<p>I got into UVA for next year. I am planning to buy a desktop, but I am looking for very inexpensive one. (under $500, without a monitor, just CPU). I dont want any fancy accesorries, for games or anything. I looked at some deals from Dell.com. But I am still confused about what type of computer should I get :
1. Pentium 4 or Celeron?
2. 256 MB ram or 512 MB RAM
3. DDR Ram or DIMM Ram or which one?
4. 2.4 GHz, 2.6 Ghz, 2.8 Ghz or 3.0 Ghz?
5. from where should I get it?
6. Which one whould be faster?</p>
<p>Also tell me the diffences between Celeron and Pentium4.</p>
<p>pentium 4 is superior in every way to a celeron</p>
<p>deciding on how much memory and how fast of a cpu all depends on what you want to do with the computer...if you just want to type stuff and surf the web, the least expensive computer from dell would do just fine</p>
<p>personally, i would get a computer with an amd processor instead of a pentium--they are cheaper and faster</p>
<ol>
<li><p>I'd go with a Pentium if possible. (Or an AMD processor - those are just as good) The Celeron is the "budget" version of the Pentium. For basic computing, the Celeron isn't terrible, but it's not preferable.</p></li>
<li><p>Definitely get 512 MB RAM - RAM is, in my opinion, much more important than processor speed. It won't cost a lot, and will make a big difference.</p></li>
<li><p>A DIMM is not a specific type of RAM. It means "Dual In-line Memory Module", or more simply - a little card of RAM. DDR RAM is "Double-Data Rate", referring to the speed RAM can be written to or read from. I think most RAM is DDR nowadays.</p></li>
<li><p>If you're on a budget, processor speed shouldn't be a priority. 2.4 GHz is fine for any word processing, internet surfing, e-mail, and it should even be fine for most new games. 3.0 GHz (or any higher speed processor) costs a lot more, with little noticeable increase in performance.</p></li>
<li><p>There are a LOT of good computer companies out there. Dell, HP/Compaq and E-Machines make good computers for cheap.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>First off build your own, or get someone to build it for you. This can be had for about 50-60 bux. Next buy the parts yourself off the net from <a href="http://www.newegg.com%5B/url%5D">www.newegg.com</a> or some other site. Here you can piece together exactly wat you want based on reviews. You will have a very good computer and it could be as cheap or as expensive as you want it.
As far as parts I recommend a P4, 2.6 should be for you, 512mb DDR ram.
If you do get a pre-built one, get a dell. They arent awesome but they are much better them most brands out there, specifically Compaq(they suck)</p>
<p>My suggestion would be to watch Dell's website carefully. Every couple of moons they have some really good deals. As for your questions, I have the following responses:
1. Pentium 4 or Celeron?
Pentium 4's are definitely better than Celerons althought the new Celeron D's are pretty good and if you're stuck with one of those chips for online surfing, word processing, etc., you'll be more than fine.</p>
<ol>
<li><p>256 MB ram or 512 MB RAM
Definitely 512MB. Windows XP is a bit of a resource hog and running an online browser, a music program, and word processor will quickly eat up resources.</p></li>
<li><p>DDR Ram or DIMM Ram or which one?
As someone else said, DIMM are the "sticks" of ram put into your computer. Considering your needs, I'd say you'd be best off with two DIMMS (two sticks) of DDR-RAM (most likely, Dell would offer PC2700 DDR-RAM or 333MHz DDR-RAM and for your needs, that's quite alright).</p></li>
<li><p>2.4 GHz, 2.6 Ghz, 2.8 Ghz or 3.0 Ghz?
A Pentium 4 at 2.4GHz will be great for what you need it and the new Celeron D's are nothing to scoff at either at those frequencies. Considering your needs, get the cheapest you can get.</p></li>
<li><p>from where should I get it?
Dell almost always has the cheapest prices and, every two moons, posts great deals.</p></li>
<li><p>Which one whould be faster.
