Question by ladylj5748: Which Computer Should I buy?
My life is changing – I am now working a sales job that includes presentations and eventually will include video conferencing from home, going back to college to take Web Design/Development, and still have the multi-use issues of my “normal” computer usage. I am not a MAC fan, so the Apple products are not what I am looking for, my last ten computers have been HP. I need a fast (to real fast) processor, am intrigued by the new 1TB hard drives, and it will have to be able to run multiple apps simultaneously.Which of the new processors should I look for? How important is it to get 6GB+ DRAM? Does the built-in wireless connector replace my current wireless reciever? Is the 1TB hard drive worth the money? Some of the software I will be using is MS Office Suite and Adobe Creative Suite, besides probably QuickBooks Pro, and various other gaming (non-large file type), email, presentation software. Oh, I forgot, also MS Dynamics CRM. Help!PS – Please keep in mind two things – I’m old (52) and I don’t have an unlimited budget. I am looking for just the tower – my display is new, I have a wireless printer, keyboard, and mouse. I will be getting a Web camera, etc as necessary assessories.
Best answer:
Answer by Alan
Ok, there is alot to cover here. First of all hp computers are very good, but so are other companies like sony. Don’t let brand bog you down. I recently got a gateway and it is ten times as good as a hp i got weeks earlier. So just get the best for the money, and try not to worry about brand to much. As for processor it depends on what you need. As for processor, the new intel i7 processors are the fastest on the market. If you are going to be doing lots of Business things than the i7 extreme was designed for you. It has 6 cores and is the fastest cpu you could get. However, it isn’t really needed if you aren’t running an insane amount of things. If you need to run like 40 programs at once than the extreme will do that no problem, where as most processors can’t say the same. It depends on how much you need though. Any good processor will rn multiple apps at the same time, it just depends on how many. The i7 extreme is about a thousand, which is a lot of money, so you need to decide what exactly you need. The i7 860 will run 10-20 programs easy depending on the program. Now, although intel is generally better in my opinion in their design, amd processors give you more for the money. If you go amd get the phenom 2 for extensive use. The phenom 2 six core processor is really good, and should get the job done with ease. It has the same number of cores as the extreme, but is cheaper. Although it doesn’t perform as well as the i7 extreme it will no doubt perform well. You will want to get the i7 extreme for really heavy use, or get the i7 860 for more normal usage, and the phenom II 6 core processor for a cpu with speed that falls in between the i7 extreme and i7 860. I recommend you get 6 to 8 gigs for the ram. The more ram the faster your computer. So since you will be using this for lots of Business usage i would go for more ram. DDR5 ram is newer and faster, but also more money. DDR4 is a bit slower but also pretty fast at 6 to 8 gigs, and you get more gigs for your money with DDR4 if money is a big factor. However if you can afford it go for the DDR5.I recommend you start at 6 gigs, and if you find you have more money upgrade to 8 gigs. 1 TB is 1000GB, so it is ALOT of space. If you plan on saving loads of files and presentations on the pc then you may need the TB just because you use this for Business usage. However, the normal user only needs about half that. So if you need to save a ton of things then 1 TB would be nice to have. However if you plan on only saving a few presentations or doing mostly video conferences, then 500 gigs is enough. Remember you can always add hard drive space later, or use flash drives to save work if you run out of space, so you do have options if you get 500 gigs and it turns out that isn’t enough. Only get 1 TB if you plan on saving LOADS of files and presentations, because as i said most people find that 1 TB is really overkill.As for the wireless situation you do want some sort of wireless receiving device in the computer itself if you can afford it. If you don’t have a wireless Receiver in the computer itself you have to have it manually connected to an ethernet cable and the phone jack. That can be a real pain, so for people who just have a WIRELESS router a wireless Receiver is a must. I guess the shorter anwser to this question would be yes, the wireless connector in the pc would replace any device you have to add on later. Just know you MUST HAVE A ROUTER with the wireless connector if that is what you mean, because the router gives you internet. My answer is actually too long, lol. I know a great computer for you, it’s the gateway fx. I can give more details on where to find a good computer and answer any questions you have if you contact me via my profile. Click on my name and then click email. I would love to help.Edit- Oh, and to contact me just click on my name and click on email.
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