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Help Choosing a New PC

campilobaxter

campilobaxter

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Need help buying a new PC. This will replace a 6 year old desktop family hub. Uses include kids doing homework, mom surfing net, dad running a plex media server and a sabdnzb/sickbeard setup. Needs to last another 5-6 years of this. 14 yr. old son would probably enjoy doing some gaming, but this isn't a priority. Love to stay below $600.


Two options I'm considering:


Lenovo w/ AMD A12 9800 cpu, 12GB DDR4, 1TB HD, integrated Raedon R7 graphics - $479.00


http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/842840/Lenovo-IdeaCentre-510A-Desktop-PC-AMD/


Lenovo w/ intel 6th gen i5 6400 cpu, 8GB DDR4, 1 TB HD, GeForce GT 730 w/ 2GB dedicated - $486


https://www.bestbuy.com/site/lenovo...p? Anything else I should be considering? TIA
 
I am so far out of PC specs these days that I can't comment on either of those machines, but the one thing that jumps out is if you are wanting to play games on them don't expect to be able to play anything with those graphics options

Both of those graphics options are way behind current technology, and the integrated Radeon option in the first PC is a joke if the description says it is suitable for gaming in my opinion
 
I am so far out of PC specs these days that I can't comment on either of those machines, but the one thing that jumps out is if you are wanting to play games on them don't expect to be able to play anything with those graphics options

Both of those graphics options are way behind current technology, and the integrated Radeon option in the first PC is a joke if the description says it is suitable for gaming in my opinion
 
My company IT Department a couple years ago switched out all of our PC's from Dell to Lenovo because they got a better deal on them. Not very long after that, they switched back to Dell. They had nothing but problems with the Lenovos. That's about all the input I have on this. I'm still running an 8 year old Dell quad core PC at home so I'm a little out of the desktop loop. :D
 
All I can say is spend the extra money and get a Mac. I've had mine for over 8 years and no problems, 27 inch I Mac and 13 or 14 inch Mac Book Pro No virus protection needed and runs as fast as the day I got them. I used to buy Toshiba lap tops and they were good but in three years I would have to upgrade replace them.

Once you go Mac you never go back.
 
Both of those setups are low to mid grade at best. If you want them to last a few years, these will not really do it.

The biggest issue with big box retailers and the computers they sell are lack of upgradeability. Chances are the motherboards of those two computers can't really have things switched out over time. Integrated GPUs are a no no for just about any kind of gaming and even the dedicated GPU in computer #2 is low end for what is required now.

Do you already have a monitor you like or does the $600 have to include a new monitor? You can get a lot for $600 if you find someone locally who can build you a computer.

Ultimately, the 12GB DDR is great. The 6th generation i5 is also very good. 1T Hard Drive is also quite good although if you don't need that much storage you might want to consider an SSD drive instead. MUCH faster. If you can find a computer with all that in one, you would be better off.

This is a decent mid grade Gaming PC: https://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5173402&CatId=114
 
OPUS-X said:
All I can say is spend the extra money and get a Mac. I've had mine for over 8 years and no problems, 27 inch I Mac and 13 or 14 inch Mac Book Pro No virus protection needed and runs as fast as the day I got them. I used to buy Toshiba lap tops and they were good but in three years I would have to upgrade replace them.

Once you go Mac you never go back.
Click to expand...

I'm a Mac guy, but that would cost him double.
 
NewGlfr said:
Both of those setups are low to mid grade at best. If you want them to last a few years, these will not really do it.

The biggest issue with big box retailers and the computers they sell are lack of upgradeability. Chances are the motherboards of those two computers can't really have things switched out over time. Integrated GPUs are a no no for just about any kind of gaming and even the dedicated GPU in computer #2 is low end for what is required now.

Do you already have a monitor you like or does the $600 have to include a new monitor? You can get a lot for $600 if you find someone locally who can build you a computer.

Ultimately, the 12GB DDR is great. The 6th generation i5 is also very good. 1T Hard Drive is also quite good although if you don't need that much storage you might want to consider an SSD drive instead. MUCH faster. If you can find a computer with all that in one, you would be better off.

This is a decent mid grade Gaming PC: https://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5173402&CatId=114
Click to expand...

Some good advice here. Another thing I'd want to know is if these are 7200RPM hard drives. Storage is already the bottleneck and you don't want a 5400RPM HDD (yes, there are some options with big cache that can help but they will cheap out on the drive all day).
 
NewGlfr said:
Both of those setups are low to mid grade at best. If you want them to last a few years, these will not really do it.

The biggest issue with big box retailers and the computers they sell are lack of upgradeability. Chances are the motherboards of those two computers can't really have things switched out over time. Integrated GPUs are a no no for just about any kind of gaming and even the dedicated GPU in computer #2 is low end for what is required now.

Do you already have a monitor you like or does the $600 have to include a new monitor? You can get a lot for $600 if you find someone locally who can build you a computer.

Ultimately, the 12GB DDR is great. The 6th generation i5 is also very good. 1T Hard Drive is also quite good although if you don't need that much storage you might want to consider an SSD drive instead. MUCH faster. If you can find a computer with all that in one, you would be better off.

