Buying a new PC

[kschachn]

I need to buy a new Windows computer to replace one we have had for eight years. I mostly own Macintosh computers and this is my only Windows unit. I have no idea what to get, our current one is a Dell that has been upgraded a couple of times with a new video card, more memory, a new hard drive, etc. It is used mostly for web browsing and general word processing plus watching Youtube videos and stuff like that. Plus running a few Windows-only programs (not very processor intensive).

Should I just go based on price? Buy another Dell unit? Go to the local Milwaukee PC store? Can you get anything for $500 or so?

I'll probably just keep the current display and mouse and keyboard.

Any tips are welcome and thanks.

 

[bepperb]

I'd just get a cheap dell/hp/lenovo with a huge monitor. People who think brand x is better than brand y, especially in desktops just don't see enough machines to have an informed opinion. They all have winners and losers and most of the things that break (power supplies, optical and hard drives) are just a commodity shared by all of them.

I haven't been into a Milwaukee PC in awhile so I'm not sure what hardware they have. They may have services you'd find handy.

23 inch monitor for the win!

And if you like Apple you'll probably like Windows 7. Don't forget some sort of antivirus.

 

[Rand]

should be able to get something good in the 300$'s

try for I3 processor or I5

or post up a link here and we can rate it for you.

 

[Smokescreen]

Pretty much the lowest model out there will be much better than the one you had. I moved up a year ago from a PIII 1GHz...difference was quite remarkable...and you bet you can get a decent one for under $500.

 

[Eddie]

A basic unit from Dell, ASUS or HP would be my choice. I also recommend a good 22 inch or bigger monitor.

 

[Nick R]

If you don't want to build one yourself
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108702

and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001488

Avoid HP like the plague, and Dell like the chicken pox. Lenovo, or ASUS for the computer, Samsung, or LG for monitors.

 

[Rand]

I dont know if I would ONLY buy lenovo or asus.. but they are definitely top tier.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
If you don't want to build one yourself
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883108702

and
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824001488

Avoid HP like the plague, and Dell like the chicken pox. Lenovo, or ASUS for the computer, Samsung, or LG for monitors.


To expand, for what you are doing the A6 is a perfect chip. It's going to have excellent performance for everyday tasks in terms of CPU power. And it comes with a very powerful (for the price) graphics card built onto the CPU chip. A lot of applications, and even windows these days, like a nice powerful graphics chip. Plus, it doesn't use a lot of power. Intel might have the high end wrapped up pretty well, but AMD still is very competetive in the lower end market.

 

[Rand]

IMO I'd rather have a faster 2 or 4 core chip..

not much uses 6 cores.. and 2.1ghz bulldozer is slower than 2.1 C2D or phenom II

 

[azjake]

About 18 months ago I bought an emachines brand at Walmart for $400 and that included the monitor. It came with 1GB of memory and for $30 more I bought an additional GB. The one thing I would recommend with a Windows PC is get at least 2GB memory. I use my PC for about the same things you do and my inexpensive emachines PC has served me well.

 

[bepperb]

I used to rail on emachines but I've seen a few 5+ years old that are still working. For the same price I'd buy something else but there are worse decisions one can make. IMO it's all luck of the draw... we were an IBM vendor, then HP, now HP and Dell. We have clients who use the whole spectrum. Some models are better than others but brands.... not in my experience. Every brand has made lemons.

I doubt the OP (or most) would notice the difference between 4 cores or 6. 2gb of memory... in 2012... has the be the minimum anyone is selling. I'd go 4gb and for 500 bucks that's probably the default.

 

[Rand]

well the idea I'm promoting is if he using a program that only uses 1-2 cores.. it will be much much faster on a dual core i3 or 3ghz Phenom II

vs the 2.1ghz bulldozer.

bulldozer is slower per clock cycle (on average) because almost nothing is optimized for it yet. add in that 2.1ghz is fairly slow and Its not one I would purchase at a premium price.

I3/I5 and bulldozer do have decent integrated graphics though.


obiviously if you post benchmarks they are using all 6 cores perfectly .. this isnt going to happen most of the time in real life

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Rand
well the idea I'm promoting is if he using a program that only uses 1-2 cores.. it will be much much faster on a dual core i3 or 3ghz Phenom II

vs the 2.1ghz bulldozer.

bulldozer is slower per clock cycle (on average) because almost nothing is optimized for it yet. add in that 2.1ghz is fairly slow and Its not one I would purchase at a premium price.

I3/I5 and bulldozer do have decent integrated graphics though.


obiviously if you post benchmarks they are using all 6 cores perfectly .. this isnt going to happen most of the time in real life


You are confusing two completely different chips. The a6 is a quad core part based on the stars cores (read Athlon 2) and comes with a full on radeon 6670 integrated onto the chip. Its aimed squarely at the everyday pc user segment as well as the budget gamer.

 

[PandaBear]

I was in the same situation and build a replacement for my dad with only $150. What I did was bought components from Micro Center and put together with some old parts transferred from the old Dell. The local Micro Center had a Buy an AMD CPU get a Motherboard deal, and the local craigslist have some good quality ATX case for $20.

Transplant from the Dell:

420W Power supply (already replaced as the original one died)
DVD-RW drivel (PATA, but the new motherboard has a PATA port so it is good)
Hard Drive (big enough, upgrade instead of the original)
Keyboard
Mouse

New from Micro Center for $160:
AMD Phenom II X2 Black Edition, unlocked to X4
MSI motherboard that can unlock cores
8GB of DDR2 RAM

Used from Craigslist for $20:
CoolerMaster ATX case

 

[Volvohead]

Originally Posted By: kschachn
I need to buy a new Windows computer to replace one we have had for eight years. I mostly own Macintosh computers and this is my only Windows unit. I have no idea what to get, our current one is a Dell that has been upgraded a couple of times with a new video card, more memory, a new hard drive, etc. It is used mostly for web browsing and general word processing plus watching Youtube videos and stuff like that. Plus running a few Windows-only programs (not very processor intensive).

