what is the best computer you can recommend ?

[CowboyWay]

MacBook Pro screen size to your liking.

He speaks the truth. I got sick of PC's over a year ago and bought the mbp. Unbelievable machine. Built like a truck and just flat out works. You get what you pay for.

 

[theebs]

I always build my own. The last desktop computer I actually bought was in 99 from sears, it was a compaq. It sucked.

the best way to go is build your own and find a virus program and be careful where you are and what you are clicking on.

I just use malwarebytes. I got a virus about month and a half ago though, its the second one I have ever had. I am not even sure where i got it. Damn malicious script.

probably some stupid gossip or travel site my wife was on. She is one of these people that clicks on the ads on the sides of webpages.

anyway, my 2 cents is to build your own. If you get a good case, you can always just swap out individual parts in the future for upgrades.

 

[KJJ]

I purchased my Macbook Pro 2 1/2 years ago after years of being a PC user and couldn't be more satisfied.

I was hesitant to make the switch at first because I had never used a Mac but they're so user friendly the switch was a breeze.

The setup was simple and I didn't even have to download my Internet software. All you do is just plug in your modem and the Mac figures it out and you're online.

If you go to the Apple site they have a Mac 101 that shows you all the tasks you were doing on a PC and shows you how to do the same task on a Mac.

The Mac way is simpler. If you see a photo online and want to save it all you do is drop and drag it into you iphoto album.

I haven't had to deal with any viruses. My PC use to get all kinds of bugs even with virus protection.

The big drawback with Macs for most people is the price. I'm the type I don't care about money as long as I'm getting something that works and isn't giving me trouble.

Apples customer support is excellent especially when you sign up for AppleCare.

I've never had to spend longer than 3 minutes on hold waiting for tech support.

Everyone speaks good clear English unlike the tech support you get with PC's where all the techies are located in India and have heavy Indian accents.

Not only do you have trouble understanding them but they keep passing you from one techie to another and you keep having to explain the problem to each one of them. :bang2:

I'll never go back to a PC! If you're thinking about a Macbook Pro you might want to wait they're updating them soon.

I'll be buying several for family members and another one for myself.

 

[JohnnyTheFox]

I usually just get the parts off of newegg or tigerdirect and anything i cannot put together a friend will help me out.
You can build a excellent gaming pc for under 700-800 bucks.
As far as antivirus goes go with malware bytes or microsoft security essentials.
There both free {MSE is as long as your copy of windows is valid}
Stay away from norton and mcafee as well as trend micro.

 

[hairic]

Build your own.

And if you don't know or don't want to know about computers, install Mac OS on it.

With the leftover money, build another one.

 

[Wimbo]

From the level of computer savy your wife revealed in the other thread about fixing your current PC, I am guessing that you are not prepared to build your own system. That is OK. Don't be intimidated. Just buy a computer (from a reputable company) that is already assembled and ready to go. Spring for the extended warranty and virus protection... most of the new systems have free trials of a virus protection software, so you can try it before you buy it.

In my opinion, Dell is in bad shape right now. They were hit with a lot of lawsuits in the last year over selling computers with components that were known to be poor quality. The poster above who talked about his friend's Dell laptop failing 4-5 times in a year should be warning enough to run away from Dell. Apple (if you are OK with learning your way around a new OS) is a good choice. HP is a good choice (if you want to stick with a Windows system). Just my $0.02.

Edit: If you buy a Windows based system, you can usually save cash without sacrificing performance by getting an AMD processor rather than an Intel processor. If you research processor performance before you buy, you may see that the AMD based PC (whether it is HP, Dell, Acer, eMachines, whoever) that is $100 cheaper has the same performance as the more expensive Intel based system. Not always, but worth considering. Both Intel and AMD make excellent processors for Windows machines.

Also, your were wise to avoid buying Vista on your last PC. Windows 7 is out now, and is lightyears more stable than Vista.

 

[lane]

Wimbo, thank you for your good laymen's advice. We found an HP at WalMart today that has a 3.4GHZ AMD Phenom 11 511 Double Core Processor (whatever that means, lol), 5GB memory, 750 GB hard drive, Optical Drive DVD +RW Supermulti Drive, with a 23" monitor for $650. Is this a good deal?

 

[Kangaroo]

if you want to be worry free about viruses, the first 2 posts can help you out.

