DonnieBoy

Hey all,

I am looking to get a new computer. I have been looking at Dells and Gateways Websites. I was wondering if there are any other good Computer retailers out there to buy from.

I am running an Emachines right now and although I have no complaints with it I don't want to go with another emachines. Out of the pre-built computers which are the best?

Dell
Gateway
Compaq
HP

My folks had a compaq way back in the day that i was not very happy with although that was a few years back. Are they any good?

Any other suggestions?

DonnieBoy

BTW i am running a 466 with 256mb ram right now and I do a fair amount of gaming and some minor photo editing and such too..

Konichiwaneko

I work for Dell, so I love them.

They have the best warrenty imho.

__________________

Reese

I've had bad experiences with Gateway and HP which is now merged with Compaq. So I say go with Dell if your have to get pre built.

__________________
“It is better to be rich and healthy than poor and sick” - Dave Barry

darkure

466?! Oh, you mean 466MHz. I thought you meant an 486/66 which people would abriviate as 466.

Anyways, I would go with Dell. Here at school, we order all the faculty and staff Dells unless they want a Mac. I have not had many problems with Dells but when a part does go bag they are very good about getting a replacement out for you. I am not saying that parts go bad very often but when you have to support several hundred computers of varying ages, you can expect a HD to fail or monitor to crap out every now and then,

__________________
COYW

a1t3r3g0

Check out www.ibuypower.com
GREAT machines for a really good price!

a1t3r3g0

But, if you want to limit yourself to Dell, Gateway, Compaq, & HP, go with Dell.

shakran

if you like gaming and want a quality rig, get an Alienware. They're more expensive than the other guys, but they also put ONLY the best stuff in their machines and their machines are gamers dreams. If I didn't build my own rigs I'd buy one myself.

livewirerc

Dell's got some great deals through their refurbished computer program which all come with full warranties. I've bought a few laptops from them (I build my PCs) and have had nothing but good things to say about them!

Jason Abels

shalafi

out of those dell is the best then gateway. HP and compaq just suck donkey balls

wraithhibn

Another vote from Dell. Never really had a problem with the ones I've worked on.

__________________
If you won't dress like the Victoria Secret girls, don't expect us to act like soap opera guys.

chodarama

I'd recommend Dell. Mainly for their support. They make excellent servers, laptops, and desktops.

Gatecrasher

ABS (http://www.buyabs.com/)
In consistently rates in top 5, often better than Dell or Gateway. I think what makes it special is that they have the advantages of a large company, while having the very friendly and responsive tech support and parts replacement of a smaller company.

saberyo

Dell++;

over the last 4 years we've purchase about 350 dell computers the only problems we've ever had have been with assorted floppy drives and some crappy OEM'd ATI cards on the Dimension 4100s.

_All_ of the problems that we had were handled within 7 days by their outstanding customer support department.

(ps: I don't work for dell!)

__________________
TANSTAAFL

zaiaz

Do a Dell dude if you got enuff cash try an IBM.

__________________
Self destruction - "Its my Nature", said the Scorpion...

thecow

I got an ABS also, and it was alot cheaper for the same options. I am very pleased with it so far (and I usually build my own, so I am pretty picky). They benchmarked one is this monthes PC Gamer, and it did just as well as a system last month that was twice the price. If you give any thought to one of the suggestions besides the main 4, check out www.resellerratings.com to make sure they are decent. Good luck and happy hunting.

P.S. This maybe an isolated incedent, but we got 10 new dells at work, and 3 were DOA. Sucked pretty hard. Also, compaq maybe better now, but last one I had pissed me off bad. Power supply went out, and they wanted $110 for a part that normally cost $30. And it was proprietary, so I either bought that one or trashed the comp .

Mister B

I would also go with dell. My cd-rw went down all of a sudden and they had a tech out to my place in 3 days! Big ol' black guy that was cool as hell. I even caught him looking through my porn and he was like, uuhhhhh......NOTHING!

blkdmnd

Bad experience with Compaq. Have an HP now that works well but had to replace a fan and had to buy HP only (read - expensinve). Had some initial problems with a Gateway I bought. I'm on Dell number 4 and only time we had a problem, hard drive crahsed, they fixed it ASAP.

Dell all the way.

__________________
I blow my nose at you. Now go away before I taunt you a second time.

smoked salmon

I have a three year old Dell (build my own now) that still works great. Never had any problems with it. As long as you don't go with compaq you should be okay.

Grondar

I bought 2 PCs in my life so far.

The first was "built" by a local computer store. They were very shady and when I would take it in for repairs they would switch things (HD for less memory, and other odd things). The PC had many problems and issues.

For my next (and current) PC I purchased a Dell. I havewn't had one problem with it yet, and I love it. It was fun to put together online, and I have had zero problems. When I do buy another PC I fully intend to make it another Dell.

They have proven to be the best IMO.

__________________
"Yes, I rather like this God fellow. He's very theatrical, you know, a pestilence here, a plague there. Omnipotence. Gotta get me some of that." -Stewie

portwineboy

Okay, this is the first reason I've heard NOT to go with Dell.

Johnny Rotten

http://www.abspc.com
http://www.nutrend.com

both highly rated at Reseller Ratings

__________________
"The idea that money doesn't buy you happiness is a lie put about by the rich, to stop the poor from killing them." -- Michael Caine

DonnieBoy

Thanks all for the suggestions...

Will probably go for a dell.

If i can convince the wife we need a new computer i'll be all set


DB

Frowning Budah

One more thought. I currently have a Dell. I had quite a few problems with it in the first few months, but they did come out right away and fix things. Still was sort of a hassel.

wasapeas

Best way is to just build your own, and learn from the experience. Once you've built your own, you'll never go back to the retail stuff

Darklight Adept

If you're gonna go pre-built, go with the dells. I don't trust HP and Compaq because they like to load your computer down with shit like new.net domain and commonname. Prolly not a bother to most people, but when you do tech support and people can't get to your sites because those pieces of crap came pre-installed on their system, it's quite annoying.

