Best place to buy a new desktop? No dell, HP **** either.

Unit74

Unit74

Final Approach
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Unit74
Looking for a new rig to harras sulu guys on. Don't want proprietary gear like an HP or Dell. I'm done playing their games

Reccomend me a place to buy some new gear? Newegg is where I have bought in the past, but I'm not a computer geek either. I know how to push the on button and click on Chrome. I can also open a PDF and sigh it too. My boss can verify this level of experience. :yes:

Other than that, I have no clue.
 
If you don't want proprietary you're going to have to build it from parts. Not too hard.

But also not worth the effort for a typical desktop machine.

This stuff is a commodity nowadays unless you have special CPU or Video handling needs.
 
I don't think I'll buy/build another desktop again. Too much size for no real benefit for the very light stuff I do at home (excel, PowerPoint, Internet, banking). Laptops and netbook/tablets are sufficient if there's a docking station to use larger monitors and full size keyboards.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Another vote for build your own, it's fun and a better bang for the buck
 
Unit74 said:
Looking for a new rig to harras sulu guys on. Don't want proprietary gear like an HP or Dell. I'm done playing their games

Reccomend me a place to buy some new gear? Newegg is where I have bought in the past, but I'm not a computer geek either. I know how to push the on button and click on Chrome. I can also open a PDF and sigh it too. My boss can verify this level of experience. :yes:

Other than that, I have no clue.
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The last computer I have bought from a computer company for use at home was a Gateway in 1990. I have built my own ever since then. I am also the IT Manager for the company I work for. We are an all Dell shop with the exception of a couple of IBM RS6000 Unix workstations. I don't know what you mean by proprietary things on Dell.

The support I have gotten from them has always been good. For instance I had a Dell precision workstation that was used for CAD software. Because of the complexity of the software I bought it with a RAID 1 configuration. I had trouble with the RAID controller and had to reload that system several times over a three or four year period. I had extended the warranty on that system and when I complained to them about the issues with the RAID controller suggesting that there was a design flaw and it was unacceptable, they agreed to send me a replacement that was a much newer model and one hell of an upgrade at no cost to us. I have been very happy with them and coninue buying Dell, mostly the Optiplex workstations and Latitude laptops. All of our servers and storage are also Dell.
 
Eh unless you have gaming needs or something thats gonna melt your CPU you can't beat a prebuilt dell/asus/etc. I can build a gaming rig for 100s less than a prebuilt, but when your talking a 3-400 dollar internet browser all the OEMS can beat me on price by the time I buy windows. Just get something with a new i3 and your good for the next 10 years of general office work.
 
Tigerdirect.com and others offer bare bone kits including case, power supply, motherboard, cpu and memory , you add hard drives etc
 
NewEgg.......has it. The kids got $200 refurb laptops for school and they are happy. I'd buy new also....if I needed it. :D
 
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HP pavilion desktop here. It's the quietest computer we have ever owned. No problems so far ....

It's amazing nowadays when you open up a desktop computer and see practically nothing in there. A motherboard, a power pack, and the expansion slots with one hard drive and one CD/DVD drive in there. That's it. Ours has the graphics built into the motherboard.

Build one? A caveman could do it!


geicocavemen2.jpg
 
asechrest said:
Build your own with a few hours of research. It's fun!
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A few hours? LOL. Not if you want one done correctly.

It's taken me hours just to decide if I'm going to pick up a new processor.
 
falconkidding said:
Eh unless you have gaming needs or something thats gonna melt your CPU you can't beat a prebuilt dell/asus/etc. I can build a gaming rig for 100s less than a prebuilt, but when your talking a 3-400 dollar internet browser all the OEMS can beat me on price by the time I buy windows. Just get something with a new i3 and your good for the next 10 years of general office work.
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My secret is that I don't buy Windows. :) It's especially unnecessary if the box is just a glorified web browser.
 
microcenter.com and newegg have good prices. I use mac and pc. Both have their up's and downs. Mainly a mac guy though. haha
 
Without a doubt the ONLY place to buy a clean Windows computer is a 'Signature Edition' from the Microsoft Store (physical or web).

