In the market for a new desktop PC

[Bootz2004]

I haven't bought a desktop in years. Just a laptop guy. But the family needs a good desktop. What brands, features etc do you guys suggest? I'm not tech savvy at all. Trying not to spend a ton either. $2,500 is as high as I'll go. Is there anything out there for less than that that will last?

[Buc2]

I haven't bought a desktop in years. Just a laptop guy. But the family needs a good desktop. What brands, features etc do you guys suggest? I'm not tech savvy at all. Trying not to spend a ton either. $2,500 is as high as I'll go. Is there anything out there for less than that that will last?

$2,500!?! Wooooo wee! $2,500 is a lot to put in a desktop. You can definitely get some fine stuff with that. I won't give you any recommendations though. I'm not that knowledgeable about what's out there. I do know a lot will depend on what you want to use it for. Gaming, videos streaming, etc.

[Nano]

I reccomend this one

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2475051,00.asp

[Bootz2004]

I haven't bought a desktop in years. Just a laptop guy. But the family needs a good desktop. What brands, features etc do you guys suggest? I'm not tech savvy at all. Trying not to spend a ton either. $2,500 is as high as I'll go. Is there anything out there for less than that that will last?

$2,500!?! Wooooo wee! $2,500 is a lot to put in a desktop. You can definitely get some fine stuff with that. I won't give you any recommendations though. I'm not that knowledgeable about what's out there. I do know a lot will depend on what you want to use it for. Gaming, videos streaming, etc.

That's a lot? I'm not exactly up to date on market value. I know my last laptop cost me about 1200 so I figured with a desktop, monitor, speakers, keyboard etc it'll be double.

Need a lot of space for documents, records, homework, downloads, music, movies etc. No one is a gamer in my family other than PS4 or kids games.

[Buc2]

$2,500!?! Wooooo wee! $2,500 is a lot to put in a desktop. You can definitely get some fine stuff with that. I won't give you any recommendations though. I'm not that knowledgeable about what's out there. I do know a lot will depend on what you want to use it for. Gaming, videos streaming, etc.

That's a lot? I'm not exactly up to date on market value. I know my last laptop cost me about 1200 so I figured with a desktop, monitor, speakers, keyboard etc it'll be double.

Need a lot of space for documents, records, homework, downloads, music, movies etc. No one is a gamer in my family other than PS4 or kids games.

When I decide I want a new computer (or any type of electronics for that matter) I will go to Best Buy online and just start looking at what all they have to offer. I'll read the descriptions to get an idea of what types of users a specific computer is more geared towards. Once I see a few I like, I'll go read up some independent reviews from websites like Cnet, PC Magazine, PC World, etc. If you're like me, you might even enjoy the exercise of doing your own research.

[Nano]

Desktops don't cost as much as they used to. Unless you're getting an ultra gaming PC, you won't be paying more then $700 for the desktop, and the moniter won't be that expensive either. Doesn't sound like you need a top of the line PC though, hell you'd probably do well with a 1TB box from Dell or HP. You won't be gaming on them, but it will do everything else you need.

Like Buc2 said, go to Best Buy/Newegg/ect find ones that you'd like, then go to a reviewer and see how they match.

[Bootz2004]

Where are these $700 computers? I saw some monitors in best buy about a month or so ago for $700-800 alone. I guess because they came with built-in speakers but seems to me what I saw was more expensive in store

[Nano]

You were looking at the 4K moniters probably. If you'd rather go LCD/LED/ect then you won't pay more then 350 depending on the size.

[Bootz2004]

I'll do some searching. Thanks dudes

[NYBF]

Where are these $700 computers? I saw some monitors in best buy about a month or so ago for $700-800 alone. I guess because they came with built-in speakers but seems to me what I saw was more expensive in store

Right. You *could* drop $800 on a monitor. But that's way beyond what the average user needs. Or you could go to newegg and get a perfectly good 20+" monitor for ~$150.

[Buc2]

Yeah... If you WANT to spend $2500, it can easily be done. I have an HP desktop with a 20" monitor, about $900 all in.

[Moozician]

I haven't bought a desktop in years. Just a laptop guy. But the family needs a good desktop. What brands, features etc do you guys suggest? I'm not tech savvy at all. Trying not to spend a ton either. $2,500 is as high as I'll go. Is there anything out there for less than that that will last?

Whatever you get, buy something with enough space to upgrade, like a 2nd hard disk, sound card, graphics card, whatever.

HP Pavillion series will generally give you this. I think the going hard disk is 1 TB.
Get a LG LED/LCD HD TV. I have one computer hooked up to a 32", and the bedroom PC has a 42" LG.

[Bootz2004]

Saturday we got an iMac. I think it's cool how they make them all inclusive now so you don't have to buy separate pieces. Saves a ton of money. Never been much for Apple but this is a beautiful machine and does everything. And the best part is I didn't spend $2500!

[A Man's Part]

Saturday we got an iMac. I think it's cool how they make them all inclusive now so you don't have to buy separate pieces. Saves a ton of money. Never been much for Apple but this is a beautiful machine and does everything. And the best part is I didn't spend $2500!

Oh man. You could've gotten a much better PC. Oh well, given the fact that you thought desktops cost $2500 it is probably for the best.

[Nano]

imacs could cost up $2500 if you got the 5K one with Retina display.


I hope you didn't overspend on that tho...

[Bootz2004]

imacs could cost up $2500 if you got the 5K one with Retina display.


I hope you didn't overspend on that tho...

Dude in the store tried to sell me the 27in 5K one for $2200 before taxes....Told him no thanks. None of my kids wear glasses neither do me or my fiancé and we'd like to keep it that way. 27in screen is massive to sit so close to.

