Help me pick a desktop computer

quick94gt

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I’ve been living under a rock for the last 10yrs, I need a home computer. All we have right now are our iPhones, a couple of iPads and the kids school laptops.

Are apple iMacs worth the price? I’m looking to spend no more than $2500, I’m no computer pro but want it to be a good one that will last. Friends try to steer me towards iMacs because they say they will run like new forever.

All the windows based computers I’ve had in the past seem to self destruct themselves but I’m not opposed to them if there are specific models that are great.

Please help lol.
 

VegasMichael

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Are you up for buying a PC from a custom PC builder? They are pricier than what you get from DELL or HP but I went with a desktop from Falcon Northwest 6 years ago and it has worked flawlessly. Would buy again.
 

KingBlack

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$2500 for a computer in 2021? You need to cut that number in half. You don't need to spend that much.
 

CompOrange04GT

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You can legit get a prebuilt for $800 that’ll do everything you want and more.

i have $750 into my at home computer .. it’s my “ movie/games “ computer. That I have hooked to my projector.


Plays whatever games I want, and movies on the 110 inch
 

ON D BIT

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All my ibm compatible are slow and worthless in about 5 years. From the $400 model to the $1800 one.
I’ve just switched everything to Mac.

my parents bought a used 5 yr old Mac 21 I think(small desktop) 5 yrs ago for $400. It’s still running great.

The new one is on sale at Costco $300 off now $1100. Also easier to transfer items from phone to tablet as well.
 

jshen

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What are your uses for the computer? I buy exclusively Dell because I can call them anytime- even when out of warranty and out of service agreement and they fix my system. Nobody I know does that. If you get one configured correctly for you it will last 10 years as mine has. I swapped out the hard drive for a Crucial 1t. SSD and this thing starts instantly.

Now days optical drives, SD card readers are options and if you update your Garmin map or car navigation you will need card reader. Check out Dell Intel Core i7 K Series Desktop Computers | Dell USA
 

KingBlack

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He said he wanted it to last. That means a decent GPU and they are not cheap.
I did see that part. Hey @quick94gt If you're not gaming don't waste money on a high-end GPU. In fact the best most expensive gpus should be reserved for video editing in 3D designs. Don't be fooled and to believe in otherwise. Furthermore when you get into Ray tracing and things of that nature then yes you're going to spend $2,500 plus easily just for a gpu. But if that's the case then you're buying a new computer every 2 years anyway and we aren't having this conversation. Honestly if you're into graphic design at that level it's not unheard of to spend $50,000 for graphic processing unit.

Now that we've got that out of the way are we talking desktop or laptop? Personally I'm a desktop person but I guess I'm old-fashioned. You definitely get more bang for the buck but you do suffer and don't have the portability. I will admit my current laptop has very good graphical processing and will blow away my custom built desktop computer from one generation ago at a third of the price. That being said I would highly suggest not buying something too costly it comes to computing. When it comes to computers, generally if they last the first 15 minutes they're probably going to last for 10 years. Don't think of them like cars where is the other way around. They're really aren't any moving parts. It's easy to make that mistake mentally and think as it gets older it's more likely to fail. Once it burns in completely those first few times it turns on you're likely to be home free.

Look into Moore's law. The idea is that every 18 months that one of two things happened with microprocessing. Either a) for the same amount of money your processing power doubles or b) for the same amount of money the size of the processing power gets cut into half. so theoretically it just doesn't make sense to spend a bunch of money for something that's going to last 10 years so to speak. Find the happy medium and buy something new every few years and price wise it just makes more sense.
 

jacker1991

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Horrible time to be buying/building a PC. What is the purpose of this PC? Gaming? If so, at what resolution and frame rate are you looking to game?
 

kevinatfms

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Ibuypower.com
CyberPowerpc.com
Falcon-nw.com(Falcon Northwest is crazy with the custom builds)

There are 1000 custom PC builders out there that have pre-built packages well under your budget that will last a long time. They also dont throw the bloatware and garbage apps in their pre-builts like Dell/HP.
 

