# Desk top computers...recommendations...



## little lady (May 31, 2012)

I would like to take a sledge hammer to my home computer!! I have tried everything I know of(which isn't much) to try to help it but to no avail. As I see it I can do one of two things...A-take it in to try and have whatever is wrong with it possibly fixed(it is almost five years old and has crashed once before) or B. buy a new one. So I am leaning towards buying a new one buy don't want to re mortgage the house for one so I am looking for input from others fro suggestions as well as doing some of my own research, but I find that ones own personal experience usually speaks volumes as far as quality goes. So give me your 2 cents worth...


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## Nathan Luszcz (May 31, 2012)

Dell!!


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## Riverrose28 (May 31, 2012)

I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to throw mine out of the window, or better yet shoot it with my 22 rifle! I have a HP, when I bought it I didn't have much money and thought it was a good buy, wrong. I've always had Gateway and they were great, but expensive. Sorry to rant, but seems like nowadays nothing is made to last. Back in the day a TV would last at least 10 to 15 yrs. Not today, OUr airconditioner in this end of this house is two yrs. old, shot, needs to be replaced, my computer is dieing too, and needs to be replaced only three yrs. old. Then they get you, you buy a new one, and the new programs are not campatable with your printer, so you need a new one of those too. My digatal camera was fine with my old windows, but the software is incompapable with this new windows, so I can upload pictures, but not videos for buyers. Same thing with my cell phone, seems like every time I turn around I need to upgrade for some reason or another. IN this economy every penny counts, and they get you every which way.


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## little lady (May 31, 2012)

Riverrose28 said:


> I don't know about you, but I'm about ready to throw mine out of the window, or better yet shoot it with my 22 rifle! I have a HP, when I bought it I didn't have much money and thought it was a good buy, wrong. I've always had Gateway and they were great, but expensive. Sorry to rant, but seems like nowadays nothing is made to last. Back in the day a TV would last at least 10 to 15 yrs. Not today, OUr airconditioner in this end of this house is two yrs. old, shot, needs to be replaced, my computer is dieing too, and needs to be replaced only three yrs. old. Then they get you, you buy a new one, and the new programs are not campatable with your printer, so you need a new one of those too. My digatal camera was fine with my old windows, but the software is incompapable with this new windows, so I can upload pictures, but not videos for buyers. Same thing with my cell phone, seems like every time I turn around I need to upgrade for some reason or another. IN this economy every penny counts, and they get you every which way.


Amen Sista Riverrose28!!!!!!!


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## chandab (May 31, 2012)

Riverrose28 said:


> Then they get you, you buy a new one, and the new programs are not campatable with your printer, so you need a new one of those too. My digatal camera was fine with my old windows, but the software is incompapable with this new windows, so I can upload pictures, but not videos for buyers.


I got my new computer, and it's not compatible with my digital camera, I can't use the USB cord to download photos, at all. I bought a USB cardreader, and it works great; just take the card out of the camera, plug it into the reader, plug that into the computer and I can load all my pictures onto the computer. Yes, its one more step, but it works great. I don't know if they make readers for all card types, but my camera uses a SD card, and I got the reader for that type of card.


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## circlesinthesand (May 31, 2012)

Hmmm, not sure about brands anymore especially for Desktops. My husband typically builds one from scratch when he wants a new one. Tiger Direct is his friend  I know they sometimes have refurbished computers that you can get for pretty cheap.

Personally, I like laptops, because I'm always moving around so I've been buying the cheapest laptops I can find every 2 years or so. I wait til a tax free school purchase day and snap one up for $200-300. If I need to do any mega processing, like for pictures or video, I can always go use Hubby's desktop.


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## Mona (May 31, 2012)

I recently bought a new Acer All-in-1 Desktop model. It was CHEAP...under $500 and has a 20" monitor, a wireless mouse and wireless keyboard. The monitor has a build in DVD Multi Drive, and Multi-in-1 Media Card Reader. I have owned 3 Acers previous, and never had any troubles, so even though they are a "cheap" system, they have thus far proven to be, to be very dependable...at least for me they have.


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## REO (Jun 1, 2012)

I've had Dell's for 13 years




My first one lasted 10 years.


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## tagalong (Jun 1, 2012)

Worth every penny. _*pets pretty 24" iMac*_


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## Jill (Jun 1, 2012)

I have HP for my office staff and they seem to do well, but we've had various brands over the years. I honestly don't think there is a lot of brand distinction in pc's any more. I'd recommend reading technical performance reviews at CNET to help narrow down the selection. Good luck!


