OT - Calling all propeller-heads! Your local wannabe-techie (that's me!) wants to buy a new computer. I will use it mostly for word processing, internet surfing, trading, and maybe a charting program or two (so I need to have some number-crunching ability). I want it to be upgradeable (or so cheap I can just throw it away), and not too far down the food chain so it won't be obsolete next week, but I don't need the absolutely fastest, newest whizbang deal (because I'm CHEAP!). Anybody have any suggestions as to "must haves" or "don't needs"? Is a pentium 3 a must have for a desktop for future software/internet feeds? What is the major difference with the Celeron v. Pentium? Does the spped of the 7200 rpm drive justify the small ($40) price increase over the 5400 rpm? Can a laptop fulfill my needs, and if so, how fast do I need to go? If I use the laptop with a big monitor (19-inch), will it need mega video ram? Lastly, any thoughts on brands? Dell, Gateway, Mac, etc?
My basic equipment list for a desktop (based on a Dell XPS T model) reads sort of like: 400-450 mhz PIII, 128 MB ram (too much?), 13.6 GB HD, DVD with decoder card and TV out, 19-inch monitor, 16 MB Diamond Viper video card, Turtle beach Montego II sound card, and a 100 MB Zip for backing up the important stuff (or storing the stuff the girlfriend should not see . . . ;-) )
Thanks in advance for any thoughts y'all might provide. |
