I was running a P200 for about 6 yrs and stopped using it last Fall (my 6 yr old does old games on it) and salvaged a P400 (not bad, but its a mess) which I am using now. I am not sure what route to go, BUT I could really use some help for locating a new computer.

I hear all kinds of stories about Gateway and even Dell (which USE to be real good, but no so good recently it seems).

I am not a gamer, but I do some CAD work at home now and then so I know I need a little more RAM than most. I don't know whose anti-virus stuff is decent now a days as well. :P

I'm all ears puter gurus. :D

What I would do would to see which Company is going to give you the best Warranty and Service. The guts of most PC's are the same nowaday's. I used to build my own but that was when I could save $300-400 building them. They're so damn cheap now it doesn't make sense to do it to save $25-$50. I'd stay away from Gateway just because they seem to be a little overpriced IMO. Definitely DON'T buy one from QVC (I can't believe what they charge for a PC).

Unfortunately there's no perfect answer. PC's break, If they didn't I wouldn't have a job. I look to see who's going to help me when they do. I've had good luck w/ Dell's Support and I've Had good luck with HP/Compaq's Support. I know people who have had good luck w/ Dell. They are pretty good when it does break.

Any Company will sell you any options you want so that shouldn't be a problem as far as added memory. I also wouldn't be sucked in to buying the fastest processor out there. Are you really going to see the difference if you get a 2.8 Ghz instead of a 3.2 Ghz...I doubt it, and that can save you a bit of cash also. If your dealing with any Cad Software I'd put in at least a Gig of RAM. They're real Memory Hogs.

Anti-Virus - I'm Partial to Norton, McaFee is not bad either.

Hope this helps

Hp support has improved a lot, i have a hp laptop and got a browser highjacker, long story short after 4+hrs with tech support all was fixed.
Get ad-aware to deleate spyware and stuff!!!

BUMP.

Thanks for the ideas so far. :)

maddog2020,
did ya get a new PC yet if so what did ya get? if not what are you looking to spend?

Mcafee, Norton, and Panda are probably the 3 best AV's on the market.. but i won't tell ya which one i use... (look at my previous post with mrmacey and look closely at the jpg.. lower right hand corner... ;) ) never had a virus come thru while it was on.. and that little radar thingy.. is Aluria spyware... they can run together.. i would like to see aluria update more often.. but ad-aware came along way since the begining... i run it often like every other day.. and it picks up a data mining cookie every now and then..

as far as recommending a PC goes... there are too many choice to choose from.. and choosing one is a big step... like The Dad Fisherman said.. look for the bennies.. whose warranty is better.. who stands by their warranty... tech support.. call it before buying... especially on a friday/saturday night during peak times... the little things that are overlooked soo much can make you wish you spent the extra few green elsewhere.. also ask questions.. lots... like is this computer an ALL in One.. where the sound and video are dependant of the mainboard memory... can I upgrade the video card down the road... can i add a hard drive later... what does the memory on this machine max out at... what is the fastest processor i can put in this machine... are there usb/firewire ports on the front... do i need to buy them speakers... does it have to come bundled with all that ISP software?... when dealing with a custom mfg.. like dell and gateway.. and hp online.. you can customize the machine for your own personal needs.. unlike the machines you see in the store... what you see is what you get.. and personally.. i have yet to see a machine at any store impress me... nothing like walking into circuit city or best buy and half the machines are frozen or full of error messages.. fatal errors... mmmm makes me want to buy that.. like walking into a car lot and saying to the salesman lets take it for a spin and he says sure.. you go and start it up and it stalls ever 5 minutes.. you still gonna buy it?

ps.. dell business support is usually pretty fast.. and best part is all you have to do is buy a business machine from dell like the Dimension or the Precision... i don't like the optiplex that much.. it's too compact in my opinion.. doesn't look like that system can breathe...

Much thanks for those posts, leptar & the dad fisherman - lots of very good points.

I know that e-machines many times aren't expandable. Even Dell has some entry level ones that aren't so hot. Prices aren't really that bad now - lots were in the 500 range w/ OS without added RAM.

We have Compaq's where I work - company std machines w/ CAD upgrades. Not crazy about them - seem SLOW IMHO....lol. Company lets us change them in every 2-3 yrs which isn't bad.

I'll mess around Dell's site tonight and add the options and see what I end up with.

The compaqs your work uses for CAD are usually not the consumer (sub consumer in my opinion) grade stuff sold at BestBuy & CompHell. Those machines are typically nicer. Though the bottom tier machines from Dell/GW/HP still suck a little. Not at all impressed with Emachines.

How much do you want to spend? Really what it boils down to.

I would not get mainboard video like mentioned above - simply awful for CAD. Get a P4 (2.8 is plenty fine) and get the Nvidia 64MB or better graphics and get 1GB ram plus get XP Pro. This will be a good start.

I will have to go to Dell's site and plug in the extras I need for what I want to do.

$ wise - cost of the machines have come down a lot. A fast updated beast can cost some big $$. I rather put the $ towards my daughter's college fund, or fishing gear. ;)

Thanks for the detailed information folks. :)

Hey Mad Dog,

You can always install memory later. Those big companies can some times be expensive for memory upgrades unless the are having one of those free upgrade offers. www.crucial.com is an excellent website for memory. They are part of Micron. You just tell it what machine you have and it gives you the choices.

Since you are using CAD programs, a 19 inch monitor or bigger would be sweet.

Some times circuit city will have floor models of monitors or systems on sale.

www.salescircular.com is a good site to watch. Some times you can find some excellent deals.

Good luck.