>>> Official Black Friday 2009 DESKTOP COMPUTER Discussion Thread <<<

[smooth3d]

Here are the min specs I would recommend:

 

At least a dual core processor Intel or AMD both are good

at least 3 gb of ram prefer 4 gb

a 320 gb hard drive

Win 7 Home Prem

 

These do you good for basic tasks!

[Sunshone7311]

I would not suggest the AMD processors if your planning on running alot of programs. They they have a tendency to run hot and slow down. I'm looking to get a computer that will last awhile. My current computer has lasted me 6 years. Although it cost me 2000.00 it is just becoming obscelete now. I'm looking for:

 

Dell or HP

Intel i5 or i7 processor

500 gb + hard drive

8-9 gigs of ram

1 gb video card

dvd-ram or blu ray

internal wireless-N

screen 23" +

 

I was in Costco and was told their coupon book that's coming out will have coupons for desktops and latops. The HP I was looking at was running 999 and they said that would be one of the coupon items. They would be getting 150 of them in next week.

[sem615]

I got the coupon book . The only one I see is HP p6210t for 599.99.

[Tigger97498]

Do we think we will see any deals on Dell Desktops preferably windows 7? Mom's decided she wants a new computer for christmas because hers is on its last leg and expected to crash at any time. I would rather get her one with 7 on it because I HATED Vista with every fiber of my being so I would rather her not have to deal with the nightmare of an operating system. I will probably try to stick with Dell for her if I can because her one she has now is a fairly new emachine and it has been a headache from day one. Are there any other desktop brands other than Dell that have a long life?

[smooth3d]

All new desk tops now come with Win 7 for the most part now (unless its old stock) Dell is good, so is most other desk top brands, just look for one with at least the min specs I listed above, and she will be fine!

[smooth3d]

I would not suggest the AMD processors if your planning on running alot of programs. They they have a tendency to run hot and slow down. I'm looking to get a computer that will last awhile. My current computer has lasted me 6 years. Although it cost me 2000.00 it is just becoming obscelete now. I'm looking for:

 

Dell or HP

Intel i5 or i7 processor

500 gb + hard drive

8-9 gigs of ram

1 gb video card

dvd-ram or blu ray

internal wireless-N

screen 23" +

 

I was in Costco and was told their coupon book that's coming out will have coupons for desktops and latops. The HP I was looking at was running 999 and they said that would be one of the coupon items. They would be getting 150 of them in next week.

There is nothing wrong with amd chips, They do not run hot or slow down as you say. The intel i7 and i5 are fine chips but we talking about people who looking for a BF deal not a $1000.00 desktop and in mid to low end desktops amd competes very with intel chips. I have to say that the i7 and i5 is OVERKILL for 95% of people on this site who do mostly email, web surfing and things that nature, so pls stop spreading false info about amd. Hell even a amd phenom II X4 is overkill for most!

[H_Hancock]

I would not suggest the AMD processors if your planning on running alot of programs. They they have a tendency to run hot and slow down.

 

I'm sorry but I've just got to call pure BS on that comment. Completely and totally untrue and without any fact at all.

 

Fact is: AMD typically provides the better price/performance ratio in the low-to-mid range cpus vs. Intel's offerings. It's only when you get to the high end cpus that AMD struggles to compete.

 

As for their longevity, reliability and durability, the cpu from either maker will probably the last component in a computer that will fail or show any signs of wearing out, and are ultimately the most reliable part in a computer. There's no factual evidence that either AMD or Intel cpus are longer lasting than the other, and the typical consumer shouldn't have any qualms about purchasing a computer based on either company's cpu.

[Sunshone7311]

I'm not stopping anyone from buying an AMD. Let's keep things civil, AMD is a second rate processor from a manufacter that may not be around much longer (BK). The high end Intel chip is far better than any AMD offering and all you have to do is go to the store and try to open and close applications quickly and watch what computer faulters first. As for the comment more power than the average user will need, if a person wants a simple machine for basic computing go buy a Mac. New PC's come packed full of crapware that slow even a new machine down. Furthermore, the new programs coming out will require much more processing power where lower end processors will simply crawl. If your going to make this kind of investment spend the money and get something that will compete longer.

