What's the best desktop computer under $2000?

What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Hello everyone,

I'm planning to purchase a new desktop computer and wondering what's the best desktop computer under $2000 that is available out there? I'm planning to run some graphic software on it such as Illustrator, Photoshop, etc. I heard that the best ones are Gateway 700X and Dell 8250, any experiences on these desktop whether bad or good? Any advices would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much in advance and take care everyone!

ZEPH

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Are you willing to build it from the ground up? That'll save you some moolah, and it gives you control of what goes into your computer...

Otherwise, Dell and Gateway are excellent in their customer service, and their computers are quite reliable; you can't go wrong with their systems. I had a Gateway 450XL a few years ago, and it's still running along...

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

If you've got that kind of money to spend then your absolute best purchase will be a 17" iMac. 1Ghx G4 chip and 256 meg of memory and a beautiful 17" flat panel display. for $1800 it comes with 80 gig ATA drive and a DVD-R drive and all software necessary to make DVD's.

for the last $200 to bring it up to 2k you can max the memory out to somewhere near a gig which will be a great thing running Illustrator and Photoshop.

I'll even sweeten the deal further by offering personal tech support, you can email me anytime with any questions and I'll help you out. If you buy a windows PC you'll have to wait in line at Dell like everybody else /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif Thats the same deal I offer to all my friends.

You can buy directly from apple, or you can save yourself the sales tax by buying from someone like http://www.smalldog.com/ I'm not an affiliate or anything, I just got great service from them in the past.

Good Luck,

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Mac...Mac...Mac...Mac...


When I've got $2000 I'm getting one of these!

Ah.....oh so nice!

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

the 12" ones are nice little machines.

Its a pity that if you have one on and charging it at the same time, the heat from it will warp it, its fine when it cools down.

Geoff

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Geoffchan, I think they have tracked that problem down. Apple is actually shipping some of them with corrupt power manager preferences! Deleteing that file and resetting the power manager is rumored to fix the high heat issue.

Interestingly enough, after about 6 months of perfect performance my 15" Ti model had a similar problem. Not with warping, but the battery charging subsystem stayed turned on long after the battery was charged and the thing got much hotter than usual. After doing the above I'm back to normal which is warm, but not hot.

Yes, I'd like one of those 12" ones too, I used to have a 2400c which was a spectacular little machine (manufactured by IBM actually for Apple) But I think that this machine will have to work for me for at least another year before it's in the budget. Also he did say desktop machine /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

That's why I said if I had $2000 /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif


Then there's an eMac with scrudloads of accessories. Ted thinks his eMac is noisy though...

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

FYI, intel is releasing new 3.2g P4 chips and chipsets next month, so it will drive down prices all the way down the line. if you can wait a month, I'd suggest you do. do those specific adobe apps support hyperthreading? the 3g p4s might really help there.

i saw mention monitors; here's my two cents: if you are going to do *lots* of graphics where colour matching and consistency is of utmost importance, might want to stick with CRT instead of flat panel, mainly for reasons of contrast range. and put that saved money towards a DVD writer or more ram or faster processor etc.

on one hand, all the top of the line systems come with flat panels, but they are limited in contrast, so i'm not sure how it works out. again i'm not too familiar with flat panels, so if anyone else can chime in, please do!

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

I've got a 17 inch Phillips flat. The one thing I hated doing on that flat LCD is gaming. When I struck up Counterstrike (back in the old playing days), the graphics movements were NOT fluid. Nothing even remotely similar to the Sony G400 that I usually use.

In graphic and video intensive applications, flat CRTs are still the way to go...

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Wow, thank you very much everyone for the awesome response. I am really getting alot valuable inputs here. Well, as far as Macs are concerned, I really don't have much experience with it. All I know is that the major drawback of Macs are its incapability to be upgraded (please, correct me if I'm wrong). So, you're pretty much stuck with the system till it becomes obsolete or something. Although, I heard that they're up to par with some of the fastest systems around. I was also planning just to assemble my own system from the ground up, that way I can save some money. But I just don't have enough time right now cause of school and other errands..

Iddibhai, I think thats probably a good idea just to wait about a month or so for the new chips to come out. Thank you very much for the advice!


To everyone who contributed, I thank you once again for your inputs and advices. But, if you have anymore advices, comments, and suggestions, please feel free to add. I could always use some more good advices. Take care everyone!


ZEPH

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Some things you can do with $2K (well, actually, $2.5K, but you can certainly compromise on certain products)...

