Best New System?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Sherlocks Dad
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S

Sherlocks Dad

We are finally ready to get a new computer (much overdue). I am looking for
guidance on a system that will do what we need without breaking the bank. I
primarily use the computer for e-mail, banking online and some gaming
(Flight Simulator). My lovely wife wants to try her hand at digital
photography and photo editing, plus scanning old photos and docs to CD for
preservation.

Is an AMD chip as good as Intel for the above. What would be the minimum
memory, processor speed and hard drive? Are longer HW warranties worth the
money? Thanks for the input.
 
Dell and HP are on top of the list at present. A 2.4GHz AMD has been
beating Intel for a long time and is the current speed for your use with
a harddrive size of 160Gigs. Do not forget the RAM, it shoud be
at least 512Mb and one Gig recommended. The new OS (VISTA) from
Microsoft due out in late summer will require 512Mb as a mimimum.
Buy the current copy of PCWorld magazine for up-to-date desktop ratings.
A HP Value System (Pavillion) runs about $900. Extended warranties (?) is
up to you if you think they are worth it, I do not. Many components, if they
need replacing, are cheaper than the warranties. Other readers may or
may not agree with me, but "different strokes for different folks".
 
Thu, 2 Mar 2006 11:20:25 -0500 from Sherlocks Dad
We are finally ready to get a new computer (much overdue). I am looking for
guidance on a system that will do what we need without breaking the bank.
Click to expand...

www.pcworld.com has a number of buying guides.
 
SD

MS Flight Simulator requirements are not that great.. a fairly basic
computer can run the game.. however, your wife's requirements will be 1.5gb
RAM, a minimum HDD of 80gb, and a 64/128/256mb video card to get the screen
clarity and resolution best for photo editing.. re. video memory, biggest is
not always best, especially if there is no budget for a decent photo editing
program..

None of the above will hurt your game playing.. quite the reverse in fact..

Adobe Photoshop CS2 is a top runner, but at US$650 is not cheap.. anything
else pales by comparison of course.. Arcsofts' offerings are not too bad,
and come supplied free with Canon Scanners (at least, they used to do)..
Serif's PhotoPlus can be downloaded for free.. it's an older version, but if
liked, a newer version is available..for more on Serif freeware..

http://www.freeserifsoftware.com/software/PhotoPlus/default.asp

...... and for a comparison of what is out there..

http://www.consumersearch.com/www/software/photo-editing-software/fullstory.html
 
Sherlocks Dad said:
We are finally ready to get a new computer (much overdue). I am looking
for
guidance on a system that will do what we need without breaking the bank.
I
primarily use the computer for e-mail, banking online and some gaming
(Flight Simulator). My lovely wife wants to try her hand at digital
photography and photo editing, plus scanning old photos and docs to CD for
preservation.

Is an AMD chip as good as Intel for the above. What would be the minimum
memory, processor speed and hard drive? Are longer HW warranties worth
the
money? Thanks for the input.
Click to expand...


For WinXP you'll want a minimum of 512 MB of RAM, and get at least 1 GB if
you're going to want to upgrade to Windows Vista at the end of the year.

For digital photography you'll want a pretty big hard drive.
 
You could also ask in microsoft.public.simulators as you have that interest.
You may be asked how much you want to spend.
I have found them very helpful. I got a lot of advice re building my first
comp. for flightsim.
Rgds
Antioch
 
I know it's not really what you're after, but have a look at the computers
available at www.alienware.com.au . I don't dare tell my wife that I want to
spend almost $5,000 on a desktop. Oh well, maybe AL (After Lotto).

Rob Lepper
 
OM said:
I know it's not really what you're after, but have a look at the computers
available at www.alienware.com.au . I don't dare tell my wife that I want to
spend almost $5,000 on a desktop. Oh well, maybe AL (After Lotto).

Rob Lepper
Click to expand...
Build your own. I did and it cost about 1/2 of Alienware's machines.
 
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