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## Jill (Jun 1, 2012)

PS I personally / professionally have used Toshiba laptops for nearly 15 years and overall have been pleased.


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## little lady (Jun 1, 2012)

Thanks everyone for your input. I am going to go with a desktop and I am currently researching brands however something that isn't necessarily right out there is customer service. What has been your experience if customer service is needed with your brand of computer?


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## tagalong (Jun 1, 2012)

EXCELLENT customer service with Apple.


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## Vertical Limit (Jun 1, 2012)

Everything thing that Tag said.



Nothing better or more problem free than a Mac. No blue screens, no viruses, no problems. Just easy. Apple customer service......excellent.

So see! You are really going to be confused now. Everyone has their favorite and everyone thinks they have the best.


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## Shari (Jun 1, 2012)

Dell HP 8300.... I bought one decked out, so I can work on my digital Art. Based my choice via Consumer Reports.

My other is a Dell M1710XPS but it is old enough now, it can't handle the more detailed Fractals or Digital Art. Hence buying the above computer.

Both also do gaming.

Depends on what you want to do with your computer,and so on.


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## Shari (Jun 1, 2012)

I did pay a little extra for top of the line customer service in the US.. a lot of computer companies are starting to do this.


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## kristen_ttg (Jun 2, 2012)

I build all the computers at our studio. I was a loyal Dell fan for years until my last 2 were overpriced junkers, Dell customer service (I paid for the XPS premium US-based CS) was anything but, and my husband's $3K AlienWare came with 6GB of RAM but only a 32bit OS (



). All the studio machines (we're up to about 24 right now) were custom built by myself and in 3 years we haven't had a single major failure or data loss incident despite hard, brutal use so I must be doing something right. 

First two questions:

1) What do you want it to do?

2) What do you want to spend?

I'm going to surmise that since you're using a 5yo PC you have pretty basic needs. Surf the 'net, email, some word processing, some image editing. No 3D modelling, gaming, so forth.

Basically, your needs are simple. If I were to build a machine for you from scratch ~$500 would produce something you'd probably be really happy with for a while. But if you take $500 to a store you might end up with garbage or a good deal. So be careful and ask the right questions. I saw some good deals this Memorial Day so I know they're outthere but it's kind of shark infested waters.

I've never, ever found reports from places like ConsumerReports or CNET any good whatsoever. Just read the CR review for the computer Shari mentioned. I think this is it?

http://www.consumerr...bk-99044768.htm

Anyway, here's why I find that review of questionable merit::

The 2320 is a 1155 socket CPU. 1155s do NOT support triple channel RAM. that 6GB has to be in a 3 x 2GB stick configuration. It also says the mobo has no spare RAM slot. That makes me go ??? So the motherboard only has 3 RAM slots? What? Does the computer even SEE 6GB of RAM? What exactly is this 1155 socket mobo that only has 3 RAM slots? To add to my confusion it says it has ATI graphics... but the 2320 is 1155. Granted, it's one of the cheapest of the 1155s, but I can't imagine that horrible ($25) GPU is any better than the CPU's integrated graphics.

It strikes me as VERY odd CR doesn't point any of this out. Add into that they don't mention PCI or PCI-e slots (we can presume there is at least 1 PCI-e due to the ATI GPU) and you have me sitting here wondering what exactly is in that case. Because at face value it sounds bizarre. For geeks like me looking at it CR loses a lot of credibility for at least failing to mention some oddball stuff.

My point isn't to rant but just to advise- ask questions! I hear about people getting these production line PCs and they're dying/BSOD/falling over within a year and when I look at these strange configurations they originally ship with... I've got to wonder.





Here are some questions to consider:

1) How many RAM slots? RAM speed? (the speed is just a quiz for them)

2) Who manufactured the motherboard?

3) Who manufactured the harddrive?

4) What is the harddrive's spindle speed? What is it's cache size? (probably will be 5400 or 7200RPM, 4MB, but it's really just a quiz to see if they know their business)

5) How many PCI-e slots? 2.0 or 3.0? (Probably will be 2.x) What speed? (x16 is what you want to hear, x8 indicates inferior board)

6) FSB?

7) PCI slots?

8) PSU wattage? (hint: anything under 500w means limited to NO upgradability!)

9) Is the PSU standard ATX or is it proprietary? (hint: proprietary means NO upgradability!)

10) 12v rails on the PSU?

