Question about a New computer

[Joeiss]

Okay, me and my dad went to FutureShop today, and they had like the latest, best computers selling for 1500-2500 bucks. Then, we looked at some of the Celerons which were only 500-800 bucks. These Celerons were pretty decent too. Specs : 256 DDR RAM, 40 GB HD, 40X CD-RW, 16X DVD ROM, 32MB graphics card, 1.8 Ghz, 6 USB 2.0 slots. I mean, that is a pretty good computer 600 bucks Canadian.


Now, I have a Pentium 2, 200 Mgz right now... And it is slow and crappy. My question is, should my dad buy this Celeron computer for a cheap price, or should we buy like a P4, 2.5 Ghz, top of the line everything?

Now keep in mind that my family and I only use the computer for word processing, internet use and we will be burning CD's. So, which one should my dad buy (and he doesn't mind upgrading again in like 3 years)?

[Bond]

P4 is a much better chip then the Celeron... but in your case a Celeron might be better.

I would look into Athlons though if I were you.

[Happydude]

W00T...go AMD XP!!!...they're cheaper then pentiums, and as far as i know better...so yeah, besides why the hell would you want to pay $2000 for a P when you could build one yourself with the exact same specs for like half the price?

look into buying parts sepertly and then building it yourself...

[Mushlafa]

for half the price and then have to get all the software that would comp with a normal PC illegally :p... plus you dont get any tech support jus in case you mess up your system :p..

Anyway... as far as i know.. celerons are TERRIBLE for gaming.... my p2 398 mhz outperformed an 800 mhz celeron with a better vid card by a lot.. i got 2x as many frames per second while playing on a higher resolution ... so thats a pretty big performance difference...

But.. if your not doin any gaming and only use it for like burning cd's and word processing and stuff like that i guess go wih the cheap celeron.

How bout like an Athlon or a Thunderbird or maybe eaven a pentium3?.. i jus despise celeron processors...

[Null]

amd can be better, sometimes not tho. i think P4's go up to higher speeds then the amd's can.

i never had very much luck with AMD's, they run hotter too, from my experience they tend to need more fans then pentiums

and celerons suck. I'd say get a p4, but i'd never get one at thoes prices. thats outragously over priced. a bunch of the stuff they adding, you'll never need and prolly will never know what it does.

i find Dell usually gives some decent prices on fast machines.

that is if you have to buy a premade one. :p

[GameMaster]

*cough*Mac*cough*

eMac (http://www.apple.com/emac/)

[Cyrax9]

Well, as of now I prefer MACs (Than you for making me hate M$ even more ALIENWARE!!) but since you want a PC, I'd go with the P4.

The P4 is *currently* the "bnest" PC Chip available, the Athlon WAS bettetr, about a year ago! AMD got lazy and the new AThlons bench slower than the P4's, so go for the P4. As far as the Celeron goes, you're beter off just keeping the P2, I've seen 486 Doorstops that run better than some Celerons, and the Celeron is just a cheap-@$$ version of the P4 or whatever the latest "Petium" chip available is, (when the P3 was out it was a crappy P3), so don't even bother with it. You'l wind up upgrading in about 6 months, not 3 years with the Celeron, with the P4, I'd say you can go for 3 years befoer a major overhaul, with a MAC you can go fro about 10 years before you have any "real" problems, and as far as M$ Office, gioes, tkae the copy form your old C and 'Transfer" it to the new one, I don'rt care if you piurate it, because Offic SuXP sucks like a pile of horse-dung! It's ugly, clunky, and crashes more than office 2K, avoid paying $500+ for a new, Crappyier copy of office, and just buy a PC with extra stuff in the box, and put your old copy of offic eon it, or buy a Mac.

Now if anyone would like to give me an iBook for Christmas, you knw where to find me....