Should I just go based on price? Buy another Dell unit? Go to the local Milwaukee PC store? Can you get anything for $500 or so?

I'll probably just keep the current display and mouse and keyboard.

Any tips are welcome and thanks.


Doesn't sound like you use it for that much, but you seem to keep them a LONG time. Eight years is an eternity in H/W years. The last system I kept for a decade was SOTA when I rolled it, and it still ran acceptably at the end . . . with some smart upgrades along the way. Eight years ago, a single core 2-2.5ghz CPU cranking along on a 533mhz bus with 256mb of PC2100 was a "good" system. I think my new phone might give that a good fight.

If you want it usable for a long time, I'd either get something with a lot of updatability, or one with a lot of horsepower out of the box. That, or go real cheap and just replace it every 3-4 years.

I'm not a fan of Dells. I like Lenovo lappies, and I like their Think series desktops (but not for that long). Might want to look at a white box with a full-size MB form based on the latest CPU socket architecture, and a standard PSU form.

Funny thing, but I suspect in another few years most homes will be lucky to have one fixed system, and we'll all be toting (and talking to) our pads.

So maybe you might want to rethink the time factor and go cheap for the short-term.

 

[Brons2]

Originally Posted By: Nick R
Avoid HP like the plague, and Dell like the chicken pox. Lenovo, or ASUS for the computer, Samsung, or LG for monitors.


Really lame advice.

Dell and HP's business class machines are top-notch. We've used HPs for the last 7 years here at work, very happy with them. The consumer level stuff is mostly the same no matter who's name is on the front, it's parts by the lowest bidder for some specification.

----anyways----

I choose by which vendor I like dealing with the best, which here in my city is Fry's. I bought my last laptop there for around $550 and got the 3 year warranty for $129, ended up using it to replace my DVD-RW. They ended up sending off my laptop to a depot to get fixed and gave me a loaner while it was out. I was estatic about that.

Overall, I've been pretty happy, the laptop is now almost 4 years old and it was a closeout when I got it. C2D T5250, 1.5, upgraded to 4GB RAM and Windows 7 x64 Enterprise. Bit slow but it's fine for what I need to do with it. (I have a watercooled desktop for gaming and soforth)

Shopping around extended warranties and comparing is a bit of an eye opener. Best Buy for example charges quite a bit more for extended warranty.

*I would not get an extended warranty on a desktop though as most of the parts are easily replacable by anyone who knows how to turn a screwdriver.

My advice to the OP is, get a $300ish desktop from some business entity who treats you like a valued customer, no matter who that might be.

 

[Rand]

whoops I stand corrected. I never seen the a-series around here.

its all phenom 2's or bulldozers.

my point still stands.. A [email protected] is going to be slower than 2core i3 at almost everything during normal use

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Brons2
Originally Posted By: Nick R
Avoid HP like the plague, and Dell like the chicken pox. Lenovo, or ASUS for the computer, Samsung, or LG for monitors.


Really lame advice.

Dell and HP's business class machines are top-notch. We've used HPs for the last 7 years here at work, very happy with them. The consumer level stuff is mostly the same no matter who's name is on the front, it's parts by the lowest bidder for some specification.

----anyways----

I choose by which vendor I like dealing with the best, which here in my city is Fry's. I bought my last laptop there for around $550 and got the 3 year warranty for $129, ended up using it to replace my DVD-RW. They ended up sending off my laptop to a depot to get fixed and gave me a loaner while it was out. I was estatic about that.

Overall, I've been pretty happy, the laptop is now almost 4 years old and it was a closeout when I got it. C2D T5250, 1.5, upgraded to 4GB RAM and Windows 7 x64 Enterprise. Bit slow but it's fine for what I need to do with it. (I have a watercooled desktop for gaming and soforth)

Shopping around extended warranties and comparing is a bit of an eye opener. Best Buy for example charges quite a bit more for extended warranty.

*I would not get an extended warranty on a desktop though as most of the parts are easily replacable by anyone who knows how to turn a screwdriver.

My advice to the OP is, get a $300ish desktop from some business entity who treats you like a valued customer, no matter who that might be.


Dude, we are talking about a cheap consumer desktop, NOT a commercial grade workstation, server, or business class machine. They are in completely different leagues. That would be like comparing a Briggs & Stratton 675 nikasil bore lawnmower versus an iron sleeved, OHV one for commercial use. They are completey different in terms of quality.

I recommend the protection plans if you are the kind of person that if it breaks, you just want to be able to bring it in, it get's fixed, and you pick it up again. Depending on who you buy it from.

 

[Nick R]

Originally Posted By: Rand
whoops I stand corrected. I never seen the a-series around here.

its all phenom 2's or bulldozers.

my point still stands.. A [email protected] is going to be slower than 2core i3 at almost everything during normal use



Not really, because I can garuntee the use his computer will see will not stress EITHER System to the degree where it would be noticeable. I'd go with the A6 over the i3 simply because of the better graphics chip it comes with. More and more programs, and as I said even windows itself, likes a more powerful graphics chip.


The A-series chips are hugely popular, AMD is selling every single one they make. They are very very good value, especially when you factor in the battery life (in laptops) that you get out of them, and graphical performance.

 

[pzev]

Save money on the CPU and buy a small SSD to use as an OS install drive. This will make a much more pronounced impact on the overall day to day performance of your machine then any CPU upgrade.

This is after all just a day to day machine, and for those uses even bottom tier CPU's are plenty fast.