Computer recommendations

[jwm]

I am looking at buying myself a new desktop computer and a couple of 24 inch screens.

Can anyone recommend a good system to consider or alternatively systems to stay well away from!

Thanks in advance

 

[Darren]

Depending on your budget i would consider bulding one yourself.

 

[rob]

Previously I have built PC's from bits etc, this time round to save hassle I just went with dell option which worked out quite cheap for a quad core XPS thingy.

 

[aZooZa]

I would go down the Mac route if your budget can stretch to it. The high-end Mac desktops can run Windows either natively (from bootstrap) or in a VM (like Mac Virtual Machines and Virtual PC. Automation and Virtualization Software for Desktops, Servers, Hosting, SaaS - Parallels) faster than many Win dedicated PCs. And they don't crash so much either.

 

[Jeewhizz]

I've got a Mac Pro, and it's amazing. Run windows via parallels too, with no issues, for the odd occassion that I need to

 

[monaghan]

We used to build systems for customers, however, these days unless you are going for a really unique build it's just as cheap to buy a Dell and there's no messing about with CPU fans and the like, open the box, plug it in answer a few questions and you're ready to go.

 

[accelerator]

For the ultimate in convenience I use a laptop, then connect a USB keyboard and external monitors with a Matrox TripleHead2Go box. Then you can easily take your computer with you when needed.

Dell are very hard to beat on value.

If you want something made to spec I can recommend kustompcs.co.uk.

Go for Apple if you can afford it and would like a really sweet computing experience.

Rgds

 

[stevebrowne]

My most recent PC is an iMac 24" with Parallels on it. I run Visual Studio for web development under Windows XP on it. I also run Vista and Win 2k8 on it as well. Apart from some keyboard issues (I reccomend using a PC keyboard and mouse!) the Mac is great.

Not sure about next time whether to go for another iMac or a bleeding edge PC.

 

[jwm]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions, looking though the responses it looks like its a not so straightforward choice between a Dell and an Apple!