Computer for an older coworker

[Stan]

An older secretary at my company came up to me today and asked.. "What do I replace my 8 year old Word 98 computer with? We got a new printer, and it doesnt work with the windows we have".

All joking aside, we are an all Dell shop at work, and in my private consulting I almost always go with Dell Optiplex/Latitude/Poweredge, MacBookPro, and X/T series IBM's (unless the customer has something else in mind).

Given that this is an elderly individual who just wants a computer to replace an old one, wont ever play games or do anything but trivial upgrades, is there any problem with having her buy a workspec Dell Optiplex (3yr onsite, 3ghz Pentium D, 1gb ram, vista business, 200gb, dvdrw, 19" flat panel) for $1100? Theres no real benefit in dropping the specs, it takes off a trivial amount.

 

[KeithTalent]

After a quick perusal of the Dell site, that appears to be your best bet. Absolutely no point in going any other way AFAIC.

Building something for her (though she would save some cash) would just not be worth the headaches for you and this way she gets everything she needs for the next several years.

KT

 

[DaveSimmons]

$1,100 for a granputer is a lot, and a pentium D is hotter (and so louder) than core 2 or A64.

You might ask if they'd prefer a laptop since you can get an E1505 for under $1,000.

 

[halw]

Build her one of these.

 

[Stan]

Sorry, should have given the options..

a. Have her goto Best Buy/Staples and buy whatevers on sale (cheaper, she can touch and feel)
b. Buy from local vendor (who sells crap acers, but will do home installs, setups, but charges $50/hr)
c. Buy from Dell and drop ship to her house.
d. Possibly buy from another online vendor

I have *0* interest in building computers (I don't have time anymore). Dell's onsite warranty means if ****** breaks, im not on the line to go fix it.

I guess I mean more software. Do modern box store computers come with anything of real benefit, or is it still all junk? (Our dells come with XP/Vista only and Drivers... no other software is installed).

 

[Stan]

Dave: If I wanted to go laptop (she said no to laptop) I would have gone with a Latitude D620, 1gb, 80gb, 2.0 C2D, 3yr Complete Care @ $1095. The D1505's are junk. The Pentium D's have huge 120mm fans, and run silent.

 

[Stan]

halw: I have no interest in running tech support for a custom built craputer. I want prebuilt, tested, and warranted.

 

[KeithTalent]

I have never been able to price out a PC at a B&M that equals a Dell for the same price and I have tried multiple times.

DaveSimmons is right about the PD (though I don't think heat will be an issue here) and I just dug a little deeper and priced out a Dimension C521 X2 3800+ system for $899 with almost identical specs to what you posted earlier. Unfortunately I do not know how to link to a Dell build, sorry

 

[jpeyton]

Originally posted by: Stan
An older secretary at my company came up to me today and asked.. "What do I replace my 8 year old Word 98 computer with? We got a new printer, and it doesnt work with the windows we have".

All joking aside, we are an all Dell shop at work, and in my private consulting I almost always go with Dell Optiplex/Latitude/Poweredge, MacBookPro, and X/T series IBM's (unless the customer has something else in mind).

Given that this is an elderly individual who just wants a computer to replace an old one, wont ever play games or do anything but trivial upgrades, is there any problem with having her buy a workspec Dell Optiplex (3yr onsite, 3ghz Pentium D, 1gb ram, vista business, 200gb, dvdrw, 19" flat panel) for $1100? Theres no real benefit in dropping the specs, it takes off a trivial amount.

Is $500 of that $1100 going straight in your pocket?

She could get the same configuration for half-price just by browsing SlickDeals/GotApex/FW.

 

[polypterus]

What's wrong with a Dell E521 w/19" for $469? Add a 3yr warrant for $130. Done.

 

[Stan]

From Slickdeals:

DellSB - Dell Optiplex 320 with 3.0Ghz Pentium 4 531, 256MB DDR2, 80GB HD, 48X CD-ROM, and 3 Year Warranty for $499 with FREE Shipping including 19" LCD Monitor

Just needs more ram!

 

[Kreon]

Not particularly

If all she's gonna be doing is word processing and such, you don't need massive amounts
even for light surfing

For the price, its better, especially for an elderly person on (I presume) a fixed income.

If worse comes to worse, you could go install a 256 or 512 stick (although if you are looking for no personal tech support as you mentioned)

My ideas, hope they help

 

[engiNURD]

Pentium Ds are power hogs. Get her an Optiplex 740 (Athlon64/X2) or 745 (Core2Duo) system instead. She'll save money on her power bill each month. All Dells run silent, its just that the newer CPUs (Athlon64/X2/Core2Duo) draw half the power of a Pentium D, run faster, and run cooler. They should come out to about the same price as the GX320. If not, get a better dell rep, lol.

 

[SoundTheSurrender]

you need to spend 1,000+ dollars?

 

[sniperruff]

how about a cheap A64 dell with base specs. that should do it.