Need a new computer for the home (family). What should I get? Had a lightning bolt hit close by and zap ours. Everything was backed up but computer is gone (among a lot of other things :smash:). Insurance will pay replacement value for like/kind. If I upgrade to something better, they will still reimburse for replacement value of like kind. Want to upgrade from the Dell that we had.

What should we get Mac/PC? Dell, HP, Apple?

What about all that other technical stuff (TB, GB, GHz, MHz)

Any suggestions (pro’s & con’s)???

Wife and I have each have laptops for work that we use at home. This will be for family (fish) pics, family (fish) movies. Some GoPro stuff etc, etc. Doesn’t need to be a laptop either……

Thanks for any suggestions.........

Look for a
Processor
Core i5 or Core i7
Ram
Min 6 gb but 8gb preferred
Video Card
Most PC today come with a card that is fine for what you want to do as they automatically assume everyone is playing games.

the rest is cookie cutter really depending on if you want customer service, reliability, quality, etc. Dell has really gotten there act together again after some bad years, if i didn't have the ability to build them myself i would stick with dell or HP.

Slick deals (http://slickdeals.net/f/5000802-HP-Pavilion-HPE-h8xt-Desktop-i7-3770-8GB-memory-1TB-HD-599-at-Costco) has a deal on HP this is a nice machine for the money.

Skippy wraps it up nicely methinks ;)

Good deal at Costco too: HP Pavilion HPE h8xt Desktop i7-3770 8GB memory 1TB HD $599 at Costco - Slickdeals.net (http://slickdeals.net/f/5000802-HP-Pavilion-HPE-h8xt-Desktop-i7-3770-8GB-memory-1TB-HD-599-at-Costco)

Ok, so stay away from a mac? Not worth the money?

and a nice ups, I've not gotten bitten by a decent surge, however, I do have all the electronic equipment behind surge protectors

Love my macbook pro. Video/photo editing is a breeze on it. I doubt I'll go back to a PC again.

But they're expensive. It really depends on your budget. If the primary use is as a family computer for web surfing, word processing, etc with a little movie work on the side, it's not worth the extra cash. An iMac will run you at least $1200... that HP is half the price, and will still do a great job on GoPro footage.

Just stay the heck away from Dell. I'm done for good with them after the junk I had to deal with last summer. Crap products, and worse customer service.

Ok, so stay away from a mac? Not worth the money?

Like Jack said, there's certainly a price premium...but I don't know too many Apple owners that go back.

-spence

Like Jack said, there's certainly a price premium...but I don't know too many Apple owners that go back.

-spence

Yea, that's why I ask. Lots of friends that have made the change and love them. What to do, what to do........

Not a "gamer" household and don't want to be. Tons and tons of pics and videos though with 3 young children.
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Yea, that's why I ask. Lots of friends that have made the change and love them. What to do, what to do........

Not a "gamer" household and don't want to be. Tons and tons of pics and videos though with 3 young children.
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If you are not advanced in picture and video editing then dont waste your money on a mac, spend 1/2 the $
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and a nice ups, I've not gotten bitten by a decent surge, however, I do have all the electronic equipment behind surge protectors


Yea, I had it on a good quality surge protector. The hard drive is fine, the internet port was shot so I think it was from the fios to the router (router went too)? Who knows, electricity is a weird thing. Had it looked at and they said internet port is gone and can't be replaced unless the main board is replaced????/ Insurance agreed. Everything works except internet.

With bad lightening I wouldn't trust any surge protector...you need to unplug everything. Not practical all the time of course.

My dad is a HAM and he's got a 6" wide solid copper ground running from his equipment :hihi:

-spence

Yea, I had it on a good quality surge protector. The hard drive is fine, the internet port was shot so I think it was from the fios to the router (router went too)? Who knows, electricity is a weird thing. Had it looked at and they said internet port is gone and can't be replaced unless the main board is replaced????/ Insurance agreed. Everything works except internet.


What kind of computer is it? They cant install a pci card or eth adapter?

A new computer is a good thing but just curious why it was read its last rights
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same thing happened to me
BUT >>>> ONLY<<<<
the power supply got fried
everything else was just fine