Buying my first PC
That's right, thinking about buying a PC. The first time a Mac user talks to PC users about buying a PC he/she does a few double takes. People say you have to "lock down Windows like a fort", or how you need $100 worth of software just to make it secure from the exploits they already know about, and there is no guarantee that future exploits won't totally hoop you and your computer.
But anyway, I'm getting one. Found a really good company out in Etobicoke Ontario called Premier Computer Canada. It's a custom AMD 64 system (Sorry Boris, doing 1 x $2140 rather than 2 x $1070 as per our old argument) and the company offers the following:
- Free assembly
- 2% disscount by paying with cash (cash, cashier's cheque, interac)
- $40 discount on top of everything else
- Prices lower than NCIX and every other company I found (At least 15 online Canadian computer retailers)
The deal? Sounds good. Free shipping? Unfortunately not, pick up or send your own courier. That isn't too bad, you still end up saving tons of money because you don't pay Ontario PST.
The choice of OS? Win2K not the Pro version. Why? Recommended as more secure than XP, and more stable as well.
Questions and comments? Does anyone else know of this Premier Computer company? Possibly some recent guests of Boris from Ontario?
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I want to buy a computer which is good for me
Hi i am Ankit from etobicoke i wanna to buy a computer that can run games programs ..I want p4 in budget 699 is it possible i want high quality graphix card and more ram ...
Are you crazy? You're going t
Are you crazy? You're going to tie yourself to Win2K, a 4 year old operating system? If you're buying at the top of the technology curve, don't cripple it with an old OS -- get XP (see next point).
Windows is a bit more trouble to get/be secure -- but a lot of that comes down to user vigilance, so if you're already a power user, you should be fine. Here are my tips:
* hardware firewall: no ifs and or buts -- they're about $50 these days, and are good for so much other stuff as well, like sharing your connection; software "firewalls" do not work (and contrary to your $100 point, all the good security lock-down software is free)
* AVG Anti-Virus: still free, still good, still doesn't suck system resources
* Switch: heh, bet I caught you with that one? Seriously, IE doesn't look like it's going to go standards-based or exploit-free any time soon, Scobleizer comments aside
And if you're spending that kind of money for a PC, why not just buy a Mac? Heck, get a Mac *and* an Xbox if the answer is games.
Aside from that, I really, really, really recommend going with a local supplier. Sure, you might save a few bucks going somewhere half-way across the country, but having someone local is very important, esp. for an entire system, and esp. when (at the top of the curve) you plan on hanging on to the system for a good long while (I wouldn't be saying the same thing if you were getting a $1000 system). The NCIX guys are great (they're on Broadway).
The amount of hassle you will save by having your system vendor local over the life of your system will definitely wipe out any potential savings (have you asked the NCIX guys to match?).
Follow up - local vendor vers
Follow up - local vendor versus out of province vendor. I don't see the potential difference, money is money. With Premier, I bet I could save 4-5 hours of labour in terms of dollar value by going out of province. Why spend $200 more than I have to by buying from a company that offers a deal with far less incentives than the out of province one?
Hardware firewall - I conside
Hardware firewall - I consider it essential as well. I've got a router/firewall, got a good deal on it a while ago. Also, the Asus board I'm getting has a board-level firewall as well.
Good to know there is free, effective Windows anti-virus software. How about ZoneAlarm? Even better - think I could use the machine without virus software for the next 14 years without a single virus? ;)
Why Win2K? Because it was recommended by a guy who builds PCs ever day down in Kansas, he seems like he knows his stuff. Insists that Win2K is far more secure than XP, and isn't as "broken" as XP. Then again, some of the things he says don't make sense - even Microsoft can make progress on software, I don't see why XP would be bad, plus it's cheaper.
Do you recommend XP Home or Pro?
Mac and XBox - already have this setup. XP games suck, and the only two people with an XBox never want to play online, or don't have XBox Live. I know plenty with PCs playing Battlefield Vietnam on a nightly basis.
Switch - you betcha. Mozilla (Or one of its browser-only derrivatives) and any non-Outlook mail program will be my primary web interface. Heck, after 5 years of IE 99% of the time, and a bit of Mozilla, I'm looking forward to switching that ratio. That's major security right there. ;) Also, I'll probably stick with a web interface for email primarily, at least I think so, though client/server is nice for speed. I'm even thinking of putting together a cheap PC and Linux so I can run Gnome Evolution, I read something about it once and want to get to know Linux.
Why not a Mac? Here is why:
eMac with Superdrive, 17" CRT - add 160GB drive and max out at 1GB Ram - With tax $2008
Athlon 64 system, no DVD writer - 2 GHz Athlon, 1GB DDR400, Asus mobo (Loaded), 120GB SATA drive, Combo Drive, Radeon 9800 256MB Pro, Samsung 19" brand new monitor. Antec Sonata case (Designed to be ultra quiet, and the results prove it is) Costs: Free assembly, 2% cash discount, no PST) - With tax $1940
Something competitive with the Athlon system:
PowerMac Dual 1.8GHz (Poor availability) - 1GB Ram, 80GB HD, Combo drive. Assume a Samsung monitor at the same price as for the PC. Total cost: $3300, or $3778 with tax.
I first started out with NCIX based on our previous discussions of good PC vendors. Equivalent system from NCIX with tax: $2220, approximately. So about $280 in savings.
