Buying a new PC, need suggestions...

[byteninja2]

Do you realize how many prebuilts I have had? 5, 3 broke in 2 years. and 1 lasted 4, one lasted 3. Never seen any custom builts act like that. You know, he can get a pre built if he wants, but we need to tell him why a custom built is better. Wolfe you are actilg like its perfectly fine to get a pre built.

 

[wolfeking]

It is perfectly fine to buy a prebuilt. I have had plenty of them, ranging from entry level Dells (windows 98 era) all the way to windows 7 Acer, HP, and Compaq desktops, and none of them have ever failed on me. Don't screw over an entire industry because you have had bad luck. Most computers, no matter who built them, will last 10+ years if you do basic maintenance on them.

 

[FuryRosewood]

had a gateway last 7 years, probably still boots to this day, dell dimension that still works good back in michigan. we have dozens of dimensions and vostros at work...all work well and are over 7 years old...so yea. nothing wrong with prebuilt. id argue that the dimension 5150, e520 and e521 are still some of the best laid out and executed prebuilts ive ever laid hands on, and the build quality would beat the machine thats sitting under your desk right now. chassis is sturdy, cables are neatly laid out and airflow is efficient and their quiet as hell. may not be fastest things on the block but damn their reliable.

 

[spirit]

Do you realize how many prebuilts I have had? 5, 3 broke in 2 years. and 1 lasted 4, one lasted 3. Never seen any custom builts act like that. You know, he can get a pre built if he wants, but we need to tell him why a custom built is better. Wolfe you are actilg like its perfectly fine to get a pre built.

Actually I'd say it's the other way round. I find custom-builts are more prone to go wrong, because people build them not knowing what they are doing and they make mistakes. I've owned many OEM machines (usually HPs, but used Dells, Fujitsus and IBMs too) and I never had a problem with them. I've had more problems with my custom-built machine. In fact the only issue I've ever had with an OEM system was an HP desktop I was working on last week for a customer of Dad's. It had some sort of CMOS problem and would never remember the date and time etc. But I've been using PCs since I was about 6 or 7 (so that's at least 9 years now) and before that HP, I never had a problem with an OEM system in terms of reliability.

It is perfectly fine to buy a prebuilt. I have had plenty of them, ranging from entry level Dells (windows 98 era) all the way to windows 7 Acer, HP, and Compaq desktops, and none of them have ever failed on me. Don't screw over an entire industry because you have had bad luck. Most computers, no matter who built them, will last 10+ years if you do basic maintenance on them.

Exactly. Never had a problem with OEM systems. They are fine for web browsing and office work and stuff, but not really so good for gaming or anything like that.

At the end of the day I see it like this: if you are a novice and just looking for a PC which you can surf the 'net on and read emails, just get any old OEM. If you are more experienced and want a PC for gaming or video editing or whatever, build one. If you are a novice and you want a gaming or video editing machine, either learn and build it yourself or get somebody else to do it for you.

 

[DarkNinja]

It is perfectly fine to buy a prebuilt. I have had plenty of them, ranging from entry level Dells (windows 98 era) all the way to windows 7 Acer, HP, and Compaq desktops, and none of them have ever failed on me. Don't screw over an entire industry because you have had bad luck. Most computers, no matter who built them, will last 10+ years if you do basic maintenance on them.

What do you mean by maintenance? I hope to keep my desktop in top condition, so i want to know.

Actually I'd say it's the other way round. I find custom-builts are more prone to go wrong, because people build them not knowing what they are doing and they make mistakes. I've owned many OEM machines (usually HPs, but used Dells, Fujitsus and IBMs too) and I never had a problem with them. I've had more problems with my custom-built machine. In fact the only issue I've ever had with an OEM system was an HP desktop I was working on last week for a customer of Dad's. It had some sort of CMOS problem and would never remember the date and time etc. But I've been using PCs since I was about 6 or 7 (so that's at least 9 years now) and before that HP, I never had a problem with an OEM system in terms of reliability.


Exactly. Never had a problem with OEM systems. They are fine for web browsing and office work and stuff, but not really so good for gaming or anything like that.

At the end of the day I see it like this: if you are a novice and just looking for a PC which you can surf the 'net on and read emails, just get any old OEM. If you are more experienced and want a PC for gaming or video editing or whatever, build one. If you are a novice and you want a gaming or video editing machine, either learn and build it yourself or get somebody else to do it for you.

What is OEM? I think i may have looked it up, i cannot find the definition that matches.

