computer help

[foamerdave]

Hi all Tamara and I are looking at buying a new computer. We are looking at getting just the tower as every thing else is new as of yesterday (x-mass gifts) We would like to keep it under a $1000. I myself would like to try building one but she won't go for it. She likes the the thought of calling up someone to come and fix what is wrong.
We are what you would call your average users of a computer. School bills, e-mail, surfing, home pic's ect..... We are not big gamers and do not do anything with videos.
Right now we have a HP pavilion a820n that we bought as a floor model 4 years ago that has done well by us for the most part. One hard drive and a power supply in the time we have had it. It is now starting to slow down no matter what we clean up, defrag, spy cheek, ect... Time for a new one
I know there are a lot of tech head here. Nether of us know what to truly look for and what is worth upgrading and what is a wast of money any imput would be a great help
Thanks from Dave and Tamara

[wayne]

Simplest way to revive an old pc is to reformat the hd and reinstall the os - too many programs installed knowingly or unknowingly, especially in the case of an average pc user, will bog down pc performance. My newest pc is at least 5 yr old and the oldest way is over 10 (PIII). For tasks you described, I dare to say each of my five pcs performs faster than those machines I use at work, where we replace desktops/laptops every two yrs.
And, buying is cheaper than building your own nowadays.

[Aqualung]

I agree with Wayne format the HD.. Also I use a program called Glary Utilities, a free download that keeps all the junk from accumulating in your hard drive..

[Aqualung]

One more thing.... Make sure you save any files or pics music ect.. All will be lost when you format the HD:partay:

[Pete]

I used to build my own. It's barely worth the bother these days. Pick up a DELL Small Business machine for prolly around $300 or so, something like this, a Core2Duo unit with 2GB RAM and a 250GB Hard Drive: http://configure.us.dell.com/dellstore/config.aspx?oc=brcwa0p&c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cs=04&kc=productdetails~desktop-vostro-220mt

Your real problem is that whatever you get now will have Vista on it unless you pay extra for XP.

[Aqualung]

Building a computer today is not worth it unless you are doing a high end machine.. That is really funny,now you have to pay extra for Windows XP..:1devil:

[Greg B]

I am considering getting a new machine but it makes me sick to have to pay $150 to have XP.

[Shabe]

If your going to buy a new one go with an HP. I deal with computers all day it's my job I am a help desk manager and a technician. If your not a gamer or a hardcore user. Then a hard disk of 250mb, 2 gigs of memory. Built in video card will do fine. We have had Dells at work and now use HPs I find the HPs more reliable and the help desk service better. Vista is fine too. You can make it look and act like XP without a problem. I use Vista here at home with no problems. Feel free to contact me.

[eggzackary]

Get yourself a Mac Mini
http://xiffy.nl/weblog/img/mac_mini.jpg
It's perfect for bills, e-mail, surfing and photo's. Use your current monitor, mouse, keyboard and printer. It will outlast any sub $1000 pc. You can get one for $549 and throw $450 into the kids college fund