Anybody know about computers?

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My poor little iBook is on its last legs, so I'm shopping around for a new laptop. I've had this one for over 5 years, and it was free, so I figure I've more than gotten my money's worth. Unfortunately, my new laptop will NOT be free, and as much as I like Apples, I'll be going for the cheap and getting a PC.

Of course, I went to college in a Mac bubble, and I know nothing about PCs. I've used an HP and a Dell laptop for work, and frankly, couldn't tell the difference (I'll be completely honest, I thought my current work computer was an HP until I looked at the top of it and realized it had the Dell logo on it). I guess if you have Windows, it doesn't really matter what kind of computer it is. The only things I really use it for are the internet, downloading music, and Microsoft Office. I occasionally download videos, but I don't store them, just watch and delete - I haven't been able to keep anything since I have practically no storage space left on this hard drive. I also store some photos, but I don't do any kind of artwork. I want to be able to play and burn both CDs and DVDs - is that stuff standard now? I can burn CDs on this comp, but not DVDs, although I do have a DVD player.

The main problem I have with this computer is that it's slow. I'm paying a crapload of money for high-speed internet, and it still takes forever because the computer's so slow. Of course, it's 5 years old, so my processor is 700 MHz, my memory is 384 MB, and my hard drive is 18.5 GB. I've just been browsing around, but the numbers I've seen are... much higher than that.

So, does anyone have any suggestions? I have no idea what the differences are between brands. There seems to be a million different types of processors, which already makes me miss the simplicity of the Apple "G" numbering method. I don't want to spend a lot of money, so what's worth the price and what isn't?

Comments

[beloved-77.livejournal.com]

I know squat about computers, but my husband helped me pick one out last week. I ordered the Dell Inspiron 1501. It starts at $499, but I did a few upgrades, including a DVD burner. So, mine was a bit more. They even had free shipping :-) I haven't gotten in the mail yet, so I can't vouch for the actual performance. But I use a Dell at work, and our desktop at home is also a Dell, and they've been just fine. My husband's friend, who is quite a skilled computer geek, says to try to stay away from the 64 processors as it's hard to find programs for them (Don't ask me what that means :-P) The laptop comes with Vista, but since I prefer XP, we're going to wipe the hard drive and install XP.

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

64 processors are the "new thing" Most processors run at 32 bits (that's the max. amount of information they can be sending. 64 double the speed, but as you friend says, it's hard to find programs for them. Though if your think of not changing anything for the next few years, I'd probably recommend a 64 processor as everything is gonna come out for those soon enough.

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Is that what they mean by "dual processors"? I've seen that in a few descriptions. What kind of programs are we talking about? Like I said, I only use my computer for the basic stuff, so would I run into this problem?

[ldyavalon.livejournal.com]

No, dual preocessors are those that have two processors in the same chip, making them doubly effective. Even if there isn't much software at the moment for them, you can still use the basic programs because they will use one of the two (if the programme doesn't support dual processors, it'll use one and that's it). Most programms specify if they can use dual processors of 64bit technology. You shouldn't have any problems with what you want to use.

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Thanks! You've been really helpful!

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Dell is sounding pretty good. :) I'm used to XP, since I have it in work, but I've never tried Vista. I guess I'll give it a shot before going to the trouble of going back to XP.