This is a decent mid grade Gaming PC: https://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=5173402&CatId=114
Click to expand...

Thanks, good thoughts. I think I have moved on from those I originally posted now.

Thinking of perhaps doing a build along these lines, although I'd rather just buy now. I'm an instant gratification kind of guy! https://pcpartpicker.com/list/vQK69W

I'm also thinking of just splurging a bit and picking this up on the way home: http://www.frys.com/product/8989903?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG
 
shanewu said:
Some good advice here. Another thing I'd want to know is if these are 7200RPM hard drives. Storage is already the bottleneck and you don't want a 5400RPM HDD (yes, there are some options with big cache that can help but they will cheap out on the drive all day).
Click to expand...

Yeah, I wouldn't consider a 5400RPM drive at this point. Seems like those are harder to find anyway these days, thank goodness.

Another question for everyone: Is it worth it to buy a 256GB SSD to run the OS on? Is it easy/possible to run a PC on that size of a drive? Do most of the installed programs need to be on the same drive as the OS, or could I install them on the 1TB drive?
 
campilobaxter said:
Yeah, I wouldn't consider a 5400RPM drive at this point. Seems like those are harder to find anyway these days, thank goodness.

Another question for everyone: Is it worth it to buy a 256GB SSD to run the OS on? Is it easy/possible to run a PC on that size of a drive? Do most of the installed programs need to be on the same drive as the OS, or could I install them on the 1TB drive?
Click to expand...

An SSD is one of the largest performance boosters you'll get if you want a computer to be fast.

Personally if my only choice was a 120GB ssd or a 1TB HD I'd take the 120GB SSD every time.

That being said to answer your question Windows 10 takes about 30GB on it's own, so if you can do a 250GB SSD as your main drive then an 1TB external for movies and downloads and such you should be just fine.
 
TheAnnihilator said:
An SSD is one of the largest performance boosters you'll get if you want a computer to be fast.

Personally if my only choice was a 120GB ssd or a 1TB HD I'd take the 120GB SSD every time.

That being said to answer your question Windows 10 takes about 30GB on it's own, so if you can do a 250GB SSD as your main drive then an 1TB external for movies and downloads and such you should be just fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks. This is what I will probably do.
 
Do you have a local PC store near you? I have one and I will always use them over name brand stuff. They do quality builds well under the 600 dollar range. I think my last PC was 450 out the door, they build on the spot so I had to wait a few days, but it feels good to let these guys and girls do the work instead of going NB. You may be surprised at the cost if there is a local store near you. I will always keep my money local for stuff like that.
 
tucsoncacti said:
Do you have a local PC store near you? I have one and I will always use them over name brand stuff. They do quality builds well under the 600 dollar range. I think my last PC was 450 out the door, they build on the spot so I had to wait a few days, but it feels good to let these guys and girls do the work instead of going NB. You may be surprised at the cost if there is a local store near you. I will always keep my money local for stuff like that.
Click to expand...

Not really sure. The only one I can think of is PC Laptops, which is kind of a strange place with over-the-top advertising. I think they might have a store down your way too? I haven't ever bought from them, but they've been around for 20 years.
 
TheAnnihilator said:
An SSD is one of the largest performance boosters you'll get if you want a computer to be fast.

Personally if my only choice was a 120GB ssd or a 1TB HD I'd take the 120GB SSD every time.

That being said to answer your question Windows 10 takes about 30GB on it's own, so if you can do a 250GB SSD as your main drive then an 1TB external for movies and downloads and such you should be just fine.
Click to expand...

Second to this. As the Annihilator said an SSD is the way to go. Once you have a pc with an SSD you will never want to own one without it. The difference really is that significant.
 
TheAnnihilator said:
An SSD is one of the largest performance boosters you'll get if you want a computer to be fast.

Personally if my only choice was a 120GB ssd or a 1TB HD I'd take the 120GB SSD every time.

That being said to answer your question Windows 10 takes about 30GB on it's own, so if you can do a 250GB SSD as your main drive then an 1TB external for movies and downloads and such you should be just fine.
Click to expand...

Absolutely agree with this. You can also just store all the stuff you don't use regularly on an external hard drive.
 
For Plex GPU and CPU transcoding are more important than RAM. So go with a dedicated GPU. Also, 8GB should be fine but 12 - 16GB should work better if you plan on streaming stuff while the kids are using the PC.

If you are getting a true desktop either those will work provided they are not mini PC's with RAM and GPU's impossible to upgrade. That way you are future-proof (if need arises to upgrade). I have not bought an AMD for over 17 years but I would say a Core i5 with a dedicated GPU and 8+ GB of RAM should be fine.

Also, I would suggest giving sonarr/nzbget a shot over sickbeard/sabnzb. I did a few years back and have never looked back.