My real vote is for build it yourself tho.

cheese

i have been running a gateway for years i love it its my beast. no major problems that werent self inflicted

KillerYoda

I sort of have a Gateway, at least it started as one. I was too lazy to build a computer, so I bought a Gateway cause they have pretty roomy cases. It works pretty smooth. It's kind of a Frankenstein now though, I changed a few things like added a DVD+RW and another harddrive. Gotta love voiding warranties.

__________________
"So you're Chekov, huh? Well, this here's McCoy. Find a Spock, we got us an away team."

crashoverride

i'm buiding my computer myself so I never actually bought any desktop pcs from those companies except dell where I bought my lappy.

get Dell if you don't have any problems with pentium. they have the best service you can get. never had any experince with gateway but they are expensive. I don't like the hp pcs cuz they have only mini towers. otherwise I think hp is the best company in printer. Never buy Compaq since I've heard many bad reviews about compaq pcs.

Nomad

You can find some good deals on computers at this forum.

http://www.fatwallet.com/forums/categories.cfm?catid=18


A couple of systems I bought from Dell.

PowerEdge 600SC,2.4GHz/512K Cache,P4,533MHZ Bus, includes floppy drive
128MB DDR, SDRAM,1X128 DIMM
Standard Windows Keyboard,Gray
No Monitor Option
40GB 7.2K RPM IDE Hard Drive
No Operating System for Dell PowerEdge Servers
OTHER
Logitec System Mouse,Gray
On board Network Adapter
48X Black,Compact Disk Drive for Dell PowerEdge

Hard Drive Configuration #1, MotherBoard IDE,for PowerEdge
600SC, 533Mhz FSB, When Ordering With 1 or 2 HDS
Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor
On-Site Response, Initial Year
No Warranty, Year 2 and 3
On-Site Installation Declined

Ship. and/or Handling $0.00
Subtotal $369.55
Taxable: $369.55 Tax: $29.11
Total $398.66
VISA $398.66
Mail-In Rebate - $100.00

Total 298.66




Dimension 4550 Series,Intel Pentium 4 Processor at 2.53GHz
128MB DDR SDRAM at 333MHz EA 0.00 0.00
Dell Quiet Key Keyboard
FREE UPGRADE!E772,17IN(16.0IN VIS)MONITOR,Midnight Grey

32MB ATI RAGE ULTRA 4X AGP Video
30GB Ultra ATA/100 Hard Drive 7200RPM
3.5in Floppy Drive
Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition,English
Dell Application Back-up CD, Factory Install
Dell Support 2.0 for Dimension 4550
Dell 2-button Scroll Mouse
Intel Pro 100M Integrated PCI NIC Card
No modem requested for Dell Dimension
40X/10X/40X CD-RW Drive
Integrated ADI 1885 Audio
No Speaker Requested
MS Worksuite 2002,CD with Documentation,OEM,US,English

Type 3 Contract - Next Business Day Parts and Labor
On-Site Response, Initial Year
No Warranty, Year 2 and 3


Ship. and/or Handling $0.00
Subtotal $609.00
Taxable: $609.00 Tax: $47.98
Total $656.98

Maveric

can anyone reccomend a good laptop/ notebook for gaming...

i really like the one alienware has but it's somewhat more than I want to pay...

Stare At The Sun

Good recomendations guys, this is quite helpful for me too, im looking to get a new comp as well

gerg01

Well if you want to learn how to work on and fix computers, get a gateway. That was my first computer, now my second computer is one I built myself and havent had a problem with it.

Konichiwaneko

I just bought a 5150 from dell

3.06, radeon 9000 32 megs, 1600x1200 screen, 512 megs of ram, and wireless g.

$1250 shipped

__________________

DonnieBoy

Was going back a few pages in the computer section and came across this so i thought I'd update.

Got my dell in June.

I ordered the 8300 series

P4 2.6G
sound blaster audigy2
9800 radeon 128mb
cd burner
512 ram
120g hard drive
18" flat panel!!! <--- free upgrade...

Overall i am very pleased with my dell so far...

its very fast compared to the old emachines i had.
WindowsXP is little hard to get used to but im like that too...
but wtf is up with the grey pop ups... I CANT STOP EM!


DonnieBoy

MontanaXVI

ill always build my own, but if i ever have to go pre build id go dell hands down

__________________
Spank you very much

peokuk

you could always try an apple... I know it isn't a PC, but from a support standpoint alone, I've found them to have the shortest wait times on hold and be the most helpful with their advice. I work in a computer lab so I've had to talk to Compaq\HP, Dell, Gateway, and Apple, and I had the shortest wait time and most help with Apple. Second to that is Dell though, they seem design better cases, etc. and they have good, friendly support.
(very nice LCD monitors too!)

gibz0r

Thats a pretty sweet system Donnie! Now you are set for Doom III and Half Life II.....

crewsor

You probobly need to turn off messenger.

__________________
We all have wings, some of us just don't know why.

tupacalypse1622

hehe sorry for being a lurker so long but this thread really grabbed my attention...i'm in the market for a new laptop......i really wish ibuypower had some laptops....as for recommendations I also have a Dell and its been perfect so far (1 year now)....if u have more money to blow for multimedia...sony isnt too bad either...gL

Pennington

When you buy a Dell, you are largly paying for support and warrenties. If you don't want to build your own, but know enough not to stick a magnet on the side of your tower, then I would suggest you buy a http://www.cyberpowerpc.com/ computer. They lack a little support but they make great computers and are the cheapest you will ever find anywhere.