Question by dudester4: Buying new computer-what should I get? (Please give lots of opinions)? I want a new computer. My old Dell Optiplex GX620 crashes every 40min. due to a hardware & virus issue. I'm not overly concernced with whether its a mac or pc... but lets get to the chase.... I want something decently fast and that can play movies(like standard itunes definition, no HD is needed. And i know what you will say about HD but I really don't care). So I essentialy want something with; intel core duo processor of atleast 2GHz or any dual core processor, a 256mb or greater video card, and b/g/n wifi(bluetooth is a bonus). Memory, 2GB is enough and its standard, and i just need a 250GB+ hardrive(just about standard too). I'm mainly looking at Dell because it has good reviews and other companies-HP, Toshiba, others are in my experience and knowledge bad because they have so much extra software(experience w/ HP printers make me wanna never look at them again). So I'm down to a mac or a pc. Price for hardware is my biggest concern. I'm familiar mostly with windows but either OS is okay with me. The runners up are the (these are all Dell's) Insprion 13, (configured @ $ 800), Inspiron 15(configured $ 824), Studio 15($ 1,039), Studio 17(about same as 15), In spiron Zune HD(desktop $ 603), Studio Slim Desktop($ 834-best hardware for price). As for the macs I'm sticking to the cheap ones; mac mini, macbook, 13inch macbook pro. Everyone says macs are easier. I'm somewhat good with computers and hope to be an extremely advanced user one day. But I mostly use Opera(internet browser), iTunes, Microsoft word, and an application for my Sony HandyCam DCR-SR47(which will suck because it sounds like it won't work with a mac). I have 3 antisoftware/virus/trojan/active protection software on my Dell but somehow I still got a virus(partially because they're free or it expired). So I don't know what to do. I have enough money for anything I listed but I'm not sure how much I want to spend. In the end PC OR MAC? and why? and does the hardware matter when its running snow leopard(I don't plan on doing much gaming). Please recommend particular software/hardware that you found awesome/cool/useful/pointless Best answer for Buying new computer-what should I get? (Please give lots of opinions)?:
Answer by Peter S
Build one.
Answer by Colm
Windows xp,packard bell is my computer and is just fine it has everything that you would want and isnt expencive
Answer by partyparty
i just bought an HP pc, best purchase OF MY LIFE!
Answer by ANDREZE M
if your more into music get mac if not get windows 7 the only better thing about mac is music so ya... i would go for pc
Answer by Vin.F
@Peter S HeHe, thats what I was going to say
Answer by Dalton
MAC!!!! for media (movies or photos or music) macs own. They are so much more simple than a pc , anything you want to do on a computer is easier on a mac. If you are not used to a mac it is soo easy to get. i recommend the macbook 13 inch over the macbook pro just because it is cheaper and actually has more ram more hard drive space and simply better.
Answer by amnesiac
Buy a Mac. You won't regret it. I am a Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer; and, have extensive experience with Windows going all the way back to Windows 3. I switched to Mac for my personal computers back in 2002, and never looked back. My only regret is that I didn't switch to Mac sooner. As long-time Windows development chief James Allchin said, "I would buy a Mac if I didn't work for Microsoft".
Answer by MichaelS
Despite what others might say PC is the way to go. Your going to get a lot more for you money than buying a mac. What it essentially comes down to is that MACs are more expensive. A PC at that same price will give you a lot better features. Also PC are going to be a lot easier to navigate. May I also recommend that you get it with Windows 7. Also for a web browser I would go with the new google chrome. very fast and reliable. If your looking for software like audio recorder or youtube video downloader check out nch.com.au they have tons of different software. Also openoffice.org has a great word processor that is like word but free. Also a great free virus protection that also has paid versions is AVG just google search avg free version.
Answer by Jared O
Well, there are many pricing and quality tiers of computers (in my general opinion) Tier 1: Apple and Alienware Tier 2.: HP, Sony, Leveno, Toshiba Tier 3.: Dell, Gateway, Asus Tier 4: Acer I would try to stick with tier 2. These computers can be ordered to be very powerful, but without a crazy price tag. Macbooks and iMacs are nice, but are very expensive for what you get. I prefer either HP or Sony because they tend to be very reliable and user friendly (not as user friendly as a mac of course, but thats what you are paying a thousand extra dollars for). I had a dell once and I found them to be far less quality than I would expect from such a large and grounded company. I have had great experiences with HP however. And their customer service is top notch if you ever need it (and you can speak with people from Texas, not new dehli, India). But basically, stick with an above average brand but I wouldn't go for an apple, you don't get much bang for your buck there.