NCIX does match, but look at their terms:
"Prices considered for Price Match must be IN STOCK and available as a NEW item at a retail business or a web based store, with full e-commerce functionality, a valid SSL certificate and credit card verification. Exact items, model numbers and part numbers must match to qualify for Price Match requests. Most computer products are sold as Retail, OEM or Promotional products, and while they are often similar products, we cannot match prices on items with different packaging."
I'll definitely look at NCIX as an option, but here are the differences between the two companies:
Premier Computer Canada: Free assembly, 2% cash discount (cash, bank draft, debit), $60 discount on top of that, no PST, shipping from Ont. Cheapest prices I've found online so far.
NCIX: $50 assembly, no cash discount, PST, direct pickup, prices more expensive than Premier, restrictive price matching policies.
So many things to consider...
ZoneAlarm! AAAAgh. What a ter
ZoneAlarm! AAAAgh. What a terrible excuse for a product, that doesn't work, and also happens to install a bunch of other, unrelated software that actually opens security holes in your system.
Hmm...you still didn't really answer the Mac vs. PC question. The price seems comparable, even the same if you add $150 for a DVD writer. I'd probably pick a 17" Flat-Panel iMac for comparison, at $2429. Mmmm....widescreen.
Xbox games suck. Interesting. I've played it a bit and liked it. But it really seems like it is the gaming thing for you is the reason you're getting a PC.
XP Home or Pro are both fine. Are you including the cost of the OS in your purchase? The guy who recommended 2K is on crack. *Maybe* for corporates, but even there there are a ton of advantages to using XP.
My advice: save your pennies, wait to see if Uncle Steve surprises us again in a mere 5 days or so. If you're bound and determined to be miserable with a new PC, get it locally.
ZoneAlarm Pro, not sure if th
ZoneAlarm Pro, not sure if that makes a difference. And the guy isn't on crack, or at least he knows enough that he doesn't come across as on crack.
Definitely including the price of the OS in the hardware. Since it's assembled by a vendor, I can get OEM versions of software and hardware. I'm trying to minimize using OEM hardware for warranty purposes, but WinXP Home OEM - $133 with a system. Compare that to XP Home retail... there is no comparison.
Determined to be miserable - have we switched roles? Are you being the Mac patriot for the sake of Devil's Advocate? What happened to your belief that computers are just tools?
Mac Pro/Con:
- The only good gaming macs are bloody expensive, and that's without a monitor.
- Migrate to OSX
- Upgrade hardware to run processor-intense web software like Java apps, javascripts that seem to take forever on the iMac, Safari and Mozilla variants.
- Thoughts of anti-virus and firewall prompt jokes about PC users, and how much Bill Gates sucks.
- Apple's vision of the digital hub, with related software and supported hardware
- Apple integration of hardware and software (Major bonus IMO)
- One model, minimal upgrades until your next major purchase.
- Very tough to meet a Mac gamer interested in the same things you are.
- Some cool free (as in price) or open source programs
PC:
- Installed base of gamers, including a lot of people I know
- Best price/features ratio for hardware.
- The best games that interest me
- Upgrade in processing power, web software
- Upgradeable design like a stereo system (Still waiting for my EMM custom setup ;)
- No looking up software requirements to see if device X works with your platform
- iTunes/iPod compatibility
- The ugly world of Microsoft, security issues, and sending my money to Microsoft and AMD rather than Apple and AIM (Apple, Mot, IBM)
- Decent selection of free software, multi-boot possibilities (Multiple versions of Windows, Linux and xBSD)
I bought the XBox thinking that $2K is a waste for games, particularly a PC. But XBox games suck. I think the console market is now too competitive for its own good - with everyone one-upping each other, the advancement of games and graphics hardware means that the console becomes as obsolete as quickly as a PC. The PlayStation seems anomalous in that it was so competitive for so long, without competition. Now ATI and nVidia are in a race for fastest graphics, and Sony has Microsoft and Nintendo to contend with. Also, do you realize that Nintend has over 50% of the gaming market by revenue right now? They are not going to slouch on their next console, it's like competing in the CPU market with Intel - as Intel's dominant source of wealth, they will defend it fiercely.
Next-gen platforms and the necessary make-it-or-break-it games are in the works (Halo 2, for example) and those new games are designed for the new consoles, may not even be compatible with XBox, you need to upgrade but you can't do it. With a PC you can upgrade everything, with a Mac you are lucky if you can, with XBox/Console you know you can't before you even buy it.
What we have now is the opposite of what we should have - we should be buying the XBox for surfing the net and answering email and chatting, while the $1000-$2000 PC should be the radical graphics console
Why not wait for G5 iMac or XBox2/PS3? Because I have now tried Mac and Console, and neither are what I want in a gaming solution.
So I'm moving to PC. If Apple can restore value to its hardware, I might consider buying an el-cheapo next year. For now I'll have the iMac and PC, migrate the iMac to LinuxPPC and have a multi-boot Windows system.
SP2, AVG6, small firewall rou
SP2, AVG6, small firewall router, Adaware, & Spybot and u won't need anything else. SP1 is pretty safe if you've got the rest. If you want to get fancy, get a registry maintenance tool and an XP tweaker tool. don't even think about zonealarm.
Win 2000 was the bane of my I
Win 2000 was the bane of my IT life until I upgraded everything to XP. & Server 2003 very much superior to 2000 Server, especially in admin and speed. The major problem I had with 2000 is its severe ineffectiveness at adapting itself to major hardware changes like new motherboard etc. Plus I've up'd everything to SP2 now. It is faster more stable and even fixed issues I never knew I had. New CDs now install SP2 patchlevel right off.
Furthermore, new build of XP-64 for AMD came out this week.