Posted on 01/08/2009 10:58:26 AM PST by reaganaut1
I'd like to buy another Windows PC and can spend up to $2000 for a nice one. Which retail chain typically offers good deals? Are there particular manufacturers/models you recommend? I'm not a gamer and am not looking to use it as a TV. I do a lot of number crunching. I live in Massachusetts.
Vision Computers in Atlanta. They offer free tech support for the life of the computer and if they can’t fix it, they will replace it.
Find a local PC shop and have them custom build you a box. Check with the BBB and ask friends if they know of any local shop.
I’ve always liked Circuit City, but my local one closed and now I’m stuck with Best Buy, although the latter’s selection is pretty good - they even have a mini “Apple Store.”
Have you considered building one? It’s not hard. There are magazines on the stand right now that will give you complete parts lists and instructions. Ordering parts from newegg or tigerdirect is easy.
Use Dell.
Get the Studio XPS with a Intel I7-920 or 940. Best perfomance for the $$$$.
J&R Music World, Costco, Amazon. Try www.cnet.com for reviews and price comparisons, or www.mysimon.com
Uggg! I wouldn't recommend Best Buy to anybody! In fact, I'd recommend Wally World before I'd ever recommend Best Buy.
IBM.com
If you are the least bit technical, building one is an option. If you are not, try a local store where you can get support. Avoid the big names like Dell. They are nice but they tend to scrimp on important things like power supplies.
The tech support lists are full of questions about upgrading a Dell or an HP and the answers are rarely positive.
If you don’t do gaming you don’t need to spend more than $1000. As someone has suggested, go to a shop and get a custom PC built. One that comes with Windows Pro or Vista Ultimate. (Assuming you’re going with MS)
You don’t need to spend money on a video card, and it doesn’t sound like you have any heavy demands except for CPU speed. And unless you are talking about supercomputer level problems, almost any current CPU is fast enough.
Yep. Go with Dell and then find the most reasonable price. Best Buy was our most recent find on a lightweight XPS for our daughter for Christmas. Any problems we’ve had with any Dell computer has been solved very quickly and with minimal hassle. Whatever you choose as far as a large chain, DO NOT BUY THE IN-STORE GUARANTEE!!! The only extended guarantees worth the paper they’re written on are from the manufacturer. We got seriously burned by CompUSA before they “rebuilt.”
Also, www.tigerdirect.com www.newegg.com. $2000 is a lot of money for a PC. I only buy laptops anymore, they have everything a PC has and take up a lot less room.
I just bought a HP via their website and it was an easy, painless and quick transaction.
Yeah, I second the dell recomendation.
However with the following cavets:
sub 500.00$
2 gigs of ram
and the least expensive non-intel video graphics card/chipset.
That should allow you to do pretty much what you’re looking for with light gaming and video use.
However, if your number crunching is super-critical and highly time sensitive you might want something bigger (keep in mind this really only applies to high end physics number crunching).
And if you get one built locally, be sure they set up a decent backup procedure, one that you can follow. Get an external USB drive for backups.
I always use my American Express card when I buy something expensive. They double the mfgr’s guarantee and they are hassle-free when replacing items.
Ditto on Dell. I think if you're going to buy a mfg.'s machine, Dell is clearly the best bang for your buck. For $2K, you could build a tremendous rig if you had the skills yourself, or knew someone who could do it for you.
A good dell laptop. They have desktop power but are portable. You can get a very good one for under $2000.
Look at tigerdirect.com
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