I need a new computer,

[knucklehead G]

but after spending many years with Apple products I am looking to make the switch back to Windows. I currently have a Dell Inspirion mini 10 netbook that handles basically my Talkbass usage, but I need a desktop, something that I can use for some very basic recording, using SketchUp and playing World of Warcraft occasionally. When I try to run Pandora + one other tab on this little 1.6GHZ Atom 1GB ram netbook my CPU usage hits about 85% and everything bogs down.


I'm out of touch with all the new processors, last time I used Windows the Pentium 4 had just come out and was The Next Big Thing, so I'm having trouble shopping.


I need a monitor + desktop, basically an entire setup, and I've got about $500 to throw at this. I know I'm not getting anything fancy with this budget but its what I have available. I do get a 15% discount with Dell through my employer, so I'd like to go with them if possible. I'd prefer Windows 7 so I can run the same OS on the netbook as the desktop.


What do I need? How much memory, what kind of processors are good nowadays?

[Thunderscreech]

Dual or Quad core and at least 4 gigs of ram will get you anywhere these days.

[mmbongo]

Also make sure to get a dedicated video card, not 'onboard video'.

[MJ5150]

Get one on Friday. Some great deals are to be had on laptops this weekend.

-Mike

[knucklehead G]

I'm working twelve hours on Friday helping people get those great deals.. for 2.5X salary, which is fueling this purchase.

[MJ5150]

The newest processors from Intel are the i3, i5, and i7. But plenty of machines out there still with the Core family processors like the Duo. The Pentium Dual and Quad Cores are consumer affordable now.

If you can afford it, one of the latest rages is SSD, solid state drives. A bit spendy, but there are benchmarks showing increased perfromance on I/O intensive tasks.

I went with a Gateway SX2800, and I work in the IT field. Quad core, 4GB of RAM, 640GB HDD, Windows 7, plenty of inputs. It is a small form factor, so you are limited on upgrading things like the video card. Not a problem for me, so I picked one up for $450 out the door at my local Best Buy a few months ago.

-Mike

[Alucard817]

I refuse to buy any prebuilt system, so I build all of my own PC's.
My current dork box has:



AZZA Helios 910 Black Japanese Case
CORSAIR CMPSU-650TX 650W PSU
Intel socket 1156 i5 2.66Ghz Quadcore
ASUS P7P55-lx motherboard
4GB G. skill 1600 dual channel
XFX Radeon HD5770 video card
The drives I pulled from another build.
for 785.00 bucks I built a system that will run circles around most 1,500 dollar computers.

This just shows what you can grab by doing it yourself.

[MJ5150]

What drives are you using, and what OS?

-Mike

[Alucard817]

Plextor 24X DVD burner
Seagate Barracuda 250GB (OS drive)
Seagate Barracuda 1TB
All are SATA 3GB

Windows 7 x64