buying a new computer
 

it's kinda tradition in my family to get either a trip to New York or a new computer for a graduation gift. I've been to New York before and it was nothing special for me so I chose the computer. I'm getting everything new, speakers, keyboard, mouse, etc. the whole thing.

Now, neither my parents nor I are experts when it comes to knowing anything at all about computers. Does anyone have any suggestions for brands or the like that I should look at? Our price range isn't too specific but probably less then 3K.

Know what I got for my graduation? A ride home from the graduation.

Stay away from Dell and you'll be fine.

I personally recommend Hewlett-Packard as a brand. I've had my computer for nearly three years now and there haven't been any hard drive failures on mine. Not once.

What are the pros and cons of dell? (Besides high expense)

Joseph

dell: pros: often comes with printer, decent monitor for cheap

cons: generally shitty tech support, underpowered computers for cheap, upgrades cost a ton.

I know this will get me mixed responses, but have you seriously considered looking at a Macintosh? Apple's latest boxes, at least the Intel-based ones (none of this applies if you go for the Power Mac G5, but most folks don't need that kind of muscle), can dual-boot Mac OS X and Win/Lin, as well as boasting dual-core CPUs and some nifty multimedia gadgets like Front Row.

If nothing else, the peace of mind that comes with being almost immune to viruses and malware is worth it.

It depends on what you want, though. If you're a gamer, a Win box would be the better way to go. If you're the creative type, go for a Mac. Either way, stay the hell away from Dell-they make crappy kit and their boxes break. The words "OptiPlex GX270" may sound familiar to some. Exploding capacitors, anyone?

General advice: skimp on RAM when you order and put your own in later on. OEMs almost always charge out the ass for RAM and you can get it much cheaper on Newegg. If you can, get a DVD burner with it. They're wicked useful for backups, and if you have a library nearby that rents DVDs... Given the choice, take AMD over Intel. Their chips run cooler on average and routinely outperform Pentiums for less money. I really can't say either way with regard to speakers. Finally, if you have the space in your room and can accommodate a bigger case, try to get a mid- or full-tower so you can throw more expansions in later as they become relevant. Extra optical drive, more hard disks, perhaps a FireWire card, Gigabit NIC, or pro sound card, etc.

As far as keyboards and mice go, it really pays to shop around and actually try some out. Don't short-change the primary means with which you're going to be interacting with this thing. Having an uncomfortable, overly noisy, or unresponsive keyboard is the worst thing in the world, and having a mouse that's too flat, too round, shaped too weird, or subject to any other such "mouse-ailment" can make for a frustrating time navigating a GUI (assuming you're not running *nix in command-line mode all the time).

For your monitor, if you get an LCD, make sure you get one with a DVI cable. The benefit of auto-adjustment and greater clarity is worth any extra money you might pay. Again, shop around and try a few monitors at their native resolution (or in the case of CRTs, whatever resolution is most comfortable for you). Don't watch movies or play games to test them-read text. If you can read long passages on your display with minimal eye strain, then you've got yourself a good display. They're pretty much all the same in the way of movies and games anyway, unless you get one that either REALLY sucks (not likely if you get an even remotely respectable brand) or that is REALLY a cut above the rest (not likely if you're not paying an exorbitant sum).

My G4 is connected to twin Princeton SENergy 714s, and they're nice monitors. Princeton discontinued the SENergy series, but you might look at what they have currently.

I'm no guru when it comes to sound/video cards. Last one I bought for myself was an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro Mac Edition to go in my G4, and it was a pretty nice one. My laptop is running a Mobility Radeon 9600, and that works well too. If you're a Linux fan, though, all signs point to NVidia being a better way to go for driver support.

Sound cards are an area I know even less about. Audiotrak makes nice pro/high-end ones, as evidenced by the Maya 1010 I bought for my brother's computer, but that's likely to be major overkill for a general-use desktop.

well I use my computer for homework, going online, downloading videos (anime mostly) and playing on emulators. Is that what you think a win box will help wiht?

also what's the differecne between the different tower sizes? and why is one better then the other?

Bigger cases hold more stuff, and cool better (usually). These things don't matter to most people.

If you are buying a pre-made machine, then Apple's iMac is pretty sweet right now. It'll handle your list of things quite well, and it's a low maintenance entry into computing.

For those uses, you'd be equally well off with a Windows box or a Mac. My knee-jerk reaction is to say Mac, as then you get the inherent virus/malware immunity that comes with running Apple hardware and Mac OS X.

As for the tower sizes, it's a simple matter of physical space. The bigger the tower, the more room you have for upgrades and extra internal components.

If upgrading and/or expanding isn't your thing, or you plan on buying a system and not doing anything in the way of upgrading until you buy a whole new system, then you could go for a mini-tower or even a micro-ATX form factor like the Shuttle. Personally I like to keep my options open, which is why I'm willing to put up with a huge, hulking case in exchange for the ability to easily get inside and swap things around.

iMacs, Mac Minis, and Apple notebooks are somewhat tricky to open up and upgrade/replace. Power Mac G5 units are easy as pie, with a nice lift-off side panel and everything laid out in the open.

Also, is this a high-school graduation? If so, what are you planning on studying in college? If you're doing any kind of design work, I'd definitely recommend a Mac. If you're doing CS with emphasis in programming, I'd say to get an x86-based box so that you can dual-boot Windows (as they will inevitably have you soil your hands with Visual Basic) and Linux (for the other programming languages-Linux has great development tools).

Like I said, I'm not good at knowing anything about computers. Is it wise to leave room for upgrades for the future?

yes, it's a high school graduation (last january). I've applied for film, but not acting, more like editing and such. Does what you said about design still apply?

It means that without any question you should get a Mac. With an iMac or Macbook Pro you'll have access to tools like Final Cut Pro which is quite popular for film editing. Also, you can dual boot to Windows XP if you need to run a Windows based application.

dont buy commercial computers!! like Dell or HP or whatever...just get a clone and search for the best pieces and go to place where they will build it for you (stay away from Microbytes)!