skycat 0 #26 September 29, 2005 I have two gateways one is a desktop (2 years old) and the other a laptop (almost 1 year old) and both have performed perfectly. I got a killer deal on the desktop from HSN it was their daily value with free shipping only thing I needed was more ram to bring it to a gig. Derek's laptop I bought from them online made to order, pricing out the options I wanted it was the best deal out there. I have an HP laptop from work and I've had to have the harddrive replaced twice, and several other people on my team have had to have theirs replaced a few times also. The current hard drive I've had about a year now so it may have just been a bad batch.Fly it like you stole it! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #27 September 29, 2005 The DELL is going to be a fine computer for you... I dont like Compaq at all, and I dont like HP desktops, but that's my opinion and as you can see here opinions are like assholes and everyone has one. As far as building your own computer, just dont... I find that I will usually spend MORE money building a computer myself, but I do it because I have very specific things that I want in my computers, I cant just goto dell.com and order what I want. If you build yourself and it takes a shit, well, you get to figure it out... If you get a Dell, they can help you with it. I've delt with Dell alot since we had a ton of them at work, never really had any issues with their support.. Had to call them alot for new parts, but that's to be expected when you have a whole network running the shit. FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #28 September 29, 2005 Comparing those cpus - in some photo/video benchmarks like Photoshop and Premier, the AMD 3400 will beat the Intel 630 by 20% in real time. But historically intel chips have been a bit better at video rendering, so other benchmarks they are nearly dead even. I like AMD because they've been leading on the 64bit front, and are better on the heat side. Intel is leading on the notebook cpu side. But putting aside the cpu, the first system was a bit better. It has 2x512mb dimms with two slots remaining for expansion. The second one had 1x512, with a single slot remaining. IMO, you need to fill it immediately to get the memory up to 1g (~$60) and if you ever want more, you'll have to pull the existing ones. The hard drive on the first is a bit bigger too, but that's only about $20 worth. Both specs indicate only room for one addition internal hard drive - if you start doing video work on this box, you'll probably need to add one shortly ($90 for a 250g down to as little as 20 for a 120 after rebate). One DV tape is 13G of raw data. I know you felt some time pressure to decide today for these. Don't. There will always be sales, refurbs, and deals to be made. Techbargains.com tracks the Dells specials in particular, and for many component items. The sale PCs for Staples/Compusa/Officemax/BestBuy might be very competitive too - just need to show up early on Sunday. $8xx can get you a decent notebook new (watch the dell specials on techbargains!). The key loss is the much much slower, smaller hard drive. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smokis 0 #29 September 29, 2005 After thinking about it, I say get the dell mentioned earlier. Here's why 1) Its not an HP or a compaq :) 2) You can upgrade to a 128mb video card 3) You can add in windows media centre as an operating system if you would like. 4) You get the media card reader 5) Its new which will mean you get a longer warranty period than with a refurb. Plus you can get on site service options 6) You can add in MS Office easily when you purchase 7) You get a 19" monitor 8) Dells usually look cooler than the rest, don't forget you want to impress the ladies 9) I believe both systems you were looking at have integrated video cards which will eat up your RAM unlike the Dell upgrade which has onboard RAM specific for graphics. 10) ummm... you skydive!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Girlfalldown 0 #30 September 29, 2005 Hey these should be available now! Get one of these! New Computer -------------- (Do not, I repeat DO NOT, take my posts seriously.) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #31 September 29, 2005 QuoteHey these should be available now! Get one of these! New Computer Oh, you know that those big corporations always promise things too early. It won't be ready till at least 2006 or 2007!"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
nate_1979 9 #32 September 29, 2005 QuoteHey these should be available now! Get one of these! New Computer Looks like the panels of Manuvering from a submarine.. Infact, I do believe that it is.. FGF #??? I miss the sky... There are 10 types of people in the world... those who understand binary and those who don't. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #33 September 29, 2005 I'm not a huge fan of the integrated gfx that steal system memory, but for what he's doing, I don't think it matters much, and saves a slot in these systems that only have 3 to start with. So long as he has the gig of memory. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #34 September 30, 2005 With all the negative opinions on Dell's, HP's, and Compaq's, I think I'm just gonna go ahead and get a Sony Vaio. The Media Center and extra inputs will be nice for running my system, since my computer is set up right next to everything. The price on Ebay is pretty decent too, like $795 plus shipping. Thanks for all the help guys. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Smokis 0 #35 September 30, 2005 Spec wise that looks like a really nice system. I know nothing about Sony's computers so I can't comment on that. Don't forget you will still have to pick up a monitor and possibly software such as Office (it only comes with a 60 day teacher/student trial version). But spec wise its the nicest system you've look at so far. Best of luck. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kelpdiver 2 #36 September 30, 2005 the knock on Sony is usually price (esp for laptops), but this box is clearly superior to the others you looked at, and isn't beige! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wildblue 7 #37 September 30, 2005 Quote Do NOT repeat DO NOT buy a Dell. We had 6 here in our office and they all took a shit within a year and we replaced them all. sx/gx 270?it's like incest - you're substituting convenience for quality Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #38 September 30, 2005 QuoteDon't forget you will still have to pick up a monitor and possibly software such as Office (it only comes with a 60 day teacher/student trial version). Is there a reason I can't just use my 6 year old Dell CRT with this box until I decide to splurge on an LCD? Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jasonRose 0 #39 September 30, 2005 Dave your rich just go buy the biggest and badest comp out there... Some day I will have the best staff in the world!!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JoeyRamone 0 #40 September 30, 2005 Ya know they all stink and they are all good, i do not reccomend toshiba or sony lap tops, we have 50 dells and they work great. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
livendive 8 #41 September 30, 2005 QuoteDave your rich just go buy the biggest and badest comp out there... I did look at this computer (3.8 gHz, 2 gigs of RAM, and a terabyte of hard drive), but realized how puny it was compared to the god-box in the other thread... dual AMD Opteron 275 processors, 4 gigs of RAM, 2 top shelf video cards, a terabyte of hard drive running at 10,000-15,000 RPMs, and twin 23" LCDs. At over $12,000, I'm just not rich enough to afford top of the line. Blues, Dave"I AM A PROFESSIONAL EXTREME ATHLETE!" (drink Mountain Dew) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