$700 bundled...
Pentium 4 3.06Ghz HPThreading
Abit BE7-S RAID Mobo w/6channel Codec/2.0USB/Built-in 10/100 Ethernet
512MB Kingston PC2700 DDDR

$220-$550...
ATI Radeon 9700 Pro 128MB DDR or A Quadro 900 XGL based Video Graphics card, or save some money and go the way of a GainWard GeForce Ti-4600/4800

$100...
Sound Blaster Audigy 2

$300-$400...
Klipsch Promedia 5.1 or Logitech Z680 5.1 (both awesome speakers, but optional if you want the super sound)

$50+$40+$50...
MS Internet Keyboard Pro and MS Intellimouse Explorer 3.0 w/ 3Com modem

$360...
Sony 19" CPD-G420S w/ .24 pitch flat TTron

~$150...
Lian Li PC65 case or something similar

~$130...
450Watt or higher PS

This is $2500... But I'm sure you can snip here and there and arrive at a $2000 system that's still blazing and can tackle any workstation environment...

EDIT: I'm assuming you've got all the software ready to install. If not, then it's going to require some more chipping...

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

Zephyr, the iMacs are not yet upgradable, as far as processor speed is concerned as they are a pretty tight package inside.

However, all of the regular macs can be upgraded, many of them even to dual processors (most of the towers come with dual processors now already, which your photoshop and illustrator are already designed to make maximum use out of, this is where you'll get even better performance than with a single 3+Ghz Intel machine) but they don't come with a monitor which is why I suggested the iMac. That screen is a beautiful thing, very high quality flatscreen. That alone would cost you $600+ to add to another system.

There are several companies making processor upgrades for the Mac. I have upgraded 3 over the years with cards from this company: http://www.sonnettech.com/ but there are others as well.

The iMac also doesn't take a standard video card since it's packed into that tiny package. But a tower will let you put in pretty much anything you want. There are a few that are not compatable, so make sure to check first if you're planning on upgrading that from what they would come with. Standard 3xAGP in the tower.

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

[ QUOTE ]
FalconFX said:
Are you willing to build it from the ground up? That'll save you some moolah, and it gives you control of what goes into your computer...

Otherwise, Dell and Gateway are excellent in their customer service, and their computers are quite reliable; you can't go wrong with their systems. I had a Gateway 450XL a few years ago, and it's still running along...

[/ QUOTE ]

I agree with almost everything that FalconFX posted:

Saving money by building it yourself - Unless you are buying the absolute lowest cost on each given item on the internet, I do not think you will save money on DIY.

Now, researching and choosing the best ind components, you can build one heck of a system.

Dell, by far has such a great program, that I think that most people, including techies, are better off with a dell.

Check out their re-firbished section.

Don't go over to the dark side, stay with Intel, no Mac for you!

Seriously, my brother in law just bought him a mac, and loves it. He does mostly web design, and had no trouble switching over.

I, on the other hand, will stick to good old Billy, and the Microsoft family. Seriously, I LOVE XP. While I still use 98se at work (have to, still run dos apps), I love XP at home.

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

For an Intel/AMD based system: build it yourself!! You don't need to get an expensive Lian Li case. You can get some great deals on eBay, which is good to browse even if you don't want to buy anything there.

Thing is, with Windows, hardware compatibility is not a problem, but can be with other OSes.

Another thing, do you want the Full OS (Windows) or some POS Rescue Disc???

Do you want to knnow what is inside your computer or depend on support (a real pain for intermittant problems)??

Assembling a computer is extremely easy (something the OEMs don't want you to know).

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

I offer this.

At work (home office - not here where I am) we have a Gateway Select 1000 PC with an AMD Athlon 1ghz. It runs Windows ME.

IT IS A CRASH PRONE HUNK OF CRAP! It has been into a shop once, and had a home visit from a tech once. It may not be indicative of all Gateway stuff... but I will never buy another!!!

I am here on an old relic. AMD K-5 166mhz, 48m RAM, 8g HD, just enough video to websurf and play F-117, and A-10 from HD or CD. It runs Win95SP2 and is definatly NOT what you are looking for.

But the point is, I found a little shop in Alvin. I talked to the man, asked questions, listened to his recommendations, and have had this thing for at least 3 trouble free years (maybe more - a mind is a terrible thing).

If ya gotta do turnkey, get a Dell. But research this a bit, and I think you could do MUCH better!

Re: What\'s the best desktop computer under $2000?

When you gotta have the best, usually Lian Li takes the cake.

But you can still always head over to Fry's and check out a case there... Usually, Antec is cheap enough and can do. And I believe they come with a PS...