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Thinking about buying the wife a new computer for Valentine's...seriously haven't purchased a new computer in 6-years. What do I want and need in a system these days?

 

I don't have time for gaming or anything crazy but don't want just a basic POS either. What are some decent specs that will hold us over for another 3-5 years?

 

We've had PC's forever, do I want to stick with a PC or go for a Mac? Everything we both do at work involves a PC (very little for me) but I don't have a problem with Mac's.

 

Do I wait until Windows 10 is released or stick with 8.x now? I'm not going to pretend like I know specs but I'm looking at something like a Dell XPS8700? Good, bad, other?

 

Thanks... :thumbup:

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Id pass on windows 10 this early in the game. LOTS of bugs as with any new release. Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for a year which gives them time to release some service packs.

 

Personally, 3-5 is a lot to expect out of a laptop(assuming, who buys desktops anymore?!) these days. Things are moving exponentially in terms of hardware requirements. If you were serious about the 3-5 thing id go with either a macbook or a thinkpad. Macbooks will hold their value better than just about anything out there. Thinkpads are durable as shit and will physically last 3-5 years of hard use. HPs business class of laptops are another good choice. personally, id avoid Asus/Dell like the plague.

 

As for specs, Absolutely no less than 8gb (16gb if you can afford it) memory, and a newer i5 (i7 if you can afford) processor. Dont buy anything with a mechanical drive. Solid state is the way to go. As mentioned, this all comes down to how much you want to spend.

Edited by jeffro
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I'm also going to recommend a mac. If you don't wanna futz around with it and just use it for browsing / photos / movies / mail / media, it's a fine choice. Particularly if you're concerned about obsolescence. Also if visitors / kids / the less technically savvy are going to use it on occasion, you'll save yourself the malware and virus headaches.

 

Oh, and actually - if you don't actually need a full fledged computer (and most users don't, like most drivers don't need a lamborghini) then get a Chromebook. Gave one to somebody for Christmas and it's a great machine, no complaints and I haven't had to provide any tech support :D Has a long battery life and inexpensive at about $350

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#1 Question that can sum it down to a few choices...

 

Budget?

 

I don't really have a budget for a PC. If I don't need to spend $2k+ for a machine that I honestly will never use to even 50%, it won't hurt my feelings. I'd rather not buy a bare bones system that's considered to/or works just "okay" now..

 

Josh, what do you plan on doing with it? What apps do you need to run?

 

10 won't be release until late this year.

 

I honestly do very little with apps currently. The only stuff I use is what's on my phone when I'm on a break. The kids use most of the stuff on the iPads so currently it's not necessary on the computer (but maybe later?).

 

Really I just surf the web and conduct home/business stuff like Office/Word/Excel. The wife uses a few different photoshop style programs (and photo storage) but isn't crazy into it. I planned to get her a Mac for that but she's not that interested she says.

 

Id pass on windows 10 this early in the game. LOTS of bugs as with any new release. Windows 10 will be a free upgrade for a year which gives them time to release some service packs.

 

Personally, 3-5 is a lot to expect out of a laptop(assuming, who buys desktops anymore?!) these days. Things are moving exponentially in terms of hardware requirements. If you were serious about the 3-5 thing id go with either a macbook or a thinkpad. Macbooks will hold their value better than just about anything out there. Thinkpads are durable as shit and will physically last 3-5 years of hard use. HPs business class of laptops are another good choice. personally, id avoid Asus/Dell like the plague.

 

As for specs, Absolutely no less than 8gb (16gb if you can afford it) memory, and a newer i5 (i7 if you can afford) processor. Dont buy anything with a mechanical drive. Solid state is the way to go. As mentioned, this all comes down to how much you want to spend.

 

LOL..I was actually looking at a desktop for our office where I spend my time when the kids are in bed. I have a newer laptop I use for tuning on my bike so wasn't thinking about a laptop. I'm more than willing to get her a Mac notebook or something though...just seems the specs on them are considerably lower than current PC's for about double the price. If it's worth it, I'd do it...just not sold yet!?

 

I'm also going to recommend a mac. If you don't wanna futz around with it and just use it for browsing / photos / movies / mail / media, it's a fine choice. Particularly if you're concerned about obsolescence. Also if visitors / kids / the less technically savvy are going to use it on occasion, you'll save yourself the malware and virus headaches.

 

Oh, and actually - if you don't actually need a full fledged computer (and most users don't, like most drivers don't need a lamborghini) then get a Chromebook. Gave one to somebody for Christmas and it's a great machine, no complaints and I haven't had to provide any tech support :D Has a long battery life and inexpensive at about $350

 

Maybe the Mac would be the better choice for what she wants and getting the kids more involved. They are still young but never to early for them to learn computer and tech..

