Laptop or Desktop? Decisions... Decisions...

Okay, some of you may know that I'm in the market for a new computer. The one I have is about 8 years old I think..... It's a dell laptop... i love Dells.

The computer is running out of memory I think and it's gotten slower.
I've been to the Dell site and have seen all the great PCs and programs available.... I feel like a kid in a candy store!! :haha:

They have some pretty good deals... and have found some coupons which would let me get a nice desktop or laptop w/ great stuff... how does this sound?


PROCESSOR: Intel Core 2 Duo T5550 (1.83GHz/667Mhz FSB/2MB cache)

OPERATING SYSTEM: Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium Edition

HD DISPLAY: Glossy, widescreen 15.4 inch display (1280x800)

MEMORY 3GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 at 667MHz

HARD DRIVE Size: 320GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)

INTERNAL OPTICAL DRIVE CD / DVD Writer (DVD+/-RW Drive)

WIRELESS NETWORK CARDS Dell Wireless 1395 802.11g Mini-Card

INTEGRATED WEBCAM Integrated 2.0M Pixel Webcam

BATTERY OPTIONS 56Whr Lithium Ion Battery (6 cell)

SOUND OPTIONS High Definition Audio 2.0

My Software
McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus
Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007 - Word, Excel + PowerPoint
ADOBE Adobe Photoshop Elements + Adobe Premiere Elements

CARRYING CASES Free! Nylon Backpack Carrying Case edit

My Service
WARRANTY AND SERVICE 1Yr In-Home Service, Parts + Labor,24x7 Phone Support edit
DATASAFE ONLINE BACKUP Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr edit
DIAL-UP INTERNET ACCESS 6 Months Risk-Free Trial AOL Advantage Internet Access edit
ENVIRONMENTAL OPTIONS Free Recycling Kit

ALSO INCLUDED WITH YOUR SYSTEM
Network Integrated 10/100 Network Card
Modem Integrated Modem
Adobe Software Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1
Labels Windows Vista Premium
Labels Intel Core 2 Duo Processor

All of that for $800 total... (using coupon)


*Now the problem is getting the money to buy it :think:

Also... if I get a laptop, it will be dark pink w/ blossom pattern, if I get a desktop, the screen would be 19 inches....
I think even though a screen would be bigger if I get a desktop.... I really love the ability to take my laptop anywhere I go....
Also... I tend to hear mix reviews on Vista.... some say to stick w/ XP, other say to continue w/ technology and get Vista....

That sounds like a great deal, Carol!

Given the choice, I'll choose a desktop every time. More reliability. Not as portable obviously, but the reliability is good, plus the ability to add upgrades. I can pop the side off mine and add whatever I want.

As for Vista, I've had nothing but success with it, especially since they came out with the service pack. For one thing, it lets you know when you're downloading something into your pc, it's versatile, they're taking XP off the market, and if you DO have a crash, when you restart, it brings you right back to where you were.

flatbroke wrote:

Not as portable obviously, but the reliability is good, plus the ability to add upgrades. I can pop the side off mine and add whatever I want.

Oh, that's a good point in the decision making!

Carol wrote:

Oh, that's a good point in the decision making!

Shortly, computer applications are going to be memory hungry. With a desktop, you can buy a memory card, pop off the side, and add it. Not with a laptop. I have 1.25 GB, but I can add up to three.

I'd like to have a good laptop, but soon, they're going to be outdated before you even have them paid for.

And good choice in picking a Dell. I've got a buddy who's an IT guy, and his whole facility runs Dells. They're a real reliable pc.

Hey, I didn't see you'd have 3 gigs. That should do all right. The wife just got a Dell Inspiron 530, and it only had 2 gigs of memory. Of course, it was cheaper than $800, but it's an excellent pc.

I'm thinking of wrestling her for her 22" monitor though. lol

flatbroke wrote:

I'm thinking of wrestling her for her 22" monitor though. lol

Wow, that's a nice monitor! Great for watching Netflix movies online. :sillySmiley:

ChristinaAL wrote:

I was just having this conversation yesterday, about being able to add memory easily to desktop. I'm on the market for a new computer too, Carol, and I had a laptop in mind (also dark pink, LOL!).

All I can say is... great minds think alike...

*I think I'll go w/ the desktop..... because I already have a laptop... even though it's outdated lol

Good choice, Carol. I'd go with the desktop, too.

And Dell is indeed a good brand.

If I was getting a computer, I'd get a laptop, with lots of space and a DVD/CD burner drive in it. But, no fear of me getting my own for a long time to come!! lol

flatbroke wrote:

As for Vista, I've had nothing but success with it, especially since they came out with the service pack. For one thing, it lets you know when you're downloading something into your pc, it's versatile, they're taking XP off the market, and if you DO have a crash, when you restart, it brings you right back to where you were.

Okay, I was thinking of giving Vista a try but then I went to a friend's house and had a first hand experience with it... before I was 90% sure I wanted to get it.... now I'm 50%. Below are the things I saw...

