Buying New Computer

I LOVE my Surface. I have the keyboard for it so I can use it as a touch screen or like a laptop. My surface has more memory than either my home tower or my work laptop. It's not much heavier than an iPad but it's a full computer that can do whatever a laptop or tower can do . It was pricey though, because I got the fastest processor and most memory available (I keep computers for many years, so I get the best I can when I buy so it doesn't become obsolete as quickly).

Get an external hard drive that hook to the computer by USB and copy the entire folder of pictures over.

What are you using it for? I have a Sony Vaio that I used for my grad school and I love it. It's 5 years old and still works great!

Our desktops are Dell's, and they are also awesome. They have plenty of room for gaming and music, but also the storage and capabilities for the kids to do their school work on them.

My daughter just got the HP Beats laptop for her birthday. It was on crazy sale and that thing is AMAZING! It's so much fun, but has what she needs for school and dance.

Sounds like you need something with lots of storage and a fast processor.

I have a Dell laptop... XPS 14Z that is about 5yrs old and I am planning to upgrade to the new Dell XPS laptop in the near future.

I use my laptop for our company business, run Quickbooks, store personal photos, run office and more. When I speak with the Dell reps on the phone, I let them know about all of my usage and then I choose memory from that point of reference. I typically purchase more memory than I need to be on the safe side. It does help that I have an acquaintance who works with Dell and he makes sure I get the most up to date and best product they have. I hate change and having to get a new laptop when I love the one I have!!

We have not owned a stand alone computer in 10yrs. We all 3 work with our laptops. I LOVE my Dell computer and the XPS products. I get the added warranty that gives me 24hr service and they come to my house to make any repairs. I have had a couple of small issues and they were repaired within the 24hr timeframe. I CANNOT leave my computer at a store or place of business to be worked on because it is vital that I am up and running in order to efficiently run our company.

Many people LOVE the Mac and my daughter loves her MacBook Pro. It is a great product but not for our company.

We do not use the Mac computers because it is vital that we are able to be in sync with our CPA and each other. Therefore I use the Dell and hubby has a Samsung. This works best for our company right now because I have to make sure my QuickBooks, Payroll, Taxes, etc are all able to work together with my CPA when he needs reports and more from me.

Good luck.. I hate computer shopping as well.

First of all get an external hard drive. They have solid state ones pretty cheap and they usually come with software that helps you back up your computer completely.

We have a desktop that needs replacing but since we all have laptops we dock them using a KVM. So we can use the keyboard, mouse, and the biggest win, the monitor. We have a 32 inch monitor.

I have never used up the memory on any of my laptops but if I did I have it backed up on our hard drive so I can delete at any time.

So I guess I am saying get a laptop.

Oh and go to a real computer store, Best Buy tends to not know what they are talking about

If you want actually suggestions Lenovo makes some good products at good prices and their customer service is excellent. You want at minimum an i5 processor. I have an i7 because I have zero patience at home when our sever at work is....so...dang....slow. What I am on right now is a 17 inch Dell I got at Costco for under 600. The machine I take to work, yes I take the don't use company machines for personal use to heart, is a Lenovo twist. It is smaller than this one and this one is my work machine when I am at home because it has the built in keypad.

Although I need speed, the biggest thing is customer service. In my opinion Lenovo has the best, Dell is second. Don't get suckered in Best Buy's offering.

Do your kids use whatever you are buying? If your desktop is in a designated location, is it important to you to buy something that stays in that designated location? I am parenting from the "It is just easier to prevent them from moving the computer by buying a desktop" philosophy here..

We are going to also have to buy a new computer. Also will be PC as our work is not Mac and considering a convertible tablet / laptop as our children have to use a computer more and more often and are used to a touch screen.

Good luck! C.

PS For the pictures, buy some cheap thumb drives and back the pictures to them. Then put thumb drives in your fireproof strong box.

My husbands first question about something like this is:
"What do you want to use it for?".

Gaming?
Word processing/Excel (office type programs)?
Photoshop, touching up pictures?
Email, web surfing?
Autocad?