As others have stated the performance improvement from SSD's is pretty good. However, it comes at a cost.
 
fistfullofbeer said:
For Plex GPU and CPU transcoding are more important than RAM. So go with a dedicated GPU. Also, 8GB should be fine but 12 - 16GB should work better if you plan on streaming stuff while the kids are using the PC.

If you are getting a true desktop either those will work provided they are not mini PC's with RAM and GPU's impossible to upgrade. That way you are future-proof (if need arises to upgrade). I have not bought an AMD for over 17 years but I would say a Core i5 with a dedicated GPU and 8+ GB of RAM should be fine.

Also, I would suggest giving sonarr/nzbget a shot over sickbeard/sabnzb. I did a few years back and have never looked back.

As others have stated the performance improvement from SSD's is pretty good. However, it comes at a cost.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the suggestion - I have been thinking about an alternative. Having a number of issues lately.
 
fistfullofbeer said:
For Plex GPU and CPU transcoding are more important than RAM. So go with a dedicated GPU. Also, 8GB should be fine but 12 - 16GB should work better if you plan on streaming stuff while the kids are using the PC.

If you are getting a true desktop either those will work provided they are not mini PC's with RAM and GPU's impossible to upgrade. That way you are future-proof (if need arises to upgrade). I have not bought an AMD for over 17 years but I would say a Core i5 with a dedicated GPU and 8+ GB of RAM should be fine.

Also, I would suggest giving sonarr/nzbget a shot over sickbeard/sabnzb. I did a few years back and have never looked back.

As others have stated the performance improvement from SSD's is pretty good. However, it comes at a cost.
Click to expand...

Thoughts on this build?

https://www.frys.com/product/8989903

Specifications
Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-6400 [6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6400 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.3 GHz)]
Operating System - Windows 10
Memory - 8GB, 2133MHz, DDR4
Video Graphics - NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory
Hard Drive - 1TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive [1TBHDD]
 
campilobaxter said:
Thoughts on this build?

https://www.frys.com/product/8989903

Specifications
Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-6400 [6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6400 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.3 GHz)]
Operating System - Windows 10
Memory - 8GB, 2133MHz, DDR4
Video Graphics - NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory
Hard Drive - 1TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive [1TBHDD]
Click to expand...

That looks really good! See if you can find out which motherboard it is and then check the specs on it.
 
campilobaxter said:
Thoughts on this build?


https://www.frys.com/product/8989903


Specifications
Processor - Intel® Core™ i5-6400 [6th Generation Intel® Core™ i5-6400 Processor (6M Cache, up to 3.3 GHz)]
Operating System - Windows 10
Memory - 8GB, 2133MHz, DDR4
Video Graphics - NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1070 with 8GB GDDR5 Graphics Memory
Hard Drive - 1TB 7200 rpm Hard Drive [1TBHDD]
Click to expand...


I like that one. 1070 GTX is a solid video card. 8 GB RAM is good but it can be upgraded on that system (I believe max is 64 GB) down the road. Also, I know most people have a severe dislike for Dell but I have been buying XPS and Alienware systems from Dell for over the last 16 years. No complaints.

NewGlfr said:
That looks really good! See if you can find out which motherboard it is and then check the specs on it.
Click to expand...

With Dell it is pretty tricky to find MB information. Though honestly, it rarely matters unless you are looking to OC the system.
 
NewGlfr said:
That looks really good! See if you can find out which motherboard it is and then check the specs on it.
Click to expand...

Looks like it is a Dell designed mother board...
 
campilobaxter said:
Looks like it is a Dell designed mother board...
Click to expand...

Yep. And their power supplies are the same way .. :) Bought enough Dell products to learn that figuring those things is never easy with them.
 
I was going to suggest building your own. If you've built a model airplane or a model car, you can build a PC. I've built my last three units, including one my Mom uses. I have found fewer hardware failures when I build my own, especially with the mobo.

I suggest the Tom's hardware site for their lists of best builds within a given budget.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-pc-builds,4390.html

Their current $500 build uses an ITX form factor, but if you can cannabilize your old case and some parts, you can move up the price range. They have archives as well. My son and I built a PC for him and his sister, mostly using a lot of old parts, when he was 14, and it was one of the best things we ever did together.

Don't forget that if you have high school or college students, or faculty, in your family, you can get academic prices on software from places like Academic Superstore.
 
Reframmellator said:
I was going to suggest building your own. If you've built a model airplane or a model car, you can build a PC. I've built my last three units, including one my Mom uses. I have found fewer hardware failures when I build my own, especially with the mobo.

I suggest the Tom's hardware site for their lists of best builds within a given budget.

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/best-pc-builds,4390.html

Their current $500 build uses an ITX form factor, but if you can cannabilize your old case and some parts, you can move up the price range. They have archives as well. My son and I built a PC for him and his sister, mostly using a lot of old parts, when he was 14, and it was one of the best things we ever did together.

Don't forget that if you have high school or college students, or faculty, in your family, you can get academic prices on software from places like Academic Superstore.
Click to expand...

Circling back towards building after not being able to find what I want in a pre-packaged tower. What do you all think of this build?

https://pcpartpicker.com/list/fsX9gL
 
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