1. She hasn't been able to print because the printer she has was not compatible w/ Vista.... the drives of the printer were to old for Vista or something

2. She's had problems updating her iPod because Vista was giving her problems when using iTunes.

3. She hasn't been able to transfer a lot of her programs to the new computer w/ Vista because they just do not work....

*This is a problem... as I have several programs that I would need to transfer when getting the new computer (Corel Paint Shop Pro, Pinnacle Studio, Library software, iTunes, etc... etc.... ) Since those were released before Vista... I have a feeling Vista might not recognize them or something.... :unsure:

*For Vista users.... can you please share your thoughts on the system?
I really want to move ahead w/ technology but if I can't use a lot of my programs.... I'm not sure if I should move ahead just yet.....

Out of curiosity, has she tried going by the company sites to update the software for any of the programs having trouble? Usually the company will offer you a free download to update your current software to make it more compatible. If they haven't done that yet, that would be the place to start. When Vista launched, there were obviously compatibility issues with most programs, but a lot of programs have since then updated to become Vista-compatible (the same thing happened when XP launched).

I don't use the programs you mentioned, myself, so I wouldn't be able to give you an experienced answer with them... but here's some information I found on the internet that might be of use for you:

iTunes:

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=305289

(sadly, I couldn't tell you the first thing about an iPod... never used one, so I don't know what process is involved in updating the gadget, itself)

Pinnacle:

http://www.pinnaclesys.com/Vista/vista.asp

Corel Paint Shop Pro:

http://www.corel.com/servlet/Satellite/us/en/Content/1164926747575

(on the Corel one, check to see if your version is listed... I see two versions of "Corel Paint Shop Pro," one of which says they don't need updates to run with Vista, while the other says it has an update available for download to make it compatible)

Again, I wish I could give you hands-on experience as to how well the updates work... but since your friend has Vista and if they have any of these similar programs check and see if they are able to resolve any of the problems using software updates (again, I'm not sure what she's already tried in relation to getting things more compatible).

Hope some of that helps!

^^^what he said.

Okay, I decided Vista it is.... gotta keep moving ahead even if at first I gotta do a little bit of work ....

Okay, how does this Dell Inspiron 530 Desktop look?
(Total Price including tax & shipping: $935)

PROCESSOR	Intel Core2 Duo Processor E4600 (2MB L2 Cache,2.4GHz,800 FSB)
OPERATING SYSTEM	Genuine Windows Vista Home Premium
MONITOR	19 inch SE198WFP Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor
MEMORY	2GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz- 2DIMMs
HARD DRIVE	500GB Serial ATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/DataBurst Cache
OPTICAL DRIVE	16X DVD+/-RW Drive
VIDEO CARD	nVidia GeForce 8300GS 128MB
SOUND	Integrated 7.1 Channel Audio
WIRELESS	Internal PCI 802.11g Wireless Network Card
ANTI-VIRUS	McAfee SecurityCenter with anti-virus, anti-spyware, firewall, 30-Days
OFFICE SOFTWARE	Microsoft Office Home and Student 2007
Network Interface	Integrated 10/100 Ethernet
OTHER SOFTWARE	Adobe Photoshop Elements + Adobe Premiere Elements
ADOBE	Adobe Acrobat Reader 8.1

That looks like a good system Carol!

flatbroke wrote:

That looks like a good system Carol!

It's almost exactly like the one my wife got.

Well..... here is what happened....

I had brand new credit card of $1,000 and I was soooooo close to buying the computer... I mean, so close that all I had to do was click on the "Submit My Order" button lol, but the phone rang and I then had to go somewhere.

Well, yesterday I took my car to get new tires and when they were taking out the old tires they noticed my break pads were about almost vanished and so I had to get all replaced... and for the labor and wheels and break pads and other parts... my bill came to $840 dollars! :crySC:

There went my new computer lol

But I understood that my car was more important. So the new computer will have to wait.... I've decided that what I'll do for now is updgrade my laptop, buy more memory and hard drive and get the new Home Student 2007 software and take it to get it cleaned.... and that will give new life to my laptop lol.

My laptop ---->

I'm sorry that you didn't get your computer but happy that you didn't hit that button and then have 2 bills to pay! Yikes. Someone was watching over your shoulder at that moment, my friend.

LIWnut wrote:

happy that you didn't hit that button and then have 2 bills to pay!

I know! That was a close call.... The thing is, if I would have hit the button, I would not have had money for the tires and breaks lol

Oh no! I'm so sorry that you weren't able to get your computer.

I hate taking my car in for anything, because every time I take it in, it ends up being a huge bill.

Rhonda wrote:

I would've had them SHOW me the brake pads and let me see how worn down they were.....but then again, that's just me......

Oh yeah... it's the first thing I asked when the lady at the desk told me about them....lol. I went to where my car was and the mechanic did show them to me and I saw how worn out they were... He told me that in about a month I would have started to notice problems and it was best to replace them now.