[mdb1958]

I'm looking too! Are there advantages to having an Asus x99 motherboard if your not a gamer? I do appreciate graphics though, as well as upgrades and the ability to change and or improve a computer.

[Heisenberg]

A pc woulda been a lot cheaper than a mac

[A Man's Part]

I'm looking too! Are there advantages to having an Asus x99 motherboard if your not a gamer? I do appreciate graphics though, as well as upgrades and the ability to change and or improve a computer.

Lol.. No.. And I would say go with AMD if you're just a general user.. You'll get more bang for your buck.

[The Outsider]

You should go with AMD regardless. They've more or less fixed their gpu driver issues, their products bo longer run considerably hotter than Intel and Nvidia's the gap between the companies in performace has tightened a lot and AMD is cheaper.

[mdb1958]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because of the way the new operating systems work - the computer makers have increased the memory on the pc's so that outside forces can fill it up and the average joe cant do a damn thing about it.

Within hours of me and my new HP laptop with a terrabyte (now the grandaughters) it did a forced download update (over a gig), it dont give you a choice - which I didnt know. I shut it down in the middle of it and the damn thing wouldnt even boot up after that.

[A Man's Part]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but because of the way the new operating systems work - the computer makers have increased the memory on the pc's so that outside forces can fill it up and the average joe cant do a damn thing about it.

Within hours of me and my new HP laptop with a terrabyte (now the grandaughters) it did a forced download update (over a gig), it dont give you a choice - which I didnt know. I shut it down in the middle of it and the damn thing wouldnt even boot up after that.

First things first.. You should NEVER force reboot your system during an operating system upgrade. You can seriously **** yourself as it is touching important operating files and if it is abruptly rebooted it can't always "remember" where it is to pick up where it left off...

I'm not saying that is what happened, because sometimes you can do that and be fine. It should be avoided.

I assume you are referencing Windows 10 automatically installing the updates. Windows 10 home will do this. This is because Windows 10 is aimed at the layman, and would like to protect you by forcing system updates on you.. Most of which which are needed to fix security vulnerabilities.

A more technical user would want to discerningly check and research updates and choose whether to apply them you can still do this in Windows 10 Pro.

[BradentonBrad]

I've always been a Dell guy. They are like the Honda's of the PC world. Not top of the line and not luxurious, but if you take care of them, they will last forever. I'm not sure if you have your monitor/printer from an old PC, but if this is going to be a family PC, you probably won't drop more than $1000 even if you have to buy those items. I do highly recommend at least a 1TB hard drive, at least 4GB of RAM, and if your kids are going to be using it, get the extended warranty. You never know when an accident may occur.

[The Outsider]

I've always been a Dell guy. They are like the Honda's of the PC world. Not top of the line and not luxurious, but if you take care of them, they will last forever. I'm not sure if you have your monitor/printer from an old PC, but if this is going to be a family PC, you probably won't drop more than $1000 even if you have to buy those items. I do highly recommend at least a 1TB hard drive, at least 4GB of RAM, and if your kids are going to be using it, get the extended warranty. You never know when an accident may occur.

Jesus, 1000 dollars for a family computer? You should be spending 800 tops and that's with a monitor included.

Example:

Motherboard(on board graphics): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6813132056 $119.99
CPU: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6819113379 $69.99
RAM 8GB(2x4GB): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820156035 $36.99
HDD 1TB: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 4UM30R6247 $55.00
PSU 550w: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6817371055 $75.00
BluRay Drive 16x: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6827136269 $58.99
Case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... gnorebbr=1 $39.99
Keyboard/Mouse (wireless): http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6823126188 $30.99
Monitor 21.5": http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6824236432 $129.99
Windows 10: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... -_-Product $119.99


Initial total is: $736.92

PSU has a 20 dollar mail in rebate so the actual total is $716.92.

I put that together assuming the buyer would want to do some gaming/had kids who played some games/media streaming/etc. It's significantly nicer than something I would build for someone who only did some web browsing, picture uploading/downloading, office crap.

Yeah, you'd have to put it together yourself but it's no more complicated than putting together anything that requires assembly. It doesn't take long either.

The conception that one must spend an insane amount of money for a quality desktop computer is erroneous.



For example, Bootz stated $2500 as what he was willing to pay for a family-oriented desktop computer. I'm an avid PC gamer, my current rig I built for about $2400 in 2012. It sports the following:

AMD 8-core CPU @ 4.0 ghz
16 GB RAM DDR3 2400
1 500 GB SSD
2 1 TB HDD
1000W PSU
AMD R290 MSI Lightning 8 GB GPU
$180 mechanical keyboard
$120 gaming mouse

There is literally no reason any average user would need even a fraction of the power of my machine.

[mdb1958]

While in windows 10 is there a way to check out everything you have in your computer, a compiled list including motherboard.

[NYBF]

Yes.

[terrytate]

I've always been a Dell guy. They are like the Honda's of the PC world. Not top of the line and not luxurious, but if you take care of them, they will last forever. I'm not sure if you have your monitor/printer from an old PC, but if this is going to be a family PC, you probably won't drop more than $1000 even if you have to buy those items. I do highly recommend at least a 1TB hard drive, at least 4GB of RAM, and if your kids are going to be using it, get the extended warranty. You never know when an accident may occur.

I don't know if it's still true, but Dell's were always good buys for inexperienced users because they had free tech support. When you build your own, you are committed to solving your own problems or dragooning over a buddy that knows what he/she is doing.

[The Outsider]

Dells are overpriced garbage and have been for over a decade.

[Rocker]

Dells are overpriced garbage and have been for over a decade.

^^^

[mdb1958]

Anybody lovin Microsoft edge, this is insane.