Desktops: Who has the overall best out of the box desktop design?
- 9/19/07 4:07 PM
Give the FREE OS alternative , Linux , a shot ...
by herrwitt - 9/19/07 11:17 PM In reply to: Who has the overall best out of the box desktop design? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Just buy a monthly Linux mag , and install , or goto Distrowatch.oom and download a 'distro' and have @ it ... LINUX gives YOU , the user , the choice of desktops to use ..
That's it ...
herrwitt!
form follows function
by back_water_tech - 9/20/07 12:02 AM In reply to: Who has the overall best out of the box desktop design? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Uhh, prettiest box?
who really cares what it looks like as long as it works, right?
It either will end up under the counter, in an enclosure or under the CRT anyway.
anyone that prefers a pretty pc verses an fully functional PC doesn't need a pc in the first place.
Apple, if you made better pc's than pretty ones, you might sell more than to your cult like followers.
I've had a mac once and i won't pay that much again for any PC again.
Form follows oops lost his way
by Rowdies - 9/20/07 6:47 AM In reply to: form follows function by back_water_techYes a nice looking box matters. That said of course you're right if it doesn't work then it has failed it's primary purpose. Now lets see, Apple far and away the most reliable brand and if you have an issue they have far and away the best support. All of these claims well documented by consumer reports and others.
The thing about having a nice looking cpu is you don't have to hide it, thus making access easier thus form and function adding to ease of use. CRT? It's no wonder this guy is stuck in the wintel world.
Bottom line, no one makes more reliable PC then apple and no one makes them "prettier" either. It's a win win win.
Hmmm. wintel. sure
by back_water_tech - 9/20/07 9:35 AM In reply to: Form follows oops lost his way by RowdiesI have a limited budget. Like most people, I do not have god's checkbook to buy everything I need.
I have a LCD on my primary system. I do like it not because of its eye pleasing design, but its power consumption.
If i had $3000 to burn, I might think of getting a "pretty" apple.
Honestly I might buy an Apple after I won the powerball. Just so i could say I had one. (and yes, Mac, the osX would get wiped and replaced with Linux or Windows just to irritate my Mac friends. 
)
Besides, all the new apple's are no different than, say, a new dell. They use the same memory, same intel main boards, same intel processors. Oh yeah can't forget this: Apple can not design a thermal solution to save thier lives. How long are these new "wintel" macs going to live with apple's wonky heatsink designs.
No, I haven't lost my way. I am just not cought up in this skin deep society like most are.
sorry.
PS: Behind the times? Me? I work from home. I can not afford to be too far behind. 
Hmmm, My main system is an Athlon A64 x2 6000+ with an asus mainboard and black case (real pretty by my standards), two 500gb sata2 hd's, 4 GB ECC DDR Ram, a lightscribe dvd+/-r drive (also asus), gf 6200 video, and palnar 19 inch lcd. running Windows XP x64 edition. (no Vista for me, hehe)
Is that up to date enough for you Mac? Oh and the whole setup including windows cost $1100, it is all jet black. And the case still sits on the floor under my desk where no one can see it anyway. 
Got a savings account?
by cre8tiv_grl - 9/22/07 12:30 PM In reply to: Hmmm. wintel. sure by back_water_tech"If I had $3000 to burn, I might think of getting a "pretty" apple"
Save your money. And yes. The new Apples are very different from say, a new Dell. Very, very different.
The best lesson to teach my kids: you want the best, get the best. Work hard, save, and you can have it.
Yup!
by sisko197 - 9/22/07 12:43 PM In reply to: Got a savings account? by cre8tiv_grlExactly. You want the best, get a Dell XPS 720 H2C. Bitchin. It pwns Apple every time.
Dell?
by rebart1 - 9/22/07 8:27 PM In reply to: Yup! by sisko197Yeah, right. I have a friend who just bought a Dell a few months ago. That's the reason I'll never get one. Talk about useless customer support. I finally had to solve the problem he had that the online techs couldn't. And the email is a mess. I don't understand it. They messed up his online order and didn't get it 100% correct, and they didn't make it right.
Dell? Yeah, RIGHT!
Hmm
by sisko197 - 9/23/07 5:23 PM In reply to: Dell? by rebart1Actually, you get to use a really great support system with the XPS systems. Anything under the XPS goes out to the lame ass Indian tech support staff who couldn't give a damn or speak clearly. The XPS support is kick ass though! All based in the US and Canada. They know their stuff too. So, I don't know who you were calling, but it wasn't the English speaking team. lol...
