"Which Computer,PC,should I Buy?"

[dorothyblueeyes]

Hi, I am an American, (boos and screams from forum)and I am searching for a new computer,PC. I do a lot of art online,(on oekaki sites)and I download the results onto my computer,so I like to have a lot of ram,or something.I also want to buy more advanced art software,myself,and that would be additional heavy-duty software for the computer.

I also watch movies online,(mostly do not download them,streaming)and I have to keep that in mind.I tote a lot of software,I have Dragon Naturally Speaking(which never works that well)but spells my fingers from arthritus pain,cause it types for me.(Takes a lot of memory.)I have Outlook Express,Firefox,and I do a lot of emailing back and forth,to cousins back east;lots of emailing,and I have a friend in Michigan,we email tons of yakking back and forth.(Mostly thru gmail.)

I love little moving emoticons,and I store,steal,as many as I can,off the web,onto the computer.(Mostly German,or Deviantart.com)Yes,the Dragon takes a lot of disc-space.I've looked at "PC magazine,"and consmer's reports reviews of new computers,and Dell,HP,and Gateway come out the best,for mid-to upper priced computers.(I do not need a monitor,I have an old Hitachi 20-21 incher,big,heavy,but great colors,detail,I love it,do not need new monitor.--if I can get away with the old one.)

So,what does anyone recommend?Gateway computer?HP Pavillion?I have a compaq presario now,it's great,but old,about ten or eleven years.Dell is getting great reviews,but not that I ever heard;I heard,it was lousy.Some of these review professionals have contrasting reviews.I cannot imagine owning a Dell,I'd be laughing at myself,looking in the mirror.I do,do a lot of art,use my computer a lot,every day,shop online,and all that drawing online,for hours.Chatting,emailing,doing business letters sometimes. Yes,my computer really has to work!Whew.What do any of you very high paced techs,think?I am not a good techie myself,just a "user".

Any recommendations?Thanks very much, Dorothyblueeyes,in Eugene, Oregon, USA

 

[V_R]

You told us lots, but didn't say how much your willing to sped!

By the way, we are a UK based site so probably not too up on whos the better retailers over there, though we do have a few US members that may know.

 

[Silverhazesurfer]

'Merica native here.

I do a lot of art online

What do you mean by "do?"

I am with V_R, how much do you want to spend? The general answer of "as little as possible" doesn't really apply, as everyone wants to spend that when purchasing a new machine. There has to be a limit. This limit sets what performance you will get for the money.

There are many different directions in which to go. Buy a mainstream manufacturer machine like HP or Dell and you will be limited to upgrade options when it comes time to do so. Buy a barebones system from an online vendor and you have to have your own support system and ability to assemble and troubleshoot your machine. Warranties on self build machines are typically better with regard to hardware failure. Most manufacturers I deal with have a 2 or sometimes 3 year warranty on hardware. Dell/Compaq/HP only provide one year of support. This is software AND hardware support, whereas the home built is only hardware.

Let's start somewhere: How much do you want to spend?

 

[1nteger]

From everything you describe, and in the absence of an idea of what you want to spend, i would advise getting ...a...yes, I don't want to alarm anyone...but..a...Mac.

For anything other than top end games, they kick the PC's ass...and i am a long-time PC enthusiast.

I have a MacBook maybe 3 years old and i connect it to a 24inch monitor - works fine

Power and software have improved massively since I bought it...I only use a top end PC for games now...everything else is mac.