[H_Hancock]

Sunshone, your post is so full of FUD, I'm surprised you could type it out without laughing and mistyping the whole time.

 

I'll gladly be civil, but I gotta call BS when I hear/read it, and your post is just chock full of fail.

 

First, AMD is anything but a second rate cpu manufacturer. If that sentiment was in any way true, I wonder why Cray, the ultra top end supercomputer manufacturer, uses AMD Opteron cpus exclusively in their supercomputer builds.

 

Or how the Cray Jaguar, which uses AMD Opteron cpus, is the second fastest supercomputer out right now---installed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (and how could Oak Ridge, the main facility the U.S. uses to test/simulate nuclear weapon design/function entrust their vital calculations to a second rate computer like a Cray, given your statment that AMD cpus are second rate and all....)......

 

Or how could IBM trust and use AMD cpus in the world's fastest supercomputer, the Roadrunner, if they were second rate?

 

While it's true, AMD has had and is continuing to have financial difficulties, many of which were and are self-inflicted, much of AMD's financial problems can be traced back to Intel's kickback scheme with OEM computer manufacturers to prevent AMD cpus from being used. Intel has already been found liable and guilty of illegal competitive tactics by Japan, S.Korea, the EU, amongst others, and is facing an anti-trust trial here in the U.S. Of course, some of the most damning evidence is coming from Dell and Intel themselves, in which it was recently revealed that Intel paid over $6 Billion in payoffs to keep Dell from using AMD cpus. If AMD was so second rate and inferior, why did Intel feel the need to financially coerce OEM's to not use AMD cpus when it should have been obvious to the OEM's that there was no use for AMD cpus?

 

The answer is that AMD cpus have always been and are still at least competitive with Intel cpus and in many cases faster, further along with technological advancements, and cost less.

 

What makes AMD cool is rather good chip design and pushing the envelope on the x86 and x64 architecture in ways that you can bet that Intel would never had done on its own - or at least not at the fast pace Intel has been compelled to do a few times in its history because AMD was out in front with better chip designs. (And you do know that the ability of Intel desktop cpus to be 64-bit compatible is directly due to AMD.....Intel licenses the technology for 64-bit function in their cpus from AMD, the company that was first to market with functioning x86 cpus that could work with 64-bit software/environment.)

 

And it's true that it has taken more than a decade for AMD to shift from reverse-engineering Intel's x86 designs to setting the pace in x64 chip designs. But at this point, Intel and AMD are drawn pretty much even as Intel has pulled an AMD and reverse engineered the Opteron processors as its Nehalem family of chips. (Yes, that is an oversimplification. But it is basically true).

 

As for "quickly opening and closing applications" being any sort of measure of a cpu's quality or speed, that's a wholly incorrect thought process, if not a complete lack of understanding of how a computer works. In opening and closing an app, the cpu, while doing its work as quickly as possible, is very much dependent upon the quality and speed of the memory, hard drive, and underlying chipset of the motherboard it sits upon. So, just opening and closing apps is no measure of anything. A true measure is a battery of stress tests using real world applications like Photoshopping an image, or creating a high def. video, or compressing/converting a large file/image, etc. Those are the true test of a processor's power, and in those sorts of tests, the AMD desktop processors compete quite well, if not better than, processors from Intel that sell for the same price or even a little higher.

 

Now, it's true that the very upper end of Intel's cpu range, the Core i5/i7 cpus, are much more powerful in many cases than what's currently available from AMD. But the AMD 965 cpu does do within a few percentage points in performance even compared to the vaunted Core i7 920 cpu from Intel in test after test.

 

So, sorry, you really need to do some homework and research before you come out making outlandish statments that have no basis in fact or reality. Cheers! :)

[Lusha120]

ok yall don't flame me, but I have to say, most of us that would ask for help picking out a good deal on a computer (wether laptop, desktop, netbook or whatever other new lingo) don't *realy care* what processor chip sits inside the box. we will never actually see it. aslong as it does a marginally decent job and the computer doesn't die in two months, it'll be ok if it were made by acme co. and Wyle E. cyote put it in there himself! Since MOST (not all but MOST) of us that are asking for help are not mega gamers, or looking at super computers or do anything but basics with a computer, aslong as it can support a few web pages, running decent graphics and we can shop at a decent speed, can e-mail, play on facebook, play a video, hold pictures, write a paper.... you get the idea. We don't know these things for a reason.