~Microsoft WORKS! The Worlds Biggest Oxymoron~

[manasecret]

I built my own PC with top-of-the-line everything except for the CPU (I got a 2.53 Ghz instead of 2.8 Ghz which was a $200-$300 difference and an almost unnoticable difference in performance) and 512 MB of the best RDRAM available and a 17" CRT monitor all for about $1,500.

Consider that you probably don't want top-of-the-line everything, so you would save $150 on the videocard, $100 on the soundcard, $50 on the case, and maybe $100 on the RAM (though I wouldn't get anything less than what I got).

Then add about $120 for Win XP and speakers, and it comes out to about $1200-$1300 for a very powerful PC if you build your own.

It's not that hard to do, and you can still take your computer to Best Buy or wherever and they'll fix anything you can't figure out.

:D Considering you probably won't do that, at least don't buy a Celeron PC.

db

[Joeiss]

I don't want a Mac, just because my parents really don't want to change alot of things... lol.

ANd... What is so crappy about a Celeron processor? All I need the computer for is internet word processing and burning CDs... I mean, do I really need a P4 for that?

[Null]

AMD athalon XP might be better for you then.


celerons are slow, they cramp up sometimes they'll seem. eh ok, then you do something and it'll think for a few days about. :p

you just dont want them. you want a pc that will last.

and if you just want them for word processing, one would ask, why even bother spending money on a new one?

i find it hard to believe you woudlnt want to play some games. i mean, as long as your getting a PC, why not make it the most powerful gaming platform in your home? But meh, if it were me, id say your choices would either be AMD or Pentium.

i strongly suggest staying clear away from a celeron

[GiMpY-wAnNaBe]

Originally posted by Joeiss
Okay, me and my dad went to FutureShop today, and they had like the latest, best computers selling for 1500-2500 bucks. Then, we looked at some of the Celerons which were only 500-800 bucks. These Celerons were pretty decent too. Specs : 256 DDR RAM, 40 GB HD, 40X CD-RW, 16X DVD ROM, 32MB graphics card, 1.8 Ghz, 6 USB 2.0 slots. I mean, that is a pretty good computer 600 bucks Canadian.


Now, I have a Pentium 2, 200 Mgz right now... And it is slow and crappy. My question is, should my dad buy this Celeron computer for a cheap price, or should we buy like a P4, 2.5 Ghz, top of the line everything?

Now keep in mind that my family and I only use the computer for word processing, internet use and we will be burning CD's. So, which one should my dad buy (and he doesn't mind upgrading again in like 3 years)?

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:
Future Shop
:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

k...first of all, i think you should go with the AMD XP althought the new generation of celerons is nothing like the old ones that all of us have passionately come to hate, and if you're not going to use it for games, than simply get a $700 system, and use you're old monitor. And AMD XP although the processor speed in "Mhz" may seem smaller, this can be extremely misleading as AMD is much more efficient in it's use of each Mhz, so in fact, the newest P4 and the newest AMD are basically equal

[Jason1]

I saw the sweetest deal ever in an Aldi(cheap ass supermarket chain) add a few days ago. All this for only $899

CD RW drive
P4 2.6 GHZ
128 MB Geforce 4 Graphics card
I dont remember everything else, but I know it was some off brand ive never heard of...but at 2.6Ghz, with a Geforce 4 processor, how can you go wrong?

[GameMaster]

Originally posted by Joeiss
I don't want a Mac, just because my parents really don't want to change alot of things... lol.

Effortlessly switch from a PC to a Mac!

Move2Mac (http://www.apple.com/switch/howto/move2mac/)

[Null]

Originally posted by GameMaster
Effortlessly switch from a PC to a Mac!

Move2Mac (http://www.apple.com/switch/howto/move2mac/)


he doesnt want a mac, get over it. :D

[GameMaster]

Perhaps I could interest you in one?

Titanium Powerbook G4 (http://www.apple.com/powerbook/)

[Null]

nope.

because for 1, i already have a highly powered machine.

2, i use Linux, therefor not needing a better os as much, for linux is quite a fine os.

3, i use it for a game machine, and why would i want to switch to a mac where less games come out, and when they do they often come out a few months later.