11) Who manufactured the PSU? (Why should you care? Because if your PSU dies because it's cheap it's going to take everything else with it)

12) discrete GPU or on-board (quiz time)

13) mobo chipset (when dealing with 1155 boards this is important!!!)

14) USB 2.0 or 3.0? Both?

15) SATA 3.0 or 6.0 on the board?

16) 10/100/1000 NIC?

17) PS/2 port? (just quiz time to mess with them)

18) 64 bit OS or 32 bit?


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## susanne (Jun 2, 2012)

.

I love my 17" MacBookPro. Absolutely superb.

.


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## little lady (Jun 2, 2012)

Well I have ruled out a Mac, I can see some positve qualities. I have ruled out a laptop.



kristen_ttg said:


> I build all the computers at our studio. I was a loyal Dell fan for years until my last 2 were overpriced junkers, Dell customer service (I paid for the XPS premium US-based CS) was anything but, and my husband's $3K AlienWare came with 6GB of RAM but only a 32bit OS (
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Kristen: you are great help, although a lot of what you posted is over my head. I know I want something that I can multi task with and that is quick.My current computer I had bulit from scratch based on what I told them I needed to use it for and it has done that although there are a few programs I wish I would have installed. I have no idea who manufactured what part. I do know that it is a dual processor and how many GHz and ram it has but what that really means? The computer before that was a Dell was happy with that until it died.(found out what helped kill that and fixed it now) I am a simple person that just wants to surf the web, email, use it for my pictures-picture editing-download pictures, charge camera, download music, burn disc, watch DVD's but most of all I want something that will work. When I come home of an evening and just want to surf the web and visit with cyber friends and it is slow or not working right it just aggravates me. :arg! So even if I ask these questions they can blow smoke right back at me because I would not know any better, so I would greatly appreciate and additional advise you could provide.



Feel free to PM me or email me.


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## kristen_ttg (Jun 2, 2012)

little lady said:


> My current computer I had bulit from scratch based on what I told them I needed to use it for and it has done that


So just to be clear, the machine you have right now was custom built for you at a mom n' pop type place and is NOT a brand name? This is actually pretty good news because if you're willing to go this route again you might be able to reuse some parts, like the case and possibly the PSU (power supply unit) Also, it means it might be worth investigating repairing your current machine instead of investing in a new one. With needs like yours you can wring a lot of life out of machines, but it does take a little TLC. Brand-name computers generally make this very difficult due to propretiary parts, but if you've got a custom built rig repairs might be practical.

The question is pretty much going to come down to are you interested in trying to wring a little more life out of this machine, or just want to start over? If you want to wring, how much wringing are you willing to do? What programs do you wish you had installed? What do you wish it would do? Do you use things like Hulu/AmazonPrime/Netflix Streaming?


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## little lady (Jun 2, 2012)

Kristen this is a custom built computer from a stand alone business, NOT a brand. Now to try to answer your questions:

The question is pretty much going to come down to are you interested in trying to wring a little more life out of this machine, or just want to start over? Here is part of the problem, if I knew enough about these darn things I wouldn't be in this rut. If I could get a couple(2-3) years out of it for a very reasonable price then I would be interested in working on this one. But with used and touching it up a bit then I have to wonder what else could go wrong so then that is where I lean towards a new computer. If I only could figure out if this one has a true problem or if it is age that also would help in my decision.

What programs do you wish you had installed? Microsoft Home & Business 2010-it would make my home system more compatible with my work computer.

What do you wish it would do? Stop dragging between screens, stop freezing. Run smoothly while multi tasking.

Do you use things like Hulu/AmazonPrime/Netflix Streaming? No. But I would like to watch video's(example video's people post of their horses), I would like it to play my exercise DVD's in regular motion not slow motion.


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## kristen_ttg (Jun 3, 2012)

Give what's on your wishlist I don't think it's practical to try to wring anything else from this one. We could try but my gut is telling me you won't be satisfied with the result. I always have to remind myself that most people REALLY don't like playing Dr Frankenstein over old computers spending hours to go "IT LIVES! MUWAHAHAHAHAHAHA"






So we're kind of circling back to the original question. Time to decide if you want to go with a name brand or another custom built machine.

If you decide you want to go custom you can probably reuse your existing case and CD-DVD drive. You will probably need to buy a new copy of Windows unless yours happens to be 64 bit. The PSU at 5 years old may or may not be worth keeping (my personal recommendation would be to get a new one. PSUs that fail tend to take components with them...). You'll want a new harddrive as the boot drive but you could keep the old one in the case. All other parts are probably not worth keeping. If you have a 10/100/1000 network card no harm in keeping it around as a "just in case" item. You could also attempt building it yourself- if you can insert Tab A into Slot B you can put together a computer.