A Signature Edition Windows box is exactly equivalent to an Apple OS-X box in that all the drivers and applications installed are tested and approved by the respective OS teams.

It's interesting how MS creates Signature boxes. They buy a PC from one of the usual suspect manufacturers, open the box, wipe the hard drive, and install a pure version of Windows compete with drivers tested and approved by the MS driver team.

Signature Edition PCs have few of the problems that plague the typical Windows box, and MS gives better support than almost all other PC sellers.
 
Why not just buy anything but grab real non-manufacturer branded install media for the OS and reinstall it as the very first action? Install any needed drivers from the manufacturer's website. Clean and done. Image it for further reloads.
 
denverpilot said:
Why not just buy anything but grab real non-manufacturer branded install media for the OS and reinstall it as the very first action? Install any needed drivers from the manufacturer's website. Clean and done. Image it for further reloads.
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Looked at the signature website. Maybe I'm not seeing it, but very few options and way more cash than I'm looking to spend.

Buying a cheap box and a copy of Windows to "clean" all the bull**** out....wouldn't that do the same thing?
 
Tigerdirect is walking dead now, acquired by Mac/pc mall. All sales are final.

I think micro center has some reasonably priced house brand stuff, which had minimal crapware. Building your own is easy enough, but if something like the power supply or drivers isn't up to snuff, you can be in for days of troubleshooting.
 
We have a couple of local shops that will build a system for you at very competitive rates. You don't get any of the bloatware, you get quality parts, and you get a system designed for what you intend to use it for. And generally, the case they sell will accommodate future upgrades and updates so if your needs change, you can expand the system. I haven't bought a "name brand" computer in decades and I have been very happy with my equipment.

Yes, I could build it myself, and maybe I will next time, but before I retired, that was not a use for my time that I wanted to commit to.
 
asechrest said:
Chronic indecisiveness notwithstanding. :D

I like this site.
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:) Indecisive? Not me..

I only have 9 tabs open on processors at the moment.

denverpilot said:
So the thing can be obsolete four weeks later? LOL...
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I've had my Phenom II x4 965BE for 5 years now. OC'd to 3.8 for now. It's done me really well. I don't buy the newest right off of the shelf. I can't afford it. lol
 
JOhnH said:
We have a couple of local shops that will build a system for you at very competitive rates.
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Hahaha I always forget that option I should tell people about asince one of the 182 co-owners OWNS one! I'm a bad marketer. Haha. Bad me. No donut. Haha.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
:) Indecisive? Not me..

I only have 9 tabs open on processors at the moment.


I've had my Phenom II x4 965BE for 5 years now. OC'd to 3.8 for now. It's done me really well. I don't buy the newest right off of the shelf. I can't afford it. lol
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I looked at my receipts and I have had my AMD 1090T black since December 2010 and it is running strong. All I could do it up the memory speed to max it out and buy the newest (circa 2012) motherboard for it. And buy a new video card. Waste of money I think.

David
 
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flhrci said:
I looked at my receipts and I have had my AMD 1090T black since December 2010 and it is running strong. All I could do it up the memory speed to max it out and buy the newest (circa 2012) motherboard for it. And buy a new video card. Waste of money I think.

David
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My next complete build will be Intel. I'm not trying to blow my budget on getting this one to optimum performance for its hardware.

It looks like I'll still be keeping the 965BE from what I'm reading. The FX-6300 won't be much of a step up. And, I can just get a better cooler and OC the 965 up to about 4.0GHz.

The darn thing is just keeps performing. It seems like it's always a relevant CPU.
 
Cpt_Kirk said:
My next complete build will be Intel. I'm not trying to blow my budget on getting this one to optimum performance for its hardware.

It looks like I'll still be keeping the 965BE from what I'm reading. The FX-6300 won't be much of a step up. And, I can just get a better cooler and OC the 965 up to about 4.0GHz.

The darn thing is just keeps performing. It seems like it's always a relevant CPU.
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Agreed. I have not OC'd mine but I know I could. Anything I do which includes some gaming is fine on this machine. It can even handle recording 4 tv programs while watching the 5th as I use it with WMC to record tv.

