Hi guys, new here. I'm just your average computer user and use it mainly for spreadsheets, surfing the web and streaming some movies. My present computer is a Dell Inspiron and is about 10 years old and needs replaced badly. I've been thinking of upgrading for about a year and decided its time to take the plunge. I would like to get the most bang-for-the-buck for around ~500 or so with something that will last a good 5-10 years. I was thinking at least 8GB RAM with 1TG hard drive.
I don't like the current Dell offerings and was going to go with an i3-3240 HP from the local office max for around $450, but after some searching it sounds like those aren't that fast although I do like the fact its local and comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. A guy on my car forum suggested I go to Newegg and get something a little better for the price and I found a Levono i5 DDR3 2TG for $460, but it only comes with a 280 SPU which another guy said was too low if you intend on ever doing some serious gaming. I'm not into gaming right now, but who knows, I may want to do some in the future. I also found a i5 Gateway (1TG) for a little less on sale right now (420) and it has a 300 watt SPU, but I don't really like the looks of the case. I also found an Avatar gaming system AMD FX series also with the i5 with a 500 SPU and I like the looks of it too, but its a little more than I wanted to spend (510) and it sounds like it would need an upgraded GPU if you wanted to do some serious gaming.
So now I'm confused and not sure what to get. The Avatar looks like the best, but may be a little overkill for my needs and also a little pricey for my current budget. The Gateway would probably be the smartest choice since I guess it really doesn't matter what it looks like, its whats inside that counts. But I'm thinking I should compromise and get the Levono as I like that one the best and it has the most disk space, just worried that the power supply will be enough. btw, I'll also probably need to get a new monitor soon since I have the older 17" Dell. Any advice which one I should go with or do you guys have another suggestion?
I don't like the current Dell offerings and was going to go with an i3-3240 HP from the local office max for around $450, but after some searching it sounds like those aren't that fast although I do like the fact its local and comes with a wireless keyboard and mouse. A guy on my car forum suggested I go to Newegg and get something a little better for the price and I found a Levono i5 DDR3 2TG for $460, but it only comes with a 280 SPU which another guy said was too low if you intend on ever doing some serious gaming. I'm not into gaming right now, but who knows, I may want to do some in the future. I also found a i5 Gateway (1TG) for a little less on sale right now (420) and it has a 300 watt SPU, but I don't really like the looks of the case. I also found an Avatar gaming system AMD FX series also with the i5 with a 500 SPU and I like the looks of it too, but its a little more than I wanted to spend (510) and it sounds like it would need an upgraded GPU if you wanted to do some serious gaming.
So now I'm confused and not sure what to get. The Avatar looks like the best, but may be a little overkill for my needs and also a little pricey for my current budget. The Gateway would probably be the smartest choice since I guess it really doesn't matter what it looks like, its whats inside that counts. But I'm thinking I should compromise and get the Levono as I like that one the best and it has the most disk space, just worried that the power supply will be enough. btw, I'll also probably need to get a new monitor soon since I have the older 17" Dell. Any advice which one I should go with or do you guys have another suggestion?
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