Help Buying Computer

[Scar]

My friend has enlisted me to find a computer for him to buy. He knows nothing about computers and I only know a little and have personally never picked one out myself (I'm still on my second one in 17 years.) Anyway, He only needs it for internet access, nothing else. He wants to pay as little as possible and super high speed is not important, although he doesn't want to wait 10 seconds for a page to open either. He has regular cable with a modum (roomate moved out and took computer.)

So, if anyone can help with stuff like brand, store or online, and really anything else, it would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Itchy]

First of all I am not an expert but here is what I recommend.

I would go to some place like best buy and just look at the various type they have.

Does he / she want a laptop, tower pc, tabletop, or all in one?

They will will have everything that you can imagine. I have an inexpensive laptop ( ACER ) and it does everything that I want.

Be sure to get one with alot of RAM memory, this is what makes the system work fast. I would recommend no less that 3 gig of ram.

Most out of the box system do not have any word processing software so they may want to consider getting MS word.

Having said that I think with a little looking and time you can find the right fit..

I found my laptop which was a display, no box or instructions for less than $300.

Oh! make sure that it runs on windows 7 and not VISTA.

Hope this helps...:mickey:

[dnickels]

If that's all they want, why not get something used from ebay or craigslist? Even the most basic bare-bones new laptop is going to run $300-$400. A quick look at craigslist (at least in my area) shows plenty of used working laptops for $75-$100.

[DizneyRox]

Sounds like you've been recruited for computer support too. Send then to Dell or Worst Buy or someplace that will take that headache off your hands.

[White Rose]

I would have your friend look at New Egg--they tend to run a lot of good deals on computers. I occasionally check to see what they have going on. Since it sounds like your friend is looking at bare bones sort of stuff, I'd probably recommend a laptop of some sort. More portable and he can wander around the house with it.

He could look at getting a Lenovo or an Acer--both of those are on sale right today at New Egg under "Deals of the Day." Also, it might not hurt to have your friend look at a netbook over a full functioning laptop or desktop. The netbook is smaller but if he just wants to used it for web purposes, it might be worth looking at. I just checked and it looks like Best Buy has a few netbooks on sale for under $300.

Hope that helps!

[brad192]

A rule of thumb I learned a long time ago:

Figure out what you need in a PC, then buy at least one step above it, especially when it comes to computer "newbies".

They're inevitably gonna get "hooked", and want to expand their knowledge & skills. They will soon outgrow a "bare bones" system, and have to invest more money in a better device.

Big Picture - just sayin'.;)

[MstngDrvnDsnyLvr]

Toshiba makes a good sturdy laptop. You can actually find a good deal for one on WalMart with a dual core processor - if he wants pages to load fast he'll want a dual core processor. Memory is memory, but more is better as it help with speed. Hard drive size - well, one can always add an external for fairly in expensive now.

NewEgg is another good site for looking.

[LVT]

House with 3 geeks. 1. newegg.com
2. University surplus. If there is a large U near you, it may pay to see where and how they sell the 2nd hand stuff. Each upgrade at our U seems to involve swapping out many, many computers and monitors. A nice 3 year old computer may get him started.