Later down the road, someday when Mac overtakes MS as the #1 OS, and everyone makes thier programs / games for mac instead of the pc stardard, then i'll switch. :P

[Joeiss]

You don't get it. My dad doesn't want to pay over 1000 bucks for the machine.

[Null]

bro. as i stated already. goto dell.com

they have p4's for like 699

Anything is better then a celeron, you seem to be stuck on a celeron or something, but it wouldnt be worth it. you'd end up with a total piece of crap.


http://www.dell.com/us/en/dhs/offers/specials_3x_special61.htm
there, P4 1.8ghz for $699

i had one, infact many of the parts came from it when i decided to build a new one. it worked great. only draw back, is it will be a moded motherboard, and if you ever want to change the motherboard, which i dont think you will. it'll be hard to do.

other then that. i mean its under 1000, and its actually a fine machine, it'll play the games you want, do the things you want it to do. and you dont have to have a **** processor in it.

[Mushlafa]

Null... thats US dollars plus.. theres gonan be tax and shipping and handling.. hes gonne end up paying more than $1000 for that rig...

[Null]

shipping and handling is free.
tax will not at 300 to it

edit.

looked at the site some more. theres another P4 1.8 for 599 (again, free shipping)


and gateway also has offers like these.

[Seven7]

"Dude your getting a Dell"

anyways the two computer brands i would suggest is Dell and Gateway.

The worst brand crap that i know of to stay away from is eMachines.:(



gives Gamemaster a Mac hamburger, since he like Macs so much:p :

[Shadow Fox]

Originally posted by Null
nope.

because for 1, i already have a highly powered machine.

2, i use Linux, therefor not needing a better os as much, for linux is quite a fine os.

3, i use it for a game machine, and why would i want to switch to a mac where less games come out, and when they do they often come out a few months later.


Later down the road, someday when Mac overtakes MS as the #1 OS, and everyone makes thier programs / games for mac instead of the pc stardard, then i'll switch. :P Out of curiousity Null, what programs/games do you have that are NOT on a mac?

And as for the thread, I'd suggest building a comp before I'd ever get into the marketing BS Dell and [insert retailer here] try to swindle you for. I've got an Athlon 2100+, 512 2700 DDR Ram, Geforce 4 Ti 4600, 52x CDRW, 4x DVD(soon to be DVDR), and a 250 zip for a total of like 650. Chances are if you get one of the "economy" PC's from Dell, etc you won't get anywhere near that performance (plus they'll probably throw you a crappy 5400rpm drive at like 40 or 60 gigs to make it look good).

If you don't want to build your own (which is the cheapest way to go), pricing machines by total specs and performance would be the best advice (don't you EVER buy a "top-of-the-line" PC with only like 128 MB of Ram, or a frontside bus of 266mhz!!!)...

Needless to say, I have no issues whatsoever with my new XP machine, and neither should you if you play your cards right; you shouldn't go above 800 bucks when making your decision.

-Official Ninja of XboxAddict

[Null]

id highly suggest building a pc too. but he's obviously not going to do that.

so im suggesting ones he can buy.

infact the dell machines do work nice. i had one before i built my own. never had a prob with them. i like gateway even more.

but obviously the best way to go is building your own.

and its not so much as mac dont have the programs, some they dont.

its often they come out later, expecially games. but im at work now. cant go searching for the stuff i have thats not on mac.

[Joeiss]

Woah. Something totally unexpected happened to me today. I got home from school, and turned on the TV. I was watching a Muhammad Ali fight, and then my dad called. And guess what he said? He said that we're getting a new computer tonight!

And no, it will not be a crappy Celeron processor... It'll be a Pentium 4 (I told him that Celeron was crap, and showed him this thread last night to back me up, lol).

