Wednesday, June 16, 2010

C-Nut Family PC Upgrades



5.75 years ago I purchased my last new PC - a Dell Optiplex with two 19 inch flat panel monitors and *gold* customer support. I didn't even go in my pocket for MS-Office and the bill for this, at the time, top-of-the-line system came to $3,000.

Its replacement, which I just ordered a minute ago, only cost $1,300. And of course it should be a whole lot more advanced, have a whole lot more memory, etc. I felt like I was splurging going for the cordless keyboard, the built-in webcam, an external hard drive, and MS-Office (my wife insisted on this $119 add-on).

I also decided to get my son (and daughter) their own PC - for $635 or whatever. There's literally so much educational stuff online for them that I could, and plan on(!) leaving them at the PC all day long. The web is rapidly even making people like me, a hands-on homeschooling parent, obsolete.

BTW, the 21 inch widescreen HD monitor pictured above retails at Dell now for $139.

I recall that my two old 19 inch monitors, all by themselves, cost me a total of $700 back in September of 2004. And that was only because I bought two and got a *deal*. One by itself was nominally listed at near $500.

The bill for both new computers came to $2,205.05. Let's see how they perform!

Never in my wildest dreams did I think the computer I'm still typing on would last so long - not given the sheer amount of use and abuse I got out of it.

5 comments:

Paul Mitchell said...

It is funny to look back on older computers. My first was a spanking new Gateway with Windows 95 and 133mHz processor with 16mBs of RAM. Five grand.

My latest is a laptop with a 2.5 gHz processor, 8 gBs RAM and 500 gB drive. Two grand.

I buy terabytes of storage for 250 bucks now.

CaptiousNut said...

PM,

Wow. $5,000 for a computer back in the day?

But how in the world do you, as a blogger and all-day-long web surfer, subsist on a laptop?

Get a desktop with multiple monitors, an L-desk, and an expensive ergonomic chair!

I particularly loathe laptops...

Paul Mitchell said...

C-Nut, and the monitor that came with that Gateway was a 17 incher, too! It was prime.

I have gotten hooked on the laptop since I got my first one and I have just gotten used to pan and zoom. Plus I can use it on the patio or the couch.

I loathe desks.

Anonymous said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anIuuitJne4&feature=related

Check this guy out. He is actually a funny mass hole...
Kfell

CaptiousNut said...

Yo Kfell!

Yeah someone sent me a link to him before.

I just reported him to YouTube for *objectionable content*!