help deciding on what pc to get... :)

[sweeper2]

ok, I have 2 freinds looking to upgrade to "new" PC's.... both have ones from 95 and one from 97 , ones a PC and ones a MAC

1st guy --- just wants basic computer... going with "DELL" for tech support and warranty etc... wants to connect to internet and play some "mild" games ...

Dell has a few good pc's out now but have the "shared" memory... so i am believing that is onboard video being shared with system memory...

I suggested at least 512mb and not 256mb that most offer.. also i suggested a video card instead of using onboard video...

trying to stay around 700 or below in price....
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2nd guy --- wants a computer for his "MUSIC" software etc only.... no unessacary programs ... would a "NEW" Mac be a better investment then a PC ... his price range is probably pretty high... He wants to use "PRO TOOLS" for his music.. he is a music producer and has a highly defined "entertainment" system going into place... plus keyboards etc etc... He wants quality ... currently just bought a "Yamaha" receiver "highly recommended" and very high priced.. plus he has it mixed with Klipsh surround sound speakers...

so what would be good for #1 guy and then would a mac be better for #2 guy...

[phenious]

Well for #1 def. get 512MB or higher and def. get a dedicated Video card. Watch the hot deals section on RR for cupons to save lots of money on dell

For #2 I cannot see a good reason to move this guy off a mac if he is happy. The last thing you want him to do is to move to a PC spending lots of money and not like it. I think Video wise the windows platform can keep up but I cannot speak for Audio but I have 2 friends who both do awesome work on Windows based machines. But if he has a mac and knows how to use it I would probably suggest he just sticks with them and gets a nice Dual processor G5 loaded up with a Gig or two of Ram

[EXreaction]

#1...ya, sounds like a dell would fit him great! ...just make sure you are getting a good price...usually dell likes to charge $50 for an upgrade from 256Mb to 512Mb of ram...yea, you can buy 512Mb of ram alone for that price or less...basically, get the bare essentials from dell...then buy the stuff he wants upgraded from newegg...as long as it is cheaper...

...one thing you MUST watch for from dell...make sure that if he ever wants to upgrade his vid card he does not get the lowest end dell...they do NOT have upgradable graphics...look around, and make sure you know what you are getting from dell before you buy...a lot of people get very angry at dell when they find out that they can not put in a graphics card after they buy the cheapest one...

...and ya, make sure to look for a good deal on a dell...I reccomend that you subscribe to their newsletter, and check techbargains.com when ever you are online(on the right column about half way down the page)...sometimes dell has hourly deals that are the most amazing things ever...I remember they once had the XPS for like $500...so make sure you watch for mistakes like that!

...well...I don't know much about macs...but I am pretty sure you could put together a pc to match a mac in sound quality...

[rrcn]

For #2 I cannot see a good reason to move this guy off a mac if he is happy. The last thing you want him to do is to move to a PC spending lots of money and not like it.

I concur. Phenious has a very valid point.

[Sweeper]

Dell would be a good choice for #1. As stated above, make sure he gets one with an upgradable MB for his graphics etc.

Per #2, I would agree with Phenious. I would look for a nice MAC to set him up with. To toss him into the PC world would probably throw him for a loop. If he is comfertable with the MACs platform then a new G5 would be a nice upgrade and would also keep him happy. The last thing you want to do is convince the guy to place a large amount of cash on a computer and have him unhappy. The G5's are very nice and do very well with both video and music editing.

[haxxorpoop]

Any OEM with good tech support and low prices will work for #1. Dell just comes to mind. Your suggestions are also valid in that he should have 512mb of ram with a cheap, budget videocard instead of onboard.

For #2, depending on how much portability he wants, I would either reccomend the new 12'' PowerBook G4 with a ram upgrade (I'm not too big a fan of laptops with big screens. Even the 14'' is a stretch for me). That way, he'll have all the benefits of OSX and all the products it has to do music editing, with a DVD burner, extreme portability, and it wont break the bank as much as a G5 (you can get it for under 2K CAD). If he's looking for more a desktop-type computer, try the PowerMac G5. Depending on his budget, he should just choose the processor and HD he wants, and go buy third party ram to add in himself, since Apple charges a pretty penny for ram upgrades.

I hope this helps.

EDIT: Oh yea, if he's related or knows someone who is in the education industry, he can save a bit of money by going to the Apple Education Store and getting them to purchase it from there.

[jokostel]

look when you order.... most dells try and get you for only a 90 day warranty...

get at least 1year... 3 if you can....

[haxxorpoop]

Woah...

I think I remember reading something about this a bit back, but what relation is Sweeper to sweeper2, if any?