what i need to know is everything.

what brand?
what kind of processor?
how big of a hard drive and why does it matter?
how much memory and why does it matter?

all the bells and whistles aren't really selling points for us.

We want something that can read and write cds and dvds.

any and all help would be appreciated!

mac mac mac mac.

i bought a macbookpro about 6 months ago and have been happy with it other than the battery issue

Absolutely. IMO, Mac's are great for a lot of things but especially for entertainment purposes. I don't need my computer for work, other than check emails.

I only need it for internet, photos, cd's, burning cd's, planner, etc. Mostly entertainment purposes. I wasn't 100% sold when I bought mine but I'll probably never go back.


Make sure you get an external hard drive. You can put all of your music/photos on it. That takes up most of my space.

Also, if you get an Apple product absolutely get the 3 year Apple care warranty. Mine hasn't really ever messed up but if I need to know how to do something on it or I accidentally erase something I can call them they'll walk me through the problem.


To each his own though. It did take me a while to get used to the different way they operate. (no right click button, everything is click drag, etc)

get something with a dual something

I'm Fred Smoot, & I approve this message.

I got a Dell Dimension D620 this summer and it's damn near perfect. If you order through Dell Small Business (just make up a company name, it doesn't matter), they don't come with all the extra junk like MusicMatch, and you get the Help Desk in Texas, not somewhere full of brown people.

Mine is geared for work, not media, so if you're looking to watch DVDs and play a bunch of music without headphones, you'll likely be better served somewhere else. While the speakers on mine sound pretty low rent, the machine drives headphones surprisingly well.

i would trust a help desk in india rather than one in texas, if given the choice.

anyway, the company that i like over dell, sager, doesn't have a help desk at all.

I honestly don't care if the help desk is off-shore, but damn if there aren't people who do.

One of our help desks for work is an IBM one in Montreal, Canada, and hot damn they are the nicest people ever.

make sure you get a fast HD (ie 7200, not the 5400)...

i think the macs come with a weak 5400 speed HD...havent looked in awhile.

i favor dell as well.

Hopefully I'll be looking after xmas. Mine will be used for video editing and extensive graphateering so I've got my eye on the MacBookPros. I did pimp out a Dell though on their site...for 2K it was pretty rad.

pretty much all laptops come with a 5400 rpm drive. you either have to special order one built with a 7200 rpm drive or replace it yourself. battery life is another concern. 7200 drives dont draw a whole lot more power than 5400 drives, but its still something to consider.

its pretty standard with dell (not having to special order).......

I would recommend as much memory as possible. Skimp on the processor, if you have to, but max out that memory.

Yep.

macs are much $. Love them though. You can run XP and the mac OS on them now, which is cool.

BTW, my pops bought the first mac ever back in 1980 or whenever. That bitch still runs. Don't use it for anything of course but IT STILL RUNS.

yeah, but dell builds it to your specs. im talking about your run of the mill local brick and mortal stores. its not standard equipment.

cool. thanks. i think we are going to go with a macbook (but not the pro version). i will consider all the advice for a upping the RAM (that's the memory right?)

Right now the Compaq PC i've been using for the last 5 years has a 7.5 gig HD and 192 RAM, so i think anything i get will be miles better and very sufficient.

Max out the ram on your own. It's very easy to install on the macbook, and you'll save $300+. I think it'll take two GB of RAM.

Not only that, but more RAM means the battery will need to be charged more often. Off the shelf will be plenty fast for you for a long time.

Do get an external hard drive for media, a firewire drive.

I don't think this is true... at least, I've never experienced this, nor heard anyone claim it, before now.