new comp

[fishtank]

I'm gonna get a new computer. I'm long due, and I want to get something nice. I gotta go with windows, Mac is out of my price range, and the rest of the fam damily wouldn't be cool with switching to mac. I'm not going to spend more than $800.
I've been eyeballing this one pretty hard. This one isn't as jacked, but the included monitor is sweet, and I like HP. I don't need a monitor, but my current monitor has some dead pixels from over-zealous cleaning.
I like this idea also, as I can get XP. I've heard nothing good about vista. Is anyone using it? Has anyone got some good advice? Seen any great deals lately?

EDIT: fixed link.

[Jerry]

this is where i usually shop.
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications ... 14|&Sort=4

[Army of One]

The Circuit City one is better IMO. It has AMD's newest processor, (I think it's a quad-core!) and the HP only has a third generation Pentium D... The monitor is a nice feature, but the Gateway also has more RAM and HD space. The ebay store link didn't show a specific item.

Have you checked Newegg.com yet? I've never looked at computers there, but they have killer prices and service and components!

[Mighty Mouse]

Ugggghhh! Don't get me started on Newegg. I bought Xbox 360 game for X-mas and when my cousin opened it, it did not read. I checked the disk and there were smudges and scratches. I went scrambling for replacement X-Mas eve 11PM and managed to find one at Circuit City. Of course, Newegg won't give me my money back, only exchange it for another game. So I can go through this again with restocking fees and shipping? No thanks. I WILL not be shopping there ever again for sure...

[THE V]

I picked up my last comp here http://www.frys.com/, it was right after vista came out so I was able to pick up a "refurbished" XP machine for 40% off (exact same specs as the vista machines). Then again I walked into the store and found it. They always have much better deals onsite. Tigerdirect occasionally has good deals but not always. I've found that with a little searching I've always been able to beat their prices.

BTW I've used vista a little and it sucks. You absolutely must have 2G of RAM to have it work with any speed, 4 G of RAM if you want it operate like XP with 1G. Although it is being forced down the homeuser's throats at this time I have not heard of any major corp's upgrading to it. I personally have a 3 year old machine at my desk with a P4 processor and 512 RAM. My company would have to replace almost 100% of their comp's to change OS's now. My wifes company (fortune 500) would have to replace 100% of there comp's and they're on a 6 year replacement schedule..... So basically I think this one might turn out to be a kissing cousin to WinMe.

[PGG]

Personally, I would try and find a friend to help me build a good computer. Much more bang for the buck, and using dealnews and many other component sites, you can find some crazy deals. With the new release of intel chips, the older ones have become extremely cheap, and you could build a very kickarse computer with $800.

[woo]

Why not try out a Mac for a change, good deal here :

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... caid=17070

[TMG Leader]

Why not try out a Mac for a change, good deal here :

http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?s ... caid=17070

i dont know about mini macs. They're kinda cheesy if u up your price range a by 400 dollars you can get yourself a nice MacBookPro.

[Blind Cide]

^^ The apple.com store has had those minis refurbed, but with the Core 2 Duo chips (64 bit) and their latest OS, Leopard (64 bit), for less than $500. You have to check their site every morning to find them as soon as they're listed because they sell out quickly.

I bought one for the Windows-only software that I use, but have the Mac OS booted up 99% of the time.

[Bolo]

build your own. only way to go. you wont be a victim of the crappy parts manufacturers use to get the price down. and you wont have to give bill gates another franklin for windows (which is part of any computer you buy)

id dual boot win2k for what few windows programs you need and boot a linux distro for everything else. win2k has no WGA or other stupid BS and stuff runs rather smooth on a less than cutting edge system.

the last box i built was around 300 for just the case and the parts inside it. 2gig ram and dual core (like 3rd from best) 200g hdd.