If you decide you like having it boxed and delivered to you (which I totally get the appeal) just try to make sure you know what you're buying. Like I put in my first post a lot of places leave out what I'd consider fairly relevant information. An alternative to buying from Dell/HP/BestBuy/etc would be to look into ibuypower.com or cyberpowerpc.com. They target the gaming/OC market, so you can't compare what they build apples for apples to a box brand like a Dell (who target the home/casual user market), but going line by line might provide food for thought.

For about $630 if you build based around your existing parts (please don't go buy these.  I didn't check to see if the RAM was on the mobo's QVL and it doesn't look like you can use the PCI-e lane on the mobo unless there's a SandyBridge in the socket... the CPU listed is an IvyBridge. Demo purposes only!):

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16822148840

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16817182032

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16819116505

http://www.newegg.co...N82E16832116986

http://www.newegg.co...st=Combo.968713

- current generation processor. Can step down.for less $

- enough RAM to swim in. Can buy less.

- large drive with good cache and data transfer rate. Can step down for less $

- no freebie software

- USB 3.0, SATA 6 support, Mob is a little sketchy (hey, it's $70! LOL)

- no in-home warranty service but all parts offer 1 year to lifetime warranties. Can choose different brands based on preferences.

- no phone support

- CPU gets hot and probably would benefit from an aftermarket cooler for about $70 or so

- PSU has enough juice to power additional harddrives and a GPU upgrade at a later date. Probably could go with one smaller.

Your $630ish at Dell:

http://configure.us....id=inspiron-660

- inferior processor

- 1/2 as much RAM

- 2TB HD, 7200RPM, unknown data transfer rate, unknown cache size, drives this large are prone to failure.

- You do get Elements

- You do get MacAffee

- You do get "reduced" MS Office suite

- USB 3.0? SATA 6? Probably not.

- 90 days phone support, 1 year warranty service

So in the end it just comes down to what you like best. There are some perks to either side of the argument.


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## ozymandias (Jun 4, 2012)

http://www.apple.com/macpro/

No doubt about it IMO. This is THE best, fastest, mind blowing desktop you'll ever need


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## Shari (Jun 4, 2012)

My Husband normally puts together his "Franken" Boxes as they are called. He is an EMC/EMI, Mills Standard testing engineer and has a very good insight on what works out there and what doesn't.

A lot of problems with some of the computers now a days, is much of the components are made in China... China in turn, some times uses sub standard parts, in place of the parts they are supposed to use. He has seen this first hand. The companies turn a blind eye because they are still making money.

Is why one person's computer can last 5 years or more with no issues and other's are lucky to last a year.

Another problem with computers tanking, is they can get too hot. Heat kills computers.

Also knowing proper up keep, making sure you have a good anti virus program, firewalls and the like can also extend the life of an computer.


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## ohmt (Jun 4, 2012)

Once you go Mac, you never go back!

They take time to get used to and are a little more spendy than others, but they last longer and are just far superior imo. Not having to replace my computer every few years is wonderful.


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## Sonya (Jun 4, 2012)

I didn't read all the replies but will just say I've had my dell for 10 years. I did add memory a few years ago and had to change the fan (pieces of cake). I browse internet, email, photos, download songs....nothing heavy like gaming though. 10 years ago it was top of the line and it wasn't cheap....I thought about buying a new one, but heck it does all I need so no sense...funny if you go out and buy top of the line....in a month they are already outdated. I also have a cheapy HP laptop that I bought about 5 years ago and I havent had any problems with it either. About 3 years ago I bought 2 acer mini laptops from walmart for under $200 and have had good luck with them too....so I currently have 3 brands and really can't say anything negative about any of them, maybe I've just been very lucky...knocking on wood.


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## little lady (Jun 10, 2012)

Kristen I have a few questions about the questions you listed, please PM me or email me at [email protected]. Thanks!


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## Jill (Jun 10, 2012)

I do think my next computer will be a netbook, vs. a laptop. I'm tired of lugging it from home to office, especially now that I have so many different office locations. I don't need much anymore in terms of a computer, and I'm going to go for smaller / lighter...


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## vvf (Jun 19, 2012)

ohmt said:


> Once you go Mac, you never go back!
> 
> They take time to get used to and are a little more spendy than others, but they last longer and are just far superior imo. Not having to replace my computer every few years is wonderful.



totally agree


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