Help me buy a new computer !! Advice sought

[optigoddess]

Hi -

I really want to get a new computer ... mine is 4 years old & I bought it new from Computer Renaissaince (they built it).


I am taking on a new part time job that will require me to transmit data from via the machine (I haven't started orientation yet but my friend that does this part time job says that she hooks up her special laptop to her hard drive to do it ... and that's all I know...)

And, with me in school, I need something good since I am going to be busy writing papers ... (ugh)...

So, this is what I am wondering ...

What's the difference between Celeron & Pentium ...? A coworker said to stay away from Celeron but didn't know why (LOL) ...

I see a lot of Dell's that have XP home ... is that sufficient or should I go with XP professional?

memory? how much?

Anything I should be wary of?

What questions should I be asking ... or items should I be researching ???

Also, I want to get a new ISP provider - I have AOL ... (AO-HELL) and want to dump that ... but what should I get ? Is DSL or CABLE all that & a bag of chips?


Thanks for the help !!


Karen

[JRS]

Since we are both in OR, I thought I'd pass on a few notes.

1) Cable here is much faster than DSL. I tried both. Settled w/ comcast. The one thing the DSL people don't tell you up front is - how far you are from the repeater (or what ever tech term they choose to use) will affect your speed.

2) Since you are going to school, and most likely would like a portable - go with a laptop.

3) The main difference between XP Home and Professional is security measures and policies. You really need neither unless you plan on sharing the box with other users and you want to set their limitations.

4) Celeron is a cheaper chip than Pentium (both Intel). However, unless you really need the ultimate in speed, either should work for you. AMD also makes chips, which in some cases, are just as fast as Intel stuff.

5) Don't get less than 512 in memory. MS will tell you 128 is enough to run XP, but it will be a dog. 1024 would really be ideal, if you intend to run heavy memory based applications.

6) If possible, don't get a integrated graphics card. They share memory, and hence are quite as quick as a decicated card.

I have bought 2 systems trough Dell. I have been quite pleased with their products and especially their support personnel. If you can buy via the website, they usually have some "deal" going on. You can also custom build your box, and see a price (including shipping options & costs) right away.

John

[Sean]

I am taking on a new part time job that will require me to transmit data from via the machine (I haven't started orientation yet but my friend that does this part time job says that she hooks up her special laptop to her hard drive to do it ... and that's all I know...)

You may want to check into a program called pcAnywhere from Symantec.

So, this is what I am wondering ...

What's the difference between Celeron & Pentium ...? A coworker said to stay away from Celeron but didn't know why (LOL) ...

The Pentium 4 has been endowed by Intel with a number of natural advantages, not least of which is its incredible ability to ramp clock frequencies and, hand-in-hand with it, a hair-raising top clock speed. Impressive as the GHz numbers are, though, the real story with the P4 is its ability to move data around inside the system. From the front-side bus to its RDRAM memory interface to its north-south bridge link, the P4 has a considerable advantage over the Athlon platform.IMHO:)
The P4 has a system bandwidth advantage over the Athlon. If nothing else, the Pentium 4 platform has plenty of room to grow. And it ought to deliver a serious whuppin' at memory-intensive tasks. The Pentium 4 may run at higher clock speeds, but it does so by virtue of a very long instruction pipeline. The length of that pipeline hampers the P4's clock-for-clock performance, so that a 1.5GHz Pentium 4 isn't necessarily any faster than, say, a 1GHz Pentium III.
The Pentium 4 talks to its L2 cache over a 256-bit wide connection, while the Athlon's L2 cache interface is only 64-bits wide. However, the Athlon Thunderbird's dual-ported, on-chip cache is probably just as good as the P4's.Sorry to be so long winded..........in short go with a Pentium.

I see a lot of Dell's that have XP home ... is that sufficient or should I go with XP professional?

XP PRO.

memory? how much?

Start at 1024 and go from there .......the more .....the merrier ;)

Anything I should be wary of?

Computer sales personell can get really pushy and confuse/scare people with there so called "Techno Babble"......Dont let them tell you what you need........tell them what you want.:cheers:

What questions should I be asking ... or items should I be researching ???

Storage...........i.e. size of hard drive. Combo drives....i.e. dvd\cd. U.S.B. ports....Ethernet card........Wi Fi......i.e A,B,G standards..........just to name a few.....:idea:

Also, I want to get a new ISP provider - I have AOL ... (AO-HELL) and want to dump that ... but what should I get ? Is DSL or CABLE all that & a bag of chips?

Broadband\Cable

[kjw1231]

Hi -

I really want to get a new computer ... mine is 4 years old & I bought it new from Computer Renaissaince (they built it).


I am taking on a new part time job that will require me to transmit data from via the machine (I haven't started orientation yet but my friend that does this part time job says that she hooks up her special laptop to her hard drive to do it ... and that's all I know...)

And, with me in school, I need something good since I am going to be busy writing papers ... (ugh)...

So, this is what I am wondering ...

What's the difference between Celeron & Pentium ...? A coworker said to stay away from Celeron but didn't know why (LOL) ...

I see a lot of Dell's that have XP home ... is that sufficient or should I go with XP professional?

memory? how much?

Anything I should be wary of?

What questions should I be asking ... or items should I be researching ???

Also, I want to get a new ISP provider - I have AOL ... (AO-HELL) and want to dump that ... but what should I get ? Is DSL or CABLE all that & a bag of chips?


Thanks for the help !!


Karen

1. Celeron lower class of chip made by Intel (fine for most applications). If you are crunching numbers...then Pentium. If you are gaming...AMD

2. XP Pro. You cannot network XP Home. DON'T BUY A DELL. They use proprietary parts made specifically for them in Taiwan. If you want to upgrade...good luck.

3. Memory 256MB at Minimum. 512 is better 1GB is best.

4. Spend the money on a custom built PC. Think of it as buying glasses from a private shop vs. buying a chain model.

5. Get a DVD burner. You can also use it to burn CD's. Get a USB 256 memory stick. It is so convienet and is very easy to transfer and back-up files.

6. ISP- dpends. DSL is great, if you are within 3 miles of the CO (Central Office). One thing that the cable company will not tell you about cable is taht you are on a public ring. Meaning that it is very easy to obtain IP addresses and hack computers. Additionally, if a line goes down, it may break the ring and you will be down.