New computer needed soon, need some input please

[NewJeffCT]

Our 3+ year old Dell desktop seems to be on its last legs. Various computer people my wife & I know seem to think it may be a problem with the motherboard or the hard drive itself. (I did buy an external HD and saved all our important files to it, too) The monitor we have is from my previous PC, so is probably about 7 years old, so we'd like to get a nice flat screen monitor, too.

I would prefer not to buy a Dell again due to them being the reddest of red companies. However, just for ha-has, I went to their website and came up with a price of around $1,500 for what we wanted. I think that may have included an all-in-one printer/copier/fax.

I know MACs are supposed to last longer than PCs, but won't a MAC bought today be way outdated in 5-6 years? Are they easily upgradable? (As an FYI, I managed to open up my Dell last year & install an ethernet card... but, anything more complex than that is something I'd probably have to get done by a pro.)

Things we would need the PC for:
1) Browsing the internet & email. We have SBC Yahoo DSL now.
2) Editing video DVDs (we have a DVD camcorder)
3) Using Excel & Word (& possibly PowerPoint)
4) Editing pictures, like JPGs
5) Watching DVDs (my wife has a bunch of old TV programs from China on DVD (or maybe VCD?) that she says are best playable on a computer...)
6) some limited game playing, meaning we need something that can run CDs in addition to DVDs.

[saltpoint]

1. NewJeffCt, leave work or school or wherever you are right now --

-- and go home and order a Macintosh computer.

You will thank yourself until the end of Time for the decision.

Especially if you are fiddling with visuals and graphics of any kind.

I order from MacMall (good prices, fast shipment) at:

1 - 800 - MacMall (1 - 800 - 622 - 6255)

*

[BigMcLargehuge]

2. As a Mac user I will recommend an iMac

however, unless you want to shell out the cash for the MSOffice suite for Mac (assuming you already have the Winders version), you might be better off with another PC...

www.cyberpower.com and www.ibuypower.com offer the best bang for the buck in the PC market I've ever seen. For 1500 you can get a great system that will meet your needs. Hell, you could probably get one that will meet your need for $800.

[NewJeffCT]

11. we'd need to buy MS Office regardless

My wife got the CDs for MS office from her old job, and i don't think her current company would do that for her...

[Southsideirish]

3. I got a Mac iBook G4 for Xmas and I love it. My husband has one too and

just like Al and Tipper, we sit across from each other, each clicking away on our ibooks. Now I can take mine to the library in the summer when I'm off from school and work on my novel as the Chicago Public Library is wireless. I can never write at home. I think it cost around $500.00. Its great to be liberated from that old computer desk.

[ET Awful]

4. Well, I wouldn't say the Mac would be outdated.

In all honesty, with the uses you listed, you don't need the latest and greatest to run it.

For everything you listed, a mini Mac would work well, depending on what exactly you mean by "limited game playing". If you mean games that aren't reliant on 3D graphics, a Mac is fine, if you are looking to play more graphically intense games, a PC is the way to go.

Any computer with a DVD drive can read and play CD's as well, so that shouldn't concern you.

Also - if you can install an ethernet card, you can build a computer from parts, it's not any more complex. Don't laugh, I'm serious :).

For you, it should probably boil down to (a) what types of games you're talking about; and (b) whether or not you're willing to learn a new operating system and environment.

[cheezus]

6. mac gets all the good games, just a year later

World of Warcraft, Doom3, the Sims, Unreal... the cream of the crop gets ported to mac. Sure, not anywhere near as much stuff as for the PC, but still way more than anyone other than the hardcore gamer would have time and money for.

[ET Awful]

7. And most of the time the game underperforms and

is outdated by the time it hits the Mac platform. Look at the Mac performance with Doom 3 for a perfect example.

Don't try and bait me into an argument with your fanboy bias. I list the pros and cons of each, and saying "well the Mac can do it . . . . just a year later." It's a BS argument and you know it.