(Our sons computer has to run SmartMusic for band and AutoDesk for engineering classes - a students computer has it's own set of requirements.)

Do you want a touch screen and want to be able to run apps?

The different types of software you want to use will have different memory and space requirements.

Spending heaps of bucks on a tweaked out gaming system and then using it just for web surfing and email is like swatting a fly with a sledge hammer.
(I totally admire Alien gaming computers and want one some day - but that will be like the day after I win a bazillion dollars in a lottery because that's the ONLY way I'd spend THAT much money on a system like that!).

You want the right tool for the right job.
I tend to want to figure out how much memory I will need and then go the next size up.
We have always got Dell computers/laptops.
We just recently got iPads last Christmas.

Couldn't have said it better than Julie S!

I am a novice when it comes to computers but this is what I absolutely know.

I must have the absolute fastest processor, the part that makes internet and games go fast, where I can have 20 tabs open and working on things in each one, where I can be reading email and playing a game and watching videos all at the same time.

I know, it's not likely but think about what all is on this mamapedia page. Videos...check, reading a post, waiting for other posts to load in other tabs, creating a reply and posting it while other tabs have other things going on, etc....

So the processor is the absolute most important thing to me. I need a computer than can do it all for me.

#2. I have older eyes and although the eye doc said my eyes don't need prescription glasses I do need reading glasses to read my page. So I need a laptop that has a larger screen so I can make it even larger if I need to so I can read the fine print.

#4. Taking your personal computer with you no matter where you go whether it's McDonald's or vacation or grandma's house is awesome. I take mine to work with me too so I can keep up with the pages I manage for some businesses, one of which I work at so they don't mind me popping in to the other pages for a moment to answer a message or answer an email for them.

I like Windows 8, okay...shoot me...but I was prepared for it and although it has issues that are stupid I do like it and how it's more like a phone computer crossover than a regular computer. I don't like scrolling down the side and suddenly I have a completely different thing going on, bad place to put those charms as far as I'm concerned.

Well, when I bought a new desktop and a laptop for myself 2 years ago, i looked into the memory etc. I decided that an 8 gb laptop for me and a 6 gb desktop for the kids would be fine for our use. I went to Office Depot 3 times looking at the computers and reading the information on what they could do. I played with them. And asked questions. I let the sale person know that i was looking into it and told them the use the computer would get. I find that Best Buy is pushy towards higher price vs best option for you. A lot of electronics stores are. Once you know what you want to get, you can look around for the best price.

I cannot remember the ghz on the desktop I got but it allows my daughter to animate using a special tablet and my son plays games. They sometimes complain it gets slow but I didn't buy it for gaming and such. Need to make sure they can get their homework done.

Other things I looked for are an HDMI connection for streaming to the TV, at least 2 front USB connections so I do not have to move the tower all the time to plug something in. I also wanted DVD read/write. I found that not every PC has it. For the monitor, almost any will do but if you skype, you want to make sure it has a camera. Depending on how old your Dell is, the towers now are much smaller.

I would wait until July 29th when Windows 10 debuts. While you can probably pick up a deal on a Windows 8, I think 8 sucks and am holding out. Windows 10 is supposed to pacify us Windows 7 fans and bring Windows 7 functionality to 8.

Personally I LOVE a laptop. I keep it plugged in, but I have the option to make it portable.

I have a Lenovo and I would not purchase another. Some case screws fell out, then the case started breaking, and now my hinges pop out so I have clamps holding the whole thing together until July 29th.

My girls have an Asus that I am not impressed with.

I would only buy an Intel 3, Intel 5, or Intel 7 processor. A lot of them are AMD and I have read that they are not as efficient a processor.

Although I do not use it much, I still want a DVD Rom. They are cutting back and putting them in fewer computers.

I'd get at a minimum 500 GB hard drive and 4 GB of memory.

Those are the highlights I look for. If you want to spend more than you can do even better.

As for your files, do yourself a favor and buy yourself a portable external hard drive 1 TB or greater. You should be able to back up 1 or more computers onto it.