A dear friend has a daughter who will be attending college this year. My friend is so proud as her daughter is the very first in her family to ever attend college. The daughter wants to go into the field of Forensic Science. My friend wants to buy her a computer to get her started. My friend doesn't have much money but wants the best for what she has. Let's say........under $1000.00. Well.....way under, if possible.

I know computers are a matter of personal preference.......like cars (Chevy, Ford, Buick).......but I need to give her some unbiased advice......not advice from a site that sells a specific brand. Please help in any way you can by way of advice as to what a freshman student would need in the way of computer equiptment. What companies have the best support.....etc.! If you have a fave brand, that's ok to list as well......but tell me why! I need all the info I can gather so she can make a somewhat educated buy!

TY for all of your help in advance! I told her I would ask you here......she agreed this would be better than going on computer sites for say........Compaq......as they would be biased and I knew I could get better advice here!

Oh....and one more thing.....

Please list the worst computers as well.....and why!

Thanks so much guys!

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Minds are like parachutes. They only work when they are open.

~Thomas Dewar~

Had a Compaq, and hated it. Have an IBM now. Better service and quality. Compaq has a bunch a useless stuff that eats up memory. Parts started falling off (the computer, not mine).

I wouldn't buy another Compaq. Hope this helps.

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- Voltaire (1694-1778)

"I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them."
- Ian L. Fleming (1908-1964)

Spend the money on a medium level IBM, new enough to

still have some warranty.

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Calm, quiet, smooth, devastating

Also look at Dell rated best tech support and some nice prices.

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I have great abs, some men have six packs I have a keg!

Well I'd have to say go for Dell too.......of course you can always go for a none branded computer which would be cheaper but you're not going to get the technical backup and warranty support you will with a company such as Dell..

I've worked with Compaq desktops and they're OK but not great.. I have to say their servers ROCK !..........but that's not important right now lol

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FussyPucker

There are only 10 types of people in the world: Those who understand binary, and those who don't...

Sarcasm: It's not big and it's not clever...........but it's funny as fuck!

The Special One!

I have been investigating buying a new computer and so far DELL seems like the best deal for the buck......

For what it's worth I'd steer well clear of all the package deals on offer from the corporate big boys , that includes Compaq , Dell , IBM , Hewlett Packard , Acer etc as they charge you top dollar and their systems are all brand dependant to varying degrees .In other words they all use their own components that are unique to their respective systems which means you are pretty much hamstrung when it comes to fixing glitches with your software or upgrading .Having their own components(and hence- drivers) and brand specific Operating systems* is bad enough but they will only supply you with "product recovery" discs which means that you can't just do a file search on your windows disc and fix a corrupt file when you get your first "blue screen of death" or the whole thing freezes, cos you don't get one (and you WILL get it with XP the first time you install some program or utility that XP doesn't like-and they all come with XP these days). Instead you'll have to put in your "product recovery" discs and they will wipe your hard drive and reinstall all the original software thus nuking all your personal files and updates that you spent hours online downloading. Not only that but, depending on the brand ,you may not be able to even add aftermarket components like sound or video cards etc., as is the case with Compaq ,as you can't get into the bios to disable the onboard components.
If it was my money I'd be going to an reputable independant computer specialist store and have them build a system to your requirements.They'll give you a warranty and it'll be alot cheaper initially. As for tech support , I'm sure there's enough computer geeks at her collage that could sort out any dramas she might have if they arise. Tell the shop what you want and how much you have to spend and they can build you a system that will use components that you can easily update and upgrade as you can afford it and as the software updates become available etc. Apart from that the other advantage is that you can nominate what operating system you want to use and you will have a system disc that is separate from the component drivers which will allow you to firstly repair the OS without having to wipe the hard drive and secondly it allows you to add and upgrade components as you see fit and/or can afford to.

As for which Operating system to use there is much debate but personally I'd go with Windows 2000 . It is the most stable of all the OS's and is well suited for a work environment as apposed to gaming. Some may argue that XP is better but I put it to you that W2K has been released alot longer than XP and therefore has had most of the bugs ironed out of it where as XP still has a ways to go on that score plus there is still the compatability issue to look at .There are many programs (especially older ones that simply won't run on XP where as just about all software will run under W2k. If you choose to go with XP at least with the retail version you will be able to upgrade and update easily . As an example ; a friend of mine bought a Compaq system recently with Compaqs version of XP home on it and I tried to do a simple upgrade to a retail version of XPpro but the whole system went haywire as none of the drivers were compatable with the Compaq hardware so in the end we were forced to use the product recovery discs and start again.
As an aside ; my mate has had to start fresh half a dozen times so far because his Compaq OEM version of XP home has crashed or frozen and he's only had his computer 4 weeks!!

Well , that's my 2 cents worth . I hope it helps.




