- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Yeah, dell is terrible, and compaq - exactly, they are overpriced street hookers. Avoid sony, they're overpriced, I had one of their Vaio's, and man was it terrible. Only one fan in the whole case!!! Gateway may be the most reliable company, but they are way overpriced - by far, out of your range. No major manufacturer of PC's will allow you under 1800 for a halfway decent machine.
If you can get educated on the issue, you can build your own. I found that I can get a nearly top-of-the-line comp for about 1600 if I build it myself.
www.tomshardware.com (this site has good guides to do-it-yourself stuff)
www.tigerdirect.com (they have a guide to buying/installing hardware - just don't order stuff from them :)
Otherwise, HP is okay. I really don't trust any PC manufacturer. There are some smaller companies at various websites that allow you to customize a pc from scratch, with a list of options, for very cheap, and their warranty and service is as good as any major company. Their customizable options are more advanced, such as choosing your motherboard and such, and their selection of customizeable parts is much better. Also, they have some pretty awesome cases, and they will install everything for you, including the OS.
If you want a cheap PC, HP is good. Otherwise, if you have the time to learn about it, building your own can be fun and rewarding - you'll know what goes into your computer.