desktop builders?

[Eris23007]

A friend of mine is just starting college and wants a desktop (not a laptop). She has $1000 or so to spend on a computer and I want to recommend her something that will last her 3 or 4 years...

She's not a gamer, will be doing mostly papers, internet stuff, minor imaging / multimedia stuff.

Being a techie, I DON'T need spec recommendations. What I do need is a recommendation of a good system builder with longevity who will give her reasonable support over the long term. Good warranty, good prices, etc. Dell is of course an option but I want to see who else is out there these days - it's been so long since I bought a prebuilt system that I honestly don't know who the other large-ish builders are anymore.

So... any recommendations?

Thanks...

Jacob

 

[amdnVuser]

So DIY is out of the question? If so, then your options are the same old...Dell, HP/Compaq, Gateway, Sony, IBM, Apple...if you want something you can customize yourself online. If it were me, I'd go with an HP a1030e (with an s754 Athlon64 3200+, 2yr warranty, combo drive, 512MB RAM, 40GB HDD, 5200XT). With the $100 MIR, she'll get the best bang for her buck for around $1000. The only thing that's within $1000 that's from Dell that's worth anything is the 4700, which uses a 32-bit, power hungry P4 5xx CPU (vs. AMD Cool 'N' Quiet), has no rebate, and won't support XP x64. In terms of support, all OEM's pretty much stink. Thus, if she by some chance places the order over the phone, don't let anyone sell her on service (i.e. Dell) as being the one thing that sets this company apart from the other.

 

[Eris23007]

The problem with DIY is there's no way I'm going to have her do it (she is extremely unaccustomed to computers in general, much less guts), and if I do it for her, I have to try to support her from 1000+ miles away if a component dies or something. Just a PITA that I really can't handle right now. So yeah, DIY is pretty out-of-the-question in my book.

I'm not going to get into a debate over parts because to someone at her level and needs, e.g. gaming performance differences are irrelevant. Most computers with modern parts will be more than enough to satisfy her current needs; my only real parts concerns are to ensure that she gets a good, solid 3 years out of it. Since she isn't a gamer and has a stated intention of avoiding games (due to the potential for lost time...), this should be pretty simple given the slower pace of innovation lately.

Jacob

 

[Away]

I'd stick with Dell personally. They are going to offer the best price and support for your purposes. The Dimension 3000 would be a perfect fit for her uses. If you want to consider other companies look at HP or Gateway.

 

[Eris23007]

That was my initial thought (especially WRT support). I don't recall the last time I knew someone who was terribly pleased with a computer they purchased at a retail store, particularly if they needed service/support. However, as I said, it's been a while, so I'm definitely open to conflicting opinions.

I'm thinking if she can scrape $1200 together, she might to be able to pull off a 19" LCD, which is just SO worth it. Frankly, since she's not going to game, I would argue if her resources are limited she should go with a 19" LCD (or at least 17") and accept integrated graphics to save money. I'm going to try to get her a DVD burner but Dell charges a lot, relatively speaking, for them. Also I'm going to (more or less) insist on 2.8+GHz P4, 800MHz FSB, and 512MB dual-channel, to give her a good chance of getting a satisfactory 3+ years out of the thing (note: specs assume Dell. If she goes with another choice involving an AMD configuration, obviously there are some other options to consider). I'm waffling a bit over whether DVI is important in her case (I.E. 1905FP)....... I know it's valuable. Then again, if she gets it, she might be able to get an extra few years out of the flat panel.....

OK, food for thought. Anyway, any other opinions?

 

[amdnVuser]

Dell's support was okay at best a few years ago. But now they're just like any other huge corporation that cuts costs in the support department first, unless you're a huge corporate client or XPS owner. A P4 IMO is totally inappropriate for her needs. Athlon64's outperform P4's in business/office type applications, not to mention they consume less power and have support for XP x64. For less money, she would get a faster machine (for her usage) that consumes less energy with the same caliber warranty and support for one more version of Windows. I mean, my god, the 3000 still uses the i865GV chipset (i.e. integrated graphics that will consume main memory) and it doesn't even support the NX bit (if she's really not knowledgeable about computers, then she's probably not knowledgeable about security and you'd probably want to get a machine that supports DEP to at least help prevent some of the more recent malware). The 4700 uses the P4 5xxJ series, but you're still sacrificing support for another version of Windows and you're consuming more power. The only Dell machine that's truly comparable to that HP is an 8400, which uses the P4 6xx but still consumes more power and will end up costing more.

 

[fbrdphreak]

I'd go with HP. But unfortunately most of these companies have outsourced their tech support to India.
Gateway's are okay, but I would be a little more worried about problems w/them, just from what I've heard. Either way, I wouldn't go Dell.