# help choosing the right computer



## Liliana325 (Jun 28, 2006)

so we are buying a computer and its been a few years so a lot of things have changed and there are a lot of new products around...I was wondering if you could help

we looked around online,a local store site and this is what we found:

HP Pavilion 7740(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Dual Core T2060 Processor
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 320GB Hard Drive
* DVD/CD-RW
* 19" Flat Screen 

Dell 745(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Pentium 4 D925 3.0 Ghz Processor
* 1GB DDR RAM
* 250GB Hard Drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 19"Flat Screen 

Dell 320 Minitower (Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Pentium 4 3.0 Ghz
* 1GB DDR RAM
* 160GB Hard Drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 17" Flat Screen

HP Presario 5220(Windows Vista Home Basic)
*Pentium Dual Core E2140 1.60 GHz
*1GB DDR
*400 GB hard drive
*CD/DVD-RW
*19" Flat Screen

Dell Vostro 200 (Windows Vista Home Premium)
* Pentium Dual Core 1.60 Ghz
* 1GB DDR RAM
* 160GB hard drive
* CD/DVDRW
* 19" Flat screen

Dell 530(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Pentium Dual Core E2160 1.80 Ghz
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 250GB hard drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 19" flat screen

HP Pavilion s3041(Windows Vista Home Basic) 
* AMD Athlon 64 x 2 MN54 DN
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 400GB hard drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 19" flat screen

what do you think?? should I buy one of these?? or should I look more?? any help would be appreaciated! 

oh and we use our computer a lot,four people live in the house using the same computer


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## masterjim (Apr 14, 2007)

Any one of the Dual Core machines including AMD Athlon64X2 would work fine. Pentium 4 is old technology single core and runs hot. Stay away from Pentium D which is two Pentium 4 chips on the same die. They really run hot! For desktop computers, Costco would be the best place to buy one. They have a 90-day return policy (used to be 180-days). No questions asked. If you like Dell, then QVC gives you the most bang for your buck. 30-day return policy and a 3-year warranty and a special 800 number to go to the front of the line in tech support.
I have an HP Media Center PC from Costco and no problems hardware wise. I could have took it back and traded it for a newer model but didn't.


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## good grief (Aug 26, 2007)

A lot depends on what everyone will be using the computer for. Having got Vista Home Basic before I knew any better, I would recommend getting the Home Premium, as it has more in the Media Centre regards music, video making, more bells and whistles etc. Vista uses a lot of RAM, so I would go for the 2gigs of RAM, as it needs a minimum of 1 gig to run well, and not having enough really slows things down. If you have anyone in the house who wants to do gaming, you need to make sure you have a good graphics card, and that the manufacturer has up to date drivers for it that are compatible with Vista. Plenty of info in the games forum on that. You also need good speed for gaming, so a good processor is a must as well. Photo processing can need a goodly amount of memory, especially if you're doing a lot of layers for touchups etc.
Have a look at some of the software you may want to use, and check out recommended (rather than minimum) requirements for using them. That should give you some idea of what specifications would be best for your household. Also, check out the different versions of Vista to see which one has the features you most want.


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## Liliana325 (Jun 28, 2006)

thank you for your replies...

we went to the store today and we thought about buying the HP Presario 5220

these are the specifications:

HP Presario 5220(Windows Vista Home Basic)
*Pentium Dual Core E2140 1.60 GHz
*1GB DDR
*400 GB hard drive
*CD/DVD-RW
*19" Flat Screen

thing is they didnt have it at the store at that momment and they tried to sell us a HP Presario 5020...which was almost the same,only the Processor was a Pentium 4 Core Duo with 3ghz and 320gb hard drive...everything else was the same...

now I have a doubt,the girl there said that since the 5020 had a 3ghz processor it would run better than the new one with a 1.60ghz....is this true???


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## masterjim (Apr 14, 2007)

Pentium 4 is a single core which does all the work and runs much hotter. Core Duo is a dual core which means it has two engines sharing the same work and is more efficient and runs cooler. 1.6 GHz dual core is actually equivalent to 3.2 GHz single core (1.6 X 2) without the extra heat. There are 3 GHz dual core machines out there, but they do run on the hot side and shorten battery life on laptops. They are meant for serious gamers and overclockers. Generally, the higher the model number, the more performance(faster processor) and more expensive the computer. The 5220 should be higher end and faster than the 5020. Pentium 4 is still out there at lower cost because it is older technology. Just like VHS is still out there at closeout prices. The 5020 might be a Pentium D, which runs hotter and is slower than Core Duo,Core 2 Duo and AMD Athlon64X2.