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I don't really have a budget for a PC. If I don't need to spend $2k+ for a machine that I honestly will never use to even 50%, it won't hurt my feelings. I'd rather not buy a bare bones system that's considered to/or works just "okay" now..

 

 

 

I honestly do very little with apps currently. The only stuff I use is what's on my phone when I'm on a break. The kids use most of the stuff on the iPads so currently it's not necessary on the computer (but maybe later?).

 

Really I just surf the web and conduct home/business stuff like Office/Word/Excel. The wife uses a few different photoshop style programs (and photo storage) but isn't crazy into it. I planned to get her a Mac for that but she's not that interested she says.

 

 

 

LOL..I was actually looking at a desktop for our office where I spend my time when the kids are in bed. I have a newer laptop I use for tuning on my bike so wasn't thinking about a laptop. I'm more than willing to get her a Mac notebook or something though...just seems the specs on them are considerably lower than current PC's for about double the price. If it's worth it, I'd do it...just not sold yet!?

 

 

 

Maybe the Mac would be the better choice for what she wants and getting the kids more involved. They are still young but never to early for them to learn computer and tech..

 

Welp, when it comes to desktops IMO they're all about the same. They all come with bloatware (so do laptops) so be prepared for that. Id still recommend 16gb of RAM and an i7 if you want it to be "up to date" for more than 3 years.. Find a way to upgrade the hard drive as most of them still come with mechanical HDDs.

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Welp, when it comes to desktops IMO they're all about the same. They all come with bloatware (so do laptops) so be prepared for that. Id still recommend 16gb of RAM and an i7 if you want it to be "up to date" for more than 3 years.. Find a way to upgrade the hard drive as most of them still come with mechanical HDDs.

 

What kind of hard drive do I want or at least minimum specs?

 

I'm not against buying the parts and building my own either. Just don't know what I really want or need...

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This deal was posted a couple days ago from Dell, which would be very solid if your not looking into building one yourself

 

Intel Core i7-4790

8GB DDR3

1TB 7200RPM HDD

1GB NVIDIA GeForce GT 720

16X CD/DVD Burner

WiFi N

Bluetooth 4.0

Windows 8.1

 

http://slickdeals.net/?pv=&au=&sdtid=7651794&sdfpid=145158&sdop=1&sdpid=74186042&sdfid=9&lno=1&trd=Dell+XPS+8700+Desktop&u2=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dell.com%2Fus%2Fp%2Fxps-8700%2Fpd%3Foc%3DFDCAGS104S

 

$629.99 with code T1H0LHCN2$T7C$

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for most every day use the i7 is absolutely pointless, even gaming its still pointless. for most people a i5 and 8-16GB ram is more than enough or overkill.

 

I would definitely look at a SSD 120GB minimum but get a decent one.

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Well, been ready and looking...and decided I'm going to build one.. :lol:

 

So far looking at this...

 

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/ka5177-fractal-design-define-r4-mid-tower-pc-case-atx.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/hf3177-msi-990fxa-gd80v2-amd-990fx-amd-motherboard.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/ok2657-samsung-850-pro-512gb-sata-iii-ssd.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/uy3992-intel-core-i7-4820k-lga2011-quad-core-cpu.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/zo5176-f3-1600c9d-16gxm-gskill-ripjaws-x-16gb-ddr3-ram.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/ux1952-wd30ezrx-western-digital-caviar-green-3tb-hdd.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/pd8656-xfx-radeon-r9-270-2gb-gddr5-pci-e-video-card.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/hx5481.html

http://store.yahoo.com/outletpc/qd2974-corsair-cx750m-atx-12v-750w-semi-modular-psu.html

 

Anything I should change, add, upgrade, downgrade...??

 

Thoughts? :thumbup:

 

 

you cannot use that motherboard with the CPU that you chose and do not get a WD green HDD. Spend the money and get atleast a blue drive. the greens turn them self off to save power which ends up making them crash.

 

if it were me, Id get a:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

 

and this motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131989

 

and I would get this GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091

 

btw if you go with a 2011 or 2011-v3 CPU you will need different ram as the 2011 is quad channel and need at least 4 sticks of ram.

 

Deffinitly build it on new egg/ tiger direct and also look at microcenter and go with the best deal. Microcenter offers a builder discount and if you buy ram + cpu + motherboard together they give you a instant savings. dont forget they also price match.

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you cannot use that motherboard with the CPU that you chose and do not get a WD green HDD. Spend the money and get atleast a blue drive. the greens turn them self off to save power which ends up making them crash.

