I must respectfully disagree.  For a person who is NOT a "sophisticated" user (perhaps does not know a PCI slot from a firewire port), buying from one of the national assemblers/retailers is probably the way to go.  The major exception to that is, if you know a reliable LOCAL assembler of computers, buy there.  Dell probably remains the best of the national assemblers (and I would agree: of a bad lot).  I, myself, have found that the sales personnel at Gateway tend to be more reliable and helpful than Dell sales personnel; and, if Consumer Reports is correct, they are catching up on service; if you in a locale that has a Gateway Country store check them out; you then are NOT dependent on incompetent phone techs. 

BUT, my strong urging is BUY A MAC, unless you have lots of software which works only in Windows, and even then, a software emulator, Virtual PC, does the job for at least 90% of Windows software.  MACs are a little more expensive (for the same power); but are well worth it, especially with the 10.2 version of the operating system; for security and reliability it beats XP by a mile; for speed and ease of use (for a novice) it is about the same.

1. dont get a dell

2. make sure the ram is not 128 MB (the standard of what dell will give you)

   most machines are getting up into the 2Gh range in the processor, and that should be fine

DSL is great. get a modem and service, and hook it up through cat5 cable into your ethernet port.

you might want a bigger hard drive too, im on a dell, and ive almost used mine up in one year.

I hope you get this b4 its too late, or you'll be sittin here like me.  just look at some of the posts ive made

A Dell would be a good choice.  Depending on your price range, a Dimension 8200 or 8250, with 2.4GHz minimum CPU.  Don't skimp on memory, and get a good monitor, perhaps the 17" 1702FP or a 19" Trinitron.

For obvious reasons, the posts you'll see here are predominately from users who have problems.  The ones who are having no troubles are doing something else.  Then there are the ones who bought the absolute lowest priced system possible, and then wank about their foolishness.  I liken it to a person buying the Geo metro, and then throwing a fit when it doesn't measure up to his buddy's Corvette.  Hey, they're both cars, right?  Why doesn't mine go as fast as his?  That darn dealer ripped me off!!

I work in IT Support at a medium-sized university, with about 2,000 Dells.  We don't have much trouble with them, and when we do, the part arrives the next day.  The warranty is excellent and so is the support.  I bought a Dimension 8200 for my home use in January of this year, and have no issues.  It's no longer the top of the line, but it does what I bought it for.

As far as buying from a local assembler, get some references.  How long have they been in business?  How long is the warranty?  Is the owner some high school kid who's just saving up enough to lower his Honda?  A warranty is a promise, and Dell will likely be around to honor theirs.

My two cents.

Message Edited by MViani on 11-09-2002 09:47 PM

Yeah, right, don't buy Dell, they are only ranked the best computer company in the known world, and their top of the line models are ranked #1 for home AND #1 for business by PCMAGAZINE...they are rated #1 or #2 in the world in service (even though some have problems). I've only got 4 Dell's, and im only happy with all 4 of them. I'm buying a Dell laptop in the next few months too. But don't buy Dell. They are only the best computers there are that are factory made.

Buy a compaq, or a gateway. Those are real good. The only problem is you may not be able to find your way around their website to even START considering them. Or better yet, be a real cool guy and spend 1500 to build your own, and hope it works, if it doesn't send back each part separetly until you find what's wrong, that should only take 15 months. I'm not starting a homegrown vs Dell battle, but this person doesnt even know what he wants from a computer and people will start preaching "build your own" at him and he'll end up spending more money on that then ordering a new Dell.

WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHY people insist that Dell's are such peices of junk on this board????

WHAT IS BETTER than Dell??????? Someone tell me?????????

I may buy an Alienware Area 51 for the heck of it in a few months just to see how much "better" they are. I considered when I ordered the 8200 2 months ago, but something told me to go with Dell, a trusted proven computer company with TONS of money and success. However, I'd like to try a "non-proprietary part" having Area 51 and see what all the fuss is about.

Message Edited by Greatone1601 on 11-09-2002 10:26 PM

I have owned IBM, HP, and now Dell. I do not have any complaints against any of these manufacturers. In my opinion, it doesn't matter what the brand name is, it's what's inside. Every computer I have owned has had various different brand name parts inside. Almost every vendor's site now has customizable systems. You pick what processor, hard drive, sound card, etc. you want. I shopped all of the vendor's sites when I bought my refurbished Dell. I went with Dell because they have the best warranty for the least price. I got my refurbished system for about $300 less than a new system with the same specs and I couldn't be happier. Check out the Dell Outlet. IT'S YOUR CHOICE. There will always be disgruntled computer users with no matter what brand you buy.