[NewJeffCT]

10. for games

I'm thinking about picking up Civ3. I'm not that big a PC gamer, and I'm almost bored with Medieval Total War now, which was the first PC game I had bought since a game called "Eye of the Beholder" in the early to mid 90s.

[ET Awful]

12. A mini-Mac with additional memory would probably suit your

purpose quite well.

I'm not sure if the mini Mac has a TV out or not, but if it does, your wife would most likely be able to watch her foreign DVD/VCD movies and shows on TV instead of just the computer monitor.

As someone else mentioned above, keep in mind that you'll have to buy a copy of the Mac version of Office if you want to use those products (although Macs come with an office suite of their own that is just as functional for most users).

The comments you see about virii and spyware are easily avoided even if you go with a PC by using some very common sense methods (should you choose a PC, feel free to PM me and I'll help you out in that regard). Also, if you choose a PC, I'd recommend one of the newer Athlon 64 processors (extremely efficient and fast processor).

Overall, you can't really go wrong either way IMO, and based on the games you mentioned, you don't need the additional graphics OOMPH of the PC, so it should come down really just to personal preference.

Do you have a local Mac store where you can go in and play around with one to see if you like the whole environment?

[Demit]

5. See this thread in the Mac Group--

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=233x1542

And my G3 from 6 years ago is still going strong...

[NV Whino]

8. Macintosh!

Really, they last forever. Easy to upgrade. Don't break down. Are not suseptable to all those Microsoft viruses.

I have a G4 tower and an iBook G4. Just spent a week in VA helping a friend get set up with Comcast, a new Mac and various software.

You may have to buy a new Office suite, but all files are easily transfered to Mac version.

[ET Awful]

14. It took you a week to set up a computer?

:)

[Demit]

15. I hour for the Mac, the rest for Comcast, is my guess

[NV Whino]

17. Well, by the time you

1. deal with Comcast
2. go to the Mac store to get Airport because the house is a brick Federalist and the cable comes in umpty-ump feet from where she wanted to use the computer.
3. assess future computer needs of soon-to-retire husbanda and plan accordingly.
4. pick up PhotoShop lite at the computer store and give basic lessons
5. give basic lessons on Word (she was using WordPerfect previously)
6. give basic lessons on Mac OSX
7. figure out why the scanner/printer wasn't working
8. take back and exchange wrong ink cartridges when you discover that is the problem

There's more, but you get the idea.

And then we took a few breaks to play, too.

[ImpeachBush]

9. Have it built for you ...

Last time I purchased computers (2), I shopped around and got them at two different places - had them built from scratch. Try looking up Monarch Computers and ABC computers. The former is near Atlanta, and the latter is in California. They both did an excellent job - I had several glitches with these systems - the Monarch system arrived DOA - injured in shipment - I shipped it back at no cost, and it was replaced. The ABC computer I had problems because the harddrive died TWICE in a year (Western Digital - I'll never have another WD hard drive!!!!). Other than that, good systems.

Both places you can configure your PC from scratch - pick what you want inside and they'll let you know if there are compatibility problems with your configurations.

I'm pretty picky about my PC's, I suppose. I've built my own from scratch, and prefer that over all other options. I just didn't have the time for that the last time around.

[sescob]

13. Another Mac vote...

I recently got an iBook and it's the BEST purchase I've made in home computing. It can do everything you listed above and it's so incredibly nice to not have to deal with all the annoying spyware and viruses that plagued my PC.

[SarahB]

16. Here's my plan...

Mac mini with the superdrive, then heading over to Kaplan Computers on Tolland Turnpike in Manchester (near the Vernon line) for the 15 inch flatscreen monitor and wireless keyboard. Actually, even if you aren't into a Mac, they do custom builds for PCs (and even have refurbished Macs I think) and provide good service. A decent local business worth checking out. If I were more technically inclined, I'd probably go the Linux route, but since I'm not, I think I'll go Mac.