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Parents looking for new PC

18 years ago

Hi All!!

My parents are looking into a new computer. They have been using the one and only old Gateway with 98 for YEARS!! LOL....It still works fine but it is time to get a new one....They are in their 70's, and are pretty good on it.....But they don't know which to get....Dell, Gateway, Compact, HP...on and on.....They don't like the idea of ordering on line like from Dell.....Dad says he wants to buy it and bring it home.....Any suggestions or anything to help them? This will be the last one they probably get....It WILL have Vista.

Thanks in advance!!! :-)

LucyGoose

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Comments (4)

luis_pr
18 years ago
Consumer Reports recommends these laptops: Apple Macbook Pro 15 inches (good battery life & support), Lenovo Thinkpad T60 (good battery life), Toshiba Satellite A135-S4427 (good value) and these for desktop replacements: Apple Macbook Pro 17 inches and Toshiba Satellite P205-S6287. They also recommend these desktops: (for good value) Dell Inspiron 531; HP Pavillion Slimline s3000y and Dell Inspiron 530; (for reliability and support) Apple iMac 20-inches. If you can find them locally, that might be convince them.

Number-of-repair information for latops shows that most brands are about the same. Sony is top listed in this area. The rest (Lenovo, Compaq, Dell, Toshiba, Apple, Gateway and HP) follow it with not that much difference between them. For desktops, Apple has the least repairs, followed by the rest (Sony, Dell, Lenovo, Compaq, Emachines, HP) & Gateway (currently being purchased by Acer) as the worst.

You can also check other magazines like PC World but they lack frequency/number of repair information about the products. So a PC recommended by PC World may be a good product but you would not know if it requires repairs. I suspect that your parents will probably feel better hearing that CR recommended the PCs listed above.

Good luck Lucygoose,
Luis
lucygoose
Original Author
18 years ago
Thanks a lot Luis!! I had to get my modum replaced just a few weeks ago, and I didn't realize that my own PC was 6 years old. :-)
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Personally I love HP products especially the Pavilions I have a few of them and have had excellent luck, I do however prefer the AMD processors over the Intel, I have had both in HP Pavilions and from now on will only get AMD. The first thing you need to decide is if you want a pc with Windows XP or are you ready to risk trying Vista? that will definitely affect where to look because not as many XP computers are available now. I would not go with less than 1Gig RAM and really preferably it should be 2 or 3 Gig especially if you are going with Vista you will need that to run it well. A good size hard drive anywhere from 150 gig up. HP is my preferred brand of the big names, but I also like checking out the local shops that do custom builds, You can get exactly what you want with out a bunch of junk added on and many times they are less expensive plus you have someone to turn to locally if you have problems. IBM/lenovo also makes good product. My flatpanel monitor is an Acer which I love, it was very reasonable in price and has exceeded my expectations. The one thing to consider on a monitor is the type of connection you will need to connect to your pc, if possible you want one that has all connection types because that will give you more flexibility. However mine only has analog and it has been just fine for my needs. ANd of course if it is just your hard drive that has died I would get a new hard drive they are fairly cheap and put in there and keep that old pc as a spare or to use as a back up for file storage. Or load one of the free linux operating systems on it and give linux a try, I love it and use it daily.
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thanks for responding- i am talking about a desktop- i do not want a laptop at this time. I guess i thought a router was only for wireless computers- so if i get the wireless card does that mean i then have to get a wireless internet plan or will the wireless card and router work with the regular dsl? For about a year the computers will be by each other and after that they will be on different levels of the house.. So is there a preferable way of how i should go meaning hard wire or wireless? And does whichever way i chose determine what kind of router i need to get or are they all the same? So this also leads me to a question and that is how will i know if my current printer will be compatible with the new computer? i only ask because i heard people had that issue with Vista. I also want to ask about the antivirus programs you are referring too. I have always used AVG..can i still use this on windows 7 or do i need to stick with the ones you are referring to. Thanks again
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shboom
18 years ago
Hi Lucy... long time no see. Hope you are doing well these days.

I just bought my second computer in 9 years, another HP desktop with Vista. If you remember my other one was 98se which I was a diehard about. I opted for another HP because my old one was and still is a great machine. Never one major malfunction in all of those years and I can only hope the new HP will be just the same. I've had it just over 3 months now and the more I work with it the more I really like Vista.

Bob
lucygoose
Original Author
18 years ago
Hi back at ya, Bob!

I will pass the word....I don't think they have bought one, yet....98 is what they had, too.....Mother hates change...LOL

Thanks again!! LucyGoose :-)

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