Great Idea!
by rebart1 - 9/22/07 8:30 PM In reply to: Got a savings account? by cre8tiv_grlGet a Dell, or any other PC and enjoy hundreds of hours dealing with the problems all PCs have and Macs don't. PCs are a constant, never-ending headache. I have an old Mac that hasn't had a problem in years. I have three PCs that can't stay away from the techs. Only one PC, an old IBM, hasn't been much trouble, but man is it sloooow....
frustrated
by hlee - 9/20/07 12:05 AM In reply to: Who has the overall best out of the box desktop design? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
i am frustrated with HP because they have eliminated support for older operating systems. everyone in the world links to their site to get drivers for HP printers, scanners and such .. now those links go nowhere. now since everyone trusted HP to retain these drivers, almost no one has them offline. even if those drivers might be problematic they should still be available with notes to that effect from HP.. its easy to just drop this trust instead of providing even minimal support.. each time i have to spend hours finding hp drivers i vow to not support that way of thinking..
i am frustrated with dell because their new low cost (maybe all) systems lack parallel ports, serial ports and ps2 (keyboard/mouse) ports .. they only have usb and not enough of those .. also only one free expansion slot so you cant even add those features you might need .. maybe thats the way of the future but those missing capabilities should be made clear at purchase time.. what customer could know that they couldnt use their fancy keyboard, wireless PS2 mouse, parallel port laser printer or scanner. what customer would be happy with external stuff hanging on their new computer to give them the capability to actually use the computer for anything but the most mundane tasks .. otherwise the dell is a nice computer and they seem to have integrety (most important feature) ..
i am frustrated with emachines because of low power supply reliability and mother board capacitor problems and the difficulty in getting drivers and upgrades.
i am really frustrated with apple because i dont have one ... yet
It was a hard decision but...
by aka_tripleB - 9/20/07 12:19 AM In reply to: Who has the overall best out of the box desktop design? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
Apple won out. Apple just has that MacBook that is just the right size, clean-cut, and glowing Apple logo. Alienware was the other one that I like. Those flashing lights a really nice to look
Oh right! I'm writing a thing. I'm sorry. Thinking about the glowing lights even destracts me.
The Dell XPS 700 line, baby!
by DarkHawke - 9/20/07 1:37 AM In reply to: Who has the overall best out of the box desktop design? by Lee Koo (ADMIN)
I had my choice of boxes last year when I made the move to upgrade from my old 'puter. Lots of pretty machines, and boxes for home-brew, but when I finally pulled the trigger, the Dell XPS 710 was in my sights. Big, mean, and glowing red like the front end of a Mack truck from Hell!!! It is a glorious thing. The new Alienware chassis was first runner-up. Love the look and all the lighting effects, but ultimately nowhere near as impressive, not to mention not as capacious on the inside. Kinda wish I'd known they were gonna get all tweaky with the lighting on the latest iteration, but I'm still in love with the look of the beast to my left! I've yet to see a CPU design as cool as this one!
In the eye of the beholder...
by john427 - 9/20/07 2:10 AM In reply to: The Dell XPS 700 line, baby! by DarkHawkeTo be honest, I'm not a fan of either Apple or Sony computers. Apple's Mac Pro tower case looks like a cheese grater, and their laptops look like... well, just your generic laptop with an illuminated logo. And since when was a company that charged you extra money for black plastic in lieu of white plastic cool? That doesn't seem very cool to me. Sony computers are just ugly.
The only way you can guarantee a case that is aesthetically pleasing is to build the computer yourself. Personally, I like SilverStone cases, and use their TJ-09 myself. Some people like cases with windows in the side and flashing lights and stuff. I don't, but it's all down to personal preference, and self building is the only way to know that you'll like the case.
I also prefer being able to choose my own monitor, keyboard and mouse. On that subject, I really dislike Apple's equipment in that department. The iMac has about four yards of white plastic around each edge of the screen. I have to use these every day at work, and both keyboard and mouse are desperately unresponsive compared to even a cheap mouse and keyboard, never mind the decent ones I use at home. And clear plastic just doesn't do it for me!
Dude! You a mind-reader or what?
by DarkHawke - 9/21/07 12:40 AM In reply to: In the eye of the beholder... by john427You took the words right out of my head, especially about the front-end look of the Mac Pro. Undeniably, it's a potent and well made beast, and competitively priced, even. And if you only look at it side-on, it even has a certain graceful quality, with the sweep of the brushed aluminum to the four corners. But dead-on, it's a bad shop-class project! The iMacs are nicer, but even then, not as compelling or even interesting as they used to be.
Come to think of it, the last really nifty-looking iMacs were the first ones. Remember? Them big-ol' excitingly chunky things with the candy colors and translucent plastic? Loved the look of them boys. I still like the style that they inspired; even got a Game Boy Color around that era in a translucent purple case! Those iMacs were much friendlier-looking computers, FAR more so than the cooler-than-thou minimalist slabs that we've got these days. I bet they sold tons of the original iMacs to computer-phobes just because they appeared so non-threatening. A shame they moved away from them.
Eye of the beholder?
by rebart1 - 9/22/07 8:31 PM In reply to: In the eye of the beholder... by john427I think the beholder should have his eyes checked.
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
