Forums | MacLife

HP is ok, but expensive. What you are essentially purchasing is the warranty, serviceability and reliability.
You will find people who will express their preferences based upon bias and experiences, but your milage may vary.

Dell is ok, it's reputable, and not a flybynight company. Best bet is to comparison shop and get the most for your money, and from a place that will service the computer afterwards.

If she will expose her computer on the internet I strenuously advocate getting a subscription to a virus checker. Avast is a nice one, so are some of the other more commercially known ones. But keeping it up is important. Check the web sites for Dell and HP to compare computers and prices, as well as warranty and support.

If price is very important to you, then you might be able to find a small local company that will build it for you.

Or are you looking for a laptop? Laptops are more expensive, and if she doesn't need to move it with her, then she might well like putting money into a 20" or larger LCD monitor. ViewSonic has several good ones.

The software expenses you should be aware of, Office, etc. But I would surmise that she has limited needs in software. I wouldn't advise going to Open Office simply because there is a difference in interface from MS Office.

I would investigate local PC shops and see if any of them have prebuild custom computers. She would end up with a better machine plus she would be supporting a local business