all right smart computer people, help me buy something for my wife

[cheapie]

ok, we've covered the trials and tribulations i've had with the mac i bought my wife years ago. (http://www.gotapex.com/hardware/88947-new-setup-for-my-wife-whatcha-think.html?highlight=mini)

well, it's getting old and slow and i want to buy her something new. she really only uses it for browsing and picture storing/sharing/manipulation. should i get a dell? another mac?

about the only thing i really need it to do is grab video off my flip video and sony camcorder and be able to make movies for dvd and for the web.

any suggestions? budget is maybe $1500 if i go for a mac or hopefully under $800 for a pc and monitor.

btw, little to no gaming capabilities needed if that makes a difference.

[mcs328]

Netbooks? Dell Mini 9?

[DarkFury]

Honestly, if she's not a "power user" of a computer, then why spend so much on one? You can get plenty of power for a general user for under $700 these days.

Dell can be your friend... I'd definitely recommend those for any "general purpose" user.

[Cubsfan]

I'll vote refurbished MacBook (or maybe one from Black Friday). They're just more hassle free. Reduced virus worries, easier to use, so on and so forth.

[InfiniteNothing]

Your current mac mini is plenty fast enough for simple browsing the web and stuff. Not sure why it's running slow. A reformat and intalling leopard might speed things up. My daily driver is a much slower mac than yours. Snow leopard is coming out soon and that will add a big performance boost too. If you're feeling adventurous and need some geek cred, you could try a ram upgrade:
http://www.methodshop.com/gadgets/tutorials/macmini-ram/index.shtml

Otherwise, I'd go with another mac mini. It's definitely an easy way to edit movies if you have iMovie.

[cheapie]

yeah....but i'd have to buy leopard and it doesn't have a dvd burner.

[renovation]

i say no refurb anything .but if your going pc go DELL.

[bachviet]

Netbooks? Dell Mini 9?
I don't think you want to make movies with a netbook. :)

Get the previous generation MacBook (as low as $868.99 new) or 15.4" MacBook Pro (as low as $1299.99 new).

Or get the refurbished Dell XPS desktop or notebook.

[Jeffbx]

Is your wife used to the Mac interface? Would she have problems going to XP/Vista?

If she prefers MacOS, stay w/Mac.

If she doesn't care, then I say save yourself a boatload of cash & go for a Dell. Do you have a preference on laptop vs. desktop? They're about the same cost these days once you factor in the monitor.

[gear02]

Want to buy my Macbook Air? Trying to sell it :)

[DarkFury]

Add Cyberlink PowerDirector Pro Version 7 to a basic Dell and you're all set to rock and roll...

Save that cash for something more important. :D


http://www.cyberlink.com/multi/products/main_4_en_US.html

[cheapie]

pulled the trigger on a dell. here's the build: http://www.raymondkwan.com/uploader2/files/1279/The%20Dell%20Online%20Store_%20Buil...pdf

what do you think? prolly coulda gone cheaper but i wanted the nicer monitor, fastest processor, and firewire. didn't get the extra ram cuz i can upgrade that myself cheaply.

[renovation]

i think it be perfect for the wife :)

[DarkFury]

pulled the trigger on a dell. here's the build: http://www.raymondkwan.com/uploader2/files/1279/The%20Dell%20Online%20Store_%20Buil...pdf

what do you think? prolly coulda gone cheaper but i wanted the nicer monitor, fastest processor, and firewire. didn't get the extra ram cuz i can upgrade that myself cheaply.
Everything looks good, except for the casing.

Personally, I stay away from the "slim towers" ... just because they limit your future expansion (if needed).

I usually recommend that folks buy the mini to mid tower configurations... but otherwise, I think your wife will be good to go (and your wallet probably thanks you as well. :D )

Also, if she's gonna do multimedia work, i'd recommend getting her a larger hard drive (maybe toss a 1 TB drive in there, if you can fit it inside that small case). Or go external with a drive. Either way, 160 GBs is way too small for video work.

[attgig]

did you ever sell that mac mini? I might be interested. pm me if you need to sell it.

[bachviet]

Good processor and good screen (a little small though) but I would have chosen Vista Home Premium instead.

BTW I hate Intel integrated video.

[cheapie]

Everything looks good, except for the casing.

Personally, I stay away from the "slim towers" ... just because they limit your future expansion (if needed).

I usually recommend that folks buy the mini to mid tower configurations... but otherwise, I think your wife will be good to go (and your wallet probably thanks you as well. :D )

Also, if she's gonna do multimedia work, i'd recommend getting her a larger hard drive (maybe toss a 1 TB drive in there, if you can fit it inside that small case). Or go external with a drive. Either way, 160 GBs is way too small for video work.


thanks. i have a 500g hd that most of the stuff will be resident on so i was hoping that would be sufficient.

[DarkFury]

thanks. i have a 500g hd that most of the stuff will be resident on so i was hoping that would be sufficient.
Honestly, with video editing, you can NEVER have enough space.

