to eat up loads of cpu/RAM/video card resources with then you need to go with a laptop that has dedicated graphics rather than integrated.

Microsoft claims “A Windows Vista Capable PC includes at least: A modern processor (at least 800MHz1), 512 MB of system memory, A graphics processor that is DirectX 9 capable.” That would be a possible minimum for Windows XP (though I personally would not want to go with a CPU less than 1GHz). Microsoft has historically claimed “minimum system requirements” that are totally absurd for anyone wanting their PC to actually be useful.

Also from Microsoft’s site:
Windows Vista Premium Ready PCs
To get an even better Windows Vista experience, including the Windows Aero user experience, ask for a Windows Vista Capable PC that is designated Premium Ready, or choose a PC that meets or exceeds the Premium Ready requirements described below. Features available in specific premium editions of Windows Vista, such as the ability to watch and record live TV, (also the “BitLocker Drive Encryption”!) may require additional hardware.
A Windows Vista Premium Ready PC includes at least:

  • 1 GHz 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor1.
  • 1 GB of system memory.
  • Support for DirectX 9 graphics with a WDDM driver, 128 MB of graphics memory (minimum), Pixel Shader 2.0 and 32 bits per pixel.
  • 40 GB of hard drive capacity with 15 GB free space.
  • DVD-ROM Drive
  • Audio output capability.
  • Internet access capability.

So…if your looking to get Vista Ultimate Edition, etc., then look for a notebook with a dedicated graphic card sporting at least 128 MB of video ram. Go for the fastest CPU (dual core) you can. For a desktop PC get at least a 2GHz processor and for either get about 2 GB of RAM. Otherwise stick with XP Pro or buy a Mac with the dual core processor/OS X ( or get a hearty PC and load it with Ubuntu Linux ).

Cheers,
Feadan

P.S. My laptop is a Toshiba Tecra which, out of the box, has a loud cooling fan and runs pretty hot. Not good to have sitting on your lap. It has

  • Intel Centrino 1.73 GHz
  • 1.5 GB RAM
  • NVIDIA GeForce Go TE 128MB
  • 60GB hard drive