 

Look at the economy, most of us this year will be shopping by price points, not specs. Don't tell us that buying XXXXX will make our eyelashes fall out and turn our hair green and our dog will get hives. WE realize that people have preferences, our wallets just don't!

 

Anyone know where to get an IBM for a decent price, desktop or laptop, but must be all in one, not willing to spend more for a monitor or anything else. 200-300$ (or less) refurb or off lease is ok, must be able to wi-fi (in home).

[Sunshone7311]

Sunshone, your post is so full of FUD, I'm surprised you could type it out without laughing and mistyping the whole time.

 

I'll gladly be civil, but I gotta call BS when I hear/read it, and your post is just chock full of fail.

 

First, AMD is anything but a second rate cpu manufacturer. If that sentiment was in any way true, I wonder why Cray, the ultra top end supercomputer manufacturer, uses AMD Opteron cpus exclusively in their supercomputer builds.

 

Or how the Cray Jaguar, which uses AMD Opteron cpus, is the second fastest supercomputer out right now---installed at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (and how could Oak Ridge, the main facility the U.S. uses to test/simulate nuclear weapon design/function entrust their vital calculations to a second rate computer like a Cray, given your statment that AMD cpus are second rate and all....)......

 

Or how could IBM trust and use AMD cpus in the world's fastest supercomputer, the Roadrunner, if they were second rate?

 

While it's true, AMD has had and is continuing to have financial difficulties, many of which were and are self-inflicted, much of AMD's financial problems can be traced back to Intel's kickback scheme with OEM computer manufacturers to prevent AMD cpus from being used. Intel has already been found liable and guilty of illegal competitive tactics by Japan, S.Korea, the EU, amongst others, and is facing an anti-trust trial here in the U.S. Of course, some of the most damning evidence is coming from Dell and Intel themselves, in which it was recently revealed that Intel paid over $6 Billion in payoffs to keep Dell from using AMD cpus. If AMD was so second rate and inferior, why did Intel feel the need to financially coerce OEM's to not use AMD cpus when it should have been obvious to the OEM's that there was no use for AMD cpus?

 

The answer is that AMD cpus have always been and are still at least competitive with Intel cpus and in many cases faster, further along with technological advancements, and cost less.

 

What makes AMD cool is rather good chip design and pushing the envelope on the x86 and x64 architecture in ways that you can bet that Intel would never had done on its own - or at least not at the fast pace Intel has been compelled to do a few times in its history because AMD was out in front with better chip designs. (And you do know that the ability of Intel desktop cpus to be 64-bit compatible is directly due to AMD.....Intel licenses the technology for 64-bit function in their cpus from AMD, the company that was first to market with functioning x86 cpus that could work with 64-bit software/environment.)

 

And it's true that it has taken more than a decade for AMD to shift from reverse-engineering Intel's x86 designs to setting the pace in x64 chip designs. But at this point, Intel and AMD are drawn pretty much even as Intel has pulled an AMD and reverse engineered the Opteron processors as its Nehalem family of chips. (Yes, that is an oversimplification. But it is basically true).

 

As for "quickly opening and closing applications" being any sort of measure of a cpu's quality or speed, that's a wholly incorrect thought process, if not a complete lack of understanding of how a computer works. In opening and closing an app, the cpu, while doing its work as quickly as possible, is very much dependent upon the quality and speed of the memory, hard drive, and underlying chipset of the motherboard it sits upon. So, just opening and closing apps is no measure of anything. A true measure is a battery of stress tests using real world applications like Photoshopping an image, or creating a high def. video, or compressing/converting a large file/image, etc. Those are the true test of a processor's power, and in those sorts of tests, the AMD desktop processors compete quite well, if not better than, processors from Intel that sell for the same price or even a little higher.

