I Need a New computer.....can Anyone Give Me Advice ??

If I were you, I would check on Craigs list. We have found great computers for the fraction of the price of a brand new computer, especially if your looking for a basic computer. A word of advise if you take this rought, make sure the person selling you the computer gives you the back up CDS, DVDS etc... Also take someone with you that knows abit about computer who can tell you whether the computer being sold is a good one. Good luck.

I personally do not care for Dell computers. 4 family members have them, and every time I am visiting and try to use it, it takes FOREVER for the computer to boot up. The family is always griping about it.

I also do not care for e-Machines (Best Buy). They have the same issue.

I would go to Best Buy or such and ask one of the techs there for help. Tell them what you currently have. What you like about it and what you hate.

I lost a computer that was only a year old to an electrical storm. Took it to Best Buy, of course they no longer had that model. I said, I need to replace this. No extra bells and whistles. Whatchya got? The guy showed me 3 compariable models.

M.

If you use your laptop for pictures, go Mac. I have a Mac Book Pro - thanks to a dear friend. It is wonderful with the loading, tweaking, software to create 'movies' with the pictures, etc.

It is truly worth the supposed extra $ - you may not need a MacBook Pro
but one of their lighter versions …but once you go Mac it will be hard to go back! =-) Good luck!

Based on personal experiance I do not like HP, e-machines or gateway. If I had to chose one of the 3 though I would purchase my e-machchine again. I loved my Dell. Here is what consumer reports has to say:

Brand reliability ranked high to low:
Apple
Compaq
eMachines
Dell
HP
Sony
Gateway

Then here are their quick picks:

Best performers for gamers:
Dell Studio XPS SX8100-1986NBC $1045
Dell Inspiron I###-###-####NBC $780

Best mainstream desktops:
HP Pavilion Elite HPE-112y $800
Dell Studio XPS-7100 $700

Best budget desktops:
Dell Studio XPS 8100 $650
Compaq Presario CQ5320Y $350

Best compact desktops:
Dell Inspiron 580s $500
HP Pavilion Slimline s5310y $460

Best all-in-one desktops:
Apple iMac 27-inch MB952LL/A $1700
HP TouchSmart ###-###-#### $1150
Apple iMac 21.5-inch MB950LL/A $1200
HP TouchSmart ###-###-#### $900

For an all-in-one with a Blu-ray player:
Sony Vaio VGC-JS450F/S $1000

Best budget all-in-one:
Dell Studio One 19 (1909) $630

Hope that helps!

Since you store pictures, I would suggest you make sure you have a large hard drive. Can you give the specs on your laptop? Think about what you like / don't like about it. Did that hard drive have enough space? Did it run slow? Was the screen large enough? Do you want a widescreen? Do you want the number keypad to the right of the keyboard? (My parents just got a new laptop & the number keypad was a must for Dad! lol)

I do know that having a dual core processor makes a huge difference!! My computer at home and my computer at work have almost the same exact RAM (memory) and processor speed, but my computer at work has a dual core processor. It is WAY faster than my computer at home!

You can also look for good prices at http://www.dealnews.com

Feel free to message me if you have any more questions. I'm not an expert, but I know a bit! :)

Definitely go to the Apple store and at least talk to them about a Mac. I was reluctant to make the switch since I had grown up using a pc at home and in school. I did though, and I will never go back. I have never had a single virus, never have pop-ups, and my computer has never frozen on me. Not once. I would suggest that you at least talk to the experts at the store about it. :)

Try Fry's. They have pretty good prices and their staff is usually more helpful and knowledgeable than other places at least with computers. If you don't need a lot of bells and whistles you might even try looking at Netbooks if you like the smaller size. Otherwise, HP is my preference in laptops. I had one that was fantastic until my son spilled apple juice on it. After that I got a Dell, but it just wasn't as good as the HP.

Mac is always a good option but they are generally pricier.