IronSnake

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CobraBob

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Hands down, this is the best bang for your buck long term solution to your needs. Pair this with a nice ultrawide monitor, keyboard, and mouse... you've got yourself a very solid home office/home desktop that can handle just about anything.

https://www.costco.com/new-mac-mini-–-apple-m1-chip-8-core-cpu,-8-core-gpu-–-8gb-memory-–-256gb-ssd-–--silver.product.100694159.html
Great recommendation! I am a big fan of Macs and MacBook Pros. And their OS. I hate the newer versions of Windows 10 as it becomes more and more intrusive and a pain in the butt to use at times. Updates and transferring data to a new Mac from an old Mac is so freaking simple, and reliable!

@quick94gt, I have both a Dell AIO with a 28" screen and a newer MacBook Pro 16" for portability like surfing the Net while watching TV. I like them both, a lot, but my fav is the Mac because of its better OS. Here's a recent Microsoft/Windows example of silliness. I'm setting up this brand new HP Envy laptop for a manager on Friday and bear in mind it's a company computer. I have a company Microsoft Account but Windows wouldn't accept it. It forced me to get a (new) Personal Microsoft Account with a different, non-company email address, which I had to create (Gmail). I strongly encourage you visit an Apple store and check them out. And like @IronSnake noted, Costco sells some Mac products, too. If you're ex-military, you can get a discount on Macs, too, if you buy from Apple. Apple's customer support is excellent, too. As is Dell's if you choose to go with a Windows machine.

If you choose to go with a Windows machine, I strongly recommend Dell because of their extensive offerings AND for their customer support after the sale. I use a Dell AIO for my business and it's performed very well. Now if only Windows was as enjoyable to use as the Dell AIO. :(
 

DiB14-SAFD

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I always recommend Macs for people that don’t know much about computers. They will last awhile, been using ssd’s for years, minimal bloatware and minimal click hazards on unscrupulous websites.

That being said I wouldn’t own one myself because there is largely no upgrade path for them. I love the flexibility that a properly built PC provides in regards to upgrades and with Ssd’s common now there is virtually no slowdown with age. I have been rocking the same build for about a decade with minimal upgrades over the years(ssd, gpu) and it still runs everything I need it to without issue.
 

Serpent

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The prebuilt with a decent gpu will be the route, as everyone has said: cpu/gpu prices are nuts. OP, check slick deals, always some deals on there either from Dell or HP, lenovo, etc.

Good thing I predicted this and build a bad ass rig last year, and got lucky on a 3080 too, paying retail. Shit, I should sell it for the current scalper prices of $1500 to upwards of $2k.
 

CobraBob

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macs are shit when it comes to bang for the buck.
if you aren't gaming you can build a good machine for well under 1000 bucks.

www.newegg.com
Are you making that statement from personal experience? Or just repeating what someone else might have said. I actually have used MacBook Pros for well over 10 years, along with owning various PCs. I have a MacBook Pro that's about 6 years old (my wife uses it) and it's as fast and issue-free as the day I bought it. Solidly built all around. A keyboard that's a joy to use. And a trackpad that is so good I don't need to use an optional mouse. My co-worker has a 5 1/2 year old HP Envy laptop that cost about $500 less than that MacBock Pro. I'm in the process right now setting up his new HP Envy, because his old one is at death's door. Over the past year or so he's been asking me to fix this and check that. Most recently, he's been getting boot drive errors intermittently and it is running as slow as a slug. So, I guess my old MacBook Pro has proven to have been a good bang for the buck machine. Having used both Windows machines and Macs together over the past 15+ years, I've found Macs to be a good long-term value and offer a good return on investment. Oh, and if I SELL a used Mac, I actually get a good price for them. All of it proving they're actually good investments.

That said, folks that prefer Windows machines should definitely go there. What you choose should be determined by your needs. So a lesser cost PC might work fine, or you can build one, or buy/build a more stout machine. Again, depending on your actual needs.
 

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