I, too, like Dell and have had good experience with them. However, I am
concerned about the impending market push to 64 bit processors.
David, I wonder what you would say about a custom built machine from a
reliable local builder? I think this may be the way to get the most
upgradeable machine possible as well as a 64 bit processor. I know dual core
is supposed to be like true 64 bit but I suspect it will be only a stop gap.
Richard Smith
www.rgsmithmusic.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "David W. Fenton" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Friday, February 10, 2006 11:53 AM
Subject: Re: [Finale] Desktop comparison, OT
On 9 Feb 2006 at 23:45, D. Keneth Fowler wrote:
This request is OT, but I would like the view of folks using a desktop
with Windows 98 regarding how you rate your machine or the reputation
of others you hear about. I have a Micron (now MPC) Pentium III, now
in its sixth year of service. I feel it is time to move on. Dell and
HP have been mentioned to me in casual conversation. You may well ask,
"What do you want it to do?" Assume a fairly basic machine with no
MIDI or more recent Finale capability enhancements. Any observations
you wish to make will be appreciated.
I make my living supporting the computer needs of small businesses
and individuals.
I would say, as I say to all my clients:
1. if buying a desktop, buy Dell. Look to see what the model is that
is next to top of the line but *not* their newest, fastest model --
that will get you the best long-term performance for the price. The
cheaper models are not good buys for the longer term (they will need
to be replaced or significantly upgraded earlier).
2. if buying a laptop, buy a ThinkPad. Here, my clients have been
most happy with the T4x line of thin, light laptops with large
screens. The price premium on those is not nearly as great as it was
just 2 or 3 years ago, so you can get something really nice for a
relatively reasonable amount of money.
For operating system, get WinXP Professional. Don't even think about
WinXP Home -- you will regret it if you do. This is the case even if
it's a home PC.
Buy as much RAM as you can afford, but you don't have to buy it pre-
installed. You can often save quite a bit by buying additional RAM
from Crucial.com. RAM is *very* easy to install, but the only thing
to watch for is how the base computer is configured. If the
motherboard has only 2 RAM slots and those are both in use, you won't
be able to upgrade without discarding the RAM that came with the
machine. So, if the machine you're ordering has RAM options of X
amount of RAM as 2 DIMMs or as 1 DIMM, *always* buy the single DIMM,
since that leaves more room for expansion (it will also be more
expensive).
Don't skimp on the video card or hard drives. Most of Dell's base
models in the top half of the Dimension line are configured with good
video and hard drives. If you have the option of saving money by
ordering a slower hard drive or a video card with less RAM, DON'T DO
IT. You may not have to spend more than the base price, but you
shouldn't skimp on these, as they have a huge effect on the actual
performance of the machine.
For laptops, the equation here is somewhat different. There are far
fewer options in all the above categories. In general, with a laptop,
it's usually easier to order all your RAM pre-installed, because it's
not necessarily quite as easy to install RAM as in a desktop. I'd do
it, but I'm in the business.
Another reason to buy everything pre-installed is for warranty and
support purposes. If it's all in one place, it's easier to deal with
any problems that may develop in the future.
If you lack a good person for tech support, I'd suggest buying
something more than the standard Dell support contract. But whether
you want to go with the deluxe package or not is up to you.
In regard to software, Dell always has good prices on MS Office, so
I'd suggest buying it preloaded. I wouldn't buy any other software
preloaded, except, perhaps, anti-virus, but I'm no fan of McAfee or
Symantec (AVG is my preferred AV software these days, free or pay
version).
If you're still in Win98 land, the initial setup of an NT-based
computer will seem like foreign country. Do *not* acquiesce to the
default suggestion to set up your user account with no password.
Define a password during the setup routine for both the administrator
account and for the user account you're going to use. Unfortunately,
actually setting up a WinXP PC correctly from the standpoint of
security is bloody difficult (it was much easier in Win2K and Win NT)
becasue MS has set up very insecure defaults.
If you have always-on Internet access, be sure you have at least a
NAT router between your PC and the cable/DSL modem. This will prevent
all unrequested incoming connections from getting to your PC and
protect you from a whole host of problems.
Once you have the PC set up and connected to the Internet, download
Firefox, install it and make it your default browser. NEVER use
Internet Explorer (except for Windows Update). Using Firefox will
protect you from all the spyware and junk that can install itself
into IE (and bounces off of Firefox's secure default architecture).
Others have suggested buying a no-name generic box. My experience has
been that when you do that, you're getting cheaper components and
less support than when you buy from a major manufacturer. If you
upgrade such a machine to match a $1,500 Dell machine, you'll usually
find that the generic box ends up costing almost the same amount for
less support.
On the subject of Dell support:
Dell's laptop division is quite bad with support, but the desktop
division support is still good in comparison to other vendors. Dell's
support is not as good as it was before it moved to India, but if
you're a little bit patient, the folks over there really will work
very hard to solve your problems. They do mean well and the training
they have is remarkably good. Just speak more slowly than you
normally would (something that's very hard for me!) and things
usually go fairly well. Don't blame the poor folks in India for the
fact that you have to go through a troubleshooting script -- you'd
have to do that with a tech based in the US, too, and it saves
everyone time and frustration in the long run, as it covers all the
basic issues that could be causing your problems.
But I've never found generic PCs from any source to be enough cheaper
(if they are cheaper at all) than Dell PCs to make up for the lack of
a large reputable company standing behind them.
I know that many people disagree with this position, but it's what
has been working best for my clients for the last 12 years I've been
in this business. Dell's quality and support has changed relative to
itself, but it has remained the best relative to its competitors (and
I do deal with other vendors with clients who do not take my advice
about buying Dell).
--
David W. Fenton http://dfenton.com
David Fenton Associates http://dfenton.com/DFA/
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
_______________________________________________
Finale mailing list
[email protected]
http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