 

Now, it's true that the very upper end of Intel's cpu range, the Core i5/i7 cpus, are much more powerful in many cases than what's currently available from AMD. But the AMD 965 cpu does do within a few percentage points in performance even compared to the vaunted Core i7 920 cpu from Intel in test after test.

 

So, sorry, you really need to do some homework and research before you come out making outlandish statments that have no basis in fact or reality. Cheers! :)

Its time to move on, outlandish is writing a two page reply. Buy what your going to buy and if you spend too little you'll back next year to buy again.

[dmintelsgt]

ok yall don't flame me, but I have to say, most of us that would ask for help picking out a good deal on a computer (wether laptop, desktop, netbook or whatever other new lingo) don't *realy care* what processor chip sits inside the box. we will never actually see it. aslong as it does a marginally decent job and the computer doesn't die in two months, it'll be ok if it were made by acme co. and Wyle E. cyote put it in there himself! Since MOST (not all but MOST) of us that are asking for help are not mega gamers, or looking at super computers or do anything but basics with a computer, aslong as it can support a few web pages, running decent graphics and we can shop at a decent speed, can e-mail, play on facebook, play a video, hold pictures, write a paper.... you get the idea. We don't know these things for a reason.

 

Look at the economy, most of us this year will be shopping by price points, not specs. Don't tell us that buying XXXXX will make our eyelashes fall out and turn our hair green and our dog will get hives. WE realize that people have preferences, our wallets just don't!

 

Anyone know where to get an IBM for a decent price, desktop or laptop, but must be all in one, not willing to spend more for a monitor or anything else. 200-300$ (or less) refurb or off lease is ok, must be able to wi-fi (in home).

Amen!

 

Although I think I'd prefer my computer chip made by the road runner since Wylie E. Coyote usually gets blown up

[a94]

Windows 7? Go Mac! You'll never EVER go back!

This is a falsehood. I have a White polycarbonate Macbook with 10.5 Leopard...and I'm looking for a good deal on a Windows laptop this year. I just don't like the Mac hype. It's not all it's said to be. I have no advantage using a Mac over a pc. I've never had a virus on a pc. I believe 90% of the "problems" given by Windows is from the user of the machine. If you want something that cost 3x as much and can't run most programs unless you install Bootcamp or the like...go Mac. If you know what you're doing and prefer to tweak your OS and run popular programs and games...go Pc

[lesliepear]

Now that some of the BF ads are out: Dell, BB, Staples, Office Max - would like an update on the thread.

 

I'm looking for one with windows 7 that can burn dvd's/cd's (at least 1 optical drive, 2 would be nice), reasonable memory/HD space - it's used for some graphics work (resizing etc), internet, some games (low end online), and word/excel. LCD monitor would be nice, printer not needed (unless there is no driver for windows 7 for my HP 1310 printer/scanner).

[ambermich]

i checked this out hoping to find a computer for the kids and i do not understand a word most of you are saying.......just want to find a good cheap deal......anyone seen that yet

[RFinger]

Out all of the ads I have seen, I would say Best Buys for $499 is the best; unless you can sell the $199 laptop you can get from Dell with the purchase of the system for the retail cost of around $549-600 area... If that is the case, then I would say the best deal would be Dells 8 hour sell which ends in a few hours.

[gdulaney]

I'm looking for something to play the new Sims game on... plus going online. Any suggestions?

 

Thanks :)

Ginny

[dmo727]

Out all of the ads I have seen, I would say Best Buys for $499 is the best; unless you can sell the $199 laptop you can get from Dell with the purchase of the system for the retail cost of around $549-600 area... If that is the case, then I would say the best deal would be Dells 8 hour sell which ends in a few hours.

I have been looking at Best Buy's $499 HP setup. If anyone has any info, suggestions, or comments please post them.

[smooth3d]

Yes the Best Buy 499.99 HP desk top deal is a good one. It features AMD just released Athlon II X4 cpu, has 8 gigs of ram and a 1 tb hd drive, it should last a few years without upgrading. It even makes a deceit gaming system by adding a good mid range gaming card!

[dmo727]

Yes the Best Buy 499.99 HP desk top deal is a good one. It features AMD just released Athlon II X4 cpu, has 8 gigs of ram and a 1 tb hd drive, it should last a few years without upgrading. It even makes a deceit gaming system by adding a good mid range gaming card!