I will probably go Intel next time also as I do not see much movement in AMD chips especially motherboard wise.

The motherboard I mentioned from around 2012 can take the highest FX chip, the 9590 I believe but the chipset is getting old. ASUS Crosshair V Formula-Z Socket AM3+ 990FX for $220 at Microcenter. I have 890GX chipset now. I do not see the benefit.

David
 
If you want to be a rebel, go with Linux or Ubuntu operating system on a custom built PC and tell them all to kiss your ***.
 
'Just put together an Intel NUC. $368 for hardware. That includes 8GB RAM and 120GB solid state drive. 5 minutes of assembly. And another 45 minutes to install Windows. Of course, at least with Win7, that's followed by 3-5 hours of 250+ Windows updates!
5"x5"x1". Quiet and fast. Amazon link

Really, you should just by an off-the-shelf unit for less than $400. HP, Dell, ASUS, etc. You get Windows pre-installed and a warranty. If you put things together yourself, there's no support or warranty, and a lot of finger pointing.
 
That NUC looks interesting.

Look is like Intel says they are built for Windows 10. Why would you go with Windows 7?
 
masloki said:
Tigerdirect is walking dead now, acquired by Mac/pc mall. All sales are final.

I think micro center has some reasonably priced house brand stuff, which had minimal crapware. Building your own is easy enough, but if something like the power supply or drivers isn't up to snuff, you can be in for days of troubleshooting.
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Yikes. When did that happen?

I have a TigerDirect Business Accounts Rep, have to ping him.

I was disappointed when they closed their retail stores.
 
Unit74 said:
That NUC looks interesting.
Look is like Intel says they are built for Windows 10. Why would you go with Windows 7?
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Didn't want to buy a retail copy of 10. So used an old copy of Win7, and can do the free upgrade to 10.

The NUCs are very nice, small, quiet, lots of ports. Perfect for everyday use or as a HTPC.
 
Unit74 said:
Can you run all the regular types of programs like Adobe, Office, etc? What's the advantage of these niche type OS? I know nothing...:dunno:
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Honestly, it depends. If you are a non-power user and your PC functions as a glorified web browser, I contend that Linux Mint or similar distribution is ideal. It's easy, fast, rock-solid stable, much less prone to be infected, and free. It has a windows-like desktop and is mostly plug 'n play. It comes pre-installed with Office-like open source software and with access to a large library of programs.

If you know your way around a computer, it's even more fun to tinker with, and it feels great to get away from Microsoft (in my opinion).

But let's be clear, it is NOT windows. If you need to use Windows-only software, or you're into gaming, or you're dead-set on the Windows experience, best not to try it (or to dual boot, at least). You can give Linux Mint a try within Windows by creating a bootable USB drive. Just be aware it'll be slow working from a USB.
 
txflyer said:
If you want to be a rebel, go with Linux or Ubuntu operating system on a custom built PC and tell them all to kiss your ***.
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Nothing particularly rebellious about installing free software.

Unit74 said:
Can you run all the regular types of programs like Adobe, Office, etc? What's the advantage of these niche type OS? I know nothing...:dunno:
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No. Not the real deal in most cases. There's various replacements that work well or poorly depending on exactly what you're trying to accomplish.

The upside is that they're completely free. The downside is, they're not always going to do everything their commercial popular counterparts do the same way.
 
Unit74 said:
Can you run all the regular types of programs like Adobe, Office, etc? What's the advantage of these niche type OS? I know nothing...:dunno:
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If you have to ask this question, a niche OS is not for you. But the answer is mostly NO. Yes, you can run programs that will fulfill most of your needs (browser/email), but WON'T run Quicken, Garmin Maps, or most games or commercially popular software. All of the discount/big-box stores have flirted with selling cheapo boxes with niche OS's installed. As far as I can see, they've all failed. (except for Chrome-books)
 
I've bought my last couple PCs from:

http://www.infotechnow.com/

They have "standard" builds, but they also build up whatever you'd like. Component cost, plus just $50 additional to build it up and install the OS. They still have Windows 7 in stock, so you can have a new Win 7 box.

Good, solid computers with no bloatware.

Ron Wanttaja
 
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