No they can not Mac has viruses as well even they need anti virus nowdays

 

[KJJ]

No they can not Mac has viruses as well even they need anti virus nowdays

From what I've been told by everyone I've talked to at Apple and from those who know Mac computers there are malicious programs that can infect Mac computers however they're all what are called 'trojans'.

This means that they require action by the computer user to infect the computer.

These types of programs are hidden inside of files that you would have to choose to download and choose to install.

You would also have to type your computer password to install them. Once installed they can do just as much harm as a windows virus.

So in other words you can't just open an email or login to a site and get a virus on Mac like you can with a PC. You have to take several steps to give your computer a virus.

 

[dwmyers]

also...what is the best virus protection you can buy?

Avoid Windows at all costs. Mac-OS, Ubuntu, etc.

i did not even visit porn sites this go around and this computer is trashed.

if i'm going to buy a new computer i want the best protection money can buy.

like my wife stated earlier...we bought the e machine because it had windows xp. instead of vista.

now they have gone to windows 7.

also what browser do you use?

Win 7 isn't bad. Just you'll be paying through the nose to keep it clean.

For Joe User, an Apple with an Apple OS is probably easiest to keep clean. If you're moderately techy (i.e. you can read instructions and follow them, you either have built your own PC or have done substantial repairs), then Linux is the way to go.

On my Ubuntu desktop, I use a combination of Chrome (for speed) and Firefox (for firebug).

Chrome is *amazingly* fast. But it crashes a lot.

The cleanest way to go:

Use a big box and a 64 bit OS and something like VirtualBox or Vmware Reader to create a VM that you then surf the web with. Get hacked? Throw away the VM.

David.

 

[vta]

No they can not Mac has viruses as well even they need anti virus nowdays

The most attention viruses on Mac gets is in these discussions by people who don't own or like Macs, and say things like this, yet virtually no Mac user experiences them. I've been doing this on Mac for over 15 years in various places, through countless users, through numerous machines and having been in charge of all of administration of Macs in an art dept have never encountered any such thing as a virus.

The only reason there is Anti-virus software on my Mac where I work now is because IT has a PC mind and doesn't understand the average Mac user doesn't need it or them in general. It's the reason my home computer runs like a gem and my work machine, in comparison, runs like crap. It's alien to the system and has no place. It's just another process running, junking up the system.

The difference between reality and conjecture are the experiences of real Apple users and Google links and chatter from people who generally hate Apple computers. There could be a number of reasons to advise someone not buy an Apple computer, fear of viruses is not even on the list of them and the idea that you'll have a better experience with Apple in regard to viruses is absolutely the truth.

 

[Tusan_Homichi]

Wimbo, thank you for your good laymen's advice. We found an HP at WalMart today that has a 3.4GHZ AMD Phenom 11 511 Double Core Processor (whatever that means, lol), 5GB memory, 750 GB hard drive, Optical Drive DVD +RW Supermulti Drive, with a 23" monitor for $650. Is this a good deal?

Yes, that's plenty of computer and a good price.

And all these people talking about how virus-filled Windows is? Meh. Just occasionally run Windows Update in the control panel (it'll probably be set to do it automatically). Also, grab Google Chrome as your browser. If you do those two things and don't download programs from shady sites, you'll never have an issue.

 

[Idgit]

Get the Mac. They're just better. Be sure you get APP with any Apple laptop. It's worth it.

 

[TwoCentPlain]

Three years ago I bought a nice HP desktop for around $900. The thing died in 16 months. Don't know what happened. When I came back from vacation, the hard drive was kaput. After that, I decided to buy cheap computers and replace them when they break. I replaced the broken one with the cheapest HP the store had, about $275. I don't buy any anti-virus software and back up often. I put all my pictures on a DVD. The cheaper the computer, the less the worry if it breaks.

 

[burmafrd]

Macs can get virus's; just less likely due to the different operating system and the fact that the overwhelming majority of systems in the world are Windows based; and the business world is the same; most hackers and virus makers go after windows for those reasons. Macs get nowhere the same attention.

 

[Idgit]

Macs can get virus's; just less likely due to the different operating system and the fact that the overwhelming majority of systems in the world are Windows based; and the business world is the same; most hackers and virus makers go after windows for those reasons. Macs get nowhere the same attention.

Right. Also, they're just better machines running a better OS.

 

[Baileyneverfailey]

I always tell people if you aren't a PC gamer then just get a mac. I've never owned one, and probably never will, because I build my own PCs and know what I'm doing, but for the typical user they're a good fit.