Yeah, that's exactly what I was thinking. It doesn't look like the ad has it listed as a doorbuster though, can anyone give any predictions to how fast these might sell? Laptops and Netbooks are more popular now, so I'm really wanting to avoid camping out for this one if I can.

[patcal1]

On Black Friday- will Target- walmart etc. price match?

[chimeralife]

DMO-

 

A lot of times if it is not a door buster you can order it online and chose store pickup. *But don't count on it solely please.* Maybe get in line, then try at midnight to see if it works. If it does and there isn't anything else you want you can go back to bed or off to another store. Then you just go back after the massive check out of the morning and pick it up.

[smooth3d]

DMO you are correct most people are after laptop and netbooks deals, as by evidence by the size of this thread, desktops are not as popular. I would try to order online if best buy has it online black friday morning if not, go when Best buy opens it should still be there, most camping overnite are not there for the 500 desktop.

[celestiaann]

I was wondering what people think is the best deal out there for a decent desktop capable of running a large program like photoshop, its basically killed my 4 year old laptop lol.. and really id prefer to have a desktop for such a program anyhow.. now that most of the ads are out any thoughts?? thanks!!

[len_mullen]

Requirements for Photoshop CS4...

 

•1.8GHz or faster processor

•Microsoft® Windows® XP with Service Pack 2 (Service Pack 3 recommended) or Windows Vista® Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise with Service Pack 1 (certified for 32-bit Windows XP and 32-bit and 64-bit Windows Vista)

•512MB of RAM (1GB recommended)

•1GB of available hard-disk space for installation; additional free space required during installation (cannot install on flash-based storage devices)

•1,024x768 display (1,280x800 recommended) with 16-bit video card

•Some GPU-accelerated features require graphics support for Shader Model 3.0 and OpenGL 2.0

•DVD-ROM drive

•QuickTime 7.2 software required for multimedia features

•Broadband Internet connection required for online services*

 

The web site says windows 7 is supported for the current version and that earlier versions should work with windows 7. I don't think any of the BF desktops fall short of these requirements.

[RFinger]

My plan is to try and get the $499 desktop at best buy. that is by far the best deal for Black Friday in terms of Desktops

[cmesave]

Does anyone know where I can find the specs for the $499 HP desktop at Best Buy? Thanks!

[jadedmomof2]

Okay, um..I don't go anywhere near best buy on Black friday, and both Office Max and office depot have desktop bundles for less than $350. Is there specific issues with those computers? Mostly, I just REALLY need to upgrade my 4yo "dying a slow death" Dell. It won't be used for anything too major, homework, playing on the net, burning DVD's, that sort of thing.

[scruffyjohnson]

One of the most important factors when buying a computer is expandability. It seems really cool to buy a really tiny computer that fits in any place but it will stink when you want to upgrade it 2 years later. When you buy a computer look for:

1. The amount of pci slots for adding more peripheral cards

2. Whether it has a pci express graphics slot for upgrading later(essential for gamers)

3. How many ram slots it has and how much it expands to

4. Is it big enough to add more hard drives(some micro computers cant be upgraded at all)

[tagryn]

Well, looking at what is likely to be available for desktops for BF, for those of us in the sub-$400 price range, the $239.99 OM Compaq Presario deal seems to be the best one. Unfortunately its a "early bird" special which I'm believe means it'll only be available in-store & with extremely limited quantities per store. The OD $229.99 Presario has a single-core processor, which is obsolete technology if I'm understanding it right. The Dell $349.00 Inspiron 537s got uninspiring reviews online. If I needed a monitor (I don't) I think the OD $329.99 Presario deal would be tempting, as would the BB $299.97 emachines deal.

 

Right now, I'm trying to decide between this week's OD $329.99 Presario offer and their BF $369.99 HP Pavilion deal. For that $40 difference you get a bigger harddrive and 1 GB more memory, but its unclear if the Pavilion will be available online or if you'll have to slog through the crowds on BF to get it. Again, those two are without monitors.

 

Opinions on this would be welcomed!