So, here are the specs :

Main Board :
GENUINE INTEL P4 MOTHERBOARD, D845GLLY, INTEL 400MHZ BUS, UP TO 4 USB 2.0

Processor :
INTEL PENTIUM 4 1.7GHZ CPU

Memory :
512MB RAM MEMORY

Hard Drive :
80GB ULTRA-ATA 100 7200 RPM EIDE HARD DRIVE

VGA Card :
32BIT 3D GRAPHICS

CD/DVD Drive :
40X12X40 CDRW OEM

Sound Card :
AC97 AUDIO W/SIGMATEL'S STEREO CODEC

Speakers :
GENERIC AMPLIFIED SPEAKERS

Software O/S :
MICROSOFT WINDOWS XP OEM

Productivity Software :
MS WORKS SUITE 2003 OEM

Printer :
Lexmark, 3 in 1 Printer, Copier and Scanner machine


All of this for 1200 bucks... with tax, that is.

We didn't need the moniter (we have a 15 inch monitor that works very very well). Taking out the monitor took a good $200 off of the final price, too.

The only thing that I am worried about is the Memory. It is PCI... I don't know what that means, but whatever. And I am fine with the graphics card being only 32MB, because like I said earlier, I will not be playing video games on it. The HD is great... 80gigs!!!! That is HUGE... I doubt I will ever fill it up, though. lol. And, this computer has 4 expansion slots/bays... So when the prices of DVD-RW's are low, I will add that... And if I ever need more HD space or more memory, I can add thos as well.

This was so out of the blue... I have been wanting a new computer for like 2 years now, and my dad has always been reluctant. Ever since last September, I would leave the newpaper open to computer adds, you know, so my dad could get the hint that we needed a new computer.... lol...

And I am really looking forward to the scanner... Maybe you guys can see my ugly face soon~!!!~ Muahahaha....

The only thing I fear right now is one of you computer know it alls to read this and say that my machine is crap... Lol.... Now that would suck! I am picking this up tonight.... So hopefully later tonight, or tomorrow I shall be making CD's and finally downloading things.... Lol.

I AM SOOO EXCITED!!!! Finally... No more Pentium 1... lol

[Shiz]

not bad but what kind of RAM?

canadian prices r sooo jjacked up!

i got a vpr matrix brand

2.53 ghz

100 gb hard drive

32 gra[phics card

512 ddr sdram

pretty awesome comp so far

[Null]

you know what type of ram it is?

SD, DDR, or RD ? id be surprised if its RD, i was thinking DDR, but the fact you mention the Mem is PCI confuses me a little.

not sure why you wouldnt want to play games, i mean, that can save you from needing to buy a 2nd or 3rd console. some of the best games are on pc well before they come out on console.

But hey, thats your choice, hehe, :)

now the PCI thing, did you mean the RAM uses PCI or the GFX Card uses PCI?


as for the sys, it looks fine bro, for everything you said you wanted it to do, it will do fine and more. 512MB (whichever kinda RAM that might be) its a perfect amount. not too much, not too little.

the CD burner is fine on it. not sure why you'd want to buy a DVD burner. i never found a use for a dvd burner yet. unless you actually plan on burning movies onto dvd. the amount of space a normal CD can hold fits most everything.
unless you plan on backing up like your whole computer on a DVD. hehe.

80gigs, like you said, is plenty for you, if you get a lot of media. or games it tends to fill up a little quicker. but my 2nd drive is 80gigs and i'm pretty sure i can still fit most my stuff on it.

processor is good, much better then a celeron, that will be fine for you, i doubt you'll have any probs with processor speed.

sound, i'd imagine that would be good for you. unless you plan or want surround sound, then you could just go buy a SB Audigy card. but if not that sound will do.

the MS Suite software, i have that it came with my dell a while back on my last computer. i think it has a few MS Office programs on it and stuff. if you need more, i'd suggest going to www.openoffice.org download openoffice. it has everything MS Office would have and some extra's and can read MS Office files. Plus its FREE so how can you go wrong? hehe.

All and all man, id say this system should be good for ya. best of all. its totolly free for you right? lol :D

if ya gots any questions or probs with it. you always got plenty of people here to help ya.