500GB sounds big, but honestly, it is not. If you are seriously doing alot of video work, you will eat that up in no time.

I'm actually about to start looking for a bigger drive as well... I had several 300GB drives in my main editing box, however I've eaten through those and might have to delete a bunch of stuff (I'm an info pack rat, so I hate having to delete stuff ... just because I might need it again sometime later.)

[cheapie]

the biggest they offered was a 320g hd for an extra $50.

[DarkFury]

the biggest they offered was a 320g hd for an extra $50.
Like the memory, I wouldn't purchase the hard drive upgrade from Dell...

However, with that "slim case" your expansion possibilities are limited (per my earlier post).

[renovation]

there is always a external hard drive inclosure option :)

[DarkFury]

there is always a external hard drive inclosure option :)

Ahem... :shifty:



Also, if she's gonna do multimedia work, i'd recommend getting her a larger hard drive (maybe toss a 1 TB drive in there, if you can fit it inside that small case). Or go external with a drive. Either way, 160 GBs is way too small for video work.

:D

[cheapie]

what if i went with an external HD?






:hihi:

[attgig]

http://johnbokma.com/mexit/2008/02/28/inside-dell-vostro-200-slim-tower.html

you can add another hard drive inside pretty easily.

you can get an internal 750gig for 80 bucks:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822152100

or if you wanna stick with external:
http://shop2.frys.com/product/5697121?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
130 for 1 terabyte.

[cheapie]

sweet. so 2-3 day shipping means once it goes through the factory 3 weeks later??? :throw:

[Maarchk]

sweet. so 2-3 day shipping means once it goes through the factory 3 weeks later??? :throw:

Haha same thing with my Dell. Shipping in 3 days.. oh wait, building for 9 days... We'll try and make it xmas...

[cheapie]

well crap.

At Dell, we strive to ship our products on time and truly regret when delays occur. Due to unforeseen circumstances, your order is further delayed and we need your permission to continue processing it, as required by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). To learn more about this, click here. ACTION REQUIRED: Please contact us immediately to provide consent to this delay and to obtain your new revised estimated ship date (See Revised Est. Ship Date below).


over a month to receive my pc? really?

[DarkFury]

Gotta love the "Christmas Rush"...

Cheap PCs are on the move... :D

[cheapie]

on the phone with dell CS. apparently they sold too many vostro 200's and ran out. trying to get a vostro 220 at the same price. it's not a slim configuration but that might be nice if i have to upgrade components.
one thing i'm worried about is that if i have to upgrade the graphics card, i might have to upgrade the power supply as well. grrrr

[Jeffbx]

Cancel it!

Go to the Dell outlet - http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb

For the same cost or less get yourself an Optiplex 755 - MUCH better built quality than the Vostro, you can still get a small case if you prefer, it comes standard with a 3 year warranty, AND they'll ship it the day after you place the order.

I was going to suggest this in the first place but you placed the order before I could post :P

[cheapie]

hmmmmm...they switched to the newer vostro and upgraded the HD for free. should be shipping sooner as well.

[DarkFury]

Sweet deal... Upgrades are nice!!! :)

[Kevster]

Cancel it!

Go to the Dell outlet - http://outlet.us.dell.com/ARBOnlineSales/topics/global.aspx/arb/online/en/InventorySearch?c=us&cs=28&l=en&s=dfb

For the same cost or less get yourself an Optiplex 755 - MUCH better built quality than the Vostro, you can still get a small case if you prefer, it comes standard with a 3 year warranty, AND they'll ship it the day after you place the order.

I was going to suggest this in the first place but you placed the order before I could post :P

I just pulled the trigger on a Dell Latitude Laptop from the Outlet. Mrs. Kevster has been wanting her own for a long time, and the deals have been too good to pass up. Thanks to the coupon on the deals page the cost out the door shipped (incl tax) was just over $800. Even though it's a refurb it still has a 3-year warranty and has a LOT more than any new comparable laptop I could find that's on sale (especially the 9-cell Battery and free-fall sensor HD) Here's the breakdown:

-- Latitude E6500 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo T9400 (2.53GHz, 6M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
-- Certified Refurbished
-- 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
-- Back-lit Keyboard
-- Fingerprint Reader Internal
-- Brushed Metal Black
-- 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
-- 9 Cell Battery, Primary
-- 160 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200RPM)
-- 90W AC Adapter
-- 15.4 inch WXGA+ LED Laptop Screen
-- Dell 1510 Wireless-N Card
-- Dell 2.4 GHz Wireless 370 Bluetooth (2.1 + EDR) Mini-Card
-- Genuine Windows XP Pro with Vista Business License
-- NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M
-- No Camera
-- Operating System DVD
-- Roxio Creator DE
-- Power DVD Software
-- Service Software

[Jeffbx]

Ooh, nice choice! That will last you for a while!