Computer Wiz's...I need your help again!

Since I'll be leaving in September, I need to buy my own computer. I don't have loads of money, so I'm trying to find the cheapest but good computer.

Can you tell me which one of these two are the better for the money? I put the E-Machine on layaway already, but I can always cancel it if I don't want it. With my discount (since I work there) the total including tax was $480.

Here's the links:
WalMart

Dell

I've heard good things about the E-Machines, but I don't know anyone who has a Dell. Are they better? Mom's PC is from Gateway and I wasn't too impressed with their tech. support.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you!

My hubby says the E Machine isn't a complete computer and you should go with the Dell.

So, what makes it not a complete computer? This is the first for me to find out this.

I bought mine from walmart - it is a HP pentium 4 - and I love it.

Mine is 2.4 GHz but this one is just as good and at a good price

Walmart

Dell, absolutely. I just got a new Dell and Love it!!!

Just asked hubby who is a computer tech about it. He said eMachines are junk. He said they are just very cheaply made, some software won't run on the proprietary hardware they use, and their tech support sucks.

I've had good luck with Dell's in the past buying for a company. Their tech support was good, they used "real" parts to build their computers (as opposed to the proprietary junk that Gateway had in theirs), and overall they ran well. The other thing to check on is Dell's Refurbished machines. Most of them are returned because the buyer just doesn't know how to use it not because of any defects. We bought 2 reburb laptops from them and were very happy with them (the company, not me personally )

Shell,
Why not have a computer custom built? My husband has built our computers, which allows us to upgrade anytime we want ... Just a thought. Sometimes its cheaper than those ones in the store.

Originally posted by Mom of 10 Cats
Dell, absolutely. I just got a new Dell and Love it!!!

Click to expand...

I have black Dell computer that I bought a year ago a and it still works. So I say go with Dell

Tigger,
I don't think there anyone around here that custom build computers. Wouldn't it cost more in the long run buying each part?

BTW, I'm a total computer dummy!

Not necessarily, if you know what to buy. Hubby completely re-did his for under a $1000.....

Shell check your PM's

Sue, Check yours!

My first choice would be to go with someone who could build the machine for you. This is easily accomplished in bigger cities, but probably harder to find in smaller places.

My second choice is to go with a refurbished machine or auction. Are there any manufacturer warehouses near you (IBM?). They always have good sales. Dell also is very good.

My third choice is to go with Dell. I bought my computer 3 years ago and love my machine. First, read up on some basic articles about what you need and don't need when it comes to a computer. Many sales people will load up machines on a pile of wasted programs. When I was looking for my computer I used Consumer Reports magazine. They had some great articles explaining everything you need. Check with them.

My last choice (but first choice if you have the money to spare) would be to go with a new Dell computer. I love the company and the customer service has been very good.

I'm a computer dummy and I have an HP Pavilion, bought 1 1/2 years ago. The cable guy came out to hook up my Internet service but, I set up the computer and peripherals, all by myself and got it right, the first time. This computer cost me $780, at KMart. I know that they don't sell computers, any more but WalMart sells HPs, also.

We have 4 Emachines and never had any problems. The only thing we have had to do to ours is put in a little more memory for games and thats it, and it was only about 40 dollars to do that. I would recommend an emachine. My sister just bought the one from walmart, for 498.00 I think it was and has a 17 inch monitor and cdrw, either a 40 or 60 gig hard drive and lots of memory, its a good buy. And the monitor is a flat monitor, not a flat panel, but its a crt monitor with a flat screen, same as mine and its just fine.

Oh one more thing, if you have a Sams Club in your area they have good buys on computers too most of the time.

Shell I have the one Kiwideus showed you from Wal-Mart,it is 5 years old I have had no trouble with it!My printer is a HP as is my camm.

I would also recommend the building for your own custom unit. If you lived near here I know the people who'd do it for ya just for the enjoyment of it.

The benefits of building your own computer is that it is easier to update in the long run. Two years down the line when you want to add something, or something breaks down you can upgrade without much hassle. Nowadays the computers in a box tend to design their computers so you can't easily upgrade their computers without going through them to do all the work. That can be pricey and most often then not the most efficient.

It is also cheaper. You get what you need, not what they want to package for you. I do a lot of 3D modeling and Photoshop work, so I needed something with a high processing speed and a lot of RAM. But I had the harddrive from my old Gateway computer and I had the CD, DVD, sound and video card already - so we went out, got a new case, new motherboard, new processor, and new RAM for $353 and it runs a thousand times better then what my Gateway does.

If you want to get a computer in a box then I would recommend Dell first and only. Stay away from Gateway. Gateway used to be about high customer service but recently has been turning out lower quality units for higher prices.

I don't know about Macs as much if you are going in that direction. We only have the one type of Mac at school and they all run fairly well.

Either should be good, but I would recommend doubling the memory at the very least.

Gateway and Compaq's support is really nasty. My husband bought a Compaq and 3-way'ed me in on his support calls and a couple of times I had to tell the support agent to stop and rethink what he was saying because he had just insulted the customer. And I told him that outright! He had me so hoppin' mad!

What I did when I needed my own PC for online school is go online to places like Tiger Direct, etc., and I bought a really high quality refurbished laptop for $700 about 3 years ago. I've had a couple of problems with it, but nothing that anyone I knew couldn't solve. The worst was when I accidently dropped it and chipped a corner off (I superglued that back on). It only had a 10 Gig hard drive, but I doubled the memory to 200 and it's wayyy too short on memory for most of the modern stuff, but it's fast because it's got a gigahertz. Some day we'll give it to our son, but right now it's still mine.