Hey guys I'm buying a new computer soon but not really sure on what to get Ive been thinking about a mac but their new OS isnt coming out until spring and I dont really wanna wait and i dont really want to buy one now and then spend more money on buying the new OS so im probley just going to be sticking with a PC for now unless people have some good reasons if that would be a big mistake im really just looking for something that i can watch TV on and play some decent games everynow and then do my school work so nothing really over a grand if you guys could help me out that would be great.

Get a PC without an OS and then install Ubuntu. You'll have most of the software you'll need without the DRM of Vista, or the extra fees associated with Office.

You could even get a image now, and use either vmplayer (I think) or run it straight from cd (on boot, with no install) to get a feel for it.

Yes I'm an MS hater (because time and again, the company has proven they are willing to screw the customer in the name of profit. Hell they come right out and lie to everyone so they don't have to play nice with other people).

If your thinking mac. Just wait for it. Spring isn't that far away, and it lets your money gain interest in the bank.

I like the atmosphere in this forum. One of the things I like is the "***k M$, Love Linux" stuff.
You can't expect to find windows-friendly users in a Linux internet tablet forum...and it's good like that Dualbooting with windows(for games and stuff?) and (K/X)Ubuntu/Suse&Co would be fine to dive into the linux world. Perhaps Gentoo, because the compiling stuff makes you less wizard-dummy and you can learn a lot. If you are not going to play games, you can run windows in a VM. Works great with new hardware and a lot of ram. The best thing is: "Huh, you freaking windows machine, got a virus again??? Don't want to do what I tell you to do??? I am going to warn you ONE time! What? You don't listen? F*** you!" -> Klick on "Stop" and 1 sek later continue your work with Linux

I wasn't saying F windows, I was just pointing out why I don't trust it. I could have gone on, but didn't. Mostly because I was late for work.

http://enterprise.linux.com/article....50240&from=rss

Personally try to avoid M$ products as much as possible. They have clearly stifled the innovation of the personal computer.

So do I. For the same reason.

I run multiple systems, and I use all three operating systems on a daily basis.

My 'Daily Driver' desktop runs Windows XP, because I'm a gamer, and lets face it, for now that's concentrated on Windows. I also do a lot of programming and 3D Moddelling on Windows.

My next system is my 'Media' MacPro. I do most of my audio, video, and 3D design on this system. I just like the way it acts.

MY final system is my Linux desktop, which I use primarily for coding & office related activities. This is the one I usually hit first when I come home. I've also got 3 Linux servers lying around that run things or are used for testing.

My laptop runs Ubuntu, although I'm looking at Macbook in the near future, if I don't just replace it with the 770/n800.

I don't dual-boot any of my systems because it annoys the hell out of me, and each of the major systems has 4 monitors, with the windows box using a KVM to supply them to the servers. (I really, REALLY need to switch to LCD... x.x) Most of these systems are top of the line, both in proccessing power & graphical ability. (Hey, driving 4 monitors at 1600 x 1200 is -hard-.)

Like the majority of people, I say the same thing.
It all depends on what your needs are, how you use your computer ie: Business, Home, and an assortment of other variables.

First of all you need to weigh up what it is you want out of a computer.

. Entertainment - so you would be looking for a computer that has high quality sound and video capabilities pref. PCI sound and graphics card not onboard, whether you want to spend the extra money and have a Home Theatre PC which allows you to record from the TV to your HDD.

OR

. Business - Fast processor speed pref. dual or quadcore which basically means the processor can multitask between more than one application with out it slowing down or crashing which happens sometimes when programs such as Adobe Photoshop etc use cashing to create temp files.

You will find most people either tend to buy the high end PC out of lack of knowledge and get suckered in to the sellers cheap marketing tricks or just because they want to most out of their money, even though they are spending something like £600+ for a computer package.
If you were a first time buyer I would advice you to go ahead and choose a computer that most suites you from a computer store and then I would advice you to get yourself familiar with the computer. How to connect/disconnect components from the motherboard, what each component does and how to set the up also the most important know how to install and format your operating systems harddrive.

After you know the basic steps to setting up the computer, you then can start building your own. This is the best option for everyone as you will find out 75% of the time when you buy all the components seperately off the internet from websites like Dabs or Microdirect it will come out cheaper than a retail priced package.

Operating Systems

Using an OS at the end of the day is personal choice, some people will go for MacOSX, Linux, XP or Vista but one way or another you will bound to do all the same things a normal pc should, ie: opening programs, writing documents, running games, listening to music..

At the moment I have two computers, Acer Aspire 5101 laptop which is running Vista which is a more "entertainment" based computer and my desktop which is more "business" orientated, which I dualboot XP Pro SP2 and Linux SUSE-XGL on. I'm happy with Vista at the moment, people might say some things on Vista get annoying ie the added security which has a popup alert which makes you accept every major action stated on the machine, but I never use that feature as I am not really a novice user so I have no need to be protected against threats, as I make sure I never get any.

The one thing I advice you is never listen to just one person do as much research as possible before making a choice. You will find most people who answer this question are bias so it is hard to really gain any advice from people who are just explaining it from their point of view but not the broader aspect of it.

Monitor
With more and more websites being designed for widescreen high res displays and games being more and more detailed you should switch to LCD

CRT monitors (generic boxtype) are OK if you are just using your computer for a few hours or so but if you are doing design work, office work and on the computer for more than 1-3 hours an LCD is the way to go especially if you intend to use it for home theatre system.

I have just recently bough a 19" Viewsonic VG1390 widscreen LCD monitor which I use as dual monitor between my laptop, widescreen monitors are very good if you tend to open up alot of windows or programs as you get slightly more on the screen.

Get the Ubuntu install disk. Install it on your current computer and it will feel like a new machine. Cost you nothing, but your machine will run faster and challenge your need to buy a new one.