switch to pc question

I'm not really switching but I need some advice on a pc, I know this is an apple preferably site. I know less about pc operations than I know about macs (and thats not much) This is directed towards the pc guys. I need to buy a pc for other members of my family, They want to and burn dvd's and cd's Songs and movies ,I guess they are having compatibility problems with some others
What is out there that I will not regret purchasing. Nothing special but nothing thats going to be junk in a month either, any recommendations please?
I ask you guys in the switcher hangout , because who would know better as to what to stay away from I don't like the idea about having a pc sitting next to my macs but, I gotta do what makes everyone happy around here.

I have a PC for playing CS and Doom III.

i most likely will not use it but they will. I need some opinions on a good buy, thanks

go to PC world and buy an eMachine desktop, they are very cheap and reliable take a look at them they're a good buy (except for mac of course!!!)

I went to pc world but can not find emachines

a flat monitor would be good i hate big and bulky

Check this out:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1576810&Sku=G153-1086

eMachines now owns Gateway, btw.

looks good that is one to consider anymore? How is Gateway, ** far as reliability?

gateway stuff is pretty good never personally herd a complaint about them

Don't get a gateway my parents and my best friend had one and they are horrible, well, I guess that is compared to a Mac, but they both had serious problems and had to reinstall OS a couple of times. My parents comp wouldn't even let you reformat the hard drive, you had to take it to a Gateway store! Sucky BIOS!

Stay away from Compaq, they are by far the worst. Dell and Gateway are pretty good and HP is decent. I actually prefer built computers though. I like to build and I also like this place, I have been to their store and they are based in metro Atlanta area. They don't ship only pickup but maybe you should find a place like this in your area. It is one of those backwoods places that all of the computer people know about around here. Better prices than any retail store and they custom build better systems for same price or lower than the big companies.

http://www.ginstar.com/

THATS A GOOD IDEA sursuciofla I know of a place not far from here thanks!

www.newegg.com
best online computer store on the net, hands down.
pre built systems, barebones, laptops, components, everything is there along with decent prices ( not as cheap as some but the service is way better). I buy most of my components (i have built four different systems) from there.

I got a Dell XPS that I replaced with my iMac. I haven't had any problems from it. That is as long as I did my WinXP maintainance (defrag, disk cleanup, virus updates, spyware, etc). Before I got the Dell I usually built my own.

Syat away from Dell and Compaq. Both suck.

Dell seems to have the best deals, you can always find decent systems with LCDs for cheap, check gotapex.com

Custom is the way to go. I would recommend either Pricewatch.com (if you're an expert and can assemble the PC yourself, this is the cheapest route for sure), Newegg.com, or Monarchcomputer.com . Monarch's local to Atlanta (my neck of the woods), so I've been to the storefront and talked to most of the employees personally. I would not buy a PC anywhere else under any circumstances unless it were a laptop. I've gotten the best prices and advice on prebuilt systems from them whenever I needed it. Their build fees are very reasonable (generally around 50 bucks) and the deals on the computer parts themselves are great. If you must buy a manufacturer-produced computer, I would absolutely stay away from Compaq, Gateway, HP, or any company connected with them. Dell has its ups and downs, but overall it's not a bad company. I've had very good luck with Sony and Toshiba in the past, but I've no idea how good they are these days.

I have had no real problems at all with the few Gateways that I have worked with. Most of it was user error. Some of the newer eMachines are not bad of late. They are very affordible also.

baggss said:

Syat away from Dell and Compaq. Both suck.

Click to expand...

I perfer those 2. Worked at Dell like 5 years ago. They all come down to volume, but U can get a dell desktop for less then 500 w/ 17" flat panel monitor

badmojo said:

Check this out:

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=1576810&Sku=G153-1086

eMachines now owns Gateway, btw.

Click to expand...

WRONG!!!!


Gateway bought out emachines January 31, 2004.

http://consumeraffairs.com/printme.php?url=/news04/gateway_emachines.html



I recommend learning to build a computer, and building them one, I have built over 12 computers in the last 2 years, and the prices averaged between 500-1000 depending on what you want.

Currently I have a biostar motherboard with an AMD Sempron 2200 1.49GHZ processor, liteon dvd burner, 250GB hard drive, basic case, 500 watt power supply, and it burns an exact copy of a movie in about 35 minutes (encoding time and burning time combined). This computer cost me 500 to build, and then I bought a KVM switch and just used the keyboard, mouse, and monitor I use for my macmini.

for parts go to www.newegg.com