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Don't Shoot Me! (I Need Some Buying Advice)

bobber205

bobber205

macrumors 68020
Original poster
Nov 15, 2005
2,183
8
Oregon
Here's why everyone might shoot me.... ;)

I have nearly decided upon buying a PC... yes a PC.

I've said it! *gulp*

I know this may not be the most proper place to discuss it, but I want to know the opinions of mac addicts like myself.

I came to the realization a couple days ago after I spent many hours building a website, and then now presently spending hours trying to get it to work on a PC.

And if I'm going to school for programming and developing, it's about time I get familiar with PC's and Windows.

(BTW I plan on using Linux as my primary OS and Windows only for testing.
So it's not all bad.)

Comments on what to buy and other are very welcome!
 
BANG.

Sorry, I had to. :eek:

I have a PC for that sort of thing. I think it's nice to be able to keep up with what's happening in the PC world. I just bought a cheap Dell and have been quite happy with the whole experience. Apple could actually learn about shipping times from Dell IMO. It sounds like you don't need anything too fancy so a regular Dell should suffice IMO.
 
Just get a mid priced Dell.... oops I said it. But seriously my mates have Dell and they are reliable and are pretty affordable, especially with all the discounts you can find.
 
Aussie Aussie Aussie....

A mid-range Dell with more RAM and more HDD capacity would be fine for your needs, nothing too flash but hopefully the specs will be enough to run Vista when it arrives. I get the feeling MS is going to be pushing Vista very heavily. They want as many people as they can to move over so they can start phasing out a lot of the compatibility issues from their earlier OS'seses.
 
Links to good buying sites would be awesome.

I would like a laptop, but I guess a cheap desktop would suffice.
I already have an LCD monitor, so I could buy one of those boxes that switch monitors (I have no idea what they're called) and run both at the same time.
Thanks!

Keep the comments coming!! :D
 
I assume you live in Puerto Rico (who doesn't), so here's their Dell site. Of course, you may need to select a different country if you live elsewhere.


In other words, where the hell are you? :p
 
mad jew said:
I assume you live in Puerto Rico (who doesn't), so here's their Dell site. Of course, you may need to select a different country if you live elsewhere.


In other words, where the hell are you? :p
Click to expand...

What part of Puerto Rico do you live in MJ? Maybe I can see your house from mine?

So now you're a 603 eh? Mista big shot eh?
 
plinkoman said:
if you just need windows for testing websites, why not just get virtual pc?
Click to expand...

Cause it can actually be cheaper and more effective to buy a PC.
 
You can get a cheap e-machines or build one that is fairly nice and cheap for under 400. If you are not planning on doing Video, Photo, or any type of editing or gaming. You can get a decent one for very little. Go to http://dslreports.com sign up and ask for advice in the Hardware Forum on building a cheap PC. Tell them exactly what you want to use it for and they will help you out. They will send you links, coupons for Dell, and even make a list of items to buy and links to each so that you can build it yourself.
 
When I buy my PC from dell, it comes with Windows OS.

But if I made one, I would have to buy it separate. Would the savings of building one myself make up for buying Windows seperately?

NOTE:
I live in Kansas.
North east Kansas. And this summer my family and I are moving to Oregon.
 
I use VPC. It's as slow as an old dog, but it crashes just like the real thing and does fine for testing web pages that you've had to break in order to get IE to play nice with them.

It does have the advantage that it's forced to sit behind the X firewall so you don't have to worry so much about it its vulnerabilities, it's much easier to backup and restore than the real thing, and you get the excitement of being able to just kill it at will without going through the interminable Windows shutdown.

And you're not lumbered with a tragic piece of hardware design uglifying your workspace.

And you can frighten your mac friends by opening it in full screen mode..
 
Chundles said:
What part of Puerto Rico do you live in MJ? Maybe I can see your house from mine?
Click to expand...


I'm on the left bit. Near the hill. 603. Kinda scary, innit.


bobber205 said:
When I buy my PC from dell, it comes with Windows OS.

But if I made one, I would have to buy it separate. Would the savings of building one myself make up for buying Windows seperately?
Click to expand...


Well, it'd probably still be cheaper to buy your own but I like the fact Dells come with warranties and support back up.


bobber205 said:
NOTE:
I live in Kansas.
North east Kansas. And this summer my family and I are moving to Oregon.
Click to expand...


So you don't live in Puerto Rico? Not even on the left, near the hill? :D
 
I agree with everyone else - get a mid-priced Dell and it should serve you well (particularly if you're mainly using Linux). Whatever you do, don't get one of those "build your own" types. Many people I know have had them put together with parts from all over the place because it generally works out a bit cheaper. In the long run it's not worth it, bits break, you end up having to replace everything and there's no warranty.
 
mad jew said:
How very tempting. Is it up to the job? :)
Click to expand...

Well, it's his primary computer. And since he's a close friend, I would get to "test-drive" it before I bought it.
It runs Windows XP and has a DVD-ROM drive in it.
 
Specs

Here are the specs of that 70 dollar PC.

Dell optiplex
6G HD, w/ a 4G slave
Pen III motherboard w/ a pent II processor
XP pro verson 2002 w/o service packs
on-board video card w/ a spare AVG card not on-board
450 mhx processor
192mb RAM

Good or bad?
 
Really not that great but if all you're doing is looking at your own sites then it should be fine. If I were you, I'd keep it away from the internet so you don't have to get antivirus apps and spyware etc. :)
 
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