Getting a Windoze Machine to Run M$ Office, Advise Please

[chanoc]

I am into Web design, but the entry level market in Alaska is null, and the professional market is scant. Although there are hundreds of administrative assistant, office clerk, desktop support, etc. positions which are 100% Winblows.

So, I am in the job market and am thinking of going for the the MOS certificate and an AAS in CIOS (Office Support and Microsoft Office) or an AA in accounting. The job market here is essentially Wintel, with very few jobs at the newspaper using Macs.

For the education requirements and certification I am thinking of getting a machine (Intel, AMD, etc) that would be beneficial for using Office, .Net, Project and Visio, hell no would I connect it to the Internet. :eek:

I have used Virtual PC before and it's slow and crashes a lot more than Winblows ME. So what would be a good dedicated machine for running M$ apps, something cheap?

[dotnina]

I hope I don't get flamed for this ;), but ... what about Dell?

You can get a PC from them for $400, perhaps even better when they have coupon deals going on. Granted, it won't be some haX0r gaming machine, but I don't see any reason why something like a Celeron processor couldn't handle MS Office.

http://www1.us.dell.com/content/products/features.aspx/featured_dotw_dimen?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs

You could also keep an eye out for the upcoming Christmas shopping season, when retailers are sure to be offering some good deals.

[Westside guy]

I hope I don't get flamed for this ;), but ... what about Dell?

Based on my past experiences with Dell computers, both personally and through work: If you do get a Dell, be sure to pay for the extended support contract. It's very likely you'll need it.

[jaw04005]

I've purchased two Dells for my family's small business... and we've never had a problem. All in all, not Apple Macintoshs, but a solid machine. Their technical support is overseas though.

[PlaceofDis]

you can get a cheap HP or Compaq these days too, i think they are better machines than dells too, but thats my opinion, i would check out all three sites, compare prices ect and see what works the best for you

[bubbamac]

Why not just buy MS Office for your Mac?

[Chip NoVaMac]

Why not just buy MS Office for your Mac?

Take it from some one that does Mac and PC, there are enough differences to make life hell. File wise one can be happy, but interface wise it is hard.

[chanoc]

Why not just buy MS Office for your Mac?

I tried using Office X (not 2004) for Excel, Word, and PowerPoint classes at University of Alaska that uses Office XP. There are features on the XP version not on the Mac version which brought my grade down because I did not have those features. Both versions of Word are similiar, but there are some differences in Excel and PowerPoint that I did not expect. Oh, and I have a class which combines Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access - hard to do that class on a Mac without Virtual PC. I would only recommend using Virtual PC on a high horse-power Mac - like a G5, so crash-prone and slow.

[Converted2Truth]

I would build your own computer... or go get one from a local PC shop. Why? Because it's cheaper, it's fun, and you know exactly what you get. My friend bought a dell and the PSU went out... Dell had the damn thing crimp-wellded(sp) onto the case... no way to replace it. He got a new case,... but mobo is for dell case only and the new PSU had standard connections while the dell mobo had 'dell only' connections. Also, the same really goes for CPU upgrades. My stepmom bought a dell, and I needed a chip-pulller to get the damn cpu off the mobo. Wasn't designed to be upgraded... All in all, the only ease in upgrading a dell is when it comes to hard drives/CD rom drives/ram/etc. Go any deeper... mobo upgrade/cpu upgrade/psu upgrade/even some internal fans... and you're gonna have issues. While i think you could care less about having an upgradeable PC (when you're just running office), I still can never recommend to anyone to get a dell.

Everywhere i go here in Wyoming, I am haunted by the constant presence of Dell. Every dept at this university has dells (except for some chemistry/computerscience professors), the computer labs i work in use dells, the libraries have dells, the resturaunts have dells, the hotels have dells, my relatives have dells, even the church i go to uses a dell. I've had it! Their everywhere! What ever happened to variety and people exersizing their right to choose? Everywhere around me... when someone needs a computer, they drone out into the twilight zone, returning to reality later saying nothing but "DELL... DELL". It's almost like... scary... i dunno...

[chanoc]

Everywhere i go here in Wyoming, I am haunted by the constant presence of Dell. Every dept at this university has dells (except for some chemistry/computerscience professors), the computer labs i work in use dells, the libraries have dells, the resturaunts have dells, the hotels have dells, my relatives have dells, even the church i go to uses a dell. I've had it! Their everywhere! What ever happened to variety and people exersizing their right to choose? Everywhere around me... when someone needs a computer, they drone out into the twilight zone, returning to reality later saying nothing but "DELL... DELL". It's almost like... scary... i dunno...

Same here in Alaska, everywhere in this university are Dells, Dells, Dells. I have even heard this, "So are you getting a PC or a Dell?" :rolleyes:

Anyways, I am winning this auction on eBay and getting a P3 866MHz with a 4X AGP 32MB video card, 256 SDRAM, Sound Blaster Live card, 40GB hard drive,52X CD-RW, and priced currently at 150.00. It's a Dell too, but the most cheapest and decent deal on eBay.

I seriously do not want to put a lot of money in this machine; saving that money for a PowerBook G5! :D