Buying a new sub $1K computer

HMTKSteve

Listen up folks.

I'm finally breaking down and buying a new computer. I have not purchased a new computer since PC-133 was the shit.

What are the minimum tech specs I should look for in an off-the-shelf PC?

Yes, some of you are probably saying, but Steve, you have mad computer skillz, why are you not going to newegg and building your own?" The simple answer is that this PC is not for me but for my wife. If *I* build it I will have to include tech support for every little problem. If *I* buy one I will not be looked upon with utter disdain when something does not work to her satisfaction.

I have also been hearing nasty rumors that you can no longer buy an XP machine but only Vista machines! I would prefer that my wife continue to use XP as it causes less headaches for me. How does it cause less headaches? Why because when something does not work I can show her my machine running Linux and say, "I've got your solution right here honey!" She has been running XP for a great number of years now and she is used to it. If she goes to Vista I will get a barrage of "why is this not working" questions.

I would like her to use Linux too but too many of her "associates" send her nasty doc files and other weird MS-type files. She has also paid money for real software such as PhotoShop and I do not want to have to pay more real money to buy the Vista versions...

So, I say again, what bare minimum specs should I aim for?

Apreche

You're not gaming, so specs don't matter. Just get the cheapest Dell. It can e-mail, web, Office, IM and iTunes. What more do you need? Oh, and it's going to be very hard to get XP without buying it separately nowadays. Maybe a Mac Mini will be a better choice instead? You can get Office for it.

kenjura

Dell or Mac Mini. The M&M is a little bit slow (where "a little" = "omfgwtfbarbecue") on anything beyond simple tasks, if simple tasks are the point, go for it. Of course, for the price, you can probably get a Dell with a monitor.

Fun tip: you can often get nice deals by buying as a small business. I know I have. Also troll sites like slickdeals.net (who used to be much cooler, but they might still have the rare deal) for substantial savings.

I'm not sure how long it's going to take, but Dell has said they're going to start preloading linux on some machines. It would be a good opportunity, and would probably save a bit more. I'm thinking of taking them up on it myself.

Kilarney

Techbargains has some good deals.
How does a low-end computer work with Vista?

Andrew

How does a low-end computer work with Vista?

You will have to turn off aero and most of the graphical enhancements. Other than that, it should be about as quick as XP, maybe a little faster.

Apreche

Vista Basic doesn't have aero. I used it on my new laptop for a week. It really wasn't that bad if you only do normal stuff.

Rym

Make sure it has at least 512MB of RAM no matter what it is. That's pretty-much the bare minimum for anyone.

kenjura

Don't use Vista. Don't even use Windows if you can help it.

I've used every current version of Windows, to a very full and professional capacity, including obscure ones like XP 64-bit and Media Center 2005. Vista offers nothing. You can easily recreate all of the new features by installing Google Desktop and Yahoo! Widgets. The security is a joke, and the interface is blah.

If you're worried that future games won't be compatible with XP, don't be. No manufacturer of PC games is likely to be that suicidal any time soon. And even if it does happen, pretty much every Vista-only game will also work fine on an Xbox 360.

Just don't even consider Vista. Nobody, in the whole world, should even consider using it.

Apreche

Don't use Vista. Don't even use Windows if you can help it.

I've used every current version of Windows, to a very full and professional capacity, including obscure ones like XP 64-bit and Media Center 2005. Vista offers nothing. You can easily recreate all of the new features by installing Google Desktop and Yahoo! Widgets. The security is a joke, and the interface is blah.

If you're worried that future games won't be compatible with XP, don't be. No manufacturer of PC games is likely to be that suicidal any time soon. And even if it does happen, pretty much every Vista-only game will also work fine on an Xbox 360.

Just don't even consider Vista. Nobody, in the whole world, should even consider using it.

Vista Home Basic wasn't really that bad for the week I used it. Sure, it was basically the same user experience as XP, but it wasn't any worse either.

Jason

Vista will be fine for your wife, especially if all she is doing is clicking on shortcuts to get online or run Word. It's the Ford Taurus of operating systems. It will get you there, but it's not going to go over 120 mph or last more than five years.

Josh Bytes

Don't even tell your wife it's Vista. You can run Vista to look just like XP.

Sail

Don't even tell your wife it's Vista. You can run Vista to look just like XP.

Or, as a previous TotD suggested, install Ubuntu and tell her it's Vista.

HMTKSteve

No, it needs to be XP because she has PhotoShop, among other "windows" programs that she uses.

Jason

And.... Vista is not backwards compatible for Win32 programs? Did I miss something huge here?

HMTKSteve

I recently read something about PhotoShop for XP having problems in Vista.

We had to upgrade from PhotoShop ver 4 when we moved to XP because XP just would not run the thing! It could not open more than one image at a time and most tasks caused PhotoShop to crash.

Josh Bytes

Wipe the drive when you get it then and just install XP. Or set up a dual boot if you are feeling that your wife will want to use Vista later on down the road.

HMTKSteve

I can do that. Because Vista is new (and missing some drivers) I figure any PC I buy for her should not suffer by having XP installed on it.

Jason