Answer by Nikki
mac all the way!!!!! they can do all of the above and in fact im on one right now. they have everything imaginable and can do amazing things. get a 13 inch MacBook Pro, which is what im on rite now. its so convienent and has great picture. so my suggestion to you: MACBOOK PRO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i've had one forever and i dont think ill ever b able to get a pc. mac is soooooo much better, i assure you. they are also easier to figure out, and if u cant they have so many websites and its the best computer u can ever get. i hope i help!!!!!!! :)
Answer by suzuki dr200se
the toshiba a500 or a505 (depending on where you live), is a good computer. nice processor, nice screen, nice hard drive, nice everything. lenovo makes great laptops, too. don't buy a mac until you've gone down to the store to try one out. if you are an advanced user, then go for the pc. macs are for computer illiterate people, and frankly, windows is easier to navigate than os x.
Answer by Jerry J
http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=12456221
This video shows you how to save about 0 on a base model mid 2011 Apple mac mini Feb. 2012 8GB of Ram. www.gr8er1.com or http So you bought an Apple iphone and then an Apple ipad and now you want total integration with a mac computer. We will show you how to get in on the lower end of the Apple Lion operating system with the best performance for the cost. This video shows you how to shop at amazon.com to save close to 0 on a new mac mini. Our next video will show you how to upgrade the RAM from the stock 2GB to 8GB. It is easy to upgrade the RAM on the mini. If you can change a light bulb then you should be able to do this with no problem. The price of the 2x4GB RAM sticks is about . Prices dated 2/08/2012 and will change in some time. You can read all the reviews and will notice that most people found the stock 2GB RAM is not enough to effectively run the mac mini. The mac mini has a shared video card with the RAM. S o the more you increase your RAM the faster and smoother your videos and web browsing will be. Apple should feel some shame bilking customers for such a low cost, simple procedure. They aren't thinking win-win with their customers by charging so much for a simple upgrade.
bestcomputersprices.blogspot.com Apple mac mini How to save about 0
We have a lot of media center solutions out there and to choose the perfect setup for yourself can be challenging. It all depends on what you are planning to do with your media center setup. For me, I want to view downloaded content and my own movies I have stored on my external hard drive for backup purposes. Recording from TV is not in my interest.
As the title suggests I prefer to use the Mac Mini for this purpose, however I want to talk a little bit about the other options I have tried. This will make you better understand why I went this route in the first place.
First, the Xbox 360. This is a game console with media capabilities, and it worked okay. I had this console as a media center for a while but some times it wont play certain file formats. If that is the case I had to re encode some of them and it is time consuming and nothing I want to do on a regular basis. Because of that I continued to use the Xbox as it was meant to be used, playing games.
We also have the Apple TV. This was a pretty nice device actually, but the real drawback was that it only supported files iTunes could play. Same thing here as the Xbox. Re encoding of media, time consuming = nothing for me. This unit can however be hacked, and it will then play almost any kind of media. Because of the slow CPU in this unit it will only play up to 720p video, and therefore. Not acceptable for me.
Then we have the Popcorn Hour A-110. After the Mac Mini this would be the best choice. This unit could play all kinds of files I threw at it. It also did tackle high resolution video without any problems at all. The price was alright and it worked just fine. It gets firmware upgrades now and then and the community around the device is active.
But,
The interface of Popcorn Hour is in my opinion, slow, ugly, and playing music on this device is not a good experience at all. I found it to be acceptable, but still. I also want to have good music capabilities.
And now, the Mac Mini. The biggest reason for me wanting to use Mac Mini is the free media center application called Plex. This free software impress me every time I use it. It is developed just for the Mac, while still in beta version as of this writing the software works well. This will run perfectly on the Mac Mini, and it does on my base model. Another thing that impress me is the way the library in plex works. It actually scans the file names of say, your movie folder. Then it looks up information about that movie using the Internet and downloads the synopsis, cover and artwork all automatically. This is what I like the most about this.
The other reason for me wanting to get the Mac Mini despite the fact it costs more is because this is a fully fledged computer. You can run any number of services on this little machine if you want. Share your internet connection, use it as router, firewall, web-serve, you name it. While still using it as a HTPC.
True, it costs a little bit more but I believe it is worth it.
Author: B. Kibsgaard
Suggest How to Use Mac Mini As Media Center, the Perfect Mac HTPC Topics
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