Looking for new PC

[Dyne]

i have Vista Ultimate. shouldn't matter about compatability at all. The Core 2 is a (iirc) cheapified Core 2 Duo. remember what the Celeron was to the P4? basically the same thing. get a Core 2 Duo for sure and try to get the fastest one you can for your pricerange. one thing to consider is if you're going Vista you will NEED 2 gig of ram.

i have no idea what Trial means by issues with design apps and Vista. like i said, besides Quark i have had NO issues with CS 2 or 3.

[bandit]

I was checking out Dell and this is what I came up with for $679

PROCESSOR - Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E4400 (2MB L2 Cache,2.00GHz,800 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM - Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
MEMORY - 2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
HARD DRIVE - 250GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
OPTICAL DRIVE - 16X DVD+/-RW Drive
VIDEO CARD - Integrated Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 3100
SOUND - Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio

Is there a need for CDRW/DVD Combo Drive as well? Wouldnt the DVD burner do the same as in burn DVD/CDs and play them?
Fastest processor available is Intel® Core™2 Duo Processor E6550 (4MB L2 Cache,2.33GHz,1333 FSB) ($779 if chosen this option)

Thanks again for everyones informative help and suggestions.

[Dyne]

just get a single, dual layer dvd burner. they read all cd and dvd media as well as burn to both.

as a note, with that integrated video, it WILL take your physical ram and use it for the onboard video. so you'll want a dedicated video card after the fact. i wouldnt go with home basic for Vista myself.

[Dyne]

to elaborate more on why i wouldn't choose Home basic.

- it doesn't use the Aero Interface

and doesn't have all this.

Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support),
DVD Maker DVD authoring,
Tablet PC functionality,
Mobility Center and other mobility and presentation features,
auxiliary display support,
P2P ad-hoc meeting capabilities,
Wi-Fi auto-config and roaming,
unified parental controls that work over multiple PCs,
backup to network functionality,
Internet File Sharing,
Offline Folders,
PC-to-PC sync,
Sync Manager,
and support for Microsoft's upcoming Quattro Home Server, a Windows Server 2003 R2-based server product aimed at the home market

[bandit]

just get a single, dual layer dvd burner. they read all cd and dvd media as well as burn to both.

as a note, with that integrated video, it WILL take your physical ram and use it for the onboard video. so you'll want a dedicated video card after the fact. i wouldnt go with home basic for Vista myself.

No dual layer available. I'll remember about the videocard

to elaborate more on why i wouldn't choose Home basic.

- it doesn't use the Aero Interface

and doesn't have all this.

Media Center and Media Center Extender functionality (including Cable Card support),
DVD Maker DVD authoring,
Tablet PC functionality,
Mobility Center and other mobility and presentation features,
auxiliary display support,
P2P ad-hoc meeting capabilities,
Wi-Fi auto-config and roaming,
unified parental controls that work over multiple PCs,
backup to network functionality,
Internet File Sharing,
Offline Folders,
PC-to-PC sync,
Sync Manager,
and support for Microsoft's upcoming Quattro Home Server, a Windows Server 2003 R2-based server product aimed at the home market

Premium is the next Vista available. Geez..this will cost me almost $900! Maybe custom built is better? Anyone want to build me one? HEHE.

[stormy]

Don't get a dell without a coupon or discount. They are plentiful though. With your budget that's the way I'd go too.

Try this config from slickdeals for $599
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthr...highlight=dell
Intel® Core™2 Duo Proc E6550 (2.33GHz,4MB L2Cache,1333FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home
Dell 19 inch Widescreen E198WFP Analog Flat Panel Monitor
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz - 2DIMMs
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Single Drive: 48x CD Burner / DVD-ROM Combo Drive
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8300GS

Do one of the cheap monitor upgrades to get something desirable and hawk that on ebay. That should get your final cost to around $400.

[Thief Silver]

You can get a DVD burner for fairly cheap as well so that's not a big deal. Maybe not a Dual Layer for cheap but a normal burner is cheap as hell.

[bandit]

Don't get a dell without a coupon or discount. They are plentiful though. With your budget that's the way I'd go too.

Try this config from slickdeals for $599
http://forums.slickdeals.net/showthr...highlight=dell
Intel® Core™2 Duo Proc E6550 (2.33GHz,4MB L2Cache,1333FSB)
Genuine Windows® XP Home
Dell 19 inch Widescreen E198WFP Analog Flat Panel Monitor
2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz - 2DIMMs
80GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache™
Single Drive: 48x CD Burner / DVD-ROM Combo Drive
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce® 8300GS

Do one of the cheap monitor upgrades to get something desirable and hawk that on ebay. That should get your final cost to around $400.

I'll have to take a look at that. I was looking at the Inspirion 530s. There is a coupon of $350 off for anything over $999. i was building one with the best processor offered with 24" 2407WFP widescreen monitor and it came out to $1000 or so with the discount

You can get a DVD burner for fairly cheap as well so that's not a big deal. Maybe not a Dual Layer for cheap but a normal burner is cheap as hell.

Well I have a DVD burner in my comp. Would I be able to take that out and put it into the Dell? If so, I save me some money there.

[Thief Silver]

Yes you would, I think, I forget how Dell works about that kind of thing if that would nullify your warranty or some stupid shit.

[Dyne]

dual layer burners are no more than $25 at the Egg anyways.