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Farewell Computer

After nearly six and a half years my desktop computer has finally bitten the dust. It no longer boots. It no longer sends a signal to the video card. It no longer beeps. It does spin all the fans but that’s about all. It was working just fine on Sunday evening until I got the bright idea to attach an extra hard drive. Normally, that is not a big deal. For some unknown reason my motherboard didn’t like that very much. A very boring death. I would have at least enjoyed a puff of smoke.

The question is of course, what do I do next. The answer is complicated.

For starters, let’s talk about what I use my computer to do. I use it to surf the internet 3-6 hours per week. I occasionally edit photographs. Sometimes I play some very basic computer games. I write emails. I listen to music and burn CD’s. I don’t really use it a ton to be honest but to not have a normal, functional personal computer would not be acceptable. For the record, I do have a work laptop but I can’t really use that to download music (that I already own of course) or to edit photos or to store things long term. I also have an old computer in the basement that I use solely for playing mp3′s. It is too old and slow to do much more than that.

I think it is fair to say that I do need to replace the computer. For the sake of seeing a big picture let’s assume I can get all of my relevant data stored on external storage so that I transfer what is needed but essentially start fresh. So, what are my options?

1) Custom system – good specs but not a dream system – motherboard, CPU, memory, case, DVD drive = ~$500

2) Custom system – top of the line – mostly the same parts, a better CPU plus a new video card = ~$800

3) iMac – base system = $1200

4) MacBook – base system = $1000

5) A friend’s old extra computer – nearly the same specs as my dead computer = $50

6) Refurbished HP desktop – modern hardware but no where near top-of-the-line = ~$350

I could leave it at that, but that really wouldn’t paint the picture fairly. You might think this is a conflict of wants versus needs and the $50 computer would do the trick. While that is a great short-term solution, how will it go in the long-term? The other options are better long-term investments and will ensure that I have a system that can aptly handle any new technologies. The Macs can be setup to dual-boot which means I not only would have the features of the Mac but also a Windows based system. The decision is pretty tough.

Any recommendations?