New computer advice

[ak2000]

I just buy lower-end Dells for a desktop whenever the screaming need arises. Costs about $400. Monthly payments are available, I think. Never had any problems with them, other than obsolescence. Sure do miss Windows XP though.

Definitely a good choice

 

[Brewdude]

Lots of great info here amigos. I'm very grateful, and it'll give me something to think about as I decide on the options listed above.




Cheers,

RR

 

[Brewdude]

Checked out Best Buy and Freddie's today.

Freddie's had jack squat, no towers at all. Just laptops and all-in one's. Best Buy 8 gig towers went for $422 on up. So no joy there either. Seems like I should be looking at 8 gigs.

I'll carve out some time to check Fry's next. No doubt there will be more there in my price range.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Stick]

Not much to add here, Rande, but perhaps check out a reconditioned unit. I've just been checking out a few sites for you here in the UK and some offer 12 month warranties. I've bought a few reconditioned items recently and have been pleased with the purchase, most especially the savings!

 

[Ozark Wizard]

Stick is right, absolutely nothing wrong with refurbished stuff, and they do come with warranties. Most vendors will even offer extended ones for change.

 

[Richard Burley]

Stick is right, absolutely nothing wrong with refurbished stuff, and they do come with warranties. Most vendors will even offer extended ones for change.

Kind of like cars, I reckon. Every car on the road is a used car.

 

[Brewdude]

Stick is right, absolutely nothing wrong with refurbished stuff, and they do come with warranties. Most vendors will even offer extended ones for change.

Kind of like cars, I reckon. Every car on the road is a used car.

I have reservations about refurbished equipment. So probably won't be going there.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Brewdude]

The deed is now done. After much consideration I chose this unit from Costco, and had a friend who is a member purchase it for me.

https://www.costco.com/Acer-Aspire-TC-Tower---Intel-Core-i3.product.100383325.html

It wasn't in stock at the store so it was ordered on-line from Costco, and I should have it this coming week. It was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but it has 12 gigs of RAM and a modern processor. Plenty powerful and should be lightning fast.

I'll have the local computer geek remove Windows 10 and install the current version of Ubuntu and browser of my choice.

Thanks again to all who offered advice. This unit should see me through for a while and allow me to view the sites that my old timer won't connect to.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Brewdude]

Took delivery of the tower. However the geek is out of town until early next week. When he gets back he'll install Ubuntu and the browsers of my choice (I like to have 2). So the new dawn will have to wait a few more days. Oh well!

:|


Cheers,

RR

 

[ak2000]

I3 @ 3.9 and 12gb DDR4 ram, yeah I would say this thing should fly :bounce:

 

[BriarBeagle]

Congratulations, Rande!

I think this was the one that I originally referenced in my early post on the matter. Did you decide to kick in the extra $60? Either way, I think you made a fine selection. This should have plenty of memory to keep your machine moving quickly, as well as plenty of storage space. You're good for at least 10 years with this baby, and Costco has a 2 year warranty on their products too (which is a year longer than most manufacturer warranties).

Hope you enjoy it!

Best,

Loren

 

[Brewdude]

Congratulations, Rande!

I think this was the one that I originally referenced in my early post on the matter.  Did you decide to kick in the extra $60? Either way, I think you made a fine selection.  This should have plenty of memory to keep your machine moving quickly, as well as plenty of storage space.  You're good for at least 10 years with this baby, and Costco has a 2 year warranty on their products too (which is a year longer than most manufacturer warranties).

Hope you enjoy it!

Best,

Loren

Ya, it prolly is Loren. And the extra $$ will be well worth it.

I3 @ 3.9 and 12gb DDR4 ram, yeah I would say this thing should fly. :bounce:

Thanks for the confirmation Andy.

Looking forward to getting this beast up and running!



Cheers,

RR

 

[Brewdude]

Now have the new unit up and running, and am currently learning how to navigate all the features. So far so good, and the speed is much faster - plus I can now access the sites that became unavailable to me on the older unit. Think I'm going to love this!


Cheers,

RR

 

[Brewdude]

Now having some "teething" problems with this new system. Looks like it timed me out during supper and just got off the phone with the computer geek. Had to restart it and now I'm back.

This should not be normal as I didn't have access to anything.

?


No Cheers,

RR

 

[Carlos]

Timed out?

Something you had set in the CMOS and not the operating system, I suspect. Ubuntu is similar to Linux Mint, which is what I use. Are you using the Cinnamon Desktop? That's what I have been most comfortable with.

 

[Fr_Tom]

Timed out?

Something you had set in the CMOS and not the operating system, I suspect.  Ubuntu is similar to Linux Mint, which is what I use.  Are you using the Cinnamon Desktop?  That's what I have been most comfortable with.

FWIW, I use Gnome. I have not found the learning curve to be too steep in switching desktop environments though, but YMMV.

 

[Brewdude]

Timed out?

Something you had set in the CMOS and not the operating system, I suspect.  Ubuntu is similar to Linux Mint, which is what I use.  Are you using the Cinnamon Desktop?  That's what I have been most comfortable with.

Just did a search on the timed out issue and found a Mozilla help page. Followed the instructions just now and we'll see if that fixes it.


I'm running Ubuntu 18.8 (I think) and the latest (?) version of Firefox. Don't know the name of the desktop. The computer geek set this up for me and I could always ask him. But think I have Gnome.


Cheers,

RR

 

[Stick]

Fingers crossed for you Rande. I'm sure it'll all work out for you. Just a few tweaks before you're up and running proper.

The consummate Silver Surfer!

 

[Brewdude]

Might have the timeout thing fixed. The geek sent me a youtube tutorial for my specific OS as it's a matter for the OS and not the browser. Time will tell.

Some things are a bit different on this new unit and will clearly take some getting used to!


Cheers,

RR

 

[Brewdude]

So far so good. Still getting timed out after 5 min but relatively easy to get back without much angst. And there still may be a way around that.

My geek is not a Ubuntu guy specifically, so may have to get a hold of someone experienced in this OS.


Cheers,

RR