[Joeiss]

SD RAM

Isn't that like crappy RAM? Lol... I think DDR is the best... Or whatever... So, is SD RAM good or bad?

[Ice Gecko]

So do you guys have any thing against a Sony VAIO
1.8 P4
60 gig D:drive
20 gig C;Drive
4 USB 2.0
40X CD-R W
2 i.Link ports
4 times NVidia TNT 2
DVD ROM 16X
256 MB SDRAM

[Null]

Originally posted by Joeiss
SD RAM

Isn't that like crappy RAM? Lol... I think DDR is the best... Or whatever... So, is SD RAM good or bad?


it goes in order... SD DDR then RD is the newest.

thing is tho as it gets higher, it gets more expensive.

SD isnt crappy, its just the lowest of the 3.

but its also at a VERY affordable price.

but with SD yoru also Maxed out at 512, you can get no higher.

i had SD, when i built my new PC, i had planned on going with SD, however i decided at the last minute i might as well go with DDR.

[Null]

Originally posted by Ice Gecko
So do you guys have any thing against a Sony VAIO
1.8 P4
60 gig D:drive
20 gig C;Drive
4 USB 2.0
40X CD-R W
2 i.Link ports
4 times NVidia TNT 2
DVD ROM 16X
256 MB SDRAM


i have a thing against most brand name computers. :p

[Shadow Fox]

Originally posted by Ice Gecko
So do you guys have any thing against a Sony VAIO
1.8 P4
60 gig D:drive
20 gig C;Drive
4 USB 2.0
40X CD-R W
2 i.Link ports
4 times NVidia TNT 2
DVD ROM 16X
256 MB SDRAM I HAD something against a VAIO:

733mhz G4
2X 80GB 7200rpm HD
4MB L3 cache
1GB PC 133 SDRAM (for RISC processors)
Nvidia Geforce 3 Ti Mac
SuperDrive (DVDRW+)
2 USB
2 Firewire ("i-Link") ports :rolleyes:
SCSI 2 PCI

Alas, I no longer have my DVD monster..:( Hopefully one day I can afford one of those Quicksilver G4's or one of the long-awaited Titanium G5 workstations....I dunno which one I want to wait for...

Anyways, my built Athlon outspec's yours too, but I feel like shining on Apple today while recollecting my DVD bootlegging days...:roll:

Ah, it seems PC's are still behind Apple in innovation (Airport, Bluetooth, no "background OS", plug-and-play devices, gigaflop performance, DVD-R, DVD-RAM, etc)...

I know GameMaster will probably love that last plug...:rolleyes:

-Official Ninja of [coming soon]...

[GameMaster]

Thanks :D

[ominub]

go with a p4 even if its slower than the celeron because the cerloron is there stupidest most cheap made procesor even more cheap than a regular pentium procesor and any other procesor can handle more that the celoron

[sdtPikachu]

A celeron is fine if you're just gonna be surfing the net and stuff like that. Celerons are basically just Pentium 2/3/4's with most of the onboard cache removed, which makes them much cheaper but slightly slower, and rubbish for apps which need lots of memory to do fast operations.

And yeah, OEM computers do suck. I refuse to use them now, since I know I can get one ten times better for 2/3 the price. And if you know where to look, you can get cheap deals on stuff like Windows (ugh).

just to clear up an issue;

DDR-RAM is essentially the same stuff as SDRAM (it's properly referred to as "DDR-SDRAM"), it's just clocked higher, hence the "double data rate". RAMBUS allows much higher memory bandwidth than DDR (which in turn allows more memory bandwidth than plain SDRAM), but it more expensive, patent-encumbered (which is why you don't get it for AMD chips, since VIA won't pay the licensing fees to the RAMBUS people) and impossible to upgrade. If you demand the highest benchmark scores available, go with RAMBUS. If a usable and upgradable PC is more your thing, stick with DDR. Less headpain will ensue.