Just for internet web browsing and general use?

Also, I love you.

i386

not a mac

http://www.newegg.com/...aspx?Item=N82E16834115979

Desktop!

why would you ever want a desktop?

Can I be honest with you?

I hate laptops. I am racist towards laptops.

unless you build it yourself, or get it used, you wont find a desktop (thats with keyboard and monitor) for cheaper than that laptop


besides, running warchats from the fluffter are one of lifes simple pleasures.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/HP-s5713w-b/15737712

still not cheaper, and if i read that correctly, the monitor isnt included. i just skimmed it though

You're swaying me

if all you want to do is internet and e-mail and word processing etc, i.e. no gaming

then a cheap laptop is the way to go imo.

you cant post up on your back porch pounding a few brews trolling IRC on a desktop!

decent laptop costs around 400-500 bucks.

you can get decent monitor around 100 bucks so you wouls have 300-400 bucks left to rest of computer.

once again, worthless post from marshal

if youre in the states Best buy has laptops for $350 all day every day. im typing this from one now. desktops are a waste unless you use them for gaming.

Well its easier to have in order to sit and do the work I need to do..

you can place a laptop on the desk just like a desktop, and you can run and external mouse on it also. so now you have something identical to a desktop, only you can take it to fluffter with you, or on vacation, or to work, or well you get the picture.

Is the overall performance better than a laptop?

performance? you said for internet use and what not

a 8 year old gateway could work for that

I was just wondering smarty pantaloons

I was just wondering smarty pantaloons

The price point information here is good, but no one's touched on the reliability issue.

The truth is that laptops have changed in the last five years. Brand used to be the most important part of determining the reliability of a laptop. If you chose the right brand, you could assume that the thing would run well for at least 2 years regardless of how much you paid for it.

This definitely isn't true anymore. Today, if you spend less than $600-$700 for your laptop, you need to expect to be replacing it in 12 months. They're simply not put together well -- no matter what brand you buy. And the warranties don't help.

Even after a few months, you're liable to start running into problems with your speakers not working, your battery life fading, your screen flickering; not to mention the whole damn thing over-heating. Those are just a few of the common issues with cheap laptops.

On the other hand, desktops in the $300-$400 will typically run fine for 2 or 3 years without any hardware issues (also, despite what some have said, you do get better specs for what you pay in a desk top).

-Fooglmog
Guy with no clue.

foog is right

desktops are cheaper, more reliable and easier to fix/upgrade than laptops.

i use laptops for what they are -- a portable computer for use when I don't have access to any of my desktops.

You can build an awesome desktop that will kick ass for the next couple years, monitor included, from newegg for ~$600. That's how much my just above average laptop cost, taking advantage of a good sale and deal. You can build an okay desktop for internet, dvd's etc for probably $200ish.

Honestly, it's 6 of one, half a dozen of the other as far as reliability goes when it comes to store bought laptops vs desktops.

Most people that kill batteries on their laptops do it by leaving it plugged in, btw. Why anyone would buy a portable system to never run it off of battery baffles me.

Anyways, personally and professionally I'd avoid Apple and Dell but beyond that find something that looks shiny to you and go for it.

http://www.newegg.com/...der=PRICE&PageSize=20

Base a system around that and you could do it for ~$300.

I've actually been really happy with our dell, but hate vista.

Definitely stay away from HP (horse poop) and Toshiba (tofluffa)

If you are talking crappy netbooks. Then correct. Otherwise I disagree. 19inch lcd 100 dollars, keyboard and mouse 15 dollars.

AMD II X2 255 3.1ghz
2 gig DDR3
500gig hd
intergrated graphics

Price: $360 AUD an extra $70-80 for a ati graphics card capable for playing games. Plus 115 for 19 inch Wide screen, keyboard and mouse. Total price $475 for a very decent internet browsing computer. I would recommend 5750 graphics card to be able to play most games to some degree ($106). This is from a store as a complete package.

That will beat all netbooks and crap $500 dollar laptops (usually), if you are American, Costco had some very good laptop prices.

For $680 + 115 you'd get a Sandbridge i5, thats really decent.

EDIT: Also that price doesn't include software, its an extra 80-500 for software depending what you want. You need to tell us your budget, this will allow us to give you the best advice. You may reject getting a computer that is only good for word and internet browsing when for a couple of hundred more it will be faster for longer and you can play games.

Simple rules:
ATI is cheaper than Intel
ATI is cheaper than Nvidia (in most cases)
You don't need more than 500gig hard drive in most cases
2 gigs ram is the minimum but will limit the computers lifespan, 4 gigs is better.

I remember when I was asked to see what was wrong with a family friend's computer. They had shoveled WinXP onto a 386 computer. It took 45 minutes to load windows then crashed because it ran out of virtual memory because the hard disk was too slow.

I told them that there were computers out of the street as rubbish that were faster than their home computer.

After a year, laptops start overheating, lcd dies, battery dies, just excessive problems, and since they are portable you will treat it as a phone and it will be prone to accidental damage.

Desktops are definitely better and cheaper for the specs and reliability.

apple

get imac.

or

Gateway One ZX4300-31 20".

or

DELL Inspiron 580 (only need to buy monitor).

or

HP 500B (need to buy monitor).

or

ASUS Eee Box EB1007-B0410 (monitor needed) and doesn't suite for Windows-use but with good monitor ideal for websurfing.

low price laptops like Acer Aspire AS5253-BZ893 tend to have 15.6inch screen and cheapest laptop at newegg with 17imch monitor is this Acer Aspire AS7741Z-4839.