HELP, I need a new PC

[TGAT86]

ok ive never had a new pc. ive gotten hand me downs since i was a kid. its like pullin teeth to get decent help at best buy, brandsmart, ect. so if anyone can help me or point me in the right direction id be most gratefull. i have no clue what im lookin at when im lookin for pcs. all i need is the tower itself. i basicly only use my comp for internet use. the most id probably ever do on my comp is eventually try to do some amature video editing. not full movies just rides and stuff. so if anyone can help me out with what i should buy or where i can get a cheap good pc that would be awesome. thanks for your help.

[NiceGuysFinishLast]

newegg.com

tigerdirect.com

go to Fry's, they'll build you one with whatever specs you want, and they can help you pick everything you need. They'll build and test the rig (no idea if they'll install the OS).

Also, Dell refurbs are A OK in my book. They're factory certified, carry a warranty (Don't remember how long, but don't really care, personally), and are cheap.

Overstock.com does computers as well, but I've never bought anything from them.

[patri0t]

newegg.com

tigerdirect.com

go to Fry's, they'll build you one with whatever specs you want, and they can help you pick everything you need. They'll build and test the rig (no idea if they'll install the OS).

Also, Dell refurbs are A OK in my book. They're factory certified, carry a warranty (Don't remember how long, but don't really care, personally), and are cheap.

Overstock.com does computers as well, but I've never bought anything from them.


Great advice. The Dell refurbs will carry a one year full warranty.

[TroyBoy30]

just remember that most dell parts are proprietary. even if you have say an ATI video card, it is built to dells specs instead of off the shelf specs. That limits you to waiting on dell to release supported drivers which take forever. You can use use the ATI drivers for example in most cases but all features may or may not work. I avoid dell for this reason

[Ride4Life]

I have had good luck with buying off-lease Dell systems from DFS Direct Sales and
Dell's Auction site.

http://www.dellauction.com/ (lowest price possibles depending on bids / 30 day warranty)
http://www.dfsdirectsales.com (lower price / 100 day warranty)
http://outlet.dell.com (higher price / full warranty)

When I go the used route (today), I look for:

CPU: Core 2 Duo or better
RAM: 2GB min. (but you want to be able to expand to 8GB)
Hard Drive: Get the smallest/cheapest available and replace with or add a bigger, one as needed

The only thing that may be an issue with the Dell systems (gaming more than video edit) is the wattage of the power supply to handle better video cards. You can get mid grade / low profile cards that have
decent performance and can be used in such a system with a lower rated power supply.

Buying new:

Well .... you didn't specify a budget .... so it makes it kind of hard to tell you what to get.
Any modern computer today can do what you wish to do. How much/fast and for
how much money are the questions.

For video editing, CPU and RAM is what you want to keep up in the higher numbers for CPU/RAM.
A quad core processor + as much ram as you can afford and can fit into your system would
make it better for that task. This is just if editing becomes a serious, regular primary duty for
your PC.

[TGAT86]

Thanks for the help and info guys

[Lazarus]

I have a Dell at home, had it for many years maybe 6-7 and it still does what I need it to do. Spend a good bit of money on it back then and haven't had to replace or fix anything yet so I recommend Dell.

[TGAT86]

again thanks. money is definetly an object for me at the moment. so ill be lookin by budget.