Need a New Computer? On a Budget? Confused? Need Help Comparing Brands?

Not sure what type of computers are on the market? Want to compare systems but don't have the time? Confused by what brand you should choose or what specifications are best for you and what you want to accomplish? Check out my research on some of the most popular systems to compare prices and features. Also, many helpful links are listed at the end to help you continue your research.

I currently have a 13 inch Macbook similar to the one listed below. I upgraded mine to one gig of ram however. It has been perfect from the day I got it, and I would HIGHLY recommend Apple computers and all of their other products. I plan on getting their new iMac for Christmas (from my parents). They also offer discounts to college students and teachers through their website. Currently, the Apple store is donating $10 of each special edition red iPod nano purchase to a fund to fight AIDS in Africa.

Definitions:
RAM- random access memory, the memory available to programs
Ghz- gigahertz, One GHz represents 1 billion cycles per second
Dual core- has combined two processors, well-suited for multitasking
Operating system- perform basic tasks, such as recognizing input from the keyboard, sending output to the display screen, and keeping track of files

What's Inside a Hard Drive?
http://www.webopedia.com/DidYouKnow/Hardware_Software/2002/InsideHardDrive.asp

Comparisons

13 inch Macbook- $1,299

White or black
2.0 Ghz Intel Core Duo processor
512 MB DDR2 RAM
60 GB hard drive
Superdrive (DVD player and burner, CD player and burner)
AirPort Extreme card
Built in iSight camera
Bluetooth
Mac OSX Tiger

17 inch Macbook Pro- $2,799

Silver
2.16 Ghz Intel Core Duo processor
1 GB DDR2 RAM
120 GB hard drive
8x double layer Superdrive
AirPort Extreme card
Built in iSight camera
Bluetooth
Backlit keyboard
Mac OSX Tiger

Dell Inspiron E1705- $1,400

Intel® Core(TM) Duo Proc 1.73GHz
Genuine Windows® XP Media Center Edition 2005
1 GB RAM
120 GB hard drive
CD/DVD player and burner

Mac Mini- $799

1.83 Ghz Intel Core Duo processor
512 MB memory
80 GB hard drive
Double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
AirPort Extreme card
Bluetooth
Apple remote

Mac Pro- $2,499

Two 2.66GHz Dual-Core Intel Xeon "Woodcrest" processors
4MB shared L2 cache per processor
1.33GHz dual independent frontside buses
1GB memory (667MHz DDR2)
250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s 7200-rpm hard drive1
16x double-layer SuperDrive (DVD+R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
Mouse and keyboard

Hewlett-Packard Pavilion Media Center Desktop- $843

Intel® Core(TM)2 Duo processor 1.86GHz
2GB PC2-4200 DDR2 SDRAM
DVD±RW/CD-RW drive
250GB Serial ATA hard drive
HP multimedia keyboard and scroll mouse
Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005

According to infofaq.com these were the top 5 selling computers (on the internet) in 2004:
Apple Power Mac G5 Desktop
Sony VAIO PCV-RZ44G Media Center Desktop
HP Pavilion a410n Desktop PC
HP Pavilion A520N Desktop PC
Sony VAIO PCV-RS530G Digital Studio Desktop PC

Here are some helpful links:

eHow- Computer Hardware
http://www.ehow.com/list_1013.html

eHow- How to Choose a Laptop
http://www.ehow.com/how_108495_choose-laptop-notebook.html

HP- Home and Home Office
http://www.shopping.hp.com/webapp/shopping/store_access.do?template_type=Home&aoid=2082&jumpid=re_R602_prodexp/hpcom/split/hhoslp

Dell- Home and Home Office
http://www.dell.com/content/default.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

Gateway- Home and Home Office
http://www.gateway.com/home/index.shtml?cmpid=index*home*tab_consumer*consumer*home/index

Alienware- Home and Home Office
http://www.alienware.com/main_home_office.aspx?cs=2

TigerDirect
http://www.tigerdirect.com/

New Egg
http://www.newegg.com/Home/Computer.asp

Webopedia
http://www.webopedia.com/