 

[wolfeking]

computer maintenance: Keep it dusted out (about 1x /month), attach it to a UPS (always), make sure not to use in high humidity environment, and visually inspect the board for damage, failing caps, loose connects and the like about once a month.

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. Basically it means prebuilt, or if talking about parts, it means the originals.

 

[DarkNinja]

computer maintenance: Keep it dusted out (about 1x /month), attach it to a UPS (always), make sure not to use in high humidity environment, and visually inspect the board for damage, failing caps, loose connects and the like about once a month.

OEM means Original Equipment Manufacturer. Basically it means prebuilt, or if talking about parts, it means the originals.

And by dusting it out, you mean spraying the inside with canned air so that dust gets removed? in this situation, what do you mean by UPS? I don't know really what to look for when checking inside for damage, failing caps, or loose connections, since i don't know what each part does.

 

[wolfeking]

failing caps generally expand. The motherboard has several dozen capacators. They should be perfect barrel shapes. If one end is bigger than the other, then it is getting ready to go.

UPS= Uninterruptable Power Supply. It gives you time to properly shut down if the power goes out.

loose connections are just that. Just push on the ends of the cable and it will not be loose.

 

[DarkNinja]

failing caps generally expand. The motherboard has several dozen capacators. They should be perfect barrel shapes. If one end is bigger than the other, then it is getting ready to go.

UPS= Uninterruptable Power Supply. It gives you time to properly shut down if the power goes out.

loose connections are just that. Just push on the ends of the cable and it will not be loose.

Sorry, i don't know what you're talking about xD. when i look inside the PC, i just see slots, a fan, some wires with ends covered with these square shaped caps.

As for an uninterruptable power source, i looked it up briefly, does it help when my power suddenly goes out, so that if my PC is running, it doesn't get shut off? I think that happened yesterday when the power went off for about 1 minute, and my PC just shut off. Should i be worried that that damaged the PC?

 

[wolfeking]

It can damage your PC when that happens, but 99% of the time UPS is better for giving you time to save what you are working on, or if you are flashing the BIOS, time to finish.


Capacitors are little barrel shaped things all over the motherboard.
this will show you what to look for.

 

[teady4506]

Trevor here from The Electronics Shed computing division.
That computer should be fine for what you are asking it to do.

 

[DarkNinja]

Trevor here from The Electronics Shed computing division.
That computer should be fine for what you are asking it to do.

Is it possible to get someone else to make me a better PC for the same price as the one i linked to here? I have a computer store near home that might be able to. Labor cost will be around $85, but i have to give the storeowner a list of items i want to use for that PC.

 

[wolfeking]

You can, but it would not run any better.

You could try a G530/G540 with say a Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, or Foxconn H61/H67 motherboard, 4-8GB of RAM, a PSU with ~400 watts, a HDD and a case would have you set.
Or you could go backwards and do a AMD A8 system, or A10.

 

[DarkNinja]

You can, but it would not run any better.

You could try a G530/G540 with say a Gigabyte, Asus, MSI, or Foxconn H61/H67 motherboard, 4-8GB of RAM, a PSU with ~400 watts, a HDD and a case would have you set.
Or you could go backwards and do a AMD A8 system, or A10.

What do you mean it wouldn't run any better?

Also, could you give me the exact names of the hardware, or give me links to the the items on newegg?

 

[wolfeking]

I mean, you would get more power, but it is not necessary for what you are doing.

If you want a build list, I will make one, but that acer will do the same thing for about the same price. It is all you need.

 

[DarkNinja]

I mean, you would get more power, but it is not necessary for what you are doing.

If you want a build list, I will make one, but that acer will do the same thing for about the same price. It is all you need.

I see. Maybe it might be better to build a PC similar to the Acer?

 

[DarkNinja]

Just how much more power would around $400 give me?

 

[wolfeking]

not too much. The main thing is the quality would be better. You could get more CPU power with a Pentium G630, or a A10 APU.

 

[DarkNinja]

not too much. The main thing is the quality would be better. You could get more CPU power with a Pentium G630, or a A10 APU.

What about making a desktop like the Acer i posted? Would it be a lot cheaper?

 

[wolfeking]

It would be about the same price. However, you could go cheaper with lower quality parts. But only about $30 or so.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148840
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231635
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16819103871
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817256061
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16813130652
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811822008

And you need a OS, but for basic things that you mentioned (assuming you are not using netflix), you could use Ubuntu and save $100 for the OS.