*All the big brands get Windows that is slightly modified and tweaked to suit their own hardware thus making it impossible for the buyer to upgrade or switch to another OS as a retail version will always be missing critical drivers and software specific to the brand.

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The Wombat : eats roots and leaves.

I can't really recommend a brand of PC to buy, but as a college student, I found it really helpful to have a laptop my first couple of years. A lot of the dorms now have some sort of drawer or locker that actually locks with a key or combination, and I would always store my laptop in my one lockable dresser drawer. Laptops are great for taking to class if you get a professor who would make you fall behind in notes otherwise-if you are a relatively fast keyboarder, it is a heck of a lot easier to take notes this way. It is also convenient to take this along and work on a paper at the library or any other place you may need to-I'd often take mine home on the weekends and get a lot more work done otherwise. I have since gotten myself a desktop as well, since I needed more advanced programs to do some of the graphic design elements to my PR assignments, and other software I needed-but for the first couple of years when you are just taking basic requirements, I'd definitely recommend a laptop. Just be very careful to lock it up. Laptops AND Desktops are just about the #1 stolen item in the dorms around here.

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Though dreams can be deceiving, like faces are to hearts; they serve for sweet relieving when fantasy and reality lie too far apart.-Fiona Apple

Before I forget, too...

Make sure you suggest to get a computer that is equipped with an eternet card before your friend leaves the store with it, whether it be a desktop or laptop. These are essential for accessing the internet networks that colleges have in their dorms, and without it pre-installed at the store or factory, a good majority of college tech-support offices will not help you put it in due to liability issues.

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Though dreams can be deceiving, like faces are to hearts; they serve for sweet relieving when fantasy and reality lie too far apart.-Fiona Apple

From personal experience, like your comment, Lixy. Computers are like cars....two people can buy the same computer and one can work perfectly and the other can be a total lemon.

I have heard alot of good reports about Dells. IBM's come in a close 2nd to what I have heard.

If this is gonna be their main computer the best bet is to go with a pre-packaged one. Preferrably a newer one so that they will be able to call immediately and get help to keep it running if something goes wrong.

For personal reasons of working on them, I don't like HP's because they are very proprietary on different things.

But as far as desktops, she should be able to get a fairly good one for under 1000. The price of them have dropped dramatically in the past couple of years. Not that long ago, I saw an add for a Sony Vaio for under 900. That is the one I wish I had the money at the time to buy. Laptops will run you a little more, but she will be able to take it with her when she leaves her dorm to head home so doesn't have to worry about it coming up missing.

Hope this helps you some.

Even an older IBM will be superior than some newer brands. IBM computers seem to be configured better and run faster with lower rams etc.. My older IBM (5 years) runs as fast as my bosses(2 yrs) newer computer.

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Flattery will get you everywhere!

[color=blue]Bilbo & I have an IBM and a Compaq....the IBM gave us no end of grief...and IBM service sucks bigtime!!! After 2 years & 2 replacement computers(cause it kept frying the motherboards)we finally got the damn thing running as it should.

The Compaq on the other hand has been an absolute dream

We checked out a lot of systems til we chose this one...and we did not want one with recovery disks (see Wombats comment for why)...But!

Recovery disks have come a long way....the Compaq has a partitioned drive which stores the recovery information...if you want to get rid of this partition...the computer burns you a set of recovery disks...
The newer recovery system does not wipe your entire system...how do we know...we tested it in store before we bought it....it replaces damaged files but leaves your personal files intact!!!

The Compaq came with XP....but then i'm a supporter of XP...i love it...we have not had any problems with it that couldn't be fixed with some minor tweaking or updating of Drivers and such...

Though ultimately it comes down to personal choice[color]

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I would agree with Wombat that if you go to a independent computer dealer you're likely to find the best price and have it built to your spec's and receive a warranty. Then you will have less problems if you need to upgrade. I work on computers all the time, and there isn't a thing much more annoying than needing to upgrade an HP or Compaq... what a pain. Too much proprietary crap! With the independent dealer, they will take care of the hardware issues that arise under warranty. As far as software issues, just mention your problem in a computer lab at college and there will be a handful of geeks (like me ) ready, willing, and able to fix the problem. As far as the operating system, given that this is a college student with a new computer, she probably won't have a need for old programs and her system will be built with compatible hardware so it should work fine. Also, as BCG mentioned, make sure it has an Ethernet card, or network card, which it probably will, most systems these days do. If they decide to go with a corporate system, I would go with Dell.

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Go then, there are other worlds than these

to add my 2 pennorth, as an IT professional, I would whoe-heartedly agree with Wombat and Aqua. I have had nothing but problems with branded machines. Give me a clone anytime

I have to go with Wombat, Aqua and maestro to find an independent computer dealer. I built mine and am now run windows xp pro and its a dream. It doesn't freeze up on me yaaaaaa

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