What determines a computer's speed are the components that make it up so a comparably equipped computer from Dell would be just as "fast" as one from Compaq, etc.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>Also, you might want to consider taking a gander at the Mac Mini. It can be had at under $500 and it will definitely more space-efficient than a PC desktop (even a custom built shuttle). My one suggestion, as far as the Mini goes, would be to increase the amount of RAM to 512 which would cause it to be just over $500 in price.</p>
<ol>
<li>Pentium 4 or Celeron? P4 is better, but for word, explorer... celeron is okay</li>
<li>256 MB ram or 512 MB RAM 512 is better, this is a more important choice than your pentium chip</li>
<li>DDR Ram or DIMM Ram or which one? Its either DDR or SDR, DDR is better</li>
<li>2.4 GHz, 2.6 Ghz, 2.8 Ghz or 3.0 Ghz? 3.0 is better, difference is insignificant</li>
<li>from where should I get it? ibuypower.com...dell is wayyyyy overpriced</li>
<li>Which one whould be faster? which waht would be faster?</li>
</ol>
<p>How is Dell "wayyyyyy" overpriced when you get a complete system, one that would be great for his needs, for about $479 when the cheapest you could get from ibuypower.com would be $739? Is the ibuypower.com PC a better one? Sure, but he doesn't need an AMD 64-bit processor or "fancy" Gigabyte motherboard or such things. He just needs a simple computer to do simple tasks.</p>
<p>In all honesty, the only way to get a cheaper PC in this case would be to buy from Newegg or Zipzoomfly and build it yourself but considering the fact that the OP doesn't seem too PC-literate, there's no need to suggest it. </p>
<p>Secondly, and this is directed to the OP, if you are comfortable with the switch, I'd really suggest the Mini mac. For $546 you get a great computer with a lot of software (comes with the Mac in the iLife suite package). The one thing you might end up needing would be Office for Mac which would, in the end, counteract the added benefit of the iLife package. My advice would be to juggle the two possibilities of a Mini Mac and Dell desktop and see what your school says about each.</p>
<p>Good Luck.</p>
<p>P.S. and this is just an open rant, I really dislike it when marginally informed PC-enthusiasts know a bit about places to buy computers (Newegg, ibuypower, etc.) and blindly recommends them whilst belittling anyone that considers buying from Dell and other such places. Sometimes, as hard as it is for the happy, elitist ignorant to admit, Dell has some good deals that even beat out Newegg.</p>
<p>Dell is overpriced considering all they sell you is crap. I wouldn't even pay 200 bucks for something that said Dell on it. (just my two cents). Dell does have good deals on their computers, but their computers really aren't that great. As far as laptops go, they're at the bottom of the list as far as reliability and support goes. As far as desktops, they are built a little bit better.</p>
<p>I agree with Chrissy, Dell's are pieces of crap. It might seem cool because its nice and cheap, but the Dell I have is so infested with spyware that it won't ever come off.</p>
<p>Spyware isn't the fault of the computer... it's the fault of the user. I'll admit, Dell has a propensity to put on some stupid proprietary software but it isn't hard to remove. Second, I will admit that Dell does not offer top of the line parts (RAM, Hard Drives, Media Drives, motherboards, etc.) but for the average Joe Computeruser, they are fine and beyond that, warranty coverage is readily available and accessible at most universities.</p>
<p>dell puts the stuff in them that is the cheapest for them to buy, and their computers are just all around made cheap. they tend to have hardware errors more frequently than others (i worked for IT for three years)... their laptops are even worse than the desktops. one of my friends was actually going to sue dell, before they gave in and fixed his laptop.</p>
<p>Yeah, spyware is certainly not the fault of a computer manufacturer. That proprietary software, on the other hand - damn annoying stuff.
But I've found that Sony and Toshiba are the worst at this annoying crap, not Dell.</p>
<p>Everyone in my family has had Dells for the past six years (that's five different people). I've had my Dell laptop for three years. None of us has ever had a problem. Not one. </p>
<p>And if you're going to rely on people who think that an abundance of spyware is the computer's fault, well, like the saying goes, ya get what ya pay for.</p>
<p>Check with your school as far as any requirements they might have. My daughter had to upgrade to XP Professional, I think to connect to their network and there was some other issue with the internet connection that I just can't recall off the top of my head. (info not used for three years in a 46 year old brain is automatically deleted.)</p>