Computer buying for dummies

Rick O · 01-19-2005, 06:35 AM

Is there a website that will explain in laymens terms what all the computer jargon means? I'm buying a second computer for my kids and all the descriptions and specs are Greek to me.

Minnreefer · 01-19-2005, 08:39 AM

I don't know of any good web sites for that info, perhaps maybe I or we can help you

Jon

Junkzoo · 01-19-2005, 10:07 AM

Ditto Jon's post Rick , what are the kids gonna use it for,,,,how much you wanna spend?
'puters are fairly cheap now, if you want to go mid range route,,just gotta match needs of use to a machine,,,
Ever think of givin da lil ones your 'puter, and upgrading to a new one for you?

Doug1 · 01-19-2005, 10:15 AM

Post on, i am having my Son build me one, he loves the foo foo stuff, I just want a decent MB and a decent CPU with lots of RAM
If I recall correctly so far he has a midrange Radon MB with on board sound, networking, USB2 4/2 B/f with an Athlon 2.4 or 6 gig CPU. The MB sposed to support 3 gig RAM but I will start with 2x 512 ran as dual channel
need to pick case, and a DVD oh and a video card

Look out 21st Century, here I come

cath · 01-19-2005, 12:05 PM

Doug...I don't know if we're ready...

Rick- I might make a suggestion, but you know...

crab0000 · 01-19-2005, 12:14 PM

Do a Google search for building your own computer. Lots of info on how they work and the purpose for each component. This way you can determine what you want and need before buying. I built my own around a year ago and it works flawlessly. BTW I am not that computer savvy, so pretty much anyone should be able to do it.
Steve

Rick O · 01-19-2005, 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Doug1

If I recall correctly so far he has a midrange Radon MB with on board sound, networking, USB2 4/2 B/f with an Athlon 2.4 or 6 gig CPU. The MB sposed to support 3 gig RAM but I will start with 2x 512 ran as dual channel
need to pick case, and a DVD oh and a video card

Huh?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cath

Rick- I might make a suggestion, but you know...

Somehow I knew you would jump on that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Junkzoo

Ever think of givin da lil ones your 'puter, and upgrading to a new one for you?

Yeah the new puter is for me. The crashmobile is for them.

Ok so far I know that the Pentium 4 is better than the Celeron and the AMD. I prolly want 512M of memory. I think I want a DVD burner so I can transfer DV tapes onto DVD. I think I read somewhere that some units will accept memory cards from digital cams and that I can plug my video camera directly into the front of the puter.

Do I have to buy a second DSL modem or what will I need for both computers to run from one modem (if that's possible). What do I need in the way of a video card if I'm going to want to watch videos on it?

More questions later.

Rick O · 01-19-2005, 05:00 PM

Oh and what is the minimum CD/DVD speed I should look for?

Minnreefer · 01-19-2005, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick O

Oh and what is the minimum CD/DVD speed I should look for?

on my puter, I got 4X dvd right, just about anything over 4 is fine, I would not worry about that too much unless you are going to be playing a LOT of games that use the cd to play. I would not worry too much aobut what brand of video card, especially if you buy from a major place, but I would recomend a seperate video card with at least 128mg of memory.

HTH

Jon

Doug1 · 01-19-2005, 11:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick O

Huh?

Somehow I knew you would jump on that.

Yeah the new puter is for me. The crashmobile is for them.

Ok so far I know that the Pentium 4 is better than the Celeron and the AMD. I prolly want 512M of memory. I think I want a DVD burner so I can transfer DV tapes onto DVD. I think I read somewhere that some units will accept memory cards from digital cams and that I can plug my video camera directly into the front of the puter.

Do I have to buy a second DSL modem or what will I need for both computers to run from one modem (if that's possible). What do I need in the way of a video card if I'm going to want to watch videos on it?

More questions later.

Do I have to buy a second DSL modem or what will I need for both computers to run from one modem (if that's possible).

Network router will let you link more than one puter to share a modem or files from one to the other

Doug1 · 01-19-2005, 11:51 PM

Oh BTW the Pentium 4 is better than the Celeron or the AMD entry level, but the Athlon works well and is usually a tad less expensive

Junkzoo · 01-20-2005, 12:12 AM

Ditto on the Athlon,,,being good ban fer the buck,,,

Rick O · 01-20-2005, 04:57 AM

I went to the puter store last night. Man these things have come a long way in just a couple years. HP has a CD burner that laser prints the label right into the CD. Pretty cool.

Anywho this is the one I'm looking at:
http://www.microcenter.com/single_pr...uct_id=0184056
It has way more than I need but it has a DVR and I was getting ready to buy one of those anyway so this will eliminate the need for that. I can record movies off of the sattelite then burn them onto DVD's. Plus I can transfer all of my DV's onto DVD's. I was tempted by the 42" plasma monitor but I'll prolly get another monitor just like the one I have now which is a Sony 17" flat screen for $349.

If anyone sees anything missing please let me know.

FishDaddy · 01-20-2005, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rick O

I went to the puter store last night. Man these things have come a long way in just a couple years.

Boy, you can say that again!! I thought I was flying high with my HP with 1.3 Athalon when I bought it a couple of years ago!!! I could get twice as much of everything for about the same price now!

I need to upgrade again too, but the house needs painting; teeth need fixing; the dog is hungry; and so on..................

I'd like to help but the technojungle has gotten too thick for me.

Dick

Phishnoob · 01-20-2005, 09:32 AM

We just got a fourth extra computer so cheap it is not funny.

I would look for 3.0 or greater for a speed, 512 meg of ram and 60 or up for a hard drive and you can do just about anything but hard core art design or serious gaming. Prices drop off so fast now that the old maxim of buying the best computer available is not really true anymore...they are so powerful. Try and get one with expansion for adding a video card and throw in something in the 100 dollar range and you will have a beast. Also, if the RAM is only 256 for a few bucks you can order more from www.crucial.com and any six year old can do it for ya.

These types of computers are in the 600 to 800 range now and you can find a 19 inch monitor for around 200 bucks. The ones to avoid are things like some Compaqs or other brands that have on board everything and cannot be upgraded.

If you have a city big enough to host a computer fair nearby go there, or if you are on the West coast Fry's is a great place.