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## Liliana325 (Jun 28, 2006)

I am sorry,but I still dont understand the difference! 

we´ve been going to the store for 2 weeks and they still dont have the 5220,that´s the one we want...thing is they are trying to get us to buy the 5020...they insist that it is the same thing,the only difference is that the 5220 has 400gb and the 5020 has 320gb,but I really dont understand...

the right questions would be: 
1. what is a core duo and what is a dual core? are they the same thing? 
2. exactly which one would be better? Pentium 4 Core Duo 3gzh or Pentium Dual Core E2140 1.60 GHz??? what is the difference between them?


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## masterjim (Apr 14, 2007)

Core Duo is a 32-bit processor and Core 2 Duo is a 64-bit processor,the next generation for Intel. AMD Athlon 64X2 and Turion 64X2 are 64-bit processors. Pentium D is 64-bit also,but a poor design (Intel attempted to copy AMD by putting two P4 chips on the same die). Pentium 4,Athlon64,Turion64,Pentium M are single core chips-old technology. Pentium Dual Core is a budget dual core chip,usually lower clock speed and less L2 cache (slower). HP Presario is really Compaq Presario. HP is much better than Compaq and is worth the extra cost. I would go with the first or last HP Pavilion listed in your original post (7740 or s3041),leaning more toward the AMD model. Or go for the Dell Vostro and double the memory to 2GB for Vista Home Premium. Vostro is the business class Dell,you'll get better tech support than the consumer series Dell. Stay away from Pentium 4, Pentium D and the single core models. If you are on a budget, Acer makes some good entry-level models (desktops and laptops) that cost less than HP or Dell.


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## Liliana325 (Jun 28, 2006)

thank you for your support...we decided to stay away from Compaq now...after what we´ve been told...

we now have more options,the 2 HP Pavilions or a couple of Dell or Gateway computers...anyone has anything to say about Dell or Gateway?? I´ve had 3 computers so far,all of them have been HP and all of them have been running for several years without problems,no need to re format,no need to change pieces,the one I have right now is an HP Pentium 4 1.60ghz,256 MB...old in just a word...but it´s still working really good...so I dont know if we should get a Dell or a Gateway,I dont know anything about them...

here are the options,

Dell 530(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Pentium Dual Core E2160 1.80 Ghz
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 250GB hard drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 19" flat screen

HP Pavilion 7740(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Dual Core T2060 Processor
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 320GB Hard Drive
* DVD/CD-RW
* 19" Flat Screen

Gateway 3246(Windows Vista Home Premium)
* Pentium Dual Core E4500 2.20 Ghz Processor
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 400GB hard drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 22" Flat screen (Wide Screen) 

HP Pavilion s3041(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* AMD Athlon 64 x 2 MN54 DN
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 400GB hard drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 19" flat screen

though the HP Pavilion are the most expensive ones...but we might work on that if there is no other option...

any new opinions?


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## masterjim (Apr 14, 2007)

Gateway is good,at least their desktops are. A friend of mine had problems with their laptops. HP and Dell are better,though another friend had a Dell laptop fail after the warranty expired. Dell desktops are excellent,right up there with HP which is number one. Dell is number two. If you had good luck with HP,then stick with HP. That would be my first choice, second choice-Dell, third-Gateway. HP also has the best tech support according to a JD Powers survey.


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## masterjim (Apr 14, 2007)

HP also offers Lightscribe (laser etching of CD/DVD) labeling. And easy to use software and free online classes.


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## dnbtom (Dec 4, 2007)

In my experience i would go for a Dell, I know everyone always says there bad and arn't good enough. But ive had mine for 3years now and it hasnt had a single thing wrong with it. 

This sounds good:

Dell 530(Windows Vista Home Basic)
* Pentium Dual Core E2160 1.80 Ghz
* 2GB DDR RAM
* 250GB hard drive
* CD/DVD-RW
* 19" flat screen :up:

Just never buy a Dell Laptop :down: :down:


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## tomdkat (May 6, 2006)

If possible, I would consider getting a Mac, maybe even an iMac which will have everything integrated in the monitor. If you've apposed to Macs (for whatever reason), than I think any of the machines you've listed above will be adequate for your needs. I've supported PCs running Windows made by Dell, HP, Compaq, Gateway, and eMachines. All have had their successes and failures. Recently, I've been buying machines from Dell's outlet since they have some REALLY great prices on decently equipped machines.

Peace...


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