 

if it were me, Id get a:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819116899

or

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819117369

 

and this motherboard

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813131989

 

and I would get this GPU.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16814487091

 

btw if you go with a 2011 or 2011-v3 CPU you will need different ram as the 2011 is quad channel and need at least 4 sticks of ram.

 

Deffinitly build it on new egg/ tiger direct and also look at microcenter and go with the best deal. Microcenter offers a builder discount and if you buy ram + cpu + motherboard together they give you a instant savings. dont forget they also price match.

 

 

http://www.microcenter.com/single_product_results.aspx?sku=302273

+

http://www.microcenter.com/product/433977/Z97-AR_LGA_1150_Intel_ATX_Motherboard

 

Bundle price is $389

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For starters, I'd get a motherboard that works with an Intel processor...

 

Then get a Intel CPU/Mobo combo from microcenter, the price cannot be beat. Finally, I'll sell you a r9 270x for cheaper than that 270.

 

Appreciate it guys!

 

.lol..didn't even realize I linked the AMD board!

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Like BIGGU said, be sure to print out anything from newegg, amazon, etc. when you go into Microcenter to have them price match everything. I just built my brother a $1100 system and they knocked off $120 at the checkout when they priced matched everything.

 

Best of luck to you in your build =D

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You say you don't want to game, then you list a high end socket 2011 i7 and a $170 mid range gaming GPU.

 

If it's just for basic PC usage, ie browsing the interwebs and streaming videos I'd go with a laptop. Something like this. I'm sure you already have a monitor and keyboard at home.

 

If you really want to build a desktop, here's a great mid range PC. You're not paying almost $400 for a CPU/MoBo you won't utilize. Same with the GPU. The R7 260X I threw in will still run recent games at medium settings just fine, and you also get an overclockable AMD Quad core, a 256GB SSD, and a 2TB storage HDD. If you DO want to game, Radeon R9 290s can be readily found for around ~$250 or less. I got mine for $225.

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You say you don't want to game, then you list a high end socket 2011 i7 and a $170 mid range gaming GPU.

 

If it's just for basic PC usage, ie browsing the interwebs and streaming videos I'd go with a laptop. Something like this. I'm sure you already have a monitor and keyboard at home.

 

If you really want to build a desktop, here's a great mid range PC. You're not paying almost $400 for a CPU/MoBo you won't utilize. Same with the GPU. The R7 260X I threw in will still run recent games at medium settings just fine, and you also get an overclockable AMD Quad core, a 256GB SSD, and a 2TB storage HDD. If you DO want to game, Radeon R9 290s can be readily found for around ~$250 or less. I got mine for $225.

 

Honestly, wasn't planning anything high end really. Started searching online and saw what Dell and a few others were charging for BASIC systems and figured I'd just build one better for same or less $$. Asked a few guys at work and thought about playing a couple games with them so I didn't want too basic...I'm just guessing better games and stuff is coming and want to be able to run it down the road. Figured why not spend a little more unless it's really just a waste? Guess I'm frustrated with my old system and figured why not...still doing lots of reading and trying to understand it all.. ;)

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Honestly, wasn't planning anything high end really. Started searching online and saw what Dell and a few others were charging for BASIC systems and figured I'd just build one better for same or less $$. Asked a few guys at work and thought about playing a couple games with them so I didn't want too basic...I'm just guessing better games and stuff is coming and want to be able to run it down the road. Figured why not spend a little more unless it's really just a waste? Guess I'm frustrated with my old system and figured why not...still doing lots of reading and trying to understand it all.. ;)

 

I am an AMD fanboy... no guilt at all. Some people like Intel, but they both have their pros and cons. If you are looking for the best "price per value" system I have always recommended that people go with an AMD CPU based system to get the most "bang for their buck". If you have no problems spending the extra mile and maximum performance is what you want then Intel CPU are the way to go. I have an older system with an FX-4100 CPU, a XFX 6950 GPU, and 8 GB of ram that I built for ~$600 and it ran silky smooth through everything i threw at it (LOL, Minecraft, Anno 2070, Civ 5). The system is currently used to host one of my two Minecraft servers and has a 99.7% up-time and has never crashed on me.

 

What games are you interested in playing? most casual games do not require a super strong GPU or CPU, so make sure you do not overspend on something that is unnecessary. For example, if you were only going to play Minecraft and League of Legends then that system would not need crazy hardware to run but if you want to run something like Battlefield or Shadow of Mordor then you will need a little extra grunt in the system to keep your FPS at ~60.

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