My parents now have “the broadband” and are in need of a new computer. Their Dell desktop PC (that I customized for them when I lived in Chicago) is about 8 years old. It is now time for a new PC. Since I’m now a total Mac head, I am in need of some PC suggestions…my Macbook Pro is about 4 years old and I will never go back to a PC or MS Windows.
My parents have a budget of about $600 to $700 for a new computer. I’ve been looking at Dell.com and HP.com, but haven’t been able to configure a desktop that meets their requirements without going over budget. The added cost of Windows 7 Professional and Microsoft Office – the useful edition – keeps putting me above $700.
Here are the basic requirements for the new computer:
- Windows 7*
- Microsoft Office Home and Business 2010
- 4GB’s of ram
- 19 in. LCD
Does anyone have any ideas for a reliable yet inexpensive computer setup that meets these requirements?
*I wonder if Windows 7 Home Premium is as useless as Dell and HP make it seem to be? Is Windows 7 Professional worth the added cost?
**Every post that mentions computers should really include a Commodore 64. Just saying:
slickdeals.net.
In my experience, most people don’t need anything higher than Win 7 Home Premium. Professional adds a few things, most notably the ability to use Windows Remote Desktop to connect to the computer (pointless if you use something like a VNC client, logmein.com, or gotomypc). The other big addition is the XP mode, a special virtualized install of XP for those few specific applications that won’t run on Windows 7 (mostly legacy business apps).
The other question is if they really need Office Home and Business, or would Office Home and Student do everything they need? You could save a good chunk by going with Home and Student if that’ll work for them. The major difference is that H&B has Outlook and H&S doesn’t. If they do, or are willing to use something like Google, or desktop client like Thunderbird instead, it’ll save some money.
Hope that helps.