PC Shopping Soon

[SayWhat?]

In about a month, Win 7 will be available factory installed.

1 > Is there any advantage/disadvantage to that over loading it yourself aside from having the physical disc and COA?

2 > Is there any reason to wait longer than late October? Bugs to be worked out, etc.?

3 > Not big on buying components and building from scratch, but what about buying a spec'd system with no O/S and loading 7?

4 > In the past, I've used NewEgg, Tiger, Dell, HP/Compaq, Office Depot and a few others to buy PCs. Never had any specific problems, but is there a better place?

5 > Without getting into specific component and part numbers, what should I be looking for in Video, Sound, Memory, HDD capacity, expandability, etc.? One thing I've noticed is that it is very hard to find a MoBo with more then 2 PCI slots, except that they usually also have at least 1 PCI Express slot.

6 > Need to keep the price point low, preferably in the $500 range or less.

7 > Without going into the big Intel vs. AMD debate which usually seems like personal opinion in the end, is there any real reason for one over the other?

[Marlin Guy]

1 > That depends on what you get. If you buy Dell or Lenovo from the business side, you can get them with only the pre-loaded software that you want. Last time I looked, the chain retailers like BestBuy and others still sell them loaded with a bunch of trialware and useless crap.

2 > There will be bugs. There always are. But I don't see that as a reason to wait, unless this is to be your one and only gotta have it working all the time system. Then maybe wait until after the first of the year. Prices will be lower and some bugs should be worked out.

3 > See 1. If you want, you can get just the box, OS, and drivers from some really good makers. No real advantage to loading the OS yourself, unless you just want the experience. You also lose the factory restore image that way. There are some time-saving advantages to having that.

4 > I like Dell and Lenovo. I loathe HP-Compaq and SONY. As far as building it yourself v buying a packaged deal, my opinion is that the big boys have done their homework integrating their components and working out the kinks. They also have a much stronger buying position than you do. Use that. It's nice to know how to build a PC, but it's something I have gotten away from altogether, because it's just not practical anymore.

5 > Much of this depends on your intended use. I've never understood why some many people want to cram so much stuff into a PC for gaming. X-box and the like do it better, cheaper, and more compact.
I'd still go with no less than 4GB RAM. Memory is dirt cheap, so why not?

6 > Got to Dell's Vostro site (http://www.dell.com/us/en/business/notebooks/vostronb/ct.aspx?refid=vostronb&cs=04&s=bsd) and register as a business. If you don't have a business of your own, just make one up. Nobody's going to make you verify anything.
Be sure to opt in to receive their e-mail specials.
I don't even need another PC, yet I have such a good deal parked on my desk right now that I'm seriously considering buying one anyway.

7 > None.

[LarryFlowers]

In about a month, Win 7 will be available factory installed.

1 > Is there any advantage/disadvantage to that over loading it yourself aside from having the physical disc and COA?

2 > Is there any reason to wait longer than late October? Bugs to be worked out, etc.?

3 > Not big on buying components and building from scratch, but what about buying a spec'd system with no O/S and loading 7?

4 > In the past, I've used NewEgg, Tiger, Dell, HP/Compaq, Office Depot and a few others to buy PCs. Never had any specific problems, but is there a better place?

5 > Without getting into specific component and part numbers, what should I be looking for in Video, Sound, Memory, HDD capacity, expandability, etc.? One thing I've noticed is that it is very hard to find a MoBo with more then 2 PCI slots, except that they usually also have at least 1 PCI Express slot.

6 > Need to keep the price point low, preferably in the $500 range or less.

7 > Without going into the big Intel vs. AMD debate which usually seems like personal opinion in the end, is there any real reason for one over the other?

1. There is no real advantage to be gained from loading it your self except the experience. No matter how you obtain your computer and even if it has a recovery partition on it, make sure you get a copy of Windows 7 with the PC.

2. I have been on the final RTM version of Windows 7 for quite a while now with no problems, the only major issue (and one I fully expected) is that vendors are dragging their feet on the VPN software updates. There is no reason to wait.

3. Building a PC can be an enjoyable experience, If you feel up to the task (and it really isn't that difficult) it will allow you to pick and choose from a greater pool of components. The downside of course is there is no "cover everything" warranty.

4. I have always bought most of my components from either NewEgg or in some cases Amazon. In particular, I like the way NewEgg handles warranty parts.

5. As to components, once you have a budget, pick you motherboard and CPU. You can start any PC you build with relatively low end components, just pick a good motherboard. I selected an ASUS motherboard with Intel core 2 duo and quad core capacity, but started with a low end chip. Start with 2GB of ram and work up. Start with an inexpensive video card and work up, the video card, cheap or expensive use the same slot. All of this keys of your primary selection, the motherboard. Spend $160 to $200 here and the rest can take care of itself over time.

6. If you really want to hit a low end price point and maximize bang for the buck... consider looking at the Dell Refurb store. A couple of years back, I bought a back up PC from the refurb center. Paid $459 for it... later and over time I upgraded the CPU, memory, video card and added another hard drive. I still use the computer as my back up and have run Windows 2008 server on it. Dell refurbs come with a new warranty, most are returns for some minor problem and all are recertified.

7. As far as the Intel v AMD debate... the noise from both camps is almost intolerable. I have had one non Intel CPU over many years, The reason I haven't used an AMD stems from an incident many years ago when a software package I was installing at the time refused to load because it couldn't find a proper CPU. I later obtained a patch that allowed it